506th Air Expeditionary Group
Encyclopedia
The 506th Air Expeditionary Group (506 AEG) is a provisional United States Air Force
unit. The group is assigned to the United States Air Forces Central 332d Air Expeditionary Wing
, stationed at Joint Base Balad, Iraq.
The 506 AEG secures the base, conducts safe flight operations and supports the nation builders in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM and other US Air Forces Central and US Central Command contingency plans. As a provisional unit, the 506 AEG may be activated or inactivated at any time.
The group's lineage begins in 1944 as the 301st Fighter Group which flew P-51 Mustang
s as part of Twentieth Air Force
in the Western Pacific. During the Cold War
, the unit was a Strategic Air Command
fighter-escort unit and later active with Tactical Air Command
and the Air Force Reserve as a tactical fighter unit.
The 506 AEG is composed of:
Approximately 1,000 active-duty, Reserve and Air National Guard Airmen are assigned to the 506 AEG during any given Air and Space Expeditionary Force rotation. Additionally, approximately 5,000 Soldiers are assigned to Forward-Operating Base Warrior.
The 506th AEG traces its history back to the 506th Fighter Group, Single Engine, which was established on 5 October 1944 and activated on 21 October 1944, at Lakeland Army Air Field/Drane Field
, Florida. The group consisted of three squadrons: 457th, 458th and the 459th Fighter Squadrons. From its activation, the planned mission of the 506th was very long range (VLR) escort missions of B-29 Superfortress
bombers in the Pacific Theater
.
Flying almost all models P-51 Mustang which could be sent to Lakeland for training, the group's training regiment centered on learning cruise control techniques that would produce maximum range from the Mustangs. It also included practice scrambles, assembly and landing procedures, escort formations, aerial gunnery and bombing practice, and an occasional dogfight. A month after the 506th started flying, the USAAF produced document 50–100, which was the training directive for Very Long Range operations. Fortunately, the group had already met many of the requirements by then, two glaring exceptions being instrument flying and rocket firing. The final weeks of training were concentrated on mastering those tasks.
On 19 February 1945 the air echelon of the 506th FG aboard a train bound for California, where the aircraft carrier USS Kalinin Bay was waiting to carry them across the Pacific. The ship delivered the 506th to Guam
on 17 March, and a week later the pilots flew their new P-51D-20s to Tinian
. There they would stay for seven weeks, flying combat air patrols and practice missions while the field engineers on Iwo Jima prepared North Field
for them at the northern end of the island. The group was assigned to Twentieth Air Force
, which, in turn, attached the unit to VII Fighter Command 301st Fighter Wing
. From Tinian the air echelon flew combat patrol missions under the control of Air Defense Command, Saipan, from 28 March to 28 April 1945.
The air echelon joined the ground echelon at Iwo Jima in May 1945. From Iwo Jima, the 506th's squadrons attacked airfields, antiaircraft emplacements, shipping, barracks, radio and radar stations, railway cars, and other targets in the Bonin Islands and Japan. The group also provided air defense of Iwo Jima and escorted B-29s bombers in raids against Japan.
In December 1945 the group moved to Camp Anza, California, and was inactivated 16 December 1945.
Strategic Fighter Wing on 20 November 1952 and was assigned to SAC's Eighth Air Force
. Activated on 20 January 1953, at Dow Air Force Base
, Maine
, the wing composed of the 457th, 458th and 462s Strategic Fighter Squadrons and was equipped with F-84G Thunderjets.
SAC was founded by men who had flown bomb raids against Germany during World War II. They usually encountered swarms of enemy fighters and knew the importance of having fighter escorts, so they had fighter wings placed under their own operational control. Although assigned to SAC, the group was associated with Air Defense Command and assisted in providing air defense of Maine
.
The wing was deployed to Misawa Air Base
, Japan between 13 August and 7 November 1953 to support SAC's rotational deployment of fighter units to northern Japan to perform air defense duties, relieving the 12th Strategic Fighter Wing. Under the self-supporting concept, the 506th SFW gained the KB-29P Superfortress 506th Air Refueling Squadron on 23 September 1953. The 506th ARS remained with the wing until 1 March 1955. Upon the wing's return to the United States, the 508th was re-equipped with new F-84F Thunderstreak
s, in January 1954 becoming the first SAC fighter wing to be equipped with the swept-wing model.
The wing remained at Dow for just over a year until being reassigned to Second Air Force
and was transferred to Tinker AFB, Oklahoma
on 20 March 1955. At Tinker, the wing performed fighter-escort duty training to various SAC B-36 Peacemaker heavy and B-50 medium bomber wings as part of the peacetime readiness training mission of SAC. However, as the new B-47 Stratojet
and B-52 Stratofortress
bombers came into service, the mission of the fighter-escort wings of SAC became obsolete. The Thunderstreaks simply couldn't keep up with the speed and fly as high as the jet bombers.
In 1956 SAC got out of the fighter business and the 506th was reassigned to Tactical Air Command
on 1 July 1957. Under TAC, the wing was redesignated as the 506th Fighter-Day Wing and was re-equipped with new F-100D Super Sabres. From 1957 to 1958 the 506th participated in tactical exercises and rotated squadrons to Europe.
The wing was redesignated as the 506th Tactical Fighter Wing on 1 July 1958 as part of an Air Force-Wide redesignation of units. It was inactivated on 1 April 1959 due to budget constraints.
The 506th was reactivated and redesignated the 506th Tactical Fighter Group on 4 May 1972 and activated in the Air Force Reserve on 8 July 1972 at Carswell Air Force Base
, Texas. The group was equipped with F-105 Thunderchief
s, being returned from Vietnam War
duty with the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing at Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base
, Thailand. The Thuds assigned were largely war-weary and the model was being phased out of the inventory. The group was inactivated after just about a year of duty on 25 March 1973 as part of the drawdown after the end of United States involvement in Vietnam.
The 506th Air Expeditionary Group was assigned to Kirkuk Regional Air Base on 23 April 2003, nearly one month after Operation Iraqi Freedom started. At that time, the group flew A-10 Thunderbolts, which flew close air support and focused intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. The last A-10 departed the base in the Spring of 2004.
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...
unit. The group is assigned to the United States Air Forces Central 332d Air Expeditionary Wing
332d Air Expeditionary Wing
The United States Air Force's 332d Air Expeditionary Wing is an Air Expeditionary unit located at Joint Base Balad, Iraq.-Mission:...
, stationed at Joint Base Balad, Iraq.
The 506 AEG secures the base, conducts safe flight operations and supports the nation builders in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM and other US Air Forces Central and US Central Command contingency plans. As a provisional unit, the 506 AEG may be activated or inactivated at any time.
The group's lineage begins in 1944 as the 301st Fighter Group which flew P-51 Mustang
P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...
s as part of Twentieth Air Force
Twentieth Air Force
The Twentieth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming.20 AF's primary mission is Intercontinental Ballistic Missile operations...
in the Western Pacific. During the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, the unit was a Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
fighter-escort unit and later active with Tactical Air Command
Tactical Air Command
Tactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 being headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia...
and the Air Force Reserve as a tactical fighter unit.
Units
Among the base agencies the 506 AEG actively supports are:- 52d Expeditionary Flying Training Squadron52d Expeditionary Flying Training SquadronThe 52d Expeditionary Flying Training Squadron is part of the Iraq Training and Advisory Mission - Air Force and is based at Contingency Operating Base Speicher, Tikrit, Iraq. It operates T-6A aircraft conducting flight training for members of the Iraqi Air Force...
- 521st Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron, advised Iraqi Air Forces' 1st and 3rd Sqdns, inactivated 10 January 2010
- 521st Base Support Unit
- 727th Expeditionary Air Control Squadron, Detachment 1
The 506 AEG is composed of:
- 506th Expeditionary Medical Services Squadron
- 506th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron
- 506th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron
- 506th Expeditionary Logistic Readiness Squadron
- 506th Expeditionary Communications Squadron
- 506th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, inactivated 28 May 2010
- 506th Expeditionary Services Squadron
- Kirkuk Provincial Reconstruction Team, or PRT.
Approximately 1,000 active-duty, Reserve and Air National Guard Airmen are assigned to the 506 AEG during any given Air and Space Expeditionary Force rotation. Additionally, approximately 5,000 Soldiers are assigned to Forward-Operating Base Warrior.
Lineage
- Constituted as 506th Fighter Group on 5 October 1944
- Activated on 21 October 1944
- Inactivated on 16 December 1945
- Established as 506th Strategic Fighter Wing on 20 November 1952
- Activated on 20 January 1953 by redesignation of 4004th Air Base Squadron
- Redesignated: 506th Fighter-Day Wing on 1 July 1957
- Redesignated: 506th Fighter-Bomber Wing on 1 January 1958
- Redesignated: 506th Tactical Fighter Wing on 1 July 1958
- Inactivated on 1 April 1959
- Redesignated as 506th Tactical Fighter Group on 4 May 1972
- Activated in the reserve on 8 July 1972
- Inactivated on 25 March 1973
- Redesignated 506th Air Expeditionary Group and converted to provisional status on 22 April 2003
Assignments
- III Fighter CommandIII Fighter CommandThe III Fighter Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Third Air Force stationed at MacDill Field, Florida. It was inactivated on 8 April 1946.-Lineage:...
, 21 October 1944 – 16 February 1945 - 301st Fighter Wing301st Fighter Wing (World War II)The 301st Fighter Wing is an inactive United States Army Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Far East Air Forces, based on Okinawa. It was inactivated on 20 January 1949.-Lineage:...
, 24 April – 3 December 1945 - Army Service ForcesArmy Service ForcesThe Army Service Forces were one of the three autonomous components of the Army of the United States during World War II, the others being the Army Air Forces and Army Ground Forces. They were created on February 28, 1942 by Executive Order Number 9082 "Reorganizing the Army and the War Department"...
, 15–16 December 1945 - Eighth Air ForceEighth Air ForceThe Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
, 20 January 1953
- Attached to 39th Air Division [Defense], 13 August – 7 November 1953
- Second Air ForceSecond Air ForceThe Second Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command . It is headquartered at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi....
, 1 April 1955
- Second Air Force
- Ninth Air ForceNinth Air ForceThe Ninth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina....
, 1 July 1957 - Eighteenth Air ForceEighteenth Air ForceEighteenth Air Force is a Numbered Air Force component of the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command . It was activated on 1 October 2003 and headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois...
, 1 October 1957 - Twelfth Air Force, 1 January 1958 – 1 April 1959
- 301st Tactical Fighter Wing, 8 July 1972 – 25 March 1973
- Allocated to Air Combat CommandAir Combat CommandAir Combat Command is a major command of the United States Air Force. ACC is one of ten major commands , reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force ....
to activate or inactivate any time after 22 April 2003
- Attached to: 332d Air Expeditionary Wing332d Air Expeditionary WingThe United States Air Force's 332d Air Expeditionary Wing is an Air Expeditionary unit located at Joint Base Balad, Iraq.-Mission:...
, 22 April 2003
Components
- 71st Air Refueling Squadron71st Air Refueling SquadronThe 71st Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 2d Bombardment Wing, stationed at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana. It was inactivated on 1 September 1991....
, 15 August 1955 – 1 February 1956 - 457th Fighter (later Strategic Fighter; Fighter-Day; Fighter-Bomber) Squadron457th Fighter SquadronThe 457th Fighter Squadron is a United States Air Force Reserve Command unit, assigned to the 301st Operations Group. Stationed at Carswell Field, Texas, the squadron flies the F-16 Fighting Falcon.-Overview:...
, 21 October 1944 – 16 December 1945; 20 January 1953–1 April 1959 (detached 20 March–c. 19 August 1958) - 458th Fighter (later Strategic Fighter; Fighter-Day; Fighter-Bomber) Squadron, 21 October 1944 – 16 December 1945; 20 January 1953–1 April 1959 (detached c. 13 August 1958–c. 18 February 1959)
- 462d Fighter (later Strategic Fighter; Fighter-Day; Fighter-Bomber) Squadron, 21 October 1944 – 16 December 1945; 20 January 1953–1 April 1959.
- 470th Fighter-Day (later Fighter-Bomber) Squadron, 25 September 1957 – 1 April 1959
- 475th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 8 July 1972 – 25 March 1973
- 341st Air Refueling Squadron341st Air Refueling SquadronThe 341st Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 397th Bombardment Wing, stationed at Dow AFB, Maine. It was inactivated on 1 February 1963...
, 15 August 1955 – 1 Feb 1956 - 506th Air Refueling: 25 September 1953 – 1 March 1955
Stations
- Lakeland Army Airfield, Florida, 21 October 1944 – 16 February 1945
- North FieldNorth Field (Iwo Jima)North Field or Iwo Jima Air Base is a World War II airfield on Iwo Jima in the Bonin Islands, located in the Central Pacific. The Bonin Islands are part of Japan...
, Iwo JimaIwo JimaIwo Jima, officially , is an island of the Japanese Volcano Islands chain, which lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and together with them form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The island is located south of mainland Tokyo and administered as part of Ogasawara, one of eight villages of Tokyo...
, 24 April – 3 December 1945 - Camp AnzaCamp AnzaCamp Anza was a United States Army installation near Riverside, California during World War II. Construction began on July 3, 1942, and was completed on February 15, 1943....
, California, 15–16 December 1945 - Dow AFB, MaineMaineMaine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, 20 January 1953 - Tinker AFB, OklahomaOklahomaOklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, 20 March 1955 – 1 April 1959 - Carswell AFB, Texas, 8 July 1972 – 25 March 1973
- Kirkuk Air Base (later Joint Base Balad), Iraq, since 22 April 2003
Aircraft
- P-51 MustangP-51 MustangThe North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...
, 1944–1945 - F-84 ThunderjetF-84 ThunderjetThe Republic F-84 Thunderjet was an American turbojet fighter-bomber aircraft. Originating as a 1944 United States Army Air Forces proposal for a "day fighter", the F-84 flew in 1946...
, 1953–1957 - KB-29 Superfortress (Tanker), 1954–1955
- F-100 Super SabreF-100 Super SabreThe North American F-100 Super Sabre was a supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard until 1979. The first of the Century Series collection of USAF jet fighters, it was the first USAF fighter capable of...
, 1957–1958 - F-105 ThunderchiefF-105 ThunderchiefThe Republic F-105 Thunderchief, was a supersonic fighter-bomber used by the United States Air Force. The Mach 2 capable F-105 conducted the majority of strike bombing missions during the early years of the Vietnam War; it has the dubious distinction of being the only US aircraft to have been...
, 1972–1973
World War II
Lakeland Linder Regional Airport
Lakeland Linder Regional Airport is a public airport located four miles southwest of the central business district of Lakeland, a city in Polk County, Florida, United States...
, Florida. The group consisted of three squadrons: 457th, 458th and the 459th Fighter Squadrons. From its activation, the planned mission of the 506th was very long range (VLR) escort missions of B-29 Superfortress
B-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
bombers in the Pacific Theater
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
.
Flying almost all models P-51 Mustang which could be sent to Lakeland for training, the group's training regiment centered on learning cruise control techniques that would produce maximum range from the Mustangs. It also included practice scrambles, assembly and landing procedures, escort formations, aerial gunnery and bombing practice, and an occasional dogfight. A month after the 506th started flying, the USAAF produced document 50–100, which was the training directive for Very Long Range operations. Fortunately, the group had already met many of the requirements by then, two glaring exceptions being instrument flying and rocket firing. The final weeks of training were concentrated on mastering those tasks.
On 19 February 1945 the air echelon of the 506th FG aboard a train bound for California, where the aircraft carrier USS Kalinin Bay was waiting to carry them across the Pacific. The ship delivered the 506th to Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
on 17 March, and a week later the pilots flew their new P-51D-20s to Tinian
Tinian
Tinian is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.-Geography:Tinian is about 5 miles southwest of its sister island, Saipan, from which it is separated by the Saipan Channel. It has a land area of 39 sq.mi....
. There they would stay for seven weeks, flying combat air patrols and practice missions while the field engineers on Iwo Jima prepared North Field
North Field (Iwo Jima)
North Field or Iwo Jima Air Base is a World War II airfield on Iwo Jima in the Bonin Islands, located in the Central Pacific. The Bonin Islands are part of Japan...
for them at the northern end of the island. The group was assigned to Twentieth Air Force
Twentieth Air Force
The Twentieth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming.20 AF's primary mission is Intercontinental Ballistic Missile operations...
, which, in turn, attached the unit to VII Fighter Command 301st Fighter Wing
301st Fighter Wing
The 301st Fighter Wing is a United States Air Force Reserve fighter wing, based at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth Carswell Field, Texas. It is equipped with the F-16C+ Fighting Falcon...
. From Tinian the air echelon flew combat patrol missions under the control of Air Defense Command, Saipan, from 28 March to 28 April 1945.
The air echelon joined the ground echelon at Iwo Jima in May 1945. From Iwo Jima, the 506th's squadrons attacked airfields, antiaircraft emplacements, shipping, barracks, radio and radar stations, railway cars, and other targets in the Bonin Islands and Japan. The group also provided air defense of Iwo Jima and escorted B-29s bombers in raids against Japan.
In December 1945 the group moved to Camp Anza, California, and was inactivated 16 December 1945.
Cold War
The 506th was established as a Strategic Air CommandStrategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
Strategic Fighter Wing on 20 November 1952 and was assigned to SAC's Eighth Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
. Activated on 20 January 1953, at Dow Air Force Base
Dow Air Force Base
-History:Dow Air Force Base began as "Godfrey Field" in 1927, on land owned by local attorney Edward Rawson Godfrey . Commercial flights began at the field in 1931 under Northeast Airlines...
, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, the wing composed of the 457th, 458th and 462s Strategic Fighter Squadrons and was equipped with F-84G Thunderjets.
SAC was founded by men who had flown bomb raids against Germany during World War II. They usually encountered swarms of enemy fighters and knew the importance of having fighter escorts, so they had fighter wings placed under their own operational control. Although assigned to SAC, the group was associated with Air Defense Command and assisted in providing air defense of Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
.
The wing was deployed to Misawa Air Base
Misawa Air Base
right|thumb|A US Navy C-2 at Misawa is a United States military facility located northeast of the railway station in Misawa, west of the Pacific Ocean, northeast of Towada, northwest of Hachinohe, and north of Tokyo, in Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region in the northern part of the...
, Japan between 13 August and 7 November 1953 to support SAC's rotational deployment of fighter units to northern Japan to perform air defense duties, relieving the 12th Strategic Fighter Wing. Under the self-supporting concept, the 506th SFW gained the KB-29P Superfortress 506th Air Refueling Squadron on 23 September 1953. The 506th ARS remained with the wing until 1 March 1955. Upon the wing's return to the United States, the 508th was re-equipped with new F-84F Thunderstreak
F-84F Thunderstreak
The Republic F-84F Thunderstreak was an American-built swept-wing turbojet fighter-bomber. While an evolutionary development of the straight-wing F-84 Thunderjet, the F-84F was a new design. The RF-84F Thunderflash was a photo reconnaissance version....
s, in January 1954 becoming the first SAC fighter wing to be equipped with the swept-wing model.
The wing remained at Dow for just over a year until being reassigned to Second Air Force
Second Air Force
The Second Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command . It is headquartered at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi....
and was transferred to Tinker AFB, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
on 20 March 1955. At Tinker, the wing performed fighter-escort duty training to various SAC B-36 Peacemaker heavy and B-50 medium bomber wings as part of the peacetime readiness training mission of SAC. However, as the new B-47 Stratojet
B-47 Stratojet
The Boeing Model 450 B-47 Stratojet was a long-range, six-engined, jet-powered medium bomber built to fly at high subsonic speeds and at high altitudes. It was primarily designed to drop nuclear bombs on the Soviet Union...
and B-52 Stratofortress
B-52 Stratofortress
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber operated by the United States Air Force since the 1950s. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, who have continued to provide maintainence and upgrades to the aircraft in service...
bombers came into service, the mission of the fighter-escort wings of SAC became obsolete. The Thunderstreaks simply couldn't keep up with the speed and fly as high as the jet bombers.
In 1956 SAC got out of the fighter business and the 506th was reassigned to Tactical Air Command
Tactical Air Command
Tactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 being headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia...
on 1 July 1957. Under TAC, the wing was redesignated as the 506th Fighter-Day Wing and was re-equipped with new F-100D Super Sabres. From 1957 to 1958 the 506th participated in tactical exercises and rotated squadrons to Europe.
The wing was redesignated as the 506th Tactical Fighter Wing on 1 July 1958 as part of an Air Force-Wide redesignation of units. It was inactivated on 1 April 1959 due to budget constraints.
The 506th was reactivated and redesignated the 506th Tactical Fighter Group on 4 May 1972 and activated in the Air Force Reserve on 8 July 1972 at Carswell Air Force Base
Carswell Air Force Base
Carswell Air Force Base, was a United States Air Force Strategic Air Command base located about northwest central of Fort Worth, Texas, United States; the air force base is mostly within the Fort Worth city limits and has portions within Westworth and White Settlement...
, Texas. The group was equipped with F-105 Thunderchief
F-105 Thunderchief
The Republic F-105 Thunderchief, was a supersonic fighter-bomber used by the United States Air Force. The Mach 2 capable F-105 conducted the majority of strike bombing missions during the early years of the Vietnam War; it has the dubious distinction of being the only US aircraft to have been...
s, being returned from Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
duty with the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing at Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base
Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base
Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base is a Royal Thai Air Force facility. It is located in Central Thailand, approximately 144 miles northwest of Bangkok in Takhli district, Nakhon Sawan Province, near the city of Nakhon Sawan.- Units :...
, Thailand. The Thuds assigned were largely war-weary and the model was being phased out of the inventory. The group was inactivated after just about a year of duty on 25 March 1973 as part of the drawdown after the end of United States involvement in Vietnam.
Global War On Terrorism
The 506th was redesignated the 506th Air Expeditionary Group and converted to provisional status on 22 April 2003, and assigned to Kirkuk AB. The group has been supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom ever since.The 506th Air Expeditionary Group was assigned to Kirkuk Regional Air Base on 23 April 2003, nearly one month after Operation Iraqi Freedom started. At that time, the group flew A-10 Thunderbolts, which flew close air support and focused intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. The last A-10 departed the base in the Spring of 2004.