| 122d Fighter Wing | |
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122d Fighter Wing emblem |
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| Active | 1946-Present |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Type | Wing |
| Role | Fighter offence and defence |
| Part of | Air National Guard/Air Combat Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Fort Wayne International Airport, Indiana |
| Nickname | Blacksnakes |
The 122d Fighter Wing is an Indiana Air National Guard fighter unit, part of the United States Air Force. It is located at Fort Wayne Air National Guard Station in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
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A unit of the United States Air Force, in a national emergency, the 122d FW may be ordered to active duty by the President of the United States. The primary federal mission of the 122d FW is to achieve and maintain the level of operational readiness that will provide trained and equipped combat-ready tactical units, capable of global deployment, ready for immediate integration into the active Air Force to assure air offense, air defense, or joint action with ground forces.
The 122d FW is available on orders from the Governor of Indiana to assist local authorities in the event of a disaster, disturbance or other emergency. The units of the 122d FW are capable of supporting rescue and relief operations, aiding in recovery from natural disaster, along with protecting the citizens of Indiana and their property.
The Indiana Air National Guard was a direct outgrowth of the 113th Observation Squadron, which flew the Curtis OX-2 "Jenny" biplane near Kokomo, Indiana. From 1927 to 1939, aircraft conversions included the 0-1, 0-2, 0-38 (the last of the biplanes), and just before World War II, 0-47’s, a three place mid-wing observation monoplane.
On 9 December 1946, the 122d Tactical Fighter Group (TFG) was formed at Stout Army Air Field, Indianapolis, Indiana, and was assigned the P-51 Mustang. On 10 November 1947, federal recognition was granted to the 113th Fighter Squadron at Baer Field, Fort Wayne, Indiana, under the command of Major William R. Sefton. Flying the Mustang, the unit was federally activated during the Korean War from 1951-1952.
In 1954, the 122d Tactical Fighter Wing, Headquarters, Air Base Group, Tactical Hospital, and Maintenance and Supply Group were transferred to Baer Field. The unit’s first jet aircraft, the Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star, was assigned in September 1954. The jet era continued with the conversion to the F-86 Sabrejet eighteen months later, and in January 1958, the Republic F-84 Thunderstreak gave the 122 TFW a new dimension for the next thirteen years.
The unit was again federally activated from October 1961 to August 1962, assigned to the 17th Air Force at Chambley, France, during the Berlin Crisis. By 1966, the Wing had three fighter groups under its command: the 122d Tactical Fighter Group, Fort Wayne; the 181st Tactical Fighter Group, Terre Haute, Indiana; and the 180th Tactical Fighter Group, Toledo, Ohio. The 180th was later replaced by the 188th Tactical Fighter Group, Fort Smith, Arkansas. Soon after, the 149th Tactical Fighter Group, Kelly Air Force Base, Texas, became a part of the Wing.
In June 1971, the unit converted to the F-100 Super Sabre. In 1976, the unit participated in its first Red Flag Exercise and also deployed overseas to RAF Lakenheath, England. The F-4C Phantom II arrived on 18 November 1979, and the unit flew this new aircraft to Balikesir, Turkey in 1983 for exercise "Coronet Crown," and once again in 1986 for exercise "Coronet Cherokee." In 1989, the Hoosiers again deployed to Southwest Asia for exercise "Coronet Brave" in conjunction with "Bright Star," a large NATO exercise. The unit continued its standard of excellence by supporting Desert Shield and Desert Storm with deployments to Saudi Arabia by the Security Police, January through June 1991, and to Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, by the Tactical Hospital in September/October 1991.
On 17 July 1991, the unit entered the high-tech jet age with the arrival of the first four F-16C Fighting Falcons from Hahn Air Base, Germany. Twenty additional aircraft were received: twelve more from Hahn Air Base, seven from Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, and one from McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas. In 1992, the 122 TFW was redesignated the 122d Fighter Wing (122 FW). The same year, as part of an Air Force-wide reorganization, the 122 FW's gaining command, Tactical Air Command (TAC) was inactivated and replaced by the newly-established Air Combat Command (ACC). In the Fall of 1992, the 122 FW completed its conversion to the General Dynamics F-16C/D aircraft and finalized acceptance of the new Pratt & Whitney 220E engine.
In February 1993, the 122 FW successfully completed its first overseas deployment with the F-16C aircraft. The exercise, "Coronet Avenger," took place in Egypt, and served as a training exercise, testing the capability of the unit to deploy and operate at an overseas location.
Fiscal Year 1994 saw the 122 FW participate in various humanitarian relief efforts throughout the world. Members of the Base Hospital participated in Operation Sea Signal, as part of the Air National Guard’s effort to support Haitian refugees at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In support of the Humanitarian Civic Aid Program, our Civil Engineering Squadron helped construct a fire station in Taos, New Mexico and a medical clinic in Pacara, Argentina. Members from various sections of the unit rotated through the Persian Gulf Region and volunteers worked daily throughout the continent to eliminate the country’s drug problems.
Pursuant to BRAC 2005,[1] the 122 FW converted from the F-16 aircraft and the mutirole fighter mission to the A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft and close air support mission, said transition being completed in 2010.
During Fiscal Year 1996, the 122 FW was involved in a critical series of rigorous exercises designed to determine our operational readiness in mobility and war fighting capabilities. The 122 FW completed the Operational Readiness Inspection in September 1996 with outstanding results.
**122d Fighter-Interceptor Wing (Air Defense Command)
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This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
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