Description

4th Tactical Fighter Wing Fourth but First

Pilots and Crew!   Fly again with the 4th Tactical Fighter Wing Fourth but First with the beautifully embroidered patch. You’ll be able to wear this patch proudly.

• 5 inch
• Embroidered
• US Veteran-Owned Business
• Reproduction

Korean War

As the 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing it flew the North American F-86 Sabre during the Korean War and was the top MiG-killing organization during the conflict.[3] Actually, on Dec 17, 1950, Lt. Col. Bruce H. Hinton shot down a MiG-15 during the very first Sabre mission of the war.

The 4 Wing moved to Japan following the Korean armistice in 1953 and remained there until 8 December 1957.[3]

Vietnam War
The 4th transitioned to the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II in early 1967. The readiness posture of the wing was given a true test in early 1968 when the North Koreans seized the USS Pueblo, an American intelligence-gathering ship, just off the coast of North Korea. Elements of the 4th moved to Korea within 72 hours. The 4th Fighter Wing continued to sustain a highly visible mobility posture with the development of the first operationally ready bare-base squadron in 1970, followed by multiple deployments to Southeast Asia beginning in April 1972. Operating from Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, as the first F-4 wing to augment elements of Pacific Air Forces, aircrews of the Fourth flew more than 8,000 combat missions, many into the very heart of North Vietnam. The wing ended deployments to Thailand in the summer of 1974.[5]

The Summer of ’72: The 335th TFS was deployed to Ubon Royal Thai AFB to augment the 8th TFW in the continuation of Operation Bolo. At first, we were tapped to drop chaff for the BUFF (B-52s) that flew Arc-Light. Then to a gaggle of 50+ Thuds (F-105s) and Phantoms who went north daily to “Downtown” (Hanoi).

My first flight north I was the backseater of Major Charles (Chuck) Hollingsworth, A- Flight Commander and a “Fighter Pilots” fighter pilot. This was the only time I heard Chuck breathe heavy on the intercom. We rolled in and dropped our Mk 84’s then went “hunting” to Yen-Bai Airfield, for MIGS. I remember we wanted to lure them up to fight but found the base eerily quiet. It was like flying over LAX mid-day. Chuck asked me to fly back to the tanker so he could calm down. I was scared “s——s”.

Post-Vietnam Operations

F-4E-61-MC Phantom 74-1629 of the 336th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 1984.
In October 1973, the 4th TFW transferred some of its F-4 Phantoms directly to Israel in the Operation Nickel Grass[6]

In 1974, the wing mission reverted to training, with increased emphasis on short-term European contingency support. Elements of the wing deployed to Norway in June 1974. Three short-term deployments to Spangdahlem AB, West Germany, were conducted in March 1974, July and September 1975. The highlight of 1976 came in November when the wing took first place in the William Tell worldwide weapons competition at Tyndall AFB, Florida, becoming the first F-4 unit to win the Aerospace Defense Command-sponsored event. The wing executed short-term deployments to South Korea and Japan during 1977 and assumed a dual-based mission with Ramstein AB in October of that year. In 1980 the 4th TFW became one of the first squadrons in the Rapid Deployment Force, which committed 2 squadrons of aircraft to a 48-hour response to anywhere in the world. The 337th Fighter Squadron was activated 1 April 1982 and inactivated 1 July 1985. The overall mission commitment was restructured to reflect worldwide contingency emphasis in October 1986.[5]

In 1988 the 4th TFW began transitioning to the F-15E Strike Eagle. The first F-15E arrived on 29 December 1988, and the 336th Tactical Fighter Squadron became the first operational F-15E squadron in the Air Force on 1 October 1989. The transition from the F-4E to the F-15E was completed on 1 July 1991, making the 4th TFW the first operational F-15E wing in the Air Force.[5]

Desert Storm

4th FW F-15Es in Southwest Asia in 1992.
At the height of conversion training, the 4th TFW was one of the first units tasked to react to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. The 335th and 336th Tactical Fighter Squadrons and support personnel deployed to Saudi Arabia, beginning in August 1990.[3] The combat record of the 4th TFW in Saudi Arabia was exceptional, with the 336th TFS flying 1,088 combat missions during Operation Desert Storm. The unit dropped more than six-million pounds of bombs on Scud missile sites, bridges and airfields. Most of the missions were flown at night.[5]

The 335th TFS flew more than 1,200 combat missions during the war. Most significantly, they made Air Force history by using a laser-guided bomb to down an enemy helicopter. The 335th destroyed 45 Iraqi aircraft, 23 radio relay stations, 36 bridges, 478 armored vehicles and 48 Scud missiles. The 4th lost two aircraft during the war. Two air crewmen were killed in action and two were captured and released after the war.[5]

After the cease-fire, the 4th TFW continued rotating squadron elements to Southwest Asia during the 1990s, taking part in the enforcement of the no-fly zones in Iraq. The Fourth deployed 15 times to Dhahran Airbase and twice to Prince Sultan Airbase Saudi Arabia in support of the newly designated Operation Southern Watch (OSW). They conducted the first ever F-15E operations from Al Jaber Airbase, Kuwait, again supporting OSW. In June 1996 and February 1997, the 4 FW deployed as the 4 Air Expeditionary Wing to Doha, Qatar, in AEF III and IV respectively. With minimum notice, the Fourth proved their ability to rapidly deploy and conduct combat operations from a near bare base location immediately upon arrival.[5]