Cannon Air Force Base - History - 27th Tactical Fighter Wing - F-111 Era

F-111 Era

With the withdrawal of the F-100 from Vietnam, and the phaseout of the aircraft from the active Air Force inventory, the 474th TFW converted from F-100s into new General Dynamics F-111A aircraft. The 474th was the first USAF F-111A Wing to receive the F-111. In January 1968, the 474th was transferred to Luke AFB, Arizona, leaving Cannon AFB with the 27th TFW as the sole operational fighter wing. Headquarters 832d Air Division, however, remained at Cannon exercising operational control over several TAC wings (including the reassigned 474th) until its inactivation in 1975.

The 27th TFW began conversion to the General Dynamics F-111E "Aardvark" in late 1969. This was a several year conversion process, when in July 1972, the last operational active duty Air Force F-100s were transferred from the 27th TFW to the Air National Guard.

The 27th TFW was the third TAC Wing to receive the F-111, the first squadron to receive the aircraft was the 481st TFS, receiving its first F-111E aircraft on 30 September 1969. In addition, older F-111A models were received in October 1969. The squadron reached initial operational capability with the F-111E in the fall of 1969, and had 29 F-111Es by December. However, several accidents involving wing longerons grounded the aircraft until July 1970.

In October 1971, the 522d TFS received both F-111A and F-111Es, although the last F-100D from the squadron did not depart until 19 July 1972; the 524th TFS began receiving their first F-111A/E on 19 July 1972 as well. As part of the wing's training mission, the 4427th Tactical Fighter Replacement Squadron was activated on 1 October 1971 as an F-111D training unit.

The F-111A and F-111E models were not to remain long at Cannon, being replaced in 1972 with the more advanced F-111D.

After the conversion to the F-111D, the operational squadrons of the 27th TFW in 1973 were:

• 481st Tactical Fighter Squadron

Re-designated 481st Tactical Fighter Training Squadron 15 January 1976

• 522d Tactical Fighter Squadron
• 523d Tactical Fighter Squadron
• 524th Tactical Fighter Squadron
• 4427th Tactical Fighter Replacement Squadron

The older F-111Es were sent to RAF Upper Heyford, England and the F-111As being sent to the 474th TFW at Nellis or were converted into EF-111A Raven electronic warfare aircraft. The 837th Air Division moved to Nellis AFB Nevada on 1 July 1975, after which the 27th TFW became the host unit at Cannon.

Initially the F-111Ds were crippled by avionics problems. The horizontal situation display was prone to frequent failures, delivery of field ground equipment was late, and depot support was poor. There were excessive reliability and maintenance problems with the Mk II avionics, so severe that at times line mechanics were forced to resort to buying parts at Radio Shack. Operational readiness remained low all throughout 1973, and the abort rate of the F-111D was higher than that of other F-111s. It was not until January 1974 that the F-111D was finally declared operationally ready.

The 481st TFTS was inactivated in January 1980 and the 524th Tactical Fighter Squadron was redesignated the 524th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron. That left the 27th TFW with two operationally deployable and one training squadron.

1988 marked the beginning of Cannon’s expansion as a result of decisions made by the Secretary of Defense’s Commission on Base Realignment and Closures (BRAC). The 428th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron formerly of the 474th TFW at Cannon was reactivated with the 27th TFW on 15 December, being equipped with the F-111G. The "G" model was a conversion of the former SAC FB-111A all-weather strategic bombing version of the F-111, which was originally intended as an interim successor to the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress and Convair B-58 Hustler. These aircraft, less their nuclear delivery capability, were transferred to Cannon following the disbandment of SAC's 509th Bomb Wing at Pease AFB, New Hampshire and the 380th Bomb Wing at Plattsburgh AFB, New York.

The F-111Gs at Cannon were used primarily for training, but were scheduled to be supplanted in the training role by the F-111E. This made the F-111G surplus to USAF requirements, and the F-111G began to be transferred to AMARC for storage in 1991 with the arrival of the "E" models with the 428th TFTS. The last G model was sent to AMARC in 1993.

Personnel of the 27th TFW played a role during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Aircrews and aircraft of the 27th did not deploy to the region, but support personnel and a combat support group element of the wing's 27th Combat Support Group, commanded by Colonel David Benson, deployed to Taif. On 16 January 1991, when the U.S. led coalition force initiated the Desert Storm air campaign against Iraq, the 27th TFW had 325 personnel serving in the Persian Gulf region in combat support roles. Additional personnel from the 27th Logistics Group deployed to various other locations around the Persian Gulf.

On 1 November 1991, the 27th TFW was re-designated the 27th Fighter Wing as part of an Air Force-wide reorganization. In June 1992, the 27th FW became part of a new major command - Air Combat Command. ACC was created when SAC, TAC, and the Military Airlift Command (MAC) merged to form two commands, ACC and the Air Mobility Command (AMC).

On 1 August 1992, a fifth operational F-111 squadron was added to the 27th FW in conjunction with the realignment of all EF-111A Raven Electronic Warfare aircraft from Mountain Home AFB to Cannon. The 430th Electronic Combat Squadron was re-activated to receive these aircraft from Mountain Home AFB, and to bring new aircrews to operational readiness with the an electronic countermeasures version of the F-111A. The Raven was originally developed in the 1970s to replace the Douglas EB-66 Destroyer. The 430th was formerly at Cannon with the 474th TFW.

After about a year, the squadron was re-designated as the 429th Electronic Combat Squadron as part of the Air Force heritage program keeping notable senior units active.

In addition, the 522d, 523d and 524th Fighter Squadrons replaced their F-111D models, receiving upgraded F-111F model after the closure of RAF Lakenheath, England. The F-111F differed from the F-111D in having more advanced electronics which were nevertheless simplified and more reliable, along with improved landing gear.

From September 1992 to July 1993, 27th FW F-111 aircrews and support personnel rotated to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, in support of Operation PROVIDE COMFORT.