Hahn Air Base - 50th Tactical Fighter Wing

50th Tactical Fighter Wing

This Hun is not a wing commanders aircraft but was a 417th TFS aircraft painted as her 70+ sisters all were in 1960 when squadron

markings made way for wing colors only. She is also a -91 and the photo was taken post January 1965 since her "buzz number"FW-238) painted over and this did not happen before that date.

On 10 December 1959, the 50 TFW redeployed back to Hahn, now flying the North American F-100 Super Sabre. Rather than accompanying the wing at Hahn AB, however, the 417th TFS relocated to Ramstein AB, West Germany. Squadrons of the 50th TFW were:

• 10th Tactical Fighter (F-100D/F) (blue tail stripes)
• 81st Tactical Fighter (F-100D/F) (yellow tail stripes)
• 417th Tactical Fighter (F-100D/F) (red tail stripes) (at Ramstein AB)

In 1960, under the new to USAFE maintenance concept of placing all base assigned primary mission aircraft into one unit, squadron colors on fins and noses gave way to all three unit colors on every assigned 50th TFW aircraft, including the base flight C-47s and L-20. Many aviation buffs think that such markings always meant the aircraft was assigned to a senior officer but that died by 1960. For the next several years, 50th TFW Airmen concentrated on becoming the best fighter unit in USAFE. The 50th TFW supported and controlled CONUS dual-based fighter squadrons at Hahn and at other collocated operating bases in West Germany and Denmark. Not to be overlooked was the Berlin Crisis of August 1961. All of the TFWs in Germany "bombed up" with conventional ordnance and Sidewinder missiles the evening of 12 August 1961 as a U S Army convoy was to drive to Berlin the next morning. It moved safely that day. Over the Labor Day weekend, MATS transports started arriving with 18 F-100D/Fs of the 355th TFS commanded by LtCol Devol Brett out of Myrtle Beach AFB SC to begin a 90-100 day TDY. Some of the enlisted men still had their swim suits on under their fatigues they left so quickly. This unit was relieved by a TAC F-104C unit out of George AFB California, from the 479th TFW. Barracks space was tight for all of these new troops but they coped well, and the mission was "hacked".

During the Cuban Missile Crisis, which began on 22 October 1962, the 435th Tactical Fighter Squadron deployed from Morón Air Base Spain to Hahn. Although the crisis officially ended on 26 November 1962, the 435th TFS did not return to Morón until 11 December 1962. After the Cuban Missile Crisis ended, the 50th TFW resumed normal operations and participated in various exercises and competitions, often with other NATO allies.

The wing's three tactical squadrons, the 10th, 81st, and 417th, began converting to the McDonnell-Douglas F-4D Phantom II on 8 October 1966. When the last F-100 left Hahn, 50th TFW aircrews had logged 143,147 flight hours. Throughout the conversion to the F-4D, 417th TFS remained detached to the 86th Air Division at Ramstein AB. With the change of equipment, the squadrons of the 50th TFW adopted "Tail Codes". The aircraft of 50th TFW were tail-coded "HR". The 496th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, attached to the 50th TFW but assigned to the 86th Air Division, did not convert to the new F-4D aircraft.

The wing underwent a major organizational change on 15 July 1968 when the 417th TFS was transferred to the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho as part of project CRESTED CAP. That project provided for the redeployment of specified U.S. European Air Force units to the United States on a semi-permanent basis. Not long after leaving Europe, the 417th returned for 45 days to Hahn in January 1969 to participate in Exercise CRESTED CAP I, the first in a series of exercises designed to test the mobility of NATO-committed fighter squadrons based in the U.S. under simulated wartime conditions.

Also in 1968, USAFE redesignated 496th FIS as a tactical fighter squadron. To replace the 417th, USAFE reassigned the 496th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron from the 86th AD to the 50th TFW under a reorganization that officially dissolved the 86th Air Division. In 1970, the 496th sent its F-102s back to Air National Guard squadrons in the United States and received F-4E aircraft. The 496th was redesignated as a Tactical Fighter Squadron while retaining its Air Defence mission. 496th TFS F-4Es were tail coded "HS".

In August 1970, the wing switched to a strike-attack role, with air defense as a secondary mission. The 81st TFS relacted to Zweibrucken Air Base on 12 June 1971, although it remained a part of the 50th TFW. At Zweibrucken however, the 81st TFS was detached from the wing's operational control and attached to the 86th Tactical Fighter Wing. Eventually, the 81st was transferred to the 52nd TFW at Spangdahlem Air Base, and equipped with F-4G Wild Weasel aircraft, after they became available in 1975/76.

In June 1972 "HR" was adopted as the standard tail code for all 50th TFW aircraft.

Following these changes, the 50th TFW settled into a more routine operations tempo and returned its attentions to maintaining combat readiness.

In 1976, Hahn began receiving brand-new 74-XXXX F-4E TISEO-equipped aircraft, replacements for some of the old F-4Ds. At the beginning of 1977, the rest of the F-4Ds departed, replaced by F-4Es from Bitburg's 36th TFW, necessitated by that wing's conversion to F-15As.

Its operational squadrons in 1977 were:

• 10th Tactical Fighter (F-4E, HR, blue tail stripe)
• 313th Tactical Fighter (F-4E, HR, white tail stripe)
• 496th Tactical Fighter (F-4E, HR, red tail stripe)

The tail-stripe (and wingtip) color choices were a great controversy between maintenance and ops at this time. The 313th (whose unit crest is predominantly orange) wanted the planes they used striped in orange. Maintenance ("We just loan them to the crews, and hope they don't break OUR aircraft too much") wouldn't hear of it. The tails stayed white in white section, serving the 313th TFS aircrews.

The tiny Hahn Air Base (smallest of any fighter base in Germany) became the world's busiest airfield for ten days in April 1977, during an Air Staff-directed exercise named Salty Rooster. During that time, the wing produced more than 2100 combat-loaded sorties, (refueled, rearmed, and serviced), averaging one takeoff every three minutes around the clock for ten days, using only 64 aircraft.

During this period, at least one Hahn squadron was almost constantly deployed to either Zaragoza AB, Spain, or Incirlik CDI, Turkey. Additional tasking provided a short deployment to Shiraz AB, Iran in 1977; this became noteworthy in another way, when 496th TFS aircraft appeared on the front page of the Air Force Times, being refueled from an Imperial Iranian Air Force KC-747, one of only two in the world.

The enormously-successful F-4 era at Hahn began to come to a close late in 1979, when it was announced that the wing's F-4s would be replaced by F-16s. By May 1980, two F-16As (apparently on loan from Hill AFB, Utah) were in use at Hahn for ground-handling familiarization of crew chiefs.

An equipment change began on 30 December 1981 when the first General Dynamics Block 15 F-16A/B Fighting Falcon arrived at Hahn. The 50th TFW was the first USAFE wing to receive the F-16. Throughout the spring of 1982 the 10th, 313th and 496th converted to the new aircraft, with the last F-4E leaving the wing on 21 June 1982. In 1986, the first-generation F-16A/B aircraft were upgraded to the more capable Block 25 F-16C/D.

In addition, Hahn supported preparations for ground launched cruise missile activities at Wüschheim, between 1982 and 1985. It also supported the reactivated 38th Tactical Missile Wing beginning on 1 April 1985. The 38th TMW was deployed with The General Dynamics/McDonnell Douglas BGM-109G "Gryphon" Ground-launched Cruise Missile (GLCM). By 1987 the 38th maintained ninety-six GLCMs. However, in December 1987, the United States and the Soviet Union signed the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, which eliminated intermediate and short-range nuclear missiles from Europe. This was the first nuclear force reduction in history. A three-year withdrawal of the GLCMs was undertaken in 1988 and the 38th TMW was deactivated in August 1990.

During Operation Desert Storm, the 50th TFW provided personnel, munitions, and equipment to support the liberation of Kuwait, also deploying the 10th TFS to Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates from December 1990 to May 1991.

Hahn's relative remoteness, horrible weather, and the strenuous mission fostered a closeness among the American community there regardless of time frame. Thousands of former Hahn residents remember their experiences there and friendships formed with a reverence not matched by those American GI's stationed at other overseas locations. This is evidenced by the many Internet member groups made up of former "Hahnites." Various reunions are held annually where those with special affection for their time at Hahn AB share experiences ranging from life on the flight line, Mosel winefests, Hahn Hawks football games in the fog, Volksmarching, living on base or in tiny German villages, Salty Nation exercises, and the ever present "do you remember that time..." and "did you know..." questions. For many, many American GI's and their dependents memories of life at Hahn take on a cherished, never to be forgotten quality.