The 413th Flight Test Group (413 FTG) is a United States Air Force

Air Force Reserve Command The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commiss ...

unit. It is stationed at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia as a tenant unit. The 413 FTG conducts flight tests on aircraft after the programmed depot maintenance is completed. Its history goes back to 1944 when the 413th Fighter Group flew very long range (VLR) escort missions of Twentieth Air Force B-29 Superfortress bombardment groups against Japan. During the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, the unit was a

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...

fighter-escort wing and later

Tactical Air Command Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. It was inactivated on 1 J ...

tactical fighter group in the 1950s. Today, the group's units are stationed throughout the United States to help conduct functional flight tests. The group is a partnership between the

Air Force Materiel Command Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force (USAF). AFMC was created on July 1, 1992, through the amalgamation of the former Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC) and the former Air Force Systems Com ...

and the

and is the operational supervisor of all the depot flight test units. The group manages five squadrons and two flights is made up of 140 full-time Airmen, 78 traditional reservist and nine civil servants. Once PDM is completed, members of the flight crew begin a variety of ground checks to make sure the aircraft is ready for a functional test flight. Once the aircraft is deemed airworthy, then the airplane is delivered to the home station and is configured to fly whatever mission it is assigned to fly.

Assigned units and aircraft flown

10th Flight Test Squadron The 10th Flight Test Squadron is part of the 413th Flight Test Group of Air Force Materiel Command based at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. It performs acceptance testing on refurbished Rockwell B-1 Lancer, Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, Boei ...

(Tinker AFB, OK) B-1, B-52, E-3, KC-135, RC-135, KC-46
313th Flight Test Flight (Lackland AFB, TX) KC-135, C-17 (2001–2013)

339th Flight Test Squadron The 339th Flight Test Squadron is a United States Air Force unit based at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is part of the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, with a mission to certify aircraft as worthy to return to service. The squadron ...

(Robins AFB, GA) C-5, C-130, F-15

370th Flight Test Squadron The 370th Flight Test Squadron is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the 413th Flight Test Group, stationed at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Mission The squadron is assigned to the United States Air Force Reserve and performs fl ...

(Edwards AFB, CA) C-12, KC-10, KC-135

415th Flight Test Flight The 415th Flight Test Flight is a United States Air Force reserve unit. It is assigned to the 413th Flight Test Group of Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas. The squadron was first activated during ...

(Randolph AFB, TX) T-38, T-6

514th Flight Test Squadron The 514th Flight Test Squadron is a squadron of the United States Air Force, which has been stationed at Hill Air Force Base, Utah since 1973, performing functional flight checks on aircraft undergoing major maintenance. The first predecessor ...

(Hill AFB, UT) A-10, F-16, F-22, F-35, C-130

413th Force Support Flight 413th may refer to: *413th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit *413th Flight Test Group, United States Air Force Air Force Reserve Command unit * 413th Flight Test Squadron (413 FLTS), part of the 46th Test Wing, bas ...

(Robins AFB, GA)
413th Aeromedical Staging Squadron (Robins AFB, GA)

History

World War II

The unit served primarily in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II as part of Twentieth Air Force. The 413th Fighter Group's aircraft flew very long range (VLR) escort missions of B-29 Superfortress bombardment groups against Japan. Constituted as 413th Fighter Group on 5 October 1944 and activated on 15 October. Trained for very-long-range operations with P-47N Thunderbolts. Moved to the South West Pacific Area, April–June 1945. The group was assigned to the Twentieth Air Force VII Fighter Command,

301st Fighter Wing The 301st Fighter Wing (301 FW) is an Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the Tenth Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at Carswell Field, Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Tex ...

. Was reassigned to the Seventh Air Force early in August 1945. Flew a few strafing missions from

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...

to the

Truk Islands Chuuk Lagoon, previously Truk Atoll, is an atoll in the central Pacific. It lies about northeast of New Guinea, and is part of Chuuk State within the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). A protective reef, around, encloses a natural harbou ...

in May before beginning operations from

Ie Shima , previously romanized in English as Ie Shima, is an island in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, lying a few kilometers off the Motobu Peninsula on Okinawa Island. The island measures in circumference and covers . As of December 2012 the island had ...

in June. Engaged in dive-bombing and strafing attacks on factories, radar stations, airfields, small ships, and other targets in Japan. Made several attacks on shipping and airfields in China during July. Flew its only escort mission on 8 August 1945 when it covered B-29's during a raid against Yawata, Kyoto, Japan.

Cold War

Served as a part of the air defense and occupation force for the Ryukyu Islands after the war. Inactivated on Okinawa on 15 October 1946. Activated as part of

in 1954. Trained to achieve and maintain combat readiness by participation in tactical exercises, firepower demonstrations, joint training with US Army and US Marine Corps units, and tactical evaluations. Provided augmentation of

Sixteenth Air Force The Sixteenth Air Force (Air Forces Cyber) (16 AF) is a United States Air Force (USAF) organization responsible for information warfare, which encompasses intelligence gathering and analysis, surveillance, reconnaissance, cyber warfare and ele ...

in Spain, through deployment of assigned squadrons on a rotational basis, 1958–1959.

Lineage

* Established as 413th Fighter Group, Single Engine on 5 October 1944 : Activated on 15 October 1944 : Inactivated on 15 October 1946 * Redesignated 413th Fighter-Day Group on 27 October 1954 : Activated on 11 November 1954 : Inactivated on 8 October 1957 * Consolidated (31 January 1984) with the 413th Strategic Fighter Wing, which was established on 23 March 1953. : Redesignated 413th Fighter-Day Wing on 26 September 1957 : Activated on 8 October 1957 : Redesignated 413th Tactical Fighter Wing on 1 July 1958 : Inactivated on 15 March 1959 * Redesignated 413th Flight Test Group on 18 July 2003 : Activated in the Reserve on 1 October 2003.

Assignments

First Air Force The First Air Force (Air Forces Northern; 1 AF-AFNORTH) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. Its primary mission is the air defense of the Co ...

, 15 October 1944 *

, 2 November 1944 – 15 October 1946 * Ninth Air Force, 11 November 1954 : Attached to

479th Fighter-Day Wing The 479th Flying Training Group is a United States Air Force unit, stationed at Naval Air Station Pensacola. A component of Air Education and Training Command, the group was activated on 2 October 2009. The current commander of the 479th Flying ...

, 11 November 1954 – 7 October 1957 * Eighteenth Air Force, 1 October 1957 *

831st Air Division The 831st Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Tactical Air Command, assigned to Twelfth Air Force at George Air Force Base, California, where it was inactivated on 31 March 1991. The Ai ...

, 8 October 1957 – 15 March 1959 * Twenty-Second Air Force, 1 October 2003–present

Components

* 1st Fighter (later, 1st Fighter-Day; 1st Tactical Fighter) Squadron: 15 October 1944 – 15 October 1946; 11 November 1954 – 15 March 1959 (detached 27 June – c. 12 November 1958) *

: 1 October 2003–present * 21st Fighter (later, 21st Fighter-Day; 21st Tactical Fighter) Squadron: 15 October 1944 – 15 October 1946; 11 November 1954 – 15 March 1959 (detached 14–15 March 1959) * 34th Fighter (later 34th Fighter-Day; 34th Tactical Fighter) Squadron: 15 October 1944 – 15 October 1946; 11 November 1954 – 15 March 1959 *

: 1 October 2003–present *

: 1 October 2003–present * 474th Fighter-Day Squadron (later, 474th Tactical Fighter Squadron): 8 October 1957 – 15 March 1959 (detached 11 November 1958 – 15 March 1959) *

: 1 October 2003–present * 413th Aeromedical Staging Squadron Flights * 313th Flight Test Flight: 1 October 2003 – 2013 * 415th Flight Test Flight: 1 October 2003–present * 420th Flight Test Flight: 1 October 2003 – 1 September 2007 * 413th Force Support Flight:

Stations

* Seymour-Johnson Field, NC 15 October 1944 *

Bluethenthal Field Wilmington International Airport is a public airport located just north of Wilmington, North Carolina, in unincorporated Wrightsboro, Cape Fear Township, New Hanover County. ILM covers 1,800 acres (728 ha). During the calendar year 2018 ILM ...

, NC November 1944 – 6 April 1945 * Ie Shima Airfield, Okinawa, 19 May 1945 *

Kadena Field (IATA: DNA, ICAO: RODN) is a highly strategic United States Air Force base in the towns of Kadena and Chatan and the city of Okinawa, in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It is often referred to as the "Keystone of the Pacific" because of its highl ...

, Okinawa 10 November 1945 * Yontan Airfield, Okinawa, 29 January – October 1946 * George Air Force Base, California, 11 November 1954 – 15 March 1959 * Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, 1 October 2003–present

Aircraft Assigned

* P-47 Thunderbolt 1944–1946 * F-86 Sabre, 1954–1956 *

F-100 Super Sabre The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard (ANG) until 1979. The first of the Century Series of ...

, 1955–1959

References

* * * *
Robins AFB press release about 413th Flight Test Group

External links

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