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The 86th Airlift Wing (86 AW) is a United States Air Force wing, currently assigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe. The 86th AW is stationed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany
[edit] MissionThe wing’s primary mission is to conduct airlift, airdrop and aeromedical evacuation operations flying the C-21, C-20H, C-37, C-40B and C-130E aircraft. The 86th Airlift Wing commander also serves as the Kaiserslautern Military Community (KMC) commander, leading the largest American community outside the United States. [edit] UnitsThe 86th Airlift Wing is composed of four groups, 14 squadrons and one detachment. These are:
The 779th Expeditionary Airlift Flight was activated in January 2008 to administer a rotational deployment of two C-17 Globemaster IIIs to be based at Ramstein AB.[1] The exact reporting chain for the 779th EAF is not known. [edit] HistoryFurther information: Ramstein Air Base
[edit] Lineage
[edit] Assignments
[edit] Major ComponentsGroup
Squadrons
[edit] Bases assigned
[edit] Aircraft operated
[edit] Operational history[edit] 86th Fighter Wing  The 86th Fighter Wing was established and activated on 1 Jul 1948 at Neubiberg AB, Germany. Its initial mission was to provide air defense, primarily in West Germany with its operational component, the 86th Fighter Group. Equipped with P (later F-47) Thunderbolts, the 86th was one of two active USAF fighter units in Germany (the other being the 36th FG) during the immediate postwar years. Over the next several years, the 86th underwent several redesignations and several station assignments in occupied Germany. In June 1948, the 86th Fighter Wing was stationed at Neubiberg Air Base, near Munich when tensions with the Soviet Union culminated in the Berlin Blockade. With the arrival of the jet age in Europe, USAFE wanted to move its units west of the Rhine River, as its bases in the Munich area were just a few minutes flying time from Soviet Mig-15 bases in Czechoslovakia. In February 1951, the United States and France signed an agreement in which USAF bases in their German occupation zone would be built and made available to USAFE. In late 1952, enough construction was completed at Landstuhl and the 86th Fighter-Bomber Wing was reassigned to the new base. The 86th Wing (under various designations) has been assigned to Ramstein for almost 60 years, with a brief period (1966–1973) being inactive or assigned to Zweibrucken Air Base. In March 1958 the 86th Fighter-Bomber Group was inactivated and its operational squadrons being assigned to the Wing. In May, the 406th FIW at RAF Manston, England was deactivated. Its three F-86D squadrons, the 512th, 513th and 514th were reassigned to bases on the continent and were also assigned to the 86th. These squadrons were detached to the following bases:
[edit] 86th Air Division (Defense)Further information: 86th Air Division  In January 1959 the 525th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Bitburg received its first Convair F-102 Delta Dagger, designed to upgrade the air defense capabilities of Western Europe. HQ USAFE decided to uprade the 86th Fighter-Interceptor Wing and centralize command of all the European Air Defense squadrons in USAFE to it. With this change, the 86th Fighter-Interceptor Wing was redesignated the 86th Air Division (Defense) on November 18, 1960. However at the time of their arrival in Europe, the F-102 was already being replaced by the McDonnell F-101B Voodoo and the Convair F-106 Delta Dart in the Aerospace Defense Command as an interceptor, and by much more versatile McDonnell F-4 Phantom II. On November 14, 1968 the 86th Air Division was inactivated [edit] 86th Tactical Fighter Wing     The 86th Tactical Fighter Wing was reactivated at Zweibrücken Air Base, West Germany on November 1, 1969. It received its first flying unit, the 17th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, on January 12, 1970. The 17th TRS and its McDonnell Douglas RF-4C Phantom IIs was reassigned to the 86th TFW from the deactivating 66th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at RAF Upper Heyford, England. Squadron tail code for the 17th TRS was initially "ZS", then was recoded to "ZR" in 1971. For 18 months the 17th was the only operational squadron on the base. On June 12, 1971, the 81st Tactical Fighter Squadron with its Electronics Counter-Measures (ECM) equipped McDonnell EF-4C Phantom II "Wild Weasel" fighters was attached to the 86th TFW from the 50th TFW at Hahn AB when the 50th switched to a strike-attack role, with air defense as a secondary mission. (Note: The EF-4C designation was not official. The aircraft were officially F-4C models). The 81st TFS, however remained a part of the 50th TFW but was detached from the wing's operational control and attached to the 86th Tactical Fighter Wing for support. Squadron tail code for the 81st TFS was "ZS". In 1972, tail codes for all 86th TFW aircraft at Zweibrücken were standardized as "ZR", per AFM 66-1, when squadron tail codes were eliminated. On January 15, 1973, the 81st TFS was reassigned to Spangdahlem Air Base under operation "Battle Creek". The last of this variant of the Phantom returned to the USA in 1979/1980 and was replaced by the F-4G Wild Weasel at Spangdahlem. As part of operation Creek Action, a command-wide effort to realign functions and streamline operations, USAFE transferred the 26 TRW from Ramstein to Zweibrucken Air Base, Germany, and the 86th Tactical Fighter Wing (TFW) from Zweibrucken back to Ramstein on January 31, 1973. These moves were made without the transfer of personnel or equipment with the exception of the 38 TRS, 7 SOS and 81 TFS. The 38th remained under the control of the 26 TRW by moving to Zweibrucken with the wing and the 7th Special Operations Squadron was transferred to Rhein-Main Air Base. The 526th TFS remained at Ramstein AB, and it was reassigned to the 86th Tactical Fighter Wing, flying F-4Es. Its tail code was "RS". On September 22, 1977 the newly-activated 512th TFS was equipped with the 526 TFS aircraft and the 526 TFS received new planes from McDonnell Douglas St. Louis plant. The unit was designated the 86th Tactical Fighter Group and was under the 86th Tactical Fighter Wing. With these changes, the operational squadrons of the 86th TFW in 1978 were:
In September 1985 the 512th TFS converted to the General Dynamics Block 25 F-16 Fighting Falcon, and the 526th retired their F-4Es in June 1986, also receiving Block 25 F-16s. The 86th TFW supported numerous military units located in the area and participated in numerous exercises that provided the wing with air combat tactics training essential to their mission. In 1990, personnel and aircraft of the 86th TFW deployed to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Desert Storm. With the end of Operation Desert Storm, the 86th TFW deployed to Turkey and supported operations in Southwest Asia to ensure that Iraq complied with treaty terms. 526th TFS aircraft twice attacked Iraqi surface-to-air missile (SAM) sites in northern Iraq. [edit] 86th Airlift WingOn 1 May 1991, the 86th Operations Group was activated as a result of the 86th Fighter Wing implementing the USAF objective wing organization. Upon activation, the 86 OG was bestowed the lineage and history of the 86th Fighter Group. The 86 OG was assigned control of the wing's tactical units. With the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s, the 86th was realigned to become an Airlift Wing. By 1994, the tactical fighters of the 86 OG began to be transferred to other USAFE bases. On July 1, the 526th FS deactivated and its aircraft and personnel moved to Aviano Air Base, Italy to form the 555th FS. The 512th FS was deactivated on October 1, with its aircraft and personnel also being moved to Aviano, being assigned to the 510th FS. With the arrival of the cargo and transport squadrons and the tactical fighters departed, the wing was re-designated the 86th Airlift Wing on October 1, 1994. The new wing operated C-130 Hercules aircraft. On November 2, 2009 the wing completed its transition from C-130E to C-130J models.[2] [edit] References
[edit] External links
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