Shaw’s mission 75 years in the making

SHAW AIR force BASE, S.C. -- Shaw Air force Base, South Carolina, is home to the twentieth Fighter Wing, whose mission is to give fight competent airpower and Airmen to fulfill any challenge, each time, and any place.

earlier than Shaw became domestic to the largest F-16 wing within the Air force, it conducted a number of missions starting from bomber to reconnaissance operations.

Shaw military Air box opened on Aug. 7, 1941, the place it served as a primary flying school applying BT-13 Vultee to train pilots on fundamental flying tactics.

eventually the practising mission modified with the establishment of the twentieth FW on Aug. 15, 1947. With the introduction of the tactical plane, the P-fifty one "Mustang," the pilots started studying aerial fight maneuvers at Shaw.

In 1951, the 20th FW moved to Langley Air force Base, Virginia, where it soon transferred to Wethersfield, united kingdom. It become now not unless January 1, 1994 that it might return to Shaw AFB.

"throughout the time the twentieth FW become relocated to different bases, Shaw housed the 363rd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing," referred to Christopher Koonce, twentieth FW historian.

After changing its mission beneath the 363rd TRW, the bombers assigned to Shaw have been altered to function reconnaissance aircraft.

"Bombers right here have been 'gutted' and filled with a number of reconnaissance machine, to encompass cameras," referred to Koonce.

The mission of the reconnaissance-bomber was to profit intelligence of enemy actions through the use of imagery and electromagnetic signals.

The reconnaissance-bombers and tactical aircraft assigned to the 363rd TRW at Shaw aided many operations, to encompass the Cuban Missile crisis, wasteland defend and wasteland Storm.

The 363rd TRW operated on Shaw from April 14, 1951 unless its inactivation on Dec. 31, 1993.

because the period of the reconnaissance-bombers got here to an conc lusion, the tactical fighter mission launched out of Shaw with the return of the 20th FW in 1994.

presently after the A/AO-10 "Thunderbolt II" arrived in 1994, the F-16 changed into added at Shaw. The twentieth FW's F-sixteen mission developed from the strategies of the "Wild Weasel" pilots, who flew F-104/F-105 fighter missions right through the Vietnam battle. Half a century later, the F-16 pilots are nevertheless affectionately referred to as the "Wild Weasels."

Shaw's F-16s have played a component in global operations that encompass Northern Watch, Southern Watch and at present Operation Inherent unravel by means of presenting shut air help and annihilating enemy surface to air gadgets.

"The twentieth FW has a essential role in providing combat ready air vigour at a second's word," mentioned Col. Daniel Lasica, 20th FW Commander. "Our Airmen continually step as much as make the F-16 mission what it is these days."

all over the ye ars, Shaw has witnessed a transformation from its first mission of training pilots to its current mission of deploying F-16s. while the mission can alternate within the years to come, Shaw will proceed to supply airpower every time and anyplace.