Description

8th Tactical Fighter Wing Patch

Pilots and Crew!   Fly again with the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing with the beautifully embroidered patch.  You’ll be able to wear this patch proudly!

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

With the end of the Korean War, the wing was assigned to Itazuke AB, Japan for the next ten years. On 1 October 1957, the 8th Fighter-Bomber Group inactivated, with the flying squadrons then assigned directly to the wing. Less than a year later, on 1 July 1958, the Air Force redesignated the wing as the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing. During its tenure at Itazuke, the wing flew several different aircraft, including the North American F-86 Sabre, North American F-100 Super Sabre, Convair F-102 Delta Dagger, and Republic F-105 Thunderchief.

As part of an overall effort to reduce the number of wings in Japan the wing’s tactical squadrons were detached on 13 May 1964, and on 18 June 1964 all wing components except wing headquarters inactivated.

The 8th TFW was transferred without personnel or equipment to Kunsan Air Base, South Korea on 16 September 1974, where the wing absorbed resources of the 3d Tactical Fighter Wing which had been reassigned without personnel or equipment to Clark AB, Philippines. For its efforts during the Vietnam War, the 8th TFW received four Presidential Unit Citations and five Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards. In addition, the wing led the Air Force with 38.5 MiG kills.

With the reassignment to Kunsan, the 8th TFW became responsible for air defense of South Korea. Operational F-4D squadrons of the wing were tail coded “WP” (for “Wolf Pack”) and were as follows:

35th Tactical Fighter Squadron (Light Blue tail stripe)
80th Tactical Fighter Squadron (Yellow tail stripe)
In April 1975 the wing gained an air base squadron at Kwang Ju Air Base, often used during numerous tactical exercises. Following the killing of two U.S. Army officers by North Koreans on 18 August 1976, the 8th TFW went on increased alert and was quickly augmented by F-4Cs and F-4Ds from the 12th and 67th Squadrons at Kadena AB, Okinawa. The alert status relaxed on 8 September 1976 and the augmentation forces were released.

F-16’s from the 8th and 419th Fighter Wings awaiting takeoff, in an elephant walk formation.
On 1 October 1978, the wing gained a third F-4D flying unit, the 497th Tactical Fighter Squadron, based at Taegu Air Base, South Korea. 497th TFS aircraft carried a red tail stipe. Operations continued unchanged for the next few years, until the wing transitioned from the F-4 to the newer F-16A Fighting Falcon in May 1981. The wing’s first F-16 sortie was flown the following 18 September and, by 19 July 1982, the conversion of the 35th and 80th Fighter squadrons was complete as the last F-4 departed Kunsan. This aircraft conversion made the 8th the first active-duty overseas F-16 wing. On 1 January 1982, the 497th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Taegu inactivated. For the next ten years the wing used the F-16 to maintain combat readiness for the defense of Korea. In 1988 the F-16s were upgraded to the more capable F-16C/D models.

While the overall mission remained unchanged, the wing reorganized on 3 February 1992. The wing became the 8th Fighter Wing.