474th Tactical Fighter Wing The 474th Tactical Fighter Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit . Its last assignment was at Nellis Air Force Base , Nevada where it trained combat - ready aircrews and maintained a rapid - reaction capability to execute fighter attacks against enemy forces and facilities in time of crisis . However , much of its history stems from the Second World War 474th Fighter Group . During its operational lifetime , the 474th was engaged in combat operations during World War II , the Korean War and the Vietnam War . The 474th TFW was inactivated on 30 September 1989 . History . Activated in Japan and moved the same day to South Korea with tactical components to begin combat operations . Tactical components were detached on 1 April 1953 , while the rest of the wing reduced to " paper " status , a condition which prevailed until the wing inactivated in 1954 . Activated in the United States in October 1957 and until mid - September 1964 maintained proficiency in tactical fighter operations , deploying components , aircraft , and crews on a global basis in support of NATO , PACAF , AAC , and other organizations . Deployed three squadrons to southeastern United States during the Cuban missile crisis of 1962 . The entire wing , except for a deployed squadron in Southeast Asia , reverted to " paper " status on 15 September 1965 , the single detached squadron being reduced to " paper " status upon its return to the United States . On 20 January 1968 the wing was reassigned to Nellis AFB , giving the base an operational Tactical Fighter Wing , assigned to Twelfth Air Force . With the move to Nellis , the 474th Combat Support Group became the base operating host unit . The 474th became the first USAF operational wing equipped with the General Dynamics F - 111 . In early 1968 , the Air Force decided to rush a small detachment of F - 111As to Southeast Asia under a program known as " Combat Lancer " . Six 428th TFS F - 111As were allocated to the Combat Lancer program , and departed Nellis AFB for Takhli RTAFB on 15 March 1968 . By the end of that month , 55 night missions had been flown against targets in North Vietnam , but two aircraft had been lost . 66 - 0022 had been lost on March 28 , and 66 - 0017 on March 30 . Replacement aircraft had left Nellis , but the loss of a third F - 111A ( 66 - 0024 ) on April 22 halted F - 111A combat operations . However , the aircraft remained poised for combat , but they saw little action before their return to the USA in November . It turned out that the three F - 111A losses were not due to enemy action but were caused by wing and tail structural defects . One of the Combat Lancer crashes had been traced to a malfunction of the aircraft ' s tail servo actuator . These losses caused a storm of controversy in the United States , with Wisconsin Senator William Proxmire denouncing the F - 111A as an unsafe and defective plane . However , the Air Force and General Dynamics remained hard at work trying to fix the problems with the F - 111A . The 428th TFS of the 474th TFW reached an initial operational capability in the spring of 1968 . Modifications to the F - 111 took a lot longer than expected , and the Wing was not fully operational until July 1971 . In December 1968 , Tactical Air Command activated the 4527th Combat Crew Training Squadron ( Tail Code " ND " as a dedicated F - 111 pilot training squadron at Nellis . The provisional squadron performed lead - in training for experienced pilots in the F - 111 , it was made an Air Force squadron in October 1969 , being re - designated as the 442d Tactical Fighter Training Squadron . The 474th returned to Takhli RTAFB in September 1972 . Three F - 111A squadrons ( the 428th , 429th and 430th ) participated in the Linebacker II aerial offensive against North Vietnam . They flew bombing missions against targets in North Vietnam and Laos in the midst of the monsoon season . They flew without RB - 66E electronic countermeasures escort aircraft or KC - 135 tankers . On 8 November 1972 , they flew 20 strikes over North Vietnam in weather that grounded other aircraft . Four F - 111As could deliver the bomb loads of 20 F - 4s . The 428th , 429th and 430th TFS flew some 4000 combat missions with excellent success rates in hitting targets even when visibility was near zero . Only six aircraft were lost in action . The 430th TFS returned to the 474th TFW Nellis on 22 March 1973 assuming a replacement training unit mission , while the 428th and 429th were assigned to the newly transferred 347th Tactical Fighter Wing at Mountain Home Air Force Base , Idaho on 30 July 1973 . With the end of hostilities in Southeast Asia , the 474th ' s mission was to train combat - ready force of aircrews and maintained a rapid - reaction capability to execute fighter attacks against enemy forces and facilities in time of crisis . In 1975 , the 428th and 429th were reassigned to the wing , again being equipped with F - 111As . In August 1977 , the F - 111 aircraft and crews were transferred to Mountain Home AFB , Idaho , and the 474th Wing absorbed the F - 4D Phantom II aircraft , crews , and resources of the inactivating provisional 4474th Tactical Fighter Wing at Nellis in April 1977 . The Phantoms had a relatively short life , being replaced with new F - 16A Fighting Falcon s , as part of " Operation Ready Switch " . The 474th was the third USAF wing to receive Fighting Falcons . It received its first Block 1 / 5 F - 16A / Bs in November 1980 , later operated Block 10 F - 16A / Bs . The wing conducted routine Tactical Air Command training and deployments from Nellis with the F - 16s , retaining the Block 10 / 15 models until September 1989 , when the wing was inactivated , the F - 16As no longer being considered as front - line aircraft . Instead of re - equipping the wing , the F - 16As were transferred to Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve squadrons , and the three squadrons resurfacing as EF - 111A Raven Electronic Warfare Squadrons with the 27th Operations Group ( 27th Tactical Fighter Wing ) at Cannon AFB , New Mexico .