312th Tactical Fighter Wing

The 312th Fighter Bomber Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 832d Air Division and stationed at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico.

History

 * see 312th Fighter-Bomber Group for additional lineage and history

The 312th TFW was formed at Clovis (later Cannon) AFB, New Mexico in 1953 as a permanent party wing at Clovis, after a series of temporary wings were formed and trained at the base in preparation for reassignment to newly built USAFE bases in France and West Germany to enhance the defense of Western Europe. The 312th was assigned to the Tactical Air Command Ninth Air Force upon activation.

The 312th was initially equipped with a hodgepodge of obsolete F-84G Thunderjets and some more modern F-86H Sabres when it activated, however it began to receive new North American F-100D Super Sabres in December 1956. On 8 November 1954, the 474th Fighter Bomber Group was transferred to Clovis AFB from Taegu AB, South Korea after fighting in the Korean War. The 474th FBG became a second flying component of the 312th FBW, its mission to be a training organization. Beginning in September 1955, the wing began training in the use of battlefield tactical nuclear weapons. From April 1956 to October 1957 the 312th TFW rotated tactical squadrons to either Châteauroux-Déols Air Base or Etain-Rouvres Air Base in France, for six month deployments to USAFE.

In October 1957, as part of a re-alignment of TAC numbered air forces, the 312th was transferred to Eighteenth Air Force, which provided TAC air-deployable forces to various crisis locations worldwide when needed. Subsequently, it was placed under the 832d Air Division. As part of Eighteenth AF, the 312th furnished units for TAC composite air strike forces in the Far East during 1957 and 1958, deploying F-100s and crews to Taiwan during the 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis. Also F-100s from the 312th deployed to Turkey during the 1958 Lebanon crisis

HQ USAF re-designated the 312th as a Tactical Fighter Wing on 1 July 1958 as part of an Air Force-wide re-designation of units. In February 1959 with the transfer of Bergstrom AFB, Texas to Strategic Air Command, HQ TAC inactivated the 27th Tactical Fighter Wing at Bergstrom and re-activated it in place at Cannon AFB on 18 February, replacing the 312th TFW which was inactivated in place the same day for reasons of precedence.

Lineage

 * Established as 312th Fighter-Bomber Wing on 23 Mar 1953.
 * Activated on 1 Oct 1954
 * Re-designated 312th Tactical Fighter Wing on 1 Jul 1958
 * Inactivated on 18 Feb 1959, assets re-designated as 27th Tactical Fighter Wing.

Assignments

 * Ninth Air Force, 1 Oct 1954
 * Eighteenth Air Force, 1 Oct 1957
 * 832d Air Division, 8 Oct 1957 – 18 Feb 1959

Components

 * 312th Fighter-Bomber Group: 1 Oct 1954 – 8 Oct 1957
 * 474th Fighter-Bomber Group: attached 22 Dec 1954 – 8 Oct 1957


 * 386th Tactical Fighter Squadron (Red tail stripe): 8 Oct 1957 – 18 Feb 1959 (detached 12 Nov – 6 Dec 1957)
 * 387th Tactical Fighter Squadron (Blue tail stripe): 8 Oct 1957 – 18 Feb 1959
 * 388th Tactical Fighter Squadron (Yellow tail stripe): 8 Oct 1957 – 18 Feb 1959 (detached 4 Sep – 3 Dec 1958)
 * 477th Tactical Fighter Squadron (Green tail stripe): 8 Oct 1957 – 18 Feb 1959 (detached 8 Sep-ll Dec 1958

Stations

 * Clovis (later, Cannon) AFB, NM, 1 Oct 1954 – 18 Feb 1959

Aircraft

 * F-84G Thunderjet, 1954
 * F-86H Sabre, 1954-1957
 * F-100 Super Sabre, 1956-1959.