The 5th Decade: |
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HAHN WAS THE FIRST USAFE WING |
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 The 50th Tactical Fighter Wing was selected to be the first unit in US Air Forces in Europe to receive the F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft.  Under the cloudy, cold skies of West Germany, the eight F-16 operational Fighting Falcon landed at Hahn Dec. 30, 1981. During the early 80's, the flying squadrons deployed back and forth to Zaragoza AB, Spain, to increase flying reliability and increase sorties production. In April, 1983, the 50th wing commander declared the flying squadrons operationally ready.  Later in the year, the 50th TFW was named overall winner in the US Air Force world wide tactical gunnery and bombing competition called "Gunsmoke '83." One pilot won the "Top Gun' award.  On March 26, 1984, two F-16's from the 496th Tactical Fighter Squadron were given the opportunity to land, refuel and take off from an autobahn near the Ahlhorn German AB during NATO exercise. This was the first time emergency landing and take off procdures on an autobahn were practiced. On February 25, 1985, the wing won USAFE's highest rcognition for safety achievements - the Category 1 USAFE Outstanding Unit Safety Award. In April, 1985, the 313th TFS came home with the USAFE Commander in Chief Trophy as the most Outstanding Flying Squadron in USAFE.  This was also the year for Gunsmoke '85. The 1983 champions returned home with second place overall, just two points behind the winners. The individual Top Gun honors for F-16 wings and the entire competition once again went to a 50th TFW pilot.  The 50th changed from the A and B model F-16s to newer C and D models in 1986. On April 15 the 313th TFS won the USAFE Commander in Chief Trophy for the 2nd consecutive year. In May 1987, the maintenance organization received the coveted Secretary of Defense Phoenix Award, naming it as the best unit of its kind in the Department of Defense. In December of 1987, the maintenance complex won the USAFE Daedalian Award for the second year in a row. Aggressive flying led the 313th TFS to top honors during the Excalibur III competition at RAF Lakenhearth, England, in May 1988. On September 8, 1988, a pilot, assigned to the 10th TFS, flew the two thousandth hour for the F-16 Fighting Falcon. Related story below. Facilities were a major issue in 1988, and many family housing units and dormitories were given a face lift with renovations and exterior painting. In the late 80's, wing personnel continued exercising their abilities during Local Salty Nations, local Nuclear Surety, and Major Accident Response Exercises.  A gathering "Desert Storm" ended the wing's preparation for war in December, 1990, when the 10th TFS and 10th Aircraft Maintenance Units deployed to the Persian Gulf. The squadron flew more than 1,300 sorties in 43 days and played a vital role in the successful coalition campaign to liberate Kuwait. After the wartime mission ended, the squadron remained deployed to support Operation Provide Comfort. The 10th's deployed forces began to return in May, 1991. Many other Hahn personnel deployed to various locations to support Operation Desert Shield, Desert Storm and some still remain in the region to support Operation Provide Comfort. The people who remained at Hahn also played important roles in support of the Gulf conflict.  With the end of the Cold War, Hahn Air Force Base, West Germany, closed its door forever on September 30, 1991, when its last planes lefted for the states and new assignments. How do you sum up Five Decades of history, is it enough to say, 'we won the Cold War!' I think Colonel George W. Norwood, the last 50th TFW CO, said it best...when asked... What was his proudest moment at Hahn? "That´s a difficult question to answer, because the men and women of the 50th TFW and the Hahn community have made me proud so many times. If I had to choose a specific event, I think my proudest moment would have to be what was probably also the saddest- the wing´s inactivation ceremony. As I watched our 12 squadrons pass in review with their guidons sheated, I was touched by the sadness, but at the same time I was very proud. As tax payers and warriors, we can rejoice in knowing that our mission in Central Europe is complete - and the services of the 50th TFW are no longer required. Also, the wing did a super job of accomplishing what had to be the most difficult mission we´d ever been given - drawing down one of the European central region´s premiere fighter wings under the most accelerated draw down schedule in the history of U.S. Air Forces in Europe." |
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Hahn Pilot Becomes First |
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One man, right now, has more flying hours in the F-16 than any other man in the Air Force. And this man is stationed at Hahn. Lt Colonel Serge DelHoyo, operations officer for the 10th Tactical Fighter Squadron, flew his 2,000th hour in the Falcon at 9 35 a.m. Monday, September 8th, 1988. "It´s nice," he said, smiling slightly. Then a broad grin broke over his face. "I have more hours in the F-16 than anyone in the world! I know that doesn´t mean a lot in the whole world to anyone but me, but I think it´s neat!" Colonel DelHoyo started flying in 1968. He flew T-38s and F-4s before the F-16. "I was in the Air Force´s first F-16 squadron at Hill AFB, UT, " he said. He explained that being an instructor pilot there, plus participating in two Gunsmoke competitions, helped him accumluate so many hours so fast. Colonel DelHoyo has been flying the Falcon for a little more than six years. "I think the world of this airplane," he said. "It´s been really good to me . Flying is a passion for me, and what makes it so nice is that I really enjoy the F-16. "Having so many flying hours in the plane is not so much a credit to me as it is to the airplane itself, " he said. "It has an extremely high - mission - ready rate. The maintenance and ground abort rates are so low that my goal was an attainable one." He explained that he had a goal of becoming the first pilot to log the 2,000 mark for some time. " One of my heroes, my squadron commander at Hill, was the first pilot to pass 1,000 hours." He said that being the first to go over 2,000 was a personal goal. "I love to fly and will fly whenever I can, but it´s the airplane that makes it happen." he said. "In the old days when the weather was bad at Hahn, we didn´t fly. Now- this airplane flies any time." All of this makes it easier to get time in the F-16. "Every time I fly, I learn something, and that´s good, " he said. "When you stop learning and get complacent, it´s time to stop flying. You get dangerous. "My next challenge is to fly the F-16C with the new avionics. I´ll be a neophyte again," he said. Based on Colonel DelHoyo´s record, he´ll amply to meet the challenge. As a major, he was the wing´s top gun for all of 1982 and was selected as the wing´s flight leader for the 1983 Gunsmoke competition at Nellis AFB, NV. In 1984, 17th Air Force recognized him as the 17th Air Force F-16 Pilot of the Year. This year he was the team commander for Hahn´s Gunsmoke team. The team placed second in the competition. "I think the F-16 is the most survivable fighter pilots´ airplane in the world, " he said. "I wouldn´t want to fly anything else." |
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Tom Newton, SiteBuilder at: 50thFighterGroup@p-47.com |
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Squadrons...Pilots...& Planes |
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We have intentionally kept the 4th and 5th Decades on the thin size for the very simple reason, that there are several other excellent sites that covers Hahn's and the 50th history in the '70s & '80s quite well...Tags (Martin Aguera) and especially Marc Mueller's pages! We felted that anything that we could do now, would be redundant! But please be assured, we will be updating these pages, as new material and photos becomes available. Mean while, their sites are listed below for your viewing enjoyment. Please use your browsers' back button to return here! And thank you for visiting the Hahn's (50th) Fly Boys Pages. Please come back again...we enjoyed having you! |
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