475th Air Base Wing The 475th Air Base Wing ( 475th ABW ) is an inactive United States Air Force unit . Its last duty station was at Yokota Air Base , Japan , where it was inactivated on 1 April 1992 . A non - flying wing , 475th ABW ' s mission at Yokota was to perform host unit missions . The wing had no numbered flying squadrons , although it did operate a few T - 39 Sabreliner aircraft and UH - 1 Huey helicopters . It was absorbed by the 374th Airlift Wing under the " one base - one wing " organizational concept . History . The 475th Fighter Wing was activated in 1948 as part of the " Base - Wing " USAF reorganization , assigned to the 315th Air Division of Far East Air Forces where it performed postwar occupation duty . The wing was one of several occupation units in Japan , and was inactivated on 1 April 1949 at Ashiya Airfield due to budget reductions . Cold War . In January 1968 , the 475th Tactical Fighter Wing was activated at Misawa AB , Japan , replacing the 39th Air Division as the host unit , with the 439th Combat Support Group ( Provisional ) being redesignated 475th Combat Support Group that controlled the base support units . At Misawa , the wing trained for offensive and reconnaissance operations . Initial assigned operational squadrons of the wing were : The 45th TRS and 612th TFS were unmanned during their entire assignment , as squadron was on deployed status to bases in South Vietnam ( The 45th TRS deployed to Tan Son Nhut Air Base ; the 612th TFS at Phu Cat Air Base ) . From Misawa , aircraft and personnel of the 67th , 356th and 391st TFS rotated six aircraft every ten days to Kusan and Taegu Air Bases in South Korea performing Nuclear alert duty . A massive earthquake on 16 May 1968 caused over $ 1 million worth of damage to Misawa AB . Air Force fighter operations ceased at Misawa in early 1971 , and the wing phased down operations . All flying resources were reassigned to Kusan AB South Korea for the 3d Tactical Fighter Wing , and the wing was inactivated on 15 March , being replaced by the provisional 6112th Air Base Group as Misawa was phased down for reconstruction . After a brief period of inactivation , the 475th Air Base Wing was reactivated on 1 November 1971 at Yokota Air Base , Japan , replacing the provisional 6100th Air Base Wing . At Yokota , the wing inherited a huge support complex , with some 47 sub - locations in all parts of Japan , including operation of Yokota and Tachikawa Air Base s , Fuchu and Chitose Air Stations , and numerous housing complexes within the Tokyo area . In 1972 the wing ' s components were as below : At Yokota , the only operational flying squadron was the 556th Reconnaissance Squadron ( formerly assigned to the 347th Tactical Fighter Wing at Yokota from 1968 ) . The 556th RS was a highly specialized unit , employing modified C - 130B - II , EB - 57E electronic counter measures ( ECM ) aircraft and on occasion TDY C - 130A - II and EC - 97G Stratotankers . Only the EB - 57E ' s carried the tail code GT , the C - 130B - IIs and other aircraft being uncoded . Post Vietnam era . The 55th RS was inactivated on 30 June 1972 , after which the 475th supported a Royal Thai Air Force C - 123 Provider detachment which provided airlift support to the United Nations Command ( Rear ) of Fifth Air Force , which relocated its headquarters to Yokota in November 1974 . The 475th ABW also gradually closed down many of its widely dispersed installations , sites and facilities , consolidating them as well as assisting in the closing of Tachikawa Air Base in September 1977 . On 1 October 1978 , Military Airlift Command ( MAC ) established the 316th Tactical Airlift Group ( Provisional ) at Yokota , being supported by the 475th ABW . This was MAC ' s operational support airlift group in the Far East , with the 1403d Military Airlift Squadron ( Provisional ) flying a combination of CT - 39As , C - 12Fs , and C - 21As which it obtained from various bases in PACAF , consolidating them at Yokota . On 1 October 1989 , this unit was upgraded to a wing level and personnel redesignated as the 374th Tactical Airlift Wing , which was moved from Clark AB , Philippines in a name - only redesignation . The 475th ABW was inactivated on 1 April 1992 as part of a consolidation effort , being replaced as host unit at Yokota by the 374th , which was redesignated 374th Airlift Wing same date . Components . Group Squadrons