Cold War 4th Operations Group

4th fighter-interceptor group north american f-86 sabres, south korea, 1951

the 4th fighter group inactivated @ camp kilmer, new jersey, on 10 november 1945. unit reactivated @ selfridge field, michigan, 9 september 1946, united states began rearm due cold war pressures.

on 15 august 1947, under wing/base (hobson) reorganization plan, 4th fighter wing formed, , 4th fighter group became subordinate operational flying component. following period of training f-80 shooting star aircraft, 4th fighter group transitioned f-86 sabre jets in march 1949, in time advanced training , entry korean war.

in december 1950, 4th fighter wing s flying component (now 4th fighter-interceptor group) first unit commit f-86 sabre jets conflict. lt col bruce h. hinton shot down mig-15 on 17 december during first sabre mission of war. 4 days later, lt col john c. meyer, world war ii ace, led flight of 8 sabres against 15 migs in first major all-jet fighter battle in history. flight downed 6 migs without sustaining losses.

by end of war airmen of 4th fighter-interceptor group had destroyed 502 enemy aircraft (54 percent of total), becoming top fighter unit of korean war. twenty-four pilots achieved ace status. 4th fighter-interceptor wing, group moved japan following korean armistice in 1953, continuing training , tours korea. group inactivated on 8 december 1957 component squadrons assigned directly wing air force reorganized wings tri-deputate structure.