page_title: 86th Operations Group
section_title: 86th Fighter-Interceptor/Bomber Group
hierarchical_section_title: 86th Operations Group / History / United States Air Forces in Europe / 86th Fighter-Interceptor/Bomber Group
caption_attribution_description: F-86Fs of the 527th Fighter-Bomber Squadron - 86th FBW - Ramstein AB Germany
context_page_description: The 86th Operations Group is the flying operational component of the 86th Airlift Wing, United States Air Force. The group is stationed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.
  The mission of the 86 OG is to conduct airlift, airdrop and aeromedical evacuation as well as VIP transport operations flying the C-21, C-20H, C-37, C-40B and C-130E/J aircraft.
context_section_description: It was obvious that the piston-engine Thunderbolts would be no match for Soviet jet fighters, and on January 1950 the 86th Fighter Wing was told it would re-equip with F-84E Thunderjets for the fighter-bomber mission.
  On 20 January the wing was redesignated the 86th Fighter-Bomber Wing, and in October 1950 the 27th Fighter-Escort Wing, Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas, ferried ninety-one F-84E Thunderjets to Neubiberg. The 86th's old Thunderbolts were distributed to other NATO countries.
  With the arrival of the jets, the 86th was one of two active USAF fighter units in Germany (the other being the 36th FG) during the immediate postwar years. Over the next several years, the 86th underwent several redesignations and several station assignments in occupied Germany. In June 1948, the 86th Fighter Wing was stationed at Neubiberg Air Base, near Munich when tensions with the Soviet Union culminated in the Berlin Blockade.
  The F-84s of the 86th had elaborate red-and-white checkerboard patterns covering all tail surfaces, with checkerboard patterns on the outer halves of the tip tanks and intakes. In the fall of 1952, the USAFE Skyblazer acrobatic team was assigned to the 86th FBW. The last demonstration flight was made in July 1953.
  With the arrival of the jet age in Europe, USAFE wanted to move its units west of the Rhine River, as its bases in the Munich area were just a few minutes flying time from Soviet Mig-15 bases in Czechoslovakia. The 86th's new name and mission continued as the wing prepared to move to a newly constructed base in Ramstein-Landstuhl near Kaiserslautern, Germany, initially named Landstuhl Air Base.
  Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Clyde M. Burwell, Detachment 1 of Headquarters 86th Fighter-Bomber Wing arrived at Landstuhl AB on 17 February 1952 and opened the facilities that would become the Ramstein flight line and facilities south of Kisling Memorial Drive. Landstuhl Air Base opened for operations on 5 August 1952, and the 86th Fighter Bomber Wing arrived on 21 August.
  On 23 March 1953, the Air Force used the 86th for a "service test" reorganization, changing the wing's structure from four groups to two groups—one combat and one support. The purpose of the test was to determine the maximum efficiency obtainable with minimum personnel. In April 1953, the 86th completed its move to Landstuhl and was soon reequipped with the F-86F Sabre Jet, the first unit in USAFE to fly the most modern American fighter. The F-86F had been very successful as both a fighter and fighter bomber in the Korean War, and marked a quantum increase in the Wing's capabilities.
  A year later the 86th was redesignated the 86th Fighter-Interceptor Group and assumed a new mission of air defense for the central European region. For this mission, the wing gradually replaced its F-86Fs with rocket-armed F-86D Sabre interceptors which provided an all-weather capability. On 27 July 1956,
  The group was not operational from 22 May 1954 to 8 October 1955 and 10 August 1956 to 8 March 1958, when it inactivated, during which period tactical squadrons were attached directly to the 86th Fighter-Interceptor Wing as the Air Force reorganized its wings into the tri-deputate system.
  The inactivation of the combat group in the 86th FIG and combat groups throughout the USAF resulted in their World War II histories being lost. One must understand the "group" and "wing" are two distinct and separate units. The modern USAF wings wanted to retain the proud histories of the combat groups and requested that the groups be redesignated as wings. The request was denied, but it was decided to "temporarily" bestow the histories and honors of the combat groups. The "temporary" bestowals have remained in effect to this day
caption: North American F-86F-25-NH Sabre AF Serial No. 51-13194 of the 527th Fighter-Bomber Squadron – 1954
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