4th Fighter Wing

919-722-0001

4th Maintenance Group

4th Medical Group

919-722-1812

4th Mission Support Group

4th Mission Support Group

4th Operations Group

919-722-2601

While already in England in the fall of 1942, the 4th Fighter Group was activated from several RAF Eagle Squadrons’ American pilots, becoming one of the only units to have origins in the history of another country. During the early years of the war, the group flew Spitfires, P-47s, and P-51s as escorts for bombers who sought to destroy crucial enemy targets such as airfields, railroads, factories, and supply storages around Europe. They even flew in small groups to purposely entice the enemy into flying against them so they could be destroyed; a series of these tricks earned the group a Distinguished Unit Citation in spring of 1944. After participating in some of the most well-known events of 1944-45, including the Normandy and Holland invasions, the Battle of the Bulge, and the crossing of the Rhine River, the 4th deactivated in November of ‘45. It was brought back in 1946 and began to train on new F-80 Shooting Starts and F-86 Sabre jets before entering the Korean War in 1950. In the same year, the Fighter Group, now known as the Fighter-Interceptor Group, was involved in the first ever all-jet battle in which the group’s Sabres were able to destroy 6 out of 15 enemy MiGs with no losses of their own. They were one of the war’s top fighter groups in terms of downed enemy aircraft and making 2 dozen ace pilots. They trained in Japan for several years post-Korea before deactivation in 1957. The 4th Operations Group was activated in 1991 and took on the former Fighter Group’s history and honors. It was at this time the group received the F-15E Strike Eagles it continues to operate and use in training today. Since the September 11th terrorist attacks of 2001, the Operations Group has deployed in support of U.S. involvement in the Middle East, including Operations Southern Watch (Kuwait), Enduring Freedom (Iraq and Afghanistan), Anaconda (Afghanistan), and Iraqi Freedom over Southeast Asia.