United States Air Forces in Europe

The United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) is the U.S. Air Force component of U.S. European Command, a Department of Defense unified command, and is one of two Air Force major commands outside of the continental United States, the other being the Pacific Air Forces.

The command has more than 42,000 active-duty, Reserve and civilian employees assigned. The current USAFE commander is General William T. Hobbins.

USAFE is the oldest continuously active USAF major command, being activated on 19 January 1942 when the War Department established Headquarters Eighth Air Force.

Mission

The mission of the United States Air Forces in Europe is to be the air component for the U.S. European Command, directing air operations in a theater spanning three continents, covering more than 20 million square miles, containing 91 countries and possessing one-fourth of the world’s population and about one-third of the world’s Gross Domestic Product.

As part of this mission, USAFE trains and equips U.S. Air Force units pledged to NATO, maintaining combat-ready wings based from Great Britain to Turkey. USAFE plans, conducts, controls, coordinates and supports air and space operations in Europe, parts of Asia and Africa to achieve U.S. national and NATO objectives based on taskings by the U.S. EUCOM commander.

Current Operating Units

USAFE is headquartered in Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

Third Air Force Headquartered at Ramstein Air Base Germany plans combat and humanitarian operations in the USAFE area of responsibility and conducts day-to-day operations for USAFE and European Command to organize, train and equip Airmen for the functions they could be called upon to accomplish around the world.

The command has five main operating bases along with 80 geographically separated locations. These are:

Secondary And Support Facilities:

Note: In addition to the above Munitions Support Squadrons [MUNSS] are geographically separated units (GSU) located throughout Europe assigned to the 86 AW at Ramstein Air Base Germany. MUNSS are located at Araxos AB Greece, Ghedi AB Italy, Buechel AB Germany, Volkel AB Netherlands, and Kleine-Brogel AB Belgium. They are co-located on other NATO main operating bases and work together with the host nation wing.

History

World War II

USAFE originated as the United States Army Air Force Eighth Air Force in 1942 and flew heavy bombardment missions over the European continent during World War II.

On 19 January 1944, 8th Air Force was redesignated the U.S. Strategic Air Forces in Europe, responsible for directing operations in Europe and the Middle East. Subordinate units included the newly formed Fifteenth Air Force, organized in Italy to attack enemy territory from the south, and the Eighth Air Force, a redesignation of VIII Bomber Command.

With the end of World War II, the United States began to demobilize most of the Air Force which it created in the United Kingdom. The aim was to maintain a small USAAF organization, exclusively for communication and transport purposes. On 7 August 1945, the word Strategic was removed from USAFE, and the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) was established.

In September 1945, USAFE Headquarters moved from Paris to Luisenstrasse 13 (Wiesbaden Air Base Lindsey Air Station) in Wiesbaden, Germany where it would have its headquarters until 1973.

Postwar Europe

By the end of 1946, virtually all U.S. armed forces personnel had left Europe except for the Occupation Forces in Germany, Austria, and a small number of Army troops in Italy to control the Trieste problem. The U.S. Military Governor in Germany had grave concerns that there would be insufficient troops to enforce the peaceful transition in his zone of occupation.

The Soviet Union's short-term goals during these immediate postwar years were to force the three western nations out of Berlin and Vienna. Their intermediate goal was to conquer Turkey and Greece through civil wars. The longer term Soviet goal was to force the western powers completely out of Austria and West Germany, eventually making all of Western Europe into communist states.

In response to concerns about Soviet activities, the US began a series of reconnaissance flights over Soviet-controlled territory in Germany that led to numerous skirmishes and high tensions. During the War, American photographic and obervation Groups in England routinely carried out photo recon flights over Germany. When these flights were resumed after the war, the purpose of these flights was aerial intelligence and mapping. Between the autumn of 1945 and 1947, USAFE carried out a series of projects to map areas in west and central Europe, North Africa and Atlantic Islands for future military use in Operation Casey Jones.

Casey Jones flights were made by RB-24 Liberators and RB-17 Flying Fortresses converted for photographic use. These flights were only supposed to be flown over the Western Allies occupation zones, but there is a srong suspicion that these aircraft also operated over the Soviet zone. As was likely, Soviet fighters regurlay opened fire on American aircraft operating over their occupation zone. On 22 April 1946, an American C-47 near the Tulln Air Base near Vienna over the Soviet zone of Austria was attacked by Soviet Bell P-39 Airacobra fighters. On 9 August Yugoslavian fighters opened fire on a C-47 and forced it to land.

Tensions with the Soviet Union began as early as 1946 and President Harry S. Truman decided to realign USAFE into a combat-capable force. In November six B-29 bombers from SACs 43d Bombardment Group were sent to RAF Burtonwood, and from there to various bases in West Germany as a "training deployment". In May 1947 additional B-29s were sent to the UK and Germany to keep up the presence of a training program. These deployments were only a cover-up, as the true aim of these B-29s were to have a strategic air force permanently stationed in Europe.

By 1947, the U.S. had serious concerns that the governments of France and Italy would be taken over by their internal communist political parties. The best option for preventing a communist takeover was to create strong, financially stable countries. To revive the economies of Europe, the United States offered a comprehensive economic aid program in June 1947, known as the "Marshall Plan" after the then-Secretary of State, George C. Marshall.

The Marshall Plan achieved great success in Western Europe but the Soviets remained steadfast in their goal of communist domination.

Cold War

Berlin Airlift

Main article: Berlin Blockade

By 1948, Germany had become a major pawn in Allied efforts to prevent the westward march of Communism. The Soviets pushed the Allies for reparations from West Germany's industrial plants, though this had not been agreed to. Predictably, Harry S. Truman refused to give the Soviet Union reparations; Joseph Stalin responded by splitting off the Soviet sector of Germany as a Communist state.

On 18 June, 1948, the three Western sectors promulgated the laws, coming into force on June 20, that ended the use of occupation currency and introduced the Deutsche Mark, as a way of putting pressure on Stalin for the reunification of Germany and to spur the German reconstruction. The Soviets objected to this move. Having been invaded twice by Germany in the preceding three decades, they wanted Germany demilitarized like Japan before a reunification should take place. The Soviets also considered this move a breach of agreements reached at the 1945 Potsdam Conference, which stated that Germany would be treated as one economic unit.

On June 24, 1948, the Soviet Union blocked access to the three Western-held sectors of Berlin, which lay deep within the Soviet-controlled zone of Germany, by cutting off all rail and road routes going through Soviet-controlled territory in Germany. The Western powers had never negotiated a pact with the Soviets guaranteeing these rights. Amid the fallout of the London Conference, the Soviets now rejected arguments that occupation rights in Berlin and the use of the routes during the previous three years had given the West legal claim to unimpeded use of the highways and railroads. As a further means of applying pressure, the Western sectors of Berlin were isolated from the city power grid, depriving the inhabitants of domestic and industrial electricity supplies.

When the Soviet Union blockaded West Berlin in June 1948, the Western Allies answered with the Berlin Airlift. USAFE airlifted more than 2.3 million tons of food, fuel and medical supplies with the aid of the U.S. Navy and the British Royal Air Force. To give armed support to these flights, the command activated the 3rd Air Division in England.

However, the Berlin Airlift taxed existing USAF resources of cargo aircraft, aircraft engines, skilled aircrews, and maintenance personnel. Unfortunately most citizens believed that the vast airpower created during World War II still existed within the new peacetime Air Force. This was a totally false assumption that would be proven during the Korean War.

Formation of NATO

Main article: NATO

With the increase of tensions between the West and Soviet Union, discussions led to a multinational defense agreement. The Treaty of Brussels, signed on 17 March, 1948 by Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, and the United Kingdom, is considered the precursor to the NATO agreement. This treaty established a military alliance, later to become the Western European Union. However, American participation was thought necessary in order to counter the military power of the Soviet Union, and therefore talks for a new military alliance began almost immediately.

These talks resulted in the North Atlantic Treaty, which was signed in Washington, DC on 4 April 1949. It included the five Treaty of Brussels states, France, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. Three years later, on 18 February 1952, Greece and Turkey also joined. In 1955 West Germany was also granted membership.

A central NATO defense strategy was the use of tactical air power to offset the Soviet Union with NATO membership, the United States was committed to help defend Western Europe and USAFE again strengthened its airpower.

1950s

When the Korean War began 25 June 1950, the USAF had been an independent branch of the U.S. military establishment for less than three years, and was very small and ill equipped for its assigned world-wide missions. Air Force Chief of Staff, General Hoyt S.Vandenburg later stated that in the summer of 1950 we had "a shoestring Air Force" A serious shortage of combat aircraft began to develop by the fall of 1950.

Even with the active war in Korea raging, in the early 1950s Europe received a higher priority of air power than Korea by the Truman Administration and the Department of Defense. Deterring the threat of a Communist takeover of Western Europe was considered more important to our long-term survival than a Communist victory in Korea.

In September 1950, NATO’s Military Committee had called for an ambitious buildup of conventional forces to meet the Soviets, subsequently reaffirming this position at the February 1952 meeting of the Atlantic Council in Lisbon which had established a goal of ultimately fielding 96 divisions in the event of a conventional war in 1954. In support of this, USAFE, which consisted of 16 wings totaling 2,100 aircraft, was programmed to expand to 28 wings, 22 of them in NATO’s Central Region alone, backed by deployed Strategic Air Command units sent from CONUS).

The USAF transferred thirteen combat wings from its Tactical Air Command plus one air depot wing from Air Material Command, and relocated the units to USAFE during the period from April 1951 through December 1954. Eight wings were regular Air Force wings, four wings were federalized Air National Guard units, and one wing was a mobilized Air Force Reserve unit.

Four of these wings deployed to the United Kingdom, three into West Germany, and six wings were deployed to France. These wings gave USAFE/NATO approximately 500 fighters, 100 light bombers, 100 tactical reconnaissance aircraft, 100 tactical airlift transports, and 18,000 personnel.

Along with these new units from the United States, existing USAFE bases in West Germany were realigned to be moved west of the Rhein River. Existing bases in Bavaria (Erding Air Depot, Furstenfeldbruck, Landsberg, Kaufbeuren and Neubiberg Air Bases) were deemed too vulnerable to Soviet attack and were closed by 1960.

In 1955 the Force Structure was as follows:

.*** Note: Erding, Fürstenfeldbruck, Landsberg, Kaufbeuren and Neubiberg Air Bases, although nominally under USAF control, were being used to train German Air Force pilots. When training was complete, the bases were turned over to West German control. The last of these bases were turned over by 1960. Erding Air Base was shared by USAFE interceptors briefly in the early 1970s.

In addition, by 1960, USAFE controlled air bases in French Morocco, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Greece, Turkey, Italy and Spain.

However, the dramatic disparity between Western and Soviet forces, coupled with the economic burden imposed on the West, soon worked to undermine this desire. Following Josef Stalin’s death in 1953, the European governments withdrew from the ambitious 96 division goal, seeing their economic circumstances as more pressing than their defense concerns. Then, in October 1953, the Eisenhower administration, desiring to minimize the size and expense of American forces both overseas and at home, adopted a "New Look" defense doctrine that emphasized strategic and tactical nuclear response to Soviet aggression, a doctrine known by the shorthand of "massive retaliation."

This doctrine, enunciated in National Security Council document NSC 162/2, stated that "in the event of hostilities the United States will consider nuclear weapons to be as available for use as other weapons." On December 17, 1954, the North Atlantic Council approved MC 48, a key document in the evolution of NATO nuclear thought. MC 48 emphasized that NATO would have to use atomic weapons from the outset of a war with the Soviet Union whether the Soviets chose to use them first, giving the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe (SACEUR) the same prerogatives for automatic use of nuclear weapons as existed for the commander-in-chief of Strategic Air Command.

In the spring of 1955, West Germany's entry into NATO prompted the Soviet Union to form its own military alliance, the Warsaw Pact. Within the framework of the Warsaw Pact, the Soviets could station troops in Eastern Bloc countries without the resulting political probelms.

During a five-day summit conference held in Geneva Switzerland at the end of July 1955, the Soviet Union and United States held serious talks about disarmament and the United States put forward proposals for muntial reconnaissance flights over each other's air space, known as the Open Skies proposal.

The United States had a large number of RB-47s and RB-36 recon aircraft at its disposal for such activities, however the Soviets turned down this proposal. However, this Geneva Conference was universally accepted as a turning point in the Cold War. The tensions in Europe were felt to be a stalemate, however both the Soviet Union and United States were willing to talk about their differences, rather than increase them into a state of war.

1956 Suez Crisis

Main article: Suez Crisis

The Suez Crisis was a war fought on Egyptian territory in 1956. The conflict pitted Egypt against an alliance between the United Kingdom, France and Israel.

This alliance against Egypt largely took place as a result of the Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser's action of nationalizing the Suez Canal Company, which operated the Suez Canal, an important asset to French and British economies, particularly as a chokepoint in world oil shipments. British policy makers initially feared an Israeli attack on Egypt, and sought cooperation with the United States throughout 1956 to deal with Egyptian-Israeli tensions.

The alliance between the two European nations and Israel was largely one of convenience; the European nations had economic and trading interests in the Suez Canal, while Israel wanted to reopen the canal for Israeli shipping and end Egyptian-supported guerrilla incursions.

When the USSR threatened to intervene on behalf of Egypt, Canadian Secretary of State for External Affairs Lester B. Pearson feared a larger war and came up with a clever plan to separate the opposing forces by placing United Nations forces between them to act as a buffer zone or 'human shield' (he later won a Nobel Peace Prize for his role in ending the conflict). This gave birth to the concept of UN peacekeeping operations.

1956 Hungarian Revolution

Main article: 1956 Hungarian Revolution

The Soviet Union made good use of the turmoil in the West caused by the Suez Crisis. On 4 November 1956, Soviet troops, who shared no sympathy for the Hungarians, invaded. While the Soviet Union justified its second intervention on the basis of responsibility to a Warsaw Pact ally, in the form of the Kádár government formed on 3 November, the Soviet forces allocated came from national reserves, and other Warsaw Pact countries did not supply troops.

In response, the United States deployed sixteen Convair B-36 Peacemaker bombers to RAF Burtonwood England. It is still unknown if the B-36s were armed with nuclear weapons, however it is unlikely they were deployed to Europe unarmed. SAC was also brought into a high state of readiness with several SAC "Reflex" deployments of B-47 bombers to bases in England and North Africa. The crisis passed and the SAC bombers went off alert status and returned to normal rotational deployments.

1960s

1961 Berlin Crisis

The 1961 Berlin Crisis became USAFE's first test of what was known as a "Flexible Response" strategy. In the spring of 1961, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev decided that the Soviet Union would sign a peace treaty with the East German government. In effect the German Democratic Republic would control the Russian zone of Berlin and could end joint occupation of the city. This action was a clear violation of the Potsdam Agreement of 1945.

When the Western allies objected to this proposed peace treaty, Khrushchev began speaking am about restricting the West's aerial access to Berlin and preventing the entry of East Germans into the city. This possibility started an exodus of Germans from the eastern zone as they rushed to leave their sector and relocate in West Germany.

Departures snowballed from a few dozen refugees daily to a flow of 4,000 per day by August 1961. On the night of 12 August 1961 the Soviet backed East German government began erecting the Berlin Wall to prevent this flow of workers from communism, precipitating a new Cold War crisis that had been brewing for the previous twelve months. Berlin became a divided city. The response agreed to by the Kennedy Administration was to rapidly increase conventional tactical airpower in Europe during the summer of 1961.

This new international crisis required expansion of U.S. military forces. On 25 August 1961 the Department of Defense announced 148,000 reserve personnel would be called on 1 October for twelve months of active duty service. 27,000 of these would be from Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard flying squadrons and support units to augment the Air Force, and 112,000 were Army reservists. Many Army reservists were sent to Europe to bring ground combat units up to full strength. The Air National Guard was tasked to supply six tactical fighter wings and one tactical reconnaissance wing to expand USAFE. Also deployed to Europe was a complete ANG Tactical Control Group consisting of six Tactical Control Squadrons manned by 230 officers and 1,850 airmen having many tons of mobile ground radar and radio equipment for battlefield command and control of tactical air power.

These tactical control units were dispersed throughout West Germany. The Air Force responded with a two-phase deployment of reinforcements to Europe - the largest such overseas movement of aircraft since World War II. The first phase began on 5 September with Operation TACK HAMMER. Tactical Air Command launched eight F-100D squadrons from its Composite Air Strike Force to augment USAFE strength with 144 fighters. All TACK HAMMER fighters moved across the Atlantic Ocean with air tanker refueling enroute. The TACK HAMMER deployment was an interim measure until ANG units could relieve Tactical Air Command squadrons.

The second phase began with the movement of eleven Air National Guard squadrons in late October and November 1961. Operation STAIR STEP was the code name for the rapid aerial movement of the fighters to Europe. Aircraft supplied byANG wings totaled one hundred tour F-84Es, twenty RF-84Fs, seventy-eight F-86Hs. and seventy-two F-104As. The majority of the fighters arrived on 4 November and amazingly had no losses enroute. The F-84E and F-86Fs were considered old and obsolete aircraft even though they were only seven to nine years out of the factory. The three F-104 squadrons were activated on 1 November 1961. They disassembled their Starfighters and loaded them into MATS C-124s which delivered them to air bases in Germany and Spain.

The primary combat mission of the STAIR STEP units was air superiority and offensive tactical air support operations using conventional munitions to defend West Germany if a war developed over Berlin access. Upon arrival in Europe their missions consisted of command inspections, theater flying training, air-ground close support operations, gunnery training, photo missions. and air defense alert duty. Though equipped with conventional weapons. the STAIR STEP F-84F and F-86H squadrons maintained their proficiency to deliver nuclear weapons by practicing toss bombing. By March 1962, the Berlin crisis was subsiding, and plans were being made for departure of the ANG wings from Europe. Units were to return all personnel, equipment, and aircraft to CONUS by 1 September 1962 for early release from active duty.

However, the Berlin Wall was built and a barbed wire fence with minefields extended the entire north-south length of a divided Germany. The wall effectively isolated East Germany for the next twenty-eight years. But the American. British, and French Zones still remained in Berlin and access to the city was not challenged again. TACK HAMMER and STAIR STEP forces had served their purpose; their rapid deployment to France had unequivocally demonstrated the United States' determination to defend Berlin. It's possible that the sudden appearance of 170 tactical fighters with nuclear weapon delivery capability changed Khrushchev's attitude toward his Berlin "settlement."

Beginning about 1963 due to the Vietnam War, USAFE/NATO's total strength steadily declined, as the U.S. reduced forces in Europe to fight a limited war in Southeast Asia for ten years.

France Goes It Alone

General Charles De Gaulle. On 7 March 1966, he announced that France would withdraw from NATO's integrated military structure but not leave the political organization. He gave NATO forces one year (until 1 April 1967) to depart France.

The State Department, Department of Defense, and Air Force carefully managed the news about the American departure from France, and the attendant problems of an integrated NATO air defense for western Europe and the decrease in tactical airpower. Fortunately for State and DOD, the media was focusing on Vietnam, so the removal of NATO forces from France went virtually unreported in the US.

During 1966-67 all USAF offices and facilities in France were closed and personnel and equipment moved to other NATO countries. The last USAFE activities were the 1630th Air Base Squadron at Orly Airport and the Paris Administration Office. Both were closed in June 1967. A C-47 variant, the C-117B "Super Skytrain" Serial 45-2549 departed from Orly on 31 May 1967. That was the last USAF aircraft to depart France.

On 23 October 1967, all foreign flags were furled and after 17 years all NATO forces departed France. With the French departure, a major reorganization of USAFE was needed. On 2 May 1967 the US Department of Defense announced that due to the loss of the French bases, the 49th TFW's three squadrons at Spangdahlem Air Base and the 417th TFS of the 50th TFW at Hahn Air Base plus several thousands of the troops stationed in West Germany would be recalled to the US. Although the squadrons were relocated to the US, they were still part of the USAFE's permanent force. According to the Pentagon this new strategy followed the so-called dual-basing principle which meant that the squadrons in the US were held in such a state of readiness that they could return to their European bases at any given moment without lengthy preparations being necessary.

During 1967, the 49th TFW's three squadrons flew back to the US where they were stationed at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. The 417th TFS did not return to the US until 1968. The squadron was stationed at Mountain Home AFB in Idaho. In 1968, the four squadrons switched over completely to McDonnell Douglas F-4D fighter-bombers and then undertook intensive preparations for their new role within the USAFE. The primary task of the four dual-based squadrons was to carry out Project CRESTED CAP. Crested Cap was the Air Force part of the Army's REFORGER, in which annual exercises of Army and Air Force units from CONUS would be deployed to Europe for multinational exercises. In addition, air supply lines are tested, and most of the heavy equipment such as armoured vehicles, artillery, etc, were shipped by sea to exercise that transportation component. Troops are flown via military and contract transport aircraft.

USAFE In Spain

Before joining NATO in 1982, the USAF had for many years, used Spanish air bases. Initially used primarily by the Strategic Air Command, they were at Morón near Sevilla in southern Spain and Torrejon near Madrid. Here, sometimes for weeks on end, B-47s were held in readiness for 'Reflex-duty' and quite often Boeing B-52 Stratofortresses were sent by SAC.

The Spanish air bases were also important for reinforcing the US Air Force in Europe via the southern Atlantic route. Aircraft that flew to Europe via Lajes in the Azores always made a refueling stop at Morón, and later at Torrejon as well. These bases also had American facilities for carrying out necessary repairs and so forth.

Although the Spanish air bases were also in regular use as assembly and departure points for deployments on the way to the US, it was primarily the good weather that drew USAFE to Spain for weapons training, which at that time was still mainly held in Libya.

After June 1960. when SAC's 65th Air Division was transferred to the USAFE, the USAFE's activities in Spain increased significantly. Two interceptor squadrons equipped with Convair F-102A Delta Daggers were formed, the 431st FIS being stationed at Zaragoza and the 497th FIS at Torrejon. As compensation for the permanent use of these Spanish bases, the Spanish aircraft industry was brought in to maintain the F-102 air defense fighters that the USAFE had stationed in Spain, Germany and the Netherlands. The CASA aircraft factory at the Morón base was given responsibility for the inspection and routine maintenance of the Delta Daggers of the five American interceptor squadrons in Europe.

As the American-Libyan relationship worsened throughout the second half of the 1960s, a growing number of USAFE fighter-bomber squadrons in England and Germany went to Zaragoza and gunnery ranges in the Spain for weapons training. Zaragoza later became an important weapons training site for the USAFE and was also visited by F-15 Eagle Squadrons for "Dissimilar Air Combat Training". During these air combat training exercises, the F-15s often practiced against Spanish Air Force Dassault Mirage F-1 fighters.

In April 1966 the 16th Air Force was transferred from SAC to the USAFE, with USAFE taking control of the Spanish air bases at Zaragoza and Morón. Under USAFE, the Spanish bases became host to a growing number of deployments from CONUS. Morón received regular visits from Lockheed F-104C Starfighters of the 479th TFW from George AFB, California. During the Cuban Missile crisis a squadron of F-104Cs was stationed at Morón. Concern, at the height of the crisis, led to these aircraft being transferred to Hahn air base in Germany where they strengthened the air defense of central Europe. Some time later, when the crisis had passed, the aircraft returned to the US via Morón. On 1 April 1963, their place was taken by Republic F-105D "Thunderchief" fighter-bombers from the 4th TFW at Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina.

During the mid 1960s, the 16th Air Force also gradually took over responsibility for all USAFE operations around the Mediterranean.

USAFE In Turkey

The Turkish US Logistics Group (TUSLOG) is the primary command element in Turkey of Sixteenth Air Force. TUSLOG not only commands various USAFE units, but also supports all other US military organizations and government agencies in Turkey.

TUSLOG was established in 1955 to support the Turkish armed forces and USAFE's activities and was headquartered in Ankara. The 39th Air Base Wing at Incirlik Air Base near Adana supports training deployments and regional exercises; communications for National Command Authority taskings; providing support for various units and an Air Mobility Command tenant unit providing air transport of passengers and cargo. In the 1950s - 1970s, the 39th supported various SAC activities in Turkey, which used Incirlik intensively as a base for U-2 reconnaissance flights along the Soviet border and in the Middle East. (Incirlik was also a former Forward Operational Location of the CIA.)

In the Turkish capital of Ankara, the 7217th ABG manages the logistical support for more than 40 units and agencies, as well as the needs of the American Embassy, and US Defense Attache Office.

At İzmir, the 7266th Air Base Group supports the two NATO headquarters LANDSOUTHEAST and SIXATAF. The 7241 ABG is the only US military unit in Turkey not located at a single site, but is scattered about İzmir in various buildings.

1970s/80s

Changes continued through the early 1970s. Headquarters USAFE transferred from Wiesbaden Army Airfield Lindsey Air Station, Germany, to Ramstein Air Base in March 1973 and NATO's Allied Air Forces Central Europe was established at Ramstein Air Base in June 1974. The USAFE commander in chief then took command of Allied Air Forces Central Europe, in addition to commanding U.S. Air Force units in Europe.

By 1975 the USAFE Force Structure was as follows:

AB = Air Base. Flying/Operational base with permanently assigned aircraft.

AS = Air Station. No permanently assigned aircraft, may or may not have a runway and flying facilities.

Project Ready Eagle

In 1976 the modernization of USAFE began with the introduction of the advanced McDonnell-Douglas F-15A Eagle air superiority fighter.

The F-15A design stemmed from the mid-1960s when far-sighted military planners in the Pentagon came to the conclusion that a new air defense fighter was needed, and quickly, as an answer to new Soviet air defense fighters. Although the McDonnell-Douglas F-4 Phantom was equipped with modern infra red-guided AIM-9 Sidewinder and radar-controlled AIM-7 Sparrow air-to-air missiles. it often proved no match for the manoeuvrable MiG-19 Farmer and MiG-21 Fishbed fighters in Vietnam. One reason was the young American pilots' lack of air combat experience. Another was that while the F-4 was an ideal platform for a great variety of weapons and suit-able for an equal number of different tasks, it had not been developed as a dedicated air superiority fighter.

The USAF's last real air superiority fighter was the North American F-86 Sabre that had been lord and master of the air during the Korean War. The American F-86 pilots were nicknamed `MiG-killers' and in the period 1950–1953 shot down at least 792 MiGs, most of which were MiG-15 fighters - the Russian showpiece of the communist North Korean Air Force. America's own losses were only 78 Sabres. At the heart of this success lay the F-86's remarkable flight characteristics. The F-86 was not only fast, it had exceptional acceleration and it was extremely manoeuvrable even under difficult conditions. The F-86 was built for air combat and all its best features were echoed in the McDonnell Douglas F-ISA Eagle.

The Soviet Union's new MiG and Sukhoi fighters made the American military anxious. The MiG-25 Foxbat made them pull out all the stops to get the F-15A into USAFE

The F-15A was deployed to Germany in April 1977 with the 36th TFW at Bitburg Air Base West Germany. By 1983 all F-4 wings were replaced by F-15 and F-16 fighters. The 36th TFW's existing F-4E Phantoms were incorporated into three new USAFE squadrons which were established at Hahn Air Base (313th TFS), Spangdahlem Air Base (480th TFS) and Ramstein Air Base (512th TFS). Preparations for the switch to the F-15 went ahead at full speed. Its introduction to the USAFE was given the project name `Ready Eagle' and, naturally, included transition training for the USAFE pilots.

This retraining was the joint responsibility of the USAFE and TAC and first began in January 1976 at Langley AFB, Virginia, where the 1st TFW, was stationed. At Langley the USAFE's future F-15 pilots were given a crash course that familiarized them with the new aircraft in a relatively short time. The first F-15A's arrived at Bitburg on 7 January 1977. These were two TF-15A trainers (serial numbers 75-049 and 75-050), that had flown non-stop from Langley in seven and a half hours.

These Eagles were to be used primarily for ground crew familiarization in anticipation of the arrival of the 525th TFS's first F-15As. The 23 aircraft for this first operational squadron left Langley on 27 April 1977 for a mass Atlantic crossing. Over the following months the aircraft for two other squadrons (22nd TFS and 53rd TFS) arrived. The 36th TFW's full strength of 79 fully-operational F-15As was reached in December 1977. Project Ready Eagle was completed in precisely one year.

SS-20s pointing at Europe

Main article: Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty