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The 343d Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Pacific Air Forces, stationed at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. It was inactivated on 20 August 1993.
The 343d Fighter Group was activated in Alaska on 3 September 1942 and began operations immediately.[1] Its initial squadrons, the 11th Fighter Squadron[2] and 18th Fighter Squadron,[3] flying P-40 Warhawks were already operational at Fort Glenn Army Air Base and Fort Greely, respectively, while the 54th Fighter Squadron and its P-38 Lightnings were flying missions from Adak.[4] All three squadrons had been assigned directly to XI Fighter Command.[2][3][4]
In October 1942, a third P-40 squadron, the 344th Fighter Squadron,[5] was activated for the group and deployed to Fort Randall. The group provided air defense for the Aleutians; bombed and strafed Japanese camps, antiaircraft emplacements, hangars, and radio stations on Kiska; escorted bombers that struck enemy airfields, harbor facilities, and shipping.[1] It flew its last combat mission in October 1943, but carried out patrol and reconnaissance assignments in the area until the end of the war.[1] The 343d later trained, carried mail, and served as part of the defense force for Alaska.[1] In 1943, the 11th and 18th Fighter Squadrons began flying P-38s as well as their P-40s,[2][3] as did the 344th in 1944.[5] All lost their last P-40s in 1945.[2][3][5] Before inactivating in 1946, the 18th Fighter Squadron converted to P-51 Mustangs.[1][3]
Redesignated as the 343d Fighter Group (Air Defense) and activated at[1] in 1955 replacing the [8][9][10]
In June 1956, the 11th FIS upgraded to [16]
The group was redesignated as the 343d Tactical Fighter Group and activated as an operational group at Elmendorf AFB in 1977. Its operational squadron was the 18th Tactical Fighter Squadron (TFS), which was already stationed at Elmendorf flying the Fairchild-Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II.[17] It was also assigned three maintenace squadrons.[18] The group was inactivated in 1980 and the 18th TFS transferred back to the 21st Tactical Fighter Wing,[17] while the maintenance squadrons were inactivated.
It became [19] In July 1986, the O-2s were retired, and on 15 September 1989 the OV-10s were also retired and the squadron inactivated.[21] On 8 June 1984 the 343d Composite Wing was redesignated the 343d Tactical Fighter Wing.
During the 343d Wing's tenure at Eielson, the 6th Strategic Wing, a tenant at Eielson, suffered two major accidents. On 15 March 1981 an RC-135S crashed while attempting to land at Shemya. Six crewmembers died as result of the crash. On 25 February 1985 an RC-135T crashed near Valdez, killing all three aboard. Exactly one month later, a 25th TASS pilot died while flying an Air Warrior mission in California.
On 1 July 1991, it was redesignated as the 343d Wing and converted to the USAF Objective Wing organization. Its operational squadrons were assigned to the newly activated 343d Operations Group, while the maintenance squadrons that had been assigned directly to the wing were assigned to the 343d Logistics Group. Also that year, the 343d gained a third flying unit, the 11th Tactical Air Support Squadron, which flew O/A-10As and the 18th TFS reequipped, transitioning to Block 40 F-16C/D Fighting Falcons. Between 17 and 28 June 1991 – Pacific Air Forces premier flying training exercise, COPE THUNDER, came to Eielson. The eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippine Islands prompted the move; the subsequent closing of Clark Air Base, COPE THUNDER's home since 1976, brought the exercise to Alaska permanently.On 19 December 1991 the 3rd Fighter Training Squadron was moved without personnel or equipment to Eielson from Clark Air Base, Philippines. The 3rd administered the COPE THUNDER program and flew Bell Helicopter UH-1N Hueys for range support.
On 20 August 1993, wing inactivated and its personnel and equipment were transferred to the 354th Fighter Wing, whose operational squadrons, the 353d Fighter Squadron and 355th Fighter Squadron replaced the 11th TASS and the 3rd Fighter Training Squadron (whose helicopters were reassigned to other bases).
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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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