355th Fighter Wing The 355th Fighter Wing ( 355 FW ) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command ' s Twelfth Air Force . It is stationed at Davis - Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson , Arizona , where in operates the A - 10 Thunderbolt II . The wing ' s mission is to provide close air support ( CAS ) , air interdiction ( AI ) , forward air control ( FAC ) , combat search and rescue ( CSAR ) , ground based tactical air control , and airbase operations . Subordinate organizations . 355th Operations Group ( 355 OG ) 355th Maintenance Group ( 355 MXG ) 355th Mission Support Group ( 355 MSG ) 355th Medical Group ( 355 MDG ) History . World War II . The 355th Fighter Group was first activated 12 November 1942 . Originally equipped with P - 47 Thunderbolt s , the group began using P - 51 Mustang s in 1944 and quickly gained acclaim as the " Steeple Morden Strafers , " a reference to its base in England and its lethal accuracy at low level . The group was under the command of the 65th Fighter Wing of the VIII Fighter Command , Eighth Air Force . Aircraft of the group were identified by white around their cowling and tail . The group consisted of the following squadrons : The 355th FG flew its first combat mission , a fighter sweep over Belgium , on 14 September 1943 and afterwards served primarily as escort for B - 17 / B - 24 bombers that attacked industrial areas of Berlin , marshalling yards at Karlsruhe , an airfield at Neuberg , oil refineries at Misburg , synthetic oil plants at Gelsenkirchen , locks at Minden , and other objectives . The group also flew fighter sweeps , area patrols , and bombing missions , striking such targets as air parks , locomotives , bridges , radio stations , and armoured cars . On 5 April 1944 , shortly after converting from P - 47 ' s to P - 51 ' s , the group successfully bombed and strafed German airfields during a snow squall , a mission for which the group was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation . The group provided fighter cover for Allied forces landing in Normandy on 6 June 1944 , and afterwards hit transportation facilities to cut enemy supply lines . Hit fuel dumps , locomotives , and other targets in support of ground forces during the breakthrough at Saint - Lô in July . The 355th Fighter Group flew its last combat mission on 25 April 1945 . On 3 July the group transferred to Gablingen , Germany for duty with United States Air Forces in Europe as part of the army of occupation . Transferred , without personnel and equipment , to Mitchel Field New York on 1 August 1946 . It was inactivated on 20 November due to the Air Force ' s policy of retaining only low - numbered groups on active duty after the war , the unit being redesignated as the 14th Fighter Group in an administrative redesignation . The fighter group destroyed or damaged 1 , 500 enemy planes , making it the top strafing outfit in the VIII Fighter Command during World War II . Cold War . In the mid - 1950s , the group was reactivated and assigned to the Air Defense Command as the 355th Fighter Group ( Air Defense ) . It was assigned to McGhee Tyson AFB , near Knoxville Tennessee , replacing the 516th Air Defense Group . Flying the F - 86D Sabre , the group provided fighter defense for the Oak Ridge Atomic Energy Plant , the Tennessee Valley Authority dams , and the eastern region of the United States . Regular Air Force operations at McGhee Tyson AFB ended on 8 January 1958 . The 354th FIS inactivated in that date . The 355th Fighter Group remained until 1 July 1960 when it was inactivated along with the F - 86D interceptor squadrons , and the base turned over to Tennessee Air National Guard control . Vietnam era . On 13 April 1962 the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing was established and activated at George AFB , California , being equipped with the new F - 105 Thunderchief . After a period of organization at George , the wing was assigned to McConnell AFB , Kansas , becoming the host unit at the base . The unit transferred to the Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand in 1965 . During the next five years , it flew more than 101 , 000 sortie s over North Vietnam , dropping 202 , 596 tons of bombs and destroying 12 , 675 targets . The wing ' s pilots were credited with twenty airborne kills of MiG aircraft and eight aircraft destroyed on the ground . Nicknamed " PACAF ' s Pride , " the unit received three Presidential Unit Citations and three Air Force Outstanding Unit Award s with the combat " V " device . It is also noteworthy that , of the twelve airmen awarded the Medal of Honor in the Vietnam War , two belonged to the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing : Major s Merlyn H . Dethlefsen and Leo K . Thorsness . The 355th was inactivated at Takhli on 10 December 1970 as part of the drawdown of US Forces in Southeast Asia in the early 1970s . The 355th was reactivated at Davis - Monthan Air Force Base in 1971 , being assigned to Tactical Air Command . Initially , the wing had four squadrons ( 333d , 354th , 357th and 358th ) equipped with the new A - 7D Corsair II ground air support aircraft . It achieved operationally - ready status in 1972 . In late 1972 , the 354th Tactical Fighter Squadron deployed its Corsairs to Korat Royal Thai Air Fore Base , Thailand and was attached to the 354th Tactical Fighter Wing ( Forward Echelon ) , which had deployed to Korat from Myrtle Beach AFB , South Carolina . From Korat , the 354th , and later the 357th , which replaced the 354th TFS in June 1973 , conducted combat operations first in South Vietnam , then in 1973 , in Cambodia , supporting the Lon Nol Government until 15 August 1973 when US combat operations in Southeast Asia were halted by Congress . Post Vietnam . Withdrawing from Thailand in 1974 , the wing began to send its Corsairs to the Air National Guard , and transitioning to the new A - 10 Thunderbolt II . By 1979 , the wing had completely transitioned to the A - 10 and achieved operationally ready status . On 1 September 1979 , Tactical Air Command took the 355th off deployment status and redesignated it as the 355th Tactical Training Wing becoming the USAF ' s A - 10 Thunderbolt II Operational Training Unit . In 1984 the 355th Fighter Group was consolidated with the Wing , giving the 355th Tactical Training Wing the history , honors and lineage of the World War II and Cold War organization . As the wing entered the 1990s , it continued to train A - 10 crews for assignments to units in the United States , England , and South Korea . The 355th Wing regularly participated in air support exercises such as Air Warrior and weapons competitions such as Long Rifle , in which it consistently captured top A - 10 honors . However , the wing ' s excellence wasn ' t limited to the cockpit ; in 1990 , it received the TAC Commander ' s Award for top aircraft maintenance , in the A - 10 category , for the third consecutive year . The wing ' s training program paid off when in 1990 squadrons were deployed to King Fhad International Airport in Saudi Arabia , being assigned to the 354th Tactical Fighter Wing ( Provisional ) during operation Desert Shield . In 1991 during Operation Desert Storm , when 355th - trained A - 10 pilots destroyed 1 , 000 tank s , 2 , 000 vehicles , 1 , 200 artillery piece s , and two helicopter s . While the wing as a whole did not deploy to the Persian Gulf , more than 250 members augmented forces in theater and filled shortages in the United States . Modern era . On 1 October 1991 , the 355th Tactical Training Wing was redesignated as the 355th Fighter Wing under the " Objective Wing " concept adapted by the Air Force as the lines between tactical and strategic forces blurred and the Air Force leadership began to merge these forces under Air Combat Command . The flying components of the wing were reassigned to the newly established 355th Operations Group . As part of this restructuring , on 1 May 1992 , the 355th became a composite wing , absorbing elements of the 602nd Air Control Wing , the 41st Electronic Combat Squadron , and of most other activities currently operating at the Davis - Monthan Air Force Base . With these diverse units as part of the organization , the designation was changed to the 355th Wing on 1 May 1992 . An era came to a close when on 30 September 2002 the 42d Airborne Command and Control Squadron was designated inactive . The 355th Wing then underwent an extensive reorganization of forces on 1 October 2002 . During this reorganization , new squadrons were added to the existing wing structure , while some squadrons were realigned under new group commanders . The 355th Wing also inherited the 48th , 55th , and 79th Rescue Squadron s equipped with HC - 130 aircraft and HH - 60 helicopters . Another change saw the 41st and 43d Electronic Combat Squadrons fall under the operational control of the 55th Electronic Combat Group , 55th Wing at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska . On 1 October 2003 , the three combat search - and - rescue squadrons fell under the command of the 563d Rescue Group . The 355th Fighter Wing currently provides air assets to Air Expeditionary unit commanders involved in operations around the globe , as part of the Global War on Terrorism . Components . Wings Groups Squadrons