477th Fighter Group

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 477th Fighter Group


caption= 477th Fighter Group emblem
dates= 1943–1947, 2007-Present
country= United States
allegiance=
branch= United States Air Force
type=
role= Fighter
size=
command_structure= Air Force Reserve Command
current_commander=
garrison= Elmendorf Air Force Base
ceremonial_chief=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
nickname=
patron=
motto=
colors=
march=
mascot=
battles=
notable_commanders= Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.
anniversaries=

The 477th Fighter Group is the Air Force Reserve Command's first F-22A Raptor unit. The unit is assigned to Tenth Air Force and is based at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska.

Overview

The 477th Fighter Group was reactivated on October 1, 2007 as the first Air Force Reserve unit to fly, maintain, and support the Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22A Raptor. The group is an associate unit responsible for recruiting, training, developing and retaining Citizen Airmen to support 3d Wing and Air Force expeditionary unit mission requirements.

Units

The 477th Fighter Group provides a combat-ready force of approximately 425 Air Reserve Technicians, Traditional Reservists, and civil servants assigned to the following squadrons:

* 302d Fighter Squadron (F-22A) (AK)
* 477th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
* 477th Civil Engineer Squadron
* 477th Aerospace Medicine Flight
* 477th Mission Support Flight
* 477th Operations Support Flight.

The men and woman of the 477th Fighter Group will functionally integrate with their active duty Air Force partners in almost all F-22A mission areas to increase efficiency and overall combat capability while retaining Reserve administrative support and career enhancement. The 477th Fighter Group will leverage the traditional Reserve Component strengths of experience and continuity to fly, and fight, and win as Unrivaled Wingmen on the Total Force team at Elmendorf.

History

The 477th was originally established in May 1943 at MacDill Field, Florida as the United States Army Air Forces 477th Bombardment Group (Medium). Assigned to Third Air Force, the group trained with Martin B-26 Marauder aircraft.

It was deactivated on 25 August 1943.

The 477th was reactivated as the 477th Composite Group at Selfridge Field, Michigan on 15 Jan 1944 and assigned to First Air Force. The 477th's new mission was to train the legendary World War II aviators known as the Tuskegee Airmen with Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighters and North American B-25 Mitchell bombers.

During World War II, continued pressure from African-American civilian leaders led the Army to let blacks train as members of bomber crews, a step that opened many more skilled combat roles to them.

On May 5, 1944, possibly out of fear of a repeat of the previous summer's race riot in nearby Detroit, the 477th was abruptly relocated to [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/godman.htm Godman Field] near Fort Knox in Kentucky.

The morale of the 477th was poor because the field was not suited to use by the B-25 and because black officers, including combat veterans of the 332d Fighter Group who had transferred to the bomber unit, were not being advanced to command positions. By early 1945, however, the 477th reached its full combat strength. It was scheduled to enter combat on July 1, which made it necessary to relocate once more, this time to [http://members.tripod.com/~Freeman_AAF/FF_TITLEPAGE.html Freeman Field] , a base fully suited to use by the B-25.

At Freeman Field, the famous Freeman Field Mutiny took place as a result of racial discrimination. As a result of the protest, the 477th was relocated back to Godman Field. Colonel Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., took command on July 1, and black officers replaced white officers in lower command and supervisory positions. Training was to be completed by August 31, but the war ended on August 14 with Japan's surrender.

Never deployed in combat, the 477th was downsized when the war ended. In 1946, it was reassigned to Lockbourne Field, now Rickenbacker International Airport, in Ohio.

The group was disbanded at the end of the war on 1 July 1947.

See also

* 3d Wing
* Air Force Reserve Command
* Tenth Air Force
* Tuskegee Airmen
* Freeman Field Mutiny

References

* [http://www.10af.afrc.af.mil/units/477fg/index.asp 477th Fighter Group (USAFR)]
* Maurer, Maurer (1983). "Air Force Combat Units Of World War II". Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0892010924.
*James C. Warren, "The Freeman Field Mutiny", San Rafael, CA:Donna Ewald, Publisher, 1995. ISBN 0-9641067-2-8; republished in an expanded edition as "The Tuskegee Airmen Mutiny at Freeman Field", Vacaville, CA:Conyers Publishing Company, 1996. ISBN 0-9660818-0-3