413th Flight Test Group The 413th Flight Test Group ( 413 FTG ) is a United States Air Force Air Force Reserve Command unit . It is stationed at Robins Air Force Base , Georgia as a tenant unit . The 413 FTG conducts flight tests on aircraft after the programmed depot maintenance is completed . Its history goes back to 1944 when the 413th Fighter Group flew very long range ( VLR ) escort missions of Twentieth Air Force B - 29 Superfortress bombardment groups against Japan . During the Cold War , the unit was a Strategic Air Command fighter - escort wing and later Tactical Air Command tactical fighter group in the 1950s . Overview . Components of the unit are stationed throughout the United States to help conduct functional flight tests . The group is a partnership between the Air Force Materiel Command and the Air Force Reserve Command and is the operational supervisor of all the depot flight test units . The group , manages four squadrons and two flights is made up of 140 full - time Airmen , 78 traditional reservist and nine civil servants . Once PDM is completed , members of the flight crew begin a variety of ground checks to make sure the aircraft is ready for a functional test flight . Once the aircraft is deemed airworthy , then the airplane is delivered to the home station and is configured to fly whatever mission it is assigned to fly . Assigned units and aircraft flown . 10th Flight Test Squadron ( Tinker AFB , OK ) B - 1 , B - 52 , E - 3 , KC - 135 , RC - 135 313th Flight Test Flight ( Lackland AFB , TX ) KC - 135 339th Flight Test Squadron ( Robins AFB , GA ) C - 5 , C - 130 , F - 15 370th Flight Test Squadron ( Edwards AFB , CA ) C - 12 , KC - 10 , KC - 135 415th Flight Test Flight ( Randolph AFB , TX ) T - 38 514th Flight Test Squadron ( Hill AFB , UT ) A - 10 , F - 16 , C - 130 History . World War II . The unit served primarily in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II as part of Twentieth Air Force . The 413th Fighter Group ' s aircraft flew very long range ( VLR ) escort missions of B - 29 Superfortress bombardment groups against Japan . Constituted as 413th Fighter Group on 5 October 1944 and activated on 15 October . Trained for very - long - range operations with P - 47N Thunderbolts . Moved to the South West Pacific Area , April – June 1945 . The group was assigned to the Twentieth Air Force VII Fighter Command , 301st Fighter Wing . Was reassigned to the Eighth Air Force early in August 1945 . Flew a few strafing missions from Saipan to the Truk Islands in May before beginning operations from Ie Shima in June . Engaged in dive - bombing and strafing attacks on factories , radar stations , airfields , small ships , and other targets in Japan . Made several attacks on shipping and airfields in China during July . Flew its only escort mission on 8 August 1945 when it covered B - 29 ' s during a raid against Yawata , Kyoto , Japan . Cold War . Served as a part of the air defense and occupation force for the Ryukyu Islands after the war . Inactivated on Okinawa on 15 October 1946 . Activated as part of Tactical Air Command in 1954 . Trained to achieve and maintain combat readiness by participation in tactical exercises , firepower demonstrations , joint training with US Army and US Marine Corps units , and tactical evaluations . Provided augmentation of Sixteenth Air Force in Spain , through deployment of assigned squadrons on a rotational basis , 1958 – 1959 . Components . Flights