21st Space Wing - History

History

For additional history and lineage see 21st Operations Group

On 1 January 1953 the 21st Fighter-Bomber Wing as part of Tactical Air Command at George AFB, California. The wing was activated following Secretary of State John Foster Dulles' promise to provide NATO with four additional tactical fighter wings to increase its defenses against the Soviet Union due to the outbreak of the Cold War. The wing's operational component was the 21st Fighter-Bomber Group, comprised three fighter-bomber squadrons: the 72d, 416th, and 531st. The 72d and 531st previously had been components of the World War II 21st Fighter Group.

During its first six months, the 21st Fighter-Bomber Wing upgraded from the F-51 to the F-86F “Sabrejet,” which had become famous for its prowess in the Korean War. Throughout 1953 and into the first months of 1954, the 21st participated in a series of tactical exercises through which the unit obtained operational readiness. As part of the training for operational duty, the 21st FBW conducted deployment exercises to Alaska in September and October 1953 when the flying squadrons, in tandem, rotated through a special two-week arctic indoctrination program at Eielson AFB.

Next, the 21st sent six of its F-86s to participate in Project Willtour, an 11,000 mile goodwill and training tour of twelve Central, Caribbean, and South American countries. The wing continued its exercises in Operation BOXKITE, held throughout April and into May 1954 at North Field, South Carolina. BOXKITE tested a new operational concept: the ability of a tactical wing to deploy to a forward base and sustain combat operations over a thirty-day period. In response, the 21st flew 3,000 sorties.