120th Fighter Wing
Encyclopedia
The United States Air Force
's 120th Fighter Wing (120 FW) is a unit located at Great Falls International Airport
, Montana
.
,serves a dual mission:
, when the German military launched a surprise attack on the Soviet Union
: Operation Barbarossa
a simultaneous ground and air offensive caught the Russians off guard and crippled their military. By the end of the first week, the Soviet Air Forces had lost 4,000 aircraft, half of their total amount. Joseph Stalin
appealed to the United States
and Great Britain
with a request to be included in the Lend-Lease
program.
Upon approval to assist the Soviets, there was a dispute over how to get the material to the Soviet Union. Stalin was reluctant to allow American pilots on Soviet soil, but the North Atlantic was controlled by German U-boat
s. Many Allied ships were sunk before Stalin agreed to an Arctic
flying route.
Great Falls
was chosen as the American starting point because of its inland location, over 300 good flying days per year and its alignment with northern airstrips. On June 22, 1942, the 7th Ferrying Group established headquarters at the Municipal Airport on Gore Hill overlooking Great Falls. They quickly established a military airbase named Gore Field, after local homesteader James D. Gore. On Sept. 2, 1942, two flights of A-20 light bombers left Great Falls and touched down at Ladd Field in Fairbanks
, Alaska
. At Fairbanks, the Russian pilots picked up the aircraft and flew them home. Known as the Alaska - Siberia
n route, or ALSIB, this route saw almost 8,000 aircraft delivered to the Eastern Front
from 1942 until the end of the war. The 7th Ferrying Group also transported military aircraft to Alaska in support of the 11th Air Force, which was fighting off the Japanese in the northern Pacific Theater. East Base, now known as Malmstrom Air Force Base
, was established around the same time, and gradually came to assume many of the Lend-Lease ferrying duties.
In September, 1945, the military installation at Gore Field, by then known as the 557th Army Air Forces Base Unit, was closed down. Following the war, each state was authorized one air unit. Lt. Col. Willard Sperry, a decorated combat pilot stationed at East Base, began building the Montana Air National Guard at Gore Field. On June 27, 1947, the 186th Fighter Squadron was activated and federally recognized. Within two weeks, six P-51 D Mustangs arrived. Eighty-nine days after activation, tragedy struck the fledgling unit. En route to pick up the adjutant general in Helena, the A-26 Invader Lt. Col. Sperry was flying went down in a heavy snowstorm. The wreckage could not be found until the following summer. On board also was Sgt. Charles Glover, for whom the street along the east side of building 64 is named.
On April 1, 1951, the unit was activated for Korea. Personnel were sent to Moody AFB, Ga., and ten F-51s were shipped to Korea. (The "P" for "pursuit" had been dropped in 1948 and changed to "F" for "fighter.") The unit received its first jet aircraft in 1952, a T-33 Shooting Star. The first jet fighter landed at Gore Field a year later in the form of the F-86A Sabre Jet, the first F-86 assigned to an Air National Guard squadron.
An F-86 is currently mounted as a weather vane overlooking interstate 15 at the airport exit.
The squadron was redesignated the 186th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron and adopted the "Charlie Chicken" patch. The F-89 Scorpion arrived in 1955 and the Montana Air National Guard was redesignated the 120th Fighter Group (Air Defense).
October 1, 1958 saw the beginning of the unit's commitment to five-minute runway alert, a task that would last for 38 years. The arrival of the F-102 DeltaDagger in 1966 ushered in the supersonic age. In 1972, the unit was redesignated the 120th Fighter-Interceptor Group and assigned the F-106 Delta Dart, the first Air National Guard unit to receive this aircraft. With the F- 106, the 120th competed in and won its first William Tell, a live-fire missile competition held at Tyndall AFB, Fla.
The F-16A/B arrived in 1987 and the 120th became the 120th Fighter Wing in 1995. On 2 September 1997 the Montana Air Guard was proud to welcome the 219th RED HORSE Squadron (RHS). The mission of the 219th RHS is to organize, train and equip its 120 personnel for its role as a highly mobile, rapidly deployable, self-sustaining heavy construction and repair unit capable of supporting air power worldwide and especially in remote and austere operating environments.
The 120th FW began a conversion in 2001 to the F-16C/D model aircraft. This conversion replaced the air defense mission with one of general purpose/air-to-ground as part of the Expeditionary Aerospace Force. With the conversion, unit members felt it was time to consider a change in the aircraft tail markings. The most notable change included the 186th Fighter Squadron's nickname of "Vigilantes". The nickname by the pilots of the 186th is intended to honor the first men in the Montana Territory who organized for the safety and welfare of the people. The Wing once again found itself on alert status after the terrorism attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C. Throughout 2002, hundreds of unit personnel were activated and deployed to multiple locations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and the world.
In 2006 BRAC directed a change to the 120th. In 2008 The F-16C Fighting Falcons were re-located to Vermont and four F-15C Eagles were delivered to the wing. By Summer 2009 the unit will have 18 F-15Cs that it will operate full time. Most of the F-15 aircraft are coming from the 131st Fighter Wing in St. Louis due to its conversion to the 131st Bomb Wing, flying the B-2
bomber. The F-15 is one of the most advanced and top fighters in the U.S. Air Force Today, never having a loss in air combat.
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
's 120th Fighter Wing (120 FW) is a unit located at Great Falls International Airport
Great Falls International Airport
Great Falls International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport located within city limits, three miles southwest of central Great Falls in Cascade County, Montana, USA...
, Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
.
Mission
The 120th Fighter Wing, as part of the Montana Air National GuardMontana Air National Guard
The Montana Air National Guard is the air force militia of the U.S. state of Montana. It is, along with the Montana Army National Guard, an element of the Montana National Guard.-120th Fighter Wing:...
,serves a dual mission:
- They are both full-time components of the Air Expeditionary Forces mission which participates in the defense of the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
- They are also on call for use by the state Governor to use in case of natural disasters to augment state declared emergencies.
History
The roots of the 120th Fighter Wing date back to World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, when the German military launched a surprise attack on the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
: Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
a simultaneous ground and air offensive caught the Russians off guard and crippled their military. By the end of the first week, the Soviet Air Forces had lost 4,000 aircraft, half of their total amount. Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
appealed to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
with a request to be included in the Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease was the program under which the United States of America supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, Free France, and other Allied nations with materiel between 1941 and 1945. It was signed into law on March 11, 1941, a year and a half after the outbreak of war in Europe in...
program.
Upon approval to assist the Soviets, there was a dispute over how to get the material to the Soviet Union. Stalin was reluctant to allow American pilots on Soviet soil, but the North Atlantic was controlled by German U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
s. Many Allied ships were sunk before Stalin agreed to an Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
flying route.
Great Falls
Great Falls
Great Falls may refer to:CommunitiesIn the United States:* Great Falls, Montana* Great Falls, South Carolina* Great Falls, Virginia** Great Falls Park* Great Falls, New Hampshire, previous name of Somersworth, New HampshireWaterfalls...
was chosen as the American starting point because of its inland location, over 300 good flying days per year and its alignment with northern airstrips. On June 22, 1942, the 7th Ferrying Group established headquarters at the Municipal Airport on Gore Hill overlooking Great Falls. They quickly established a military airbase named Gore Field, after local homesteader James D. Gore. On Sept. 2, 1942, two flights of A-20 light bombers left Great Falls and touched down at Ladd Field in Fairbanks
Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks is a home rule city in and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska.Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska, and second largest in the state behind Anchorage...
, Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. At Fairbanks, the Russian pilots picked up the aircraft and flew them home. Known as the Alaska - Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
n route, or ALSIB, this route saw almost 8,000 aircraft delivered to the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
from 1942 until the end of the war. The 7th Ferrying Group also transported military aircraft to Alaska in support of the 11th Air Force, which was fighting off the Japanese in the northern Pacific Theater. East Base, now known as Malmstrom Air Force Base
Malmstrom Air Force Base
Malmstrom Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place in Cascade County, Montana, United States. It was named in honor of World War II POW Colonel Einar Axel Malmstrom...
, was established around the same time, and gradually came to assume many of the Lend-Lease ferrying duties.
In September, 1945, the military installation at Gore Field, by then known as the 557th Army Air Forces Base Unit, was closed down. Following the war, each state was authorized one air unit. Lt. Col. Willard Sperry, a decorated combat pilot stationed at East Base, began building the Montana Air National Guard at Gore Field. On June 27, 1947, the 186th Fighter Squadron was activated and federally recognized. Within two weeks, six P-51 D Mustangs arrived. Eighty-nine days after activation, tragedy struck the fledgling unit. En route to pick up the adjutant general in Helena, the A-26 Invader Lt. Col. Sperry was flying went down in a heavy snowstorm. The wreckage could not be found until the following summer. On board also was Sgt. Charles Glover, for whom the street along the east side of building 64 is named.
On April 1, 1951, the unit was activated for Korea. Personnel were sent to Moody AFB, Ga., and ten F-51s were shipped to Korea. (The "P" for "pursuit" had been dropped in 1948 and changed to "F" for "fighter.") The unit received its first jet aircraft in 1952, a T-33 Shooting Star. The first jet fighter landed at Gore Field a year later in the form of the F-86A Sabre Jet, the first F-86 assigned to an Air National Guard squadron.
An F-86 is currently mounted as a weather vane overlooking interstate 15 at the airport exit.
The squadron was redesignated the 186th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron and adopted the "Charlie Chicken" patch. The F-89 Scorpion arrived in 1955 and the Montana Air National Guard was redesignated the 120th Fighter Group (Air Defense).
October 1, 1958 saw the beginning of the unit's commitment to five-minute runway alert, a task that would last for 38 years. The arrival of the F-102 DeltaDagger in 1966 ushered in the supersonic age. In 1972, the unit was redesignated the 120th Fighter-Interceptor Group and assigned the F-106 Delta Dart, the first Air National Guard unit to receive this aircraft. With the F- 106, the 120th competed in and won its first William Tell, a live-fire missile competition held at Tyndall AFB, Fla.
The F-16A/B arrived in 1987 and the 120th became the 120th Fighter Wing in 1995. On 2 September 1997 the Montana Air Guard was proud to welcome the 219th RED HORSE Squadron (RHS). The mission of the 219th RHS is to organize, train and equip its 120 personnel for its role as a highly mobile, rapidly deployable, self-sustaining heavy construction and repair unit capable of supporting air power worldwide and especially in remote and austere operating environments.
The 120th FW began a conversion in 2001 to the F-16C/D model aircraft. This conversion replaced the air defense mission with one of general purpose/air-to-ground as part of the Expeditionary Aerospace Force. With the conversion, unit members felt it was time to consider a change in the aircraft tail markings. The most notable change included the 186th Fighter Squadron's nickname of "Vigilantes". The nickname by the pilots of the 186th is intended to honor the first men in the Montana Territory who organized for the safety and welfare of the people. The Wing once again found itself on alert status after the terrorism attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C. Throughout 2002, hundreds of unit personnel were activated and deployed to multiple locations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and the world.
In 2006 BRAC directed a change to the 120th. In 2008 The F-16C Fighting Falcons were re-located to Vermont and four F-15C Eagles were delivered to the wing. By Summer 2009 the unit will have 18 F-15Cs that it will operate full time. Most of the F-15 aircraft are coming from the 131st Fighter Wing in St. Louis due to its conversion to the 131st Bomb Wing, flying the B-2
B-2 Spirit
The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit is an American heavy bomber with low observable stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses and deploy both conventional and nuclear weapons. The bomber has a crew of two and can drop up to eighty -class JDAM GPS-guided bombs, or sixteen ...
bomber. The F-15 is one of the most advanced and top fighters in the U.S. Air Force Today, never having a loss in air combat.
Major Command
- Air National GuardAir National GuardThe Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...
/Air Defense Command (1992–present) - Air National GuardAir National GuardThe Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...
/Air Defense Command (1972–1992) - Air National GuardAir National GuardThe Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...
/Air Defense Command (1956–1972)
Previous designations
- 120th Fighter Wing (1995–present)
- 120th Fighter Group (1992–1995)
- 120th Fighter Interceptor Group (1973–1992)
- 120th Fighter Group (1956–1972)
Aircraft operated
- F-15C Eagle (2008–present)
- F-16C Fighting Falcon (2001–2008)
- F-16A Fighting Falcon (1986–2001)
- F-106A/B Delta Dart (1972–1987)
- F-102A Delta Dagger (1966–1972)
- F-89C/H/J Scorpion (1958–1966)
- F-86A Sabre (1953–1955)
- F-51D Mustang (1947–1953)
- AT-6 Texan (1947–1950)