915th Tactical Fighter Group

The 915th Tactical Fighter Group is an inactive United States Air Force Reserve unit. It was last active with the Tenth Air Force, based at Homestead Air Force Base, Delaware. It was inactivated on 1 April 1981.

History
Following the mobilizations in 1961 and 1962 for the Berlin Crisis and the Cuban Missile Crisis, Continental Air Command (ConAC) realized that it was unwieldy to mobilize an entire wing unless absolutely necessary. Their original Table of Organization for each Wing was a wing headquarters, a troop carrier group, an Air Base Group, a maintenance and supply group, and a medical group. In 1957, the troop carrier group and maintenance and supply groups were inactivated, with their squadrons reassigned directly to the wing headquarters - despite the fact that many wings had squadrons spread out over several bases due to the Detached Squadron Concept dispersing Reserve units over centers of population.

To resolve this, in late 1962 and early 1963, ConAC reorganized the structure of its reserve Troop Carrier Wings by establishing fully deployable Troop Carrier Groups and inserting them into the chain of command between the Wing and its squadrons at every base that held a ConAC troop carrier squadron. At each base, the group was composed of a material squadron, a troop carrier squadron, a tactical hospital or dispensary, and a combat support squadron. Each troop carrier wing consisted of 3 or 4 of these groups. By doing so, ConAC could facilitate the mobilization of either aircraft and aircrews alone, aircraft and minimum support personnel (one troop carrier group), or the entire troop carrier wing. This also gave ConAC the flexibility to expand each Wing by attaching additional squadrons, if necessary from other Reserve wings to the deployable groups for deployments.

As a result, the 915th Troop Carrier Group was established with a mission to organize, recruit and train Air Force Reserve personnel in the tactical airlift of airborne forces, their equipment and supplies and delivery of these forces and materials by airdrop, landing or cargo extraction systems. The group was equipped with C-119 Flying Boxcars for Tactical Air Command airlift operations.

The 915th TCG was one of three C-119 groups assigned to the 435th TCW in 1963, the others being the 916th Troop Carrier Group at Donaldson AFB, South Carolina and the 917th Troop Carrier Group at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana.

Transferred from TAC to Military Air Transport Service (later Military Airlift Command) control, being upgraded to a C-124 Globemaster II long range intercontinental transport group in 1965. Operated aircraft on flights to Europe, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico. Supported Vietnam War, by the end of 1966, the unit had flown several missions into Tan Son Nhut Air Base in South Vietnam. Ordered to Active Service to support airlift to Japan and South Korea in 1968 in support of the Pueblo incident. Relieved and returned to the reserve in June 1969. Inactivated in 1971 as part of phaseout of C-124 Globemaster.

Reactivated by Aerospace Defense Command in 1976 as a reserve EC-121T Constellation Airborne Early Warning and Control unit, operating flights from Homestead to Naval Air Station Keflavik, Iceland. Mission of group was early warning of unknown aircraft approaching the east coast of the United States and monitoring of Soviet Air Force flights along the Atlantic Coast to and from Cuba.

In 1978 ADCOM began phaseout of the EC-121 as the E-3A Sentry AWACS aircraft entered the aircraft inventory. The Air Force Reserve began conversion of the 915th AEW&CG as a tactical fighter group and inactivated the 79th AEW&CS. Jurisdiction was transferred to Tenth Air Force and the group was redesigned as the 915th Tactical Fighter Group. Group was the first Air Force Reserve F-4C Phantom II unit in October 1978.

Inactivated in 1981 when Tenth Air Force elevated its presence at Homestead to a Wing level, with  personnel and equipment was transferred to the new 482d Tactical Fighter Wing.

Lineage

 * Established as 915th Troop Carrier Group, Medium, and activated, on 28 December 1962
 * Organized in the Reserve on 17 January 1963
 * Re-designated: 915th Air Transport Group, 1 December 1965
 * Re-designated: 915th Military Airlift Group, 1 January 1966
 * Ordered to Active Service on 26 January 1968
 * Relieved from Active Duty on 1 June 1969
 * Inactivated on 21 April 1971


 * Re-designated: 915th Airborne Early Warning and Control Group, 1 December 1976
 * Activated in the Reserve on 1 December 1976
 * Re-designated: 915th Tactical Fighter Group, 1 October 1978
 * Inactivated on 1 April 1981

Assignments

 * Continental Air Command, 28 Dec 1962-17 January 1963
 * 435th Troop Carrier Wing, 17 January 1963-1 December 1965
 * 445th Air Transport (later Military Airlift) Wing, 1 December 1965-26 January 1968
 * 459th Military Airlift Wing, 26 January 1968 – 1 September 1969
 * 445th Military Airlift Wing, 1 September 1969-21 April 1971
 * 552d Airborne Warning and Control Wing, 1 December 1976-1 October 1978
 * Tenth Air Force, 1 October 1978-1 April 1981

Components

 * 76th Troop Carrier (later Air Transport, Military Airlift) Squadron, 17 January 1963-1 April 1966
 * 79th Military Airlift Squadron, 1 April 1966-21 April 1971
 * 79th Airborne Early Warning and Control Squadron, 1 December 1976-1 October 1978
 * 93d Tactical Fighter Squadron, 1 October 1978-1 April 1981

Stations

 * Homestead Air Force Base, Florida, 17 January 1963-21 April 1971; 1 December 1976-1 April 1981

Aircraft

 * C-119 Flying Boxcar, 1963-1966
 * C-124 Globemaster II, 1966-1971
 * C-121 Constellation, 1976-1978
 * F-4C Phantom II, 1978-1981