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86th Airlift Wing
86th Airlift Wing emblem
Active	13 January 1942 — present
Country	United States
Branch	Air Force
Type	Airlift
Part of	United States Air Forces in Europe
Garrison/HQ	Ramstein Air Base
Decorations	Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Commanders
Current commander	Colonel William Bender
Notable commanders	Wilbur L. Creech Robert C. Oaks George B. Simler

The 86th Airlift Wing (86 AW) is a United States Air Force wing, currently assigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe. The 86th AW is stationed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany

The wing’s primary mission is to conduct airlift, airdrop and aeromedical evacuation operations flying the C-21, C-20H, C-37, C40B and C-130E aircraft. The 86th Airlift Wing commander also serves as the Kaiserslautern Military Community (KMC) commander, leading the largest American community outside the United States.

The 86th Airlift Wing is composed of four groups, 14 squadrons and one detachment. These are:

The 779th Expeditionary Airlift Flight was activated in January 2008 to administer a rotational deployment of two C-17 Globemaster IIIs to be based at Ramstein AB.^[1] The exact reporting chain for the 779th EAF is not known.

• Constituted as 86th Bombardment Group (Light) on 13 Jan 1942

Activated on 10 Feb 1942

Redesignated: 86th Bombardment Group (Dive) in Sep 1942

Redesignated: 86th Fighter-Bomber Group in Aug 1943

Redesignated: 86th Fighter Group in May 1944

Redesignated: 86th Composite Group in May 1947

Redesignated: 86th Fighter Group in Jan 1948

• Established as 86th Fighter Wing, and activated, on 1 Jul 1948

(86th Fighter Group assigned to wing as subordinate unit)

Redesignated: 86th Fighter-Bomber Wing on 20 Jan 1950

Redesignated: 86th Fighter-Interceptor Wing on 9 Aug 1954

Redesignated: 86th Air Division (Defense) on 18 Nov 1960

Inactivated on 14 Nov 1968.

• Redesignated: 86th Fighter-Interceptor Wing on 14 Nov 1968
• Redesignated: 86th Tactical Fighter Wing on 13 Oct 1969.

Activated on 1 Nov 1969

Redesignated: 86th Fighter Wing on 1 May 1991

Redesignated: 86th Wing on 1 Jun 1992

Redesignated: 86th Airlift Wing on 1 Oct 1994.

Group

• 86 Fighter (later, 86 Fighter-Bomber; 86 Fighter-Interceptor; 86 Tactical Fighter; 86 Operations)

1 Jul 1948-8 Mar 1958; 22 Sep 1975-14 Jun 1985; 1 May 1991-.

Squadrons

Activated on 10 Feb 1942, the 86th Fighter Group at Will Rogers Field, near Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, trained in the United States for several months until moving to North Africa in September 1942, being assigned to the Twelfth Air Force Northwest African Training Command, at La Senia, Algeria in early May 1943.

In the Western Desert Campaign, the 86th flew A-36 Mustangs, P-40 Warhawks and later P-47 Thunderbolts engaging primarily in close support of ground forces, beginning in early July against German positions in Tunisia. Later that month, the group moved to Sicily, where it attacked German forces retreating across the island and evacuating to the southern coast of the Italian mainland.

The 86th provided air support for Allied landings at Salerno in September 1943 and later that month moved from Sicily to the beachhead area. During the winter of 1943-1944, the group supported advancing Allied forces in Italy by attacking enemy lines of communication, troop concentrations, and supply areas. It also attacked rail and road targets and strafed German troop and supply columns during late spring, earning a Distinguished Unit Citation (DCU) for outstanding action against the enemy on 25 May.

In July, 1944 the group moved to the island of Corsica, from which it attacked enemy-held road and rail networks in northern Italy. It supported the Allied invasion of southern France in August, the 86th escorted bombers attacking coastal defenses. In September the group moved back to Italy and began attacking transportation lines in the Po Valley. In February 1945, the group moved into southeast France and began attacking enemy targets such as rail lines, roads, supply dumps, and airdromes in southern Germany. The group again moved, this time to Germany, in April. It earned a second DUC for concentrated attacks on enemy transportation targets on 20 April. By 8 May, the group had flown a total of 3,645 combat missions.

Just after the war, the group performed occupation duty at Braunschardt and Schweinfurt Germany as part of the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE). It moved without personnel or equipment to Bolling Field in Washington, D.C., in February, 1946, where it inactivated at the end of March.

The 86th Fighter Group was reactivated in Germany on 20 Aug 1946, being assigned to USAFE and being stationed at Nordholz Air Base, near Bremerhaven. Equipped with P (later F-47) Thunderbolts, the 86th was one of two active USAF fighter units in Germany (the other being the 36th FG) during the immediate postwar years. Over the next several years, the 86th underwent several redesignations and several station assignments in occupied Germany. In June 1948, the 86th Fighter Wing was stationed at Neubiberg Air Base, near Munich when tensions with the Soviet Union culminated in the Berlin Blockade.

At the dawn of the Cold War, USAFE strength was low both in quantity and quality. The wartime F-47s of the 86th Fighter Group was pressed into service, flying patrols along the American and British side of the Soviet occupation zone border as a deterrent to Soviet fighters intruding on western airspace.

On 28 September 1950, the 27th Fighter-Escort Wing flew en-masse Republic F-84E Thunderjets across the Atlantic to West Germany. The F-84s replaced the F-47s of the 86th and helped USAFE modernize its arsenal. With the arrival of the jets, the unit was redesignated as the 86th Fighter-Bomber Wing. Operational squadrons were:

• 526th Fighter-Bomber (red stripe/cowlings)
• 527th Fighter-Bomber (yellow stripe/cowlings)

The F-84s of the 86th FBW had elaborate red-and-white checkerboard patterns covering all tail surfaces, with checkerboard patterns on the outer halves of the tip tanks and intakes. In the fall of 1952, the USAFE Skyblazer acrobatic team was assigned to the 86th FBW. The last demonstration flight was made in July 1953.

With the arrival of the jet age in Europe, USAFE wanted to move its units west of the Rhine River, as its bases in the Munich area were just a few minutes flying time from Soviet Mig-15 bases in Czechoslovakia. In February 1951, the United States and France signed an agreement in which USAF bases in their German occupation zone would be built and made available to USAFE. The largest base was built near the towns of Landstuhl and Ramstein on a site where during World War II, first the Luftwaffe and later the USAAF had used a long stretch of Autobahn as an airfield. The new base would actually consist of two sections, one along the Autobahn (Landstuhl AB) and one just north (Ramstein). Other bases in the French sector that were built for the USAF were Bitburg AB, Spangdahlem AB, Sembach AB and Hahn AB. These bases would serve USAFE and NATO well for the next 40 years of the Cold War.

In late 1952, enough construction was completed at Landstuhl and the 86th Fighter-Bomber Wing was reassigned to the new base. The 86th Wing (under various designations) has been assigned to Ramstein for almost 60 years, with a brief period (1966-1973) being inactive or assigned to Zweibrucken Air Base.

The mission of the 86th during the 1950s was the air defense of West Germany and to provide USAFE a deterrent against Soviet aggression in Europe. During the Korean War, the USAF found the first generation F-84 Thunderstreak to be inadequate against Soviet MiG-15s. In August 1953, the 86th FBW was re-equipped with the North American F-86F Sabre, which in Korea had swept the skies of the MiG threat. The 527th FIS became a Fighter-Day squadron in October 1954, and was inactivated on 8 February 1956. Personnel and aircraft were assigned to the newly-formed 461st FDS at Hahn Air Base in May.

In August 1954 the mission of the 86th was changed to the 86th Fighter-Interceptor Wing, and the new F-86D began to replace the F-86F, which was sent to NATO countries. Two new F-86D squadrons, the 440th FIS from Geiger AFB, Washington and the 496th FIS from Hamilton AFB California arrived at Landstuhl in July 1954. These squadrons were detached to the following bases to stand air defense alert:

• 440th FIS to Erding Air Base, Germany
• 496th FIS to Hahn Air Base, Germany
• 526th FIS remained at Landstuhl (Red tail stripes)

In May 1958 the 406th FIW at RAF Manston England was deactivated. Its three F-86D squadrons, the 512th, 513th and 514th were reassigned to bases on the continent and were also assigned to the 86th. These squadrons were detached to the following bases:

• 512th FIS to Sembach Air Base, Germany
• 513th FIS to Phalsbourg-Bourscheid Air Base France
• 514th FIS to Ramstein (Blue tail stripes)

In January 1959 the 525th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Bitburg received its first Convair F-102 Delta Dagger, designed to upgrade the air defense capabilities of Western Europe. HQ USAFE decided to uprade the 86th Fighter-Interceptor Wing and centralize command of all the European Air Defense squadrons in USAFE to it. With this change, the 86th Fighter-Interceptor Wing was redesignated the 86th Air Division (Defense) on 18 November 1960.

However at the time of their arrival in Europe, the F-102 was already being replaced by the McDonnell F-101B Voodoo and the Convair F-106 Delta Dart in the Aerospace Defense Command as an interceptor, and by much more versatile McDonnell F-4 Phantom II. On 14 Nov 1968 the 86th Air Division was inactivated

The 86th Tactical Fighter Wing was reactivated at Zweibrücken Air Base, West Germany on 1 November 1969. It received its first flying unit, the 17th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, on 12 January 1970. The 17th TRS and its McDonnell Douglas RF-4C Phantom IIs was reassigned to the 86th TFW from the deactivating 66th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at RAF Upper Heyford, England. Squadron tail code for the 17th TRS was initially "ZS", then was recoded to "ZR" in 1971.

For 18 months the 17th was the only operational squadron on the base. On 12 June 1971, the 81st Tactical Fighter Squadron with its Electronics Counter-Measures (ECM) equipped McDonnell EF-4C Phantom II "Wild Weasel" fighters was attached to the 86th TFW from the 50th TFW at Hahn AB when the 50th switched to a strike-attack role, with air defense as a secondary mission. (Note: The EF-4C designation was not official. The aircraft were officially F-4C models). The 81st TFS, however remained a part of the 50th TFW but was detached from the wing's operational control and attached to the 86th Tactical Fighter Wing for support. Squadron tail code for the 81st TFS was "ZS".

In 1972, tail codes for all 86th TFW aircraft at Zweibrücken were standardized as "ZR", per AFM 66-1, when squadron tail codes were eliminated.

On 15 January 1973, the 81st TFS was reassigned to Spangdahlem Air Base under operation "Battle Creek". The last of this variant of the Phantom returned to the USA in 1979/1980 and was replaced by the F-4G Wild Weasel at Spangdahlem.

As part of operation Creek Action, a command-wide effort to realign functions and streamline operations, USAFE transferred the 26 TRW from Ramstein to Zweibrucken Air Base, Germany, and the 86th Tactical Fighter Wing (TFW) from Zweibrucken back to Ramstein on 31 January 1973. These moves were made without the transfer of personnel or equipment with the exception of the 38 TRS, 7 SOS and 81 TFS. The 38th remained under the control of the 26 TRW by moving to Zweibrucken with the wing and the 7th Special Operations Squadron was transferred to Rhein-Main Air Base. The 526th TFS remained at Ramstein AB, and it was reassigned to the 86th Tactical Fighter Wing, flying F-4Es. Its tail code was "RS".

On 22 September 1977 the newly-activated 512th TFS was equipped with the 526 TFS aircraft and the 526 TFS received new planes from McDonnell Douglas St. Louis plant. The unit was designated the 86th Tactical Fighter Group and was under the 86th Tactical Fighter Wing.

With these changes, the operational squadrons of the 86th TFW in 1978 were:

• 512th Tactical Fighter Squadron (F-4E, RS, green/black tail stripe)
• 526th Tactical Fighter Squadron (F-4E, RS, red/black tail stripe)

In September 1985 the 512th TFS converted to the General Dynamics Block 25 F-16 Fighting Falcon, and the 526th retired their F-4Es in June 1986, also receiving Block 25 F-16s. The 86th TFW supported numerous military units located in the area and participated in numerous exercises that provided the wing with air combat tactics training essential to their mission. In 1990, personnel and aircraft of the 86th TFW deployed to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Desert Storm. With the end of Operation Desert Storm, the 86th TFW deployed to Turkey and supported operations in Southwest Asia to ensure that Iraq complied with treaty terms. 526th TFS aircraft twice attacked Iraqi surface-to-air missile (SAM) sites in northern Iraq.

With the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s, the 86th was realigned to become an Airlift Wing. By 1994, the tactical fighters of the 86th FW began to be transferred to other USAFE bases. On 1 July, the 526th FS deactivated and its aircraft and personnel moved to Aviano Air Base, Italy to form the 555th FS. The 512th FS was deactivated on 1 October, with its aircraft and personnel also being moved to Aviano, being assigned to the 510th FS.

The 86th gained some airlift capability in 1992 and became strictly an airlift unit in 1994, trading its F-16 fighters for C-130 transports. During the 1990s, the wing supported peacekeeping and humanitarian aid airlift operations in the Balkans, Africa, and Southwest Asia.

• World War II
• Operation Iraqi Freedom
• Operation Enduring Freedom
• Operation Northern Watch
• Operation Support Hope
• Operation Unified Assistance

The 86th Airlift Wing has been awarded the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award six times.^[2]

• Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
  • 1 Jul 93 - 30 Jun 95
  • 1 Jul 96 - 30 Jun 97
  • 24 Mar 99 - 10 Jun 99
  • 1 Jan 01 - 31 Dec 01
  • 1 Jan 02 - 31 Dec 02
  • 1 Jan 07 - 31 Dec 07

• Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0892010924.
• Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947-1977. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0912799129.
• USAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF Aircraft Serial Numbers--1908 to present

• Ramstein AFB Home Page