51st Fighter Wing

F-80C of the 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing taking off from Suwon AB with a JATO bottle

North American F-86E-10-NA Sabres of the 25th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron (51st) FBG over Korea. Identifiable is serial is 51-2742.

With the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, elements of the 51st FIW were dispatched first to Japan, then to South Korea. Korean War operational squadrons were:

• 16th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron: duration (F-80C, F-86F)
• 25th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron: duration (F-80C, F-8)
• 39th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron: attached 1 June 1952– (F-80C, F-86F)
• 68th Fighter-All Weather Squadron: attached 25 September – 9 October 1950 (F-82F/G)
• 80th Fighter-Bomber Squadron: attached 25 September – 20 December 1950 (F-80C)

It entered combat service flying the F-80C Shooting Star on 22 September of that year, when it moved to Itazuke AB, Japan, to support the breakout of the Eighth U.S. Army from the Pusan Perimeter. For nearly 4 years thereafter, the 51st FIW played a key role in the defense of South Korea despite moving to four different locations within a year and operating under austere conditions.

The wing moved to South Korea in October only to return to Japan in December, leaving combat elements behind. In May 1951, the 51st FIW moved to Suwon Air Base, southwest of Seoul, but retained maintenance and supply elements at Tsuiki AB, Japan, to provide rear echelon support. In November 1951 the 51st FIW transitioned to the F-86 Sabre with two squadrons (16th, 25th), adding a third squadron (26th) the following May.

The group operated a detachment at Suwon AB, Korea, beginning in May 1951, and relocated there in October 1951, with maintenance and supply elements remaining in Japan until August 1954. The wing ceased combat on 27 July 1953. The 51 FIW's war record was impressive. Wing pilots flew more than 45,000 sorties and shot down 312 MiG-15s; this produced 14 air aces including the top ace of the war, Captain Joseph C. McConnell. The ratio of aerial victories to losses was 10 to 1. Unfortunately, the wing lost 32 pilots to enemy action; however, nine that became prisoners of war were repatriated later.

Three 36th Fighter Squadron McDonnell Douglas F-4E-37-MC Phantoms in flight. Serials 68-0328 and 68-0365 identifiable.

Three 36th Fighter Squadron F-16Cs in flight.

On 1 August 1954, the 51 FIW returned to Naha Air Base to resume air defense coverage of the Ryukyu Islands. Operational squadrons were:

• 16th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron (F-86D, 1954–59), (F102, 1959–1964)
• 25th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron (F-86D, 1954–1960)
• 26th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron (F-86D, 1954–59)

At the same time, the wing demonstrated its mobility readiness in response to three regional crises.

From August 1958 to January 1959, the 51 FIW deployed eight F-86Ds to Ching Chuan Kang Air Base Taiwan to fly combat air support missions for Nationalist Chinese forces after mainland Communist Chinese forces shelled the Nationalist-held islands of Quemoy and Matsu. Six years later, the wing deployed 12 F-102s to the Philippines and South Vietnam from August to October 1964 for air defense against possible Communist North Vietnamese air attacks.

During the Vietnam War, crews of the 51st Fighter Interceptor Wing provided air defense of Naha AB, Okinawa, with F-102s of the 82nd FIS which was assigned to the 51st FIW from Travis AFB in January 1966. During the 1968 Pueblo crisis, the wing deployed 12 of is 33 aircraft to Suwon AB. On 31 May 1971, the 51st FIW was inactivated, ending almost 17 years of service in the Pacific from Naha when it was inactivated as the Air Force began scaling down its activities in Southeast Asia. In 1975 Naha Air Base closed.

Two Fairchild Republic A-10A Thunderbolt IIs from the 25th Fighter Squadron and two F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 36th Fighter Squadron fly over Osan AB in formation, 2010

The 51st was inactive for only five months. On 1 November 1971, the wing was redesignated the 51st Air Base Wing and activated at Osan Air Base, South Korea. At Osan, the 51st assumed the host responsibilities of the inactivated 6314th Support Wing to include the Koon-ni range and a variety of remote sites. Operational squadrons of the 51st at Osan have been:

Fighter Squadrons

• 25th Fighter Squadron (1992–present A-10, OA-10)
• 36th Fighter Squadron (F-4E 1974–88), (F-16C/D 1988–present)
• 497th Fighter Squadron (F-4E) (1982–84)

On 1 October 1993, after a half-dozen name changes, the wing returned to its original and current designation as the 51st Fighter Wing. Since then, the 51st has continued operating as a fighter/ground attack wing and continues to be tasked to receive and integrate follow-on reinforcing forces to the peninsula in the event of crisis.

• 1st Air Division, 18 August 1948
• Thirteenth Air Force, 1 December 1948
• Twentieth Air Force, 16 May 1949

Attached to Fifth Air Force, 25 September 1950 – 1 August 1954

Further attached to 8th Fighter-Bomber Wing, 25 September – 12 October 1950

• 313th Air Division, 1 March 1955 – 31 May 1971
• 314th Air Division, 1 November 1971
• Seventh Air Force, 8 September 1986–present

Groups

• 5th Tactical Air Control (later, 5 Tactical Control; 5 Air Control) Group: 8 January 1980 – 20 June 1982; 1 October 1990 – 1 July 1993
• 51st Fighter (later, 51 Fighter-Interceptor, 51 Fighter, 51 Operations) Group: 18 August 1948 – 25 October 1957 (detached 26 September – 12 October 1950, 16 August 1954 – 15 March 1955) ; 1 October 1990–present

Squadrons

• 16th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron: attached 1 July – 24 October 1957, assigned 25 October 1957 – 24 December 1964
• 19th Tactical Air Support Squadron: 30 September 1974 – 8 January 1980
• 25th Fighter-Interceptor (later, 25 Tactical Fighter) Squadron: attached 1 July – 24 October 1957, assigned 25 October 1957 – 8 June 1960; 1 February 1981 – 31 June 1990
• 36th Tactical Fighter Squadron: 30 September 1974 – 1 October 1990
• 82d Fighter Interceptor Squadron: attached 17 February – 24 June 1966, assigned 25 June 1966 – 31 May 1971 (detached 30 January – 20 February 1968)
• 318th Fighter Interceptor Squadron: attached 11–18 February 1968
• 497th Tactical Fighter Squadron: 1 January 1982 – 24 January 1989
• 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron: attached 11 December 1964 – 15 March 1965 and 11 November 1965 – 25 February 1966
• 558th Tactical Fighter Squadron: attached 12 March – 15 June 1965
• 559th Tactical Fighter Squadron: attached 12 June – 15 November 1965.

Historical Aircraft of the 51st Fighter Wing; Poster created by L. Vance Fleming, Historian for the 51st Fighter Wing. The photos used were from open-source sites. Not all aircraft were specifically assigned to the 51st Fighter Wing but are representative of the type of aircraft that were assigned.

• Naha Afld (later, Naha AB), Okinawa, 18 August 1948
• Itazuke AB, Japan, 22 September 1950
• Kimpo AB, South Korea, 10 October 1950
• Itazuke AB, Japan, 10 December 1950
• Tsuiki Air Base, Japan, 15 January 1951
• Suwon AB (K-13), South Korea, 1 October 1951 – 26 July 1954
• Naha AB, Okinawa, 1 August 1954 – 31 May 1971
• Osan AB, South Korea, 1 November 1971–present

The 51st FW's aircrews have flown a variety of aircraft, including the P/F-51 Mustang, F-80 Shooting Star, F-82 Twin Mustang, F-86 Sabrejet, F-94 Starfire, F-102A Delta Dagger, F-4E Phantom II, RF-4C Phantom II, F-106A Delta Dart, OV-10 Bronco, A-10 and OA-10 Thunderbolt II and several versions of the F-16 Fighting Falcon.