347th Rescue Group The United States Air Force ' s 347th Rescue Group is an active combat search and rescue unit assigned to the 23d Wing at Moody AFB , Georgia . Mission . The 347th Rescue Group directs flying and maintenance of the one of two USAF active - duty Groups dedicated to Combat Search and Rescue . Responsible for training / readiness of 1 , 100 personnel , including a pararescue squadron , two flying squadrons ( Lockheed HC - 130 / HH - 60 Pave Hawk ) , and an operations support squadron . Deploys worldwide in support of National Command Authority takings . Provides operational support for AETC tenant group ( T - 38 Talon / T - 6 Texan II ) . History . Operational history . World War II . Constituted as the 347th Fighter Group on 29 September 1942 . Activated in New Caledonia on 3 October 1942 . Detachments of the group , which was assigned to Thirteenth Air Force in January 1943 , were sent to Guadalcanal , where they used Bell P - 39 and P - 400 Airacobra aircraft to fly protective patrols , support ground forces , and attack Japanese shipping . Operational squadrons of the 347th FG were the 67th , 68th , 70th and 339th Fighter Squadrons . When the Allied campaign to recover the central and northern Solomon Islands began in February 1943 , the detachments , still operating from Guadalcanal and using Lockheed P - 38 Lightning s and P - 39 Airacobra s , escorted bombers and attacked enemy bases on New Georgia , the Russell Islands and Bougainville . It was P - 38Gs of the 339th Fighter Squadron which , on 18 April 1943 , flew the mission which resulted in the death of Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto . Only their aircraft possessed the range to intercept and engage . Pilots were informed that they were intercepting an " important high officer , " although they were not aware of who their actual target was . On the morning of 18 April , despite urgings by local commanders to cancel the trip for fear of ambush , Yamamoto ' s planes left Rabaul as scheduled . Shortly after , eighteen specially fitted P - 38s took off from Guadalcanal . They wave - hopped most of the 430 miles to the rendezvous point , maintaining radio silence throughout . At 09 : 34 Tokyo time , the two flights met and a dogfight ensued between the P - 38s and the six Zeroes escorting Yamamoto . 1st Lt . Rex T . Barber engaged the first of the two Japanese bombers , which turned out to be Yamamoto ' s plane . He sprayed the plane with gunfire until it began to spew smoke from its left engine . Barber turned away to attack the other bomber as Yamamoto ' s plane crashed into the jungle . Afterwards , another pilot , Capt Thomas George Lanphier , Jr . , claimed he had shot down the lead bomber , which led to a decades - old controversy until a team inspected the crash site to determine direction of the bullet impacts . Most historians now credit Barber with the claim . One US pilot — 1st Lt . Raymond K . Hine — was killed in action . Headquarters moved up from New Caledonia at the end of 1943 ; and the following month the group moved from Guadalcanal to Stirling Island to support ground forces on Bougainville , assist in neutralizing enemy bases at Rabaul , and fly patrol and search missions in the northern Solomons . The 347th was reassigned to New Guinea in August 1944 , and equipped completely with P - 38G ' s . Escorted bombers to oil refineries on Borneo ; bombed and strafed airfields and installations on Ceram , Amboina , Boeroe , Celebes , and Halmahera . Received a Distinguished Unit Citation for a series of long - range bombing and strafing raids , conducted through intense flak and fighter defense , on the airfield and shipping at Makassar , Celebes , in November 1944 . Moved to the Philippines in February 1945 . Supported landings on Mindanao in March 1945 : bombed and strafed enemy installations and supported Australian forces on Borneo , attacked Japanese positions in northern Luzon , and flew escort missions to the Asiatic mainland . The 347th Fighter Group was reassigned back to the United States in December 1945 , and inactivated on 1 January 1946 . Cold War . Occupied Japan . The unit was redesignated as the 347th Fighter Wing ( All Weather ) and reactivated in Japan on 20 February 1947 as part of Far East Air Forces 315th Composite Wing to perform air defense duties . The wing was assembled from three former Northrop F - 61B Black Widow night fighter squadrons , the 6th , 418th and 421st . The squadrons were redesignated the 339th , 4th and 68th squadrons , respectively . In August 1948 , their designations were changed to Fighter ( All Weather ) Squadron to more closely identify their mission . The 4th Fighter ( All Weather ) Squadron was deployed and attached to the 51st Fighter Group at Kadena Air Base , Okinawa . The useful life of the F - 61 was extended due to the Air Force ' s problems in fielding a jet - powered night / all weather fighter . The Curtiss XP - 87 / XF - 87 Blackhawk was the planned replacement , however problems in development led the Black Widow to be replaced by another propeller - driven fighter , the North American F - 82F / G Twin Mustang . The Twin Mustangs started to arrive during mid - 1949 and 1950 . The 347th was the last active duty USAF unit to fly the Black Widow , the 339th FS retiring its last F - 61 in May 1950 , missing the Korean War by only a month . Korean War . As the war in Korea began , on 24 June 1950 the 347th Fighter Wing was inactivated and the 347th Fighter Group ' s Twin Mustang squadrons were transferred to South Korea . They were the only fighter aircraft available with the range to cover the entire Korean peninsula . The 339th Squadron was attached to the 8th Fighter Wing at Kimpo Airfield , near Seoul South Korea to stem the North Korean advance . The 68th Fighter ( AW ) Squadron was based at Itazuke , Japan . The 4th ( AW ) Squadron was reaassigned to the provisional 6302d Air Base Group and provided air defense of Japan and the Ryukyu Islands . The 347th Fighter Group provided fighter cover for the C - 54 and C - 47 transports flying in and out of Kimpo Airfield . On 27 June 1950 , an F - 82G ( 46 – 383 ) of the 68th Fighter ( AW ) Squadron flown by Lieut . William ( Skeeter ) Hudson ( pilot ) and Lieut . Carl Fraser ( radar operator ) shot down a North Korean Yak - 7U ( possibly a misidentified Yak - 11 ) . This was the first air - to - air kill of the Korean War , and , incidentally , the first aerial victory by the newly formed United States Air Force . It is believed that Lt . Hudson was flying an F - 82G named " Bucket of Bolts " ( 46 – 601 ) instead of his usual aircraft on that historic day . Later that same day , an F - 82G ( 46 – 392 ) flown by Major James Little of the 339th Fighter ( AW ) Squadron of the 347th Fighter Group shot down a North Korean Yak - 9 . Records are unreliable , and some experts maintain that Major Little actually was the first to kill . The 339th and 68th Fighter ( AW ) Squadrons served in South Korea until December 1950 , being attached to the 8th FBW , the 35th FIW and 51st FIW . As more jets , especially the all - weather Lockheed F - 94 Starfire , became available the F - 82s were deligated to ground attack missions before eventually being withdrawn from the Korean Theater , modified , and reassigned to bomber escort duties at Ladd AFB , Alaska . With their F - 82 ' s reassigned to Alaska , the 347th Fighter Group was inactivated and stood down . Japan . The 347th Tactical Fighter Wing was reactivated at Yokota Air Base , Japan in December 1967 as part of Fifth Air Force . In Japan , the wing performed tactical fighter training missions , aerial reconnaissance and contingency operations . Its operational squadrons were the following : The 35th , 36th and 80th TFS were equipped with the McDonnell - Douglas F - 4C Phantom IIs and flew tactical fighter training missions . The 556th flew various electronic warfare and special operations sorties of a classified nature . The 34th TFS was in a deployed status to the 388th TFW , Korat RTAFB , Thailand . 347th F - 4C aircrews would rotate TDY to and from the 34th TFS . Squadron transferred permanently to the 388th TFW , March 1971 . In 1971 the US and Japan agreed that all combat squadrons based at Yokota were to be reassigned and Yokota became a non - flying station hosted by the 475th Air Base Wing . 35th TFS aircraft were transferred to 67th TFS / 18th TFW , Kadena Air Base Okinawa . The 36th and 80th TFS aircraft were transferred to 3d TFW , Kusan AB , South Korea . The 554th TRS ' s B - 57s were reassigned to the 363d TRW at Shaw AFB , South Carolina . The C - 130s were retained at Yokota and reassigned to the incoming 475th Air Base Wing . The 347th TFW was inactivated in place in May 1971 prior to reassignment to the United States . Mountain Home AFB . The 347th was reactivated and reequipped with factory - fresh General Dynamics F - 111F Aardvarks , replacing the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing as host unit at Mountain Home AFB , Idaho in May 1971 . Operational squadrons of the wing were : The 4589th / 4590th TFS were provisional units , pending the transfer of the 389th and 390th TFSs from the 12th and 366th TFWs in Southeast Asia . All three squadrons adopted the MO tail code under the common wing concept in June 1972 . The 347th had a short stay at Mountain Home , conducting F - 111F training until October 1972 , when it was replaced by the 366th TFW which moved from Takhli RTAFB , Thailand to Mountain Home . Upon its arrival , the 366th absorbed all the people and equipment of the 347th . Takhli RTAFB . On 30 July 1973 the 347th Tactical Fighter Wing was reactivated at Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base , Thailand , inheriting two squadrons of F - 111As from the 474th Tactical Fighter Wing , which ended its TDY at Takhli from Nellis AFB , Nevada . These were : For a brief two - week period the 347th flew combat operations into Cambodia until 15 August , when the last wartime mission of the Vietnam Era was flown for final mission of Constant Guard . After the ceasefire , the wing was maintained in a combat - ready status for possible contingency actions . During January 1974 the Secretary of Defense announced a realignment of Thailand resources , with the final pullout of air resources by the end of 1976 . In June 1974 , two F - 111s from the 347th TFW flew from Takhli to Osan Air Base South Korea and conducted live weapons demonstrations for Republic of Korea and US officials at Nightmare Range . Takhli RTAFB was returned to the Royal Thai Air Force in July 1974 , with the 347th inactivating in place . Korat RTAFB . With the return of Takhli to the Royal Thai Air Force , the two F - 111 squadrons ( 428th , 429th TFS ) of the 347th were transferred to Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base . The 347th TFW was activated in place on 12 July 1974 . At Korat , the 347th performed training readiness missions . It participated in the recovery of the SS Mayaguez , an American merchant ship , from the Khmer Rouge Cambodians , 13 – 14 May 1975 . On 30 June 1975 , the two F - 111A squadrons were inactivated . The aircraft were sent to the 422d Fighter Weapon Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base , Nevada . The 347th TFW was reassigned to Moody AFB , Georgia . Moody AFB . On 1 December 1975 the 347th Tactical Fighter Wing was reactivated at Moody AFB , Georgia as a tactical fighter wing under Tactical Air Command . Operational fighter squadrons at Moody were : The 347th flew the McDonnell - Douglas F - 4E until 1988 , upgrading to the Block 15 General Dynamics F - 16A / B . In 1990 the wing upgraded again to the Block 40 F - 16C / D . Moody won the Commander - in - Chief ' s Installation Excellence Award for 1991 , and the 1994 Verne Orr Award , which is presented by the Air Force Association to the unit that most effectively uses human resources to accomplish its mission . In June 1997 , the 347th TFW was awarded the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award for the eighth time in its illustrious history . On 1 October 1991 , the 347th TFW was redesignated the 347th Fighter Wing . On 1 June 1992 the 347th FW was assigned to the newly activated Air Combat Command . As a result of the August 1992 destruction of Homestead AFB Florida by Hurricane Andrew , the 31st Fighter Wing ' s 307th and 308th Fighter Squadrons were initially evacuated to Moody AFB prior to the hurricane making landfall . With Homstead unusable for an extended period after the hurricane , on 20 November the squadrons were permanently assigned to the 347th TFW . On 1 April 1994 , the 308th FS was moved without personnel or equipment to the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke AFB , Arizona , replacing the 311th FS . The squadrons Block 40 F - 16s were sent to USAFE . On 1 July 1994 , the Air Force redesignated the 347th Fighter Wing to the 347th Wing , a force projection , air / land composite wing . Squadrons of the 347th Wing were : The 307th FS was inactivated on 31 August 1995 when F - 16 operations at Moody were reduced in size . On 1 April 1997 the 347th Wing added a search - and - rescue component with the addition of the 41st Rescue Squadron with HH - 60G helicopters and the 71st Rescue Squadron with specialized HC - 130P aircraft from Patrick AFB , Florida . To make room for these squadrons , the 52d Airlift Squadron was inactivated , with its C - 130s being transferred to the 71st RQS . The F - 16s of the 347th began to be transferred out as the " Composite Wing " concept ended at Moody . The 70th FS was inactivated on 30 June 2000 . The 69th FS was inactivated on 2 February 2001 , and the 68th FS was inactivated on 1 April . The F - 16s were transferred to various active - duty , reserve and Air National Guard squadrons both in the CONUS as well as overseas . On 1 May 2001 , the 347th Wing stood down as a composite wing and stood up as the 347th Rescue Wing , becoming the Air Force ' s only active - duty combat search and rescue wing . The 347th RQW was transferred from ACC to the Air Force Special Operations Command on 1 October 2003 .