About 18th Fighter Wing

Tracing its origins to the 1920s, the 18th Wing has the distinction of being the only Air Force wing to have never been based in the

continental United States. On Jan. 21, 1927, the War Department, forerunner to the Department of Defense, activated a provisional

pursuit group at Wheeler Field, located on what was then the territory of Hawaii. Soon after, the unit was re-designated as the 18th

Pursuit Group. Flying DH-4 and PW-9 aircraft, the group spent the next several years training for the defense of Hawaii. The group

eventually transitioned to the P-40 Warhawk aircraft and was re-designated as the 18th Pursuit Group (Interceptor).

 When Hawaii was attacked Dec. 7, 1941, only two of the group's planes managed to get airborne and were quickly shot down. With the

remaining P-40s badly damaged, the group spent the next several months training in replacement aircraft for the war. After training and

being renamed the 18th Fighter Group, the unit moved forward in March 1943 as part of 13th Air Force and was based on Guadalcanal,

New Guinea and the Philippines. Later that year, the group began flying the P-38 Lightning. The group participated in the allied island-

hopping strategy and received a Distinguished Unit Citation in 1944.

 When the war ended, the 18th Fighter Group moved to Clark Field in the Philippines and became part of a newly created parent unit,

the 18th Fighter Wing, on Aug. 14, 1948. The unit began flying the F-51 Mustang and F-80 Shooting Star, making it the first overseas-

based fighter unit with jet aircraft.

 After being renamed the 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing in January 1950, the 18th Fighter-Bomber Group with two of its components, the

12th and 67th fighter-bomber squadrons, deployed to Korea almost immediately after hostilities broke out. The Wing and 44th Fighter-

Bomber Squadron remained in the Philippines. The 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing earned a distinguished reputation for its enemy kills, and

one of its officers, Maj. Louis Sebille, 67th Fighter-Bomber Squadron commander, became the first member in the Air Force to be

awarded (posthumously) the Medal of Honor. The group was the first to shoot down an enemy aircraft and the first to encounter a

Soviet-made MiG 15.