The Second Decade:

Fighters And The Fifties!

F-86 Sabre 2nd Decade Page Index History: Fighters And The Fifties! 2nd Decade Photo Gallery Sabre Assoc: "Those Were The Days!"

----- The 50th History ----- It was almost a year after the start of the Korean War that the 50th Fighter Interceptor Group was called to active service on June 1, 1951. Its tour of active service lasted only 24-hours before it was again inactivated on June 2, 1951. The 50th was redesignated the 50th Fighter Bomber Wing on November 15, 1952. On New Year's Day, 1953, the 50th was activated and assigned to Tactical Air Command. Equipped with P-51 aircraft, the wing was stationed at Clovis AFB, New Mexico, where it absorbed the resources of an Air National Guard wing which had been called to active duty as part of the Korean War buildup. Shortly afterwards, the wing converted from the World War II propellor driven P-51 Mustangs to the new jet-engined, swept wing F-86F Sabres. 81st FBS, Dow AFB, Maine just before departing for Hahn. After the conversion, the 50th Fighter Bomber Wing found itself transferred from TAC to USAFE's 12th Air Force and assigned to the newly built Hahn Air Force Base in West Germany. Dow AB, Maine, 50th Planes With Original 50th FBW Insignia On Side. On July 23, 1953, the 50th FBW's ground echelon left Clovis by train to Galveston, Texas, where they boarded the USN General M. B. Stewart, a World War II troop ship, and sailed to Bremerhaven, West Germany, arriving there August 9th. After a brief welcoming ceremony by 12th Air Force officials, they boarded a waiting train for a over night journey to Hahn AB. The Wing's air echelon had lefted Clovis the day before, on the 22nd and under 'Operation Fox Able 20' flew their new Sabres first to Dow Air Base, Maine. The Wing was delayed at Dow for several weeks because of bad weather over the Atlantic but once the weather had cleared, the Wing continued on, using the northern air route, with several stop overs alongs the way. 50th Sabres Over The Atlantic On August 17th, 1953, some 75 aircraft, led by Colonel Ford, landed at Hahn, where the ground echelon, were waiting to welcome them. Along with it came two fighter squadrons that had been with the 50th FG throughout World War II; the 10th and 81st Fighter Squadrons. This was the first time in Air Force history, that a complete wing deployed at one time from the United States to Europe.

The 417th Fighter Squadron completed the fighting arm of the 50th soon after the move to Hahn. Although not an original squadron of the 50th Fighter Group, the 417th was stationed at Giebelstadt, Germany, with the 50th during the last days of World War II. Shortly thereafter, the 50th Fighter Bomber Wing became the first tactically operational wing in the command. Four Color Bands On Fin Of The Wing's Commander Under the command of Col. Wallace S. Ford, the wing delayed unpacking efforts to participate in exercise "Monte Carlo" demonstrating the punch the 50th now added to the European air defense. During "Monte Carlo" the 50th Fighter Bomber squadrons flew 124 sorties supporting aggressor forces, 52 sorties in four hours. 10th FBS's F-86H, Without Yellow Fuselage Bands In line with a stepped-up gunnery program established by the United States Air Forces in Europe in 1954, the 50th spent six weeks at the Wheelus Field gunnery range, Tripoli, to further air-to-air training. The wing flew 3,062 effective sorties while at Wheelus Field and scored highter in the air-to-air and air-to-surface runs than any unit in 12th Air Force. An annual aerial gunnery competition subsquently evolved at Wheelus Air Field, North Africa, where all units throughout Europe annually competed for the top spot in the USAFE command. During the first competition, held on July 30, 1955, the "Straight Shooting" pilots of the 50th Fighter Bomber Wing took top honors.

F-86H Sabre (53-1421) of Lt. Col. Charles E. Yeager's 417th FBS at Toul-Rossieres AB, France.Showing 3 external fuel tanks and one pylon for the "special weapon." On October 21, 1955, five new F-86H Sabres arrived at Hahn AB, and by May 1956, the wing had fully converted to the new aircraft. With the new Sabres, the 50th mission changed too, from air defense to "special weapons." They became a fighter bomber wing capable of carrying nuclear weapons. The Red Dork Insignia Of The 417th On Tail Fin. The French Word Dorque Means Ghost. On April 15, 1956, the 50th began a move to Toul - Rosiere AB, France. The relocation ended on August 1st of the same year and in the true spirit of the 50th, the wing arrived at Toul - Rosiere fully intact and fully operational.

The 50th's wing move was complete and all personnel were settling in when USAFE announced that the supersonic Super Sabre F-100D would be the new aircraft for the 50th Fighter Bomber Wing. The wing converted to the new aircraft during 1958. On July 8 of that year, the 50th Fighter Bomber Wing was redesignated the 50th Tactical Fighter Wing. F'86s Hidden In The Woods Of Hahn. Packing up lock, stock and barrel, the 50th reversed direction and headed back to Hahn on September 1, 1959. The 10th and 81st Fighter Squadrons made the move to Hahn but the 417th found itself stationed at Ramstein AB, while re- maining under the operational control of the 50th TFW. The move was completed on December 10, 1959; it was delayed somewhat by runway resurfacing at Hahn. Just eight days after the return of the 10th and 81st Fighter Squadrons, the 496th, under the operational control of the 86th Fighter Interceptor Wing, converted to F-102 Delta Daggers. ----- The 50th's History Continues In: The Third Decade. ----- TOP OF PAGE

The Second Decade: Aircraft Gallery

Squadrons...Pilots...Planes Ladies' Day Hahn Air Base, Germany, July 1954! The 50th Aircraft Gallery!

Hahn 50th TFW, Wing Commander's F-100 Super Sabre Dow, Maine, F-86s With Original Insignia Colonel Fred J. Ascani's F-86 Sabre. 50th FBW, Wing Commander's F-86 50th AP Guarding Super Sabre, Area 3. Area 3, Air Police Security Flight Hahn F-100D Super Sabre, 1958. Korea...Two F-86s Heading For MiG Alley! September 9th, 1959 496th FIS converts to F-102 Delta Daggers. TOP OF PAGE

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50th K-9, Hahn Air Force Base, West Germany: Special!

The following article is reprinted from Sabre Jet Classics magazine with permission from the F-86 Sabre Pilots Association

THOSE WERE THE DAYS! THE 50th FIGHTER BOMBER WING by Dave Tilton

The 50th Fighter Bomber Wing was activated at Seifridge Field on 15 January 1941 as the 50th Pursuit Group. Redesignated the 50th Fighter Group in May of that same year, the unit was part of the Fighter Command School, train- ing pilot cadres for night fighter units operating in Europe and the Pacific. The 50th Fighter Group went to England in April 1944, flying P-47 Thunderbolts from RAF Lymington with the 9th AF, until Allied forces had a foothold on the Continent following the Normandy Invasion. The 50th FG flew many ground support missions in support of the GIs slugging their way off the beaches during those fateful days in June 1944. Operating from forward bases in France, the 50th leap-frogged across France and Germany, finally ending World War Two at Giebelstadt AB, Germany. The 50th returned to the US after the end of the war and was inactivated on 7 November 1945. On April 1st, 1951, the 140th FBW, with 120th FBS, Colorado ANG, 187th FBS Wyoming ANG, and 191st FBS Utah ANG, were federalized and re-opened Clovis AFB, New Mexico. At the time they were equipped with F-51Ds. One of our early members was a recent returnee from Korea, an 'ace' with 8 MiGs, and a gentleman many of you know - Captain Robinson 'Robbie' Risner. Robbie was my Ops Officer in the 187th, and a real pleasure and thrill to fly with. He was a real PRO. On 1 January 1953, as part of the governments' emergency buildup to counter the Soviet threat to the Western nations, the federalized 140th FBW became the 50th FBW, and was slated to fly F-86F fighter bombers. The pilot cadre comprised quite a few 'jocks' with World War Two experience, plus quite a few pilots that had recently returned from the fighting in Korea. Many of the pilots had F-86 training, although there were quite a few that had flown the venerable F-51D Mustang in Korea. And that was a good thing, as the group was equipped with F51Ds when we were first activated at Clovis We transitioned from '51s into F-86Fs very soon, spending the next 7 months learning fighter bomber tactics. Our COs at this time, Colonel Gerald Dix and Colonel Al Schinz, demanded only one thing from us - perfection. By the summer, we felt we were ready for anything. And with that kind of attitude, the Air Force put us right in the front lines of the Cold War. On 22 July 1953, we departed Clovis for operations in support of NATO. On 10 August 1953, we began operations at Hahn AB, Germany. Although the 50th was a fighter bomber group, our mission at Hahn was similar to that of the 36th Fighter Day Wing, (The 36th FDW was covered in a story in Sabrejet Classics, vol. 3-3 "Zulu Alert At Fursty". Ed). When we weren't standing "Zulu Alert", we often would fly border patrol flights. We had to stage through the forward field at Giebelstadt (our old home during WW2), which was about 5 minutes from the border. Taking off from G'stadt, we would rush headlong toward the border, turning back at the very last moment. It usually got the Soviet air defenses all fired up, and sometimes the Migs would come buzzing around. Near the end of my tour at Hahn with the 50th, another aviator with 'some experience' came to the 50th. He was my CO in the 417th FBS and his name was Lt Colonel Chuck Yeager. By this time our squadron had transitioned into the F-86H, and it was my extreme pleasure to give the original Mach-buster his 'check-out' in the new 'H. What a ride that was trying to keep up with Chuck Yeager, making sure he knew how to fly it! About twice a year we would jet down to sunny Wheelus Air Base, near Tripoli, Libya, in North Africa. Ah yes, Wheelus, that resort on the Mediterranean. There was sun and sand - and very little else. USAFE and 12th Air Force, both held gunnery competitions at Wheelus in December 1954 and July 1955. With Chuck Yeager leading our squadron, the 417th won the USAFE Gunnery Meet in 1954. I was fortunate enough to be named the Top Shooter of our squadron. Those were the days. The 50th flew F-86Fs and F-86Hs from 1953 into 1958, before transitioning into the supersonic era with the F-100 Super Sabre. But that's another story. No portion of this article may be used or reprinted without permission from the President of the F-86 Sabre Pilots Association or the editor of Sabre Jet Classics magazine. TOP OF PAGE SiteBuilder Note: To read more exciting stories about the F-86 Sabres in Europe and Korea, during the fifties, go to the 50th K-9 Link Page to access the F-86 Sabre Pilots Association web site!

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