Today's 51st Fighter Wing activated on 18 August 1948 at Naha AFB and absorbed the resources of the 301st Fighter Wing, to include the 51 FG. The 51 FW became a "fighter-interceptor" wing in 1950. It entered combat service in the Korean War on 22 September of that year, when it moved to Itazuke AB, Japan, to support the breakout of the U.S. Eighth Army from the Pusan Perimeter. For nearly 4 years thereafter, the 51 FIW played a key role in the defense of South Korea despite moving to four different locations within a year and operating under austere conditions. The 51 FIW's war record was impressive. Wing pilots flew more than 45,000 sorties and shot down 312 MiG-15s; this produced 14 air aces including the top ace of the war, Capt Joseph McConnell. The ratio of aerial victories to losses was 14 to 1. Unfortunately, the wing lost 32 pilots to enemy action; however, nine that became prisoners of war were repatriated later. Overview map of the Korean War The Korean War from June 25, 1950 to cease-fire on July 27, 1953 (the war has not ended officially), was a conflict between North Korea and South Korea. ... 8th Army Shoulder Patch The Eighth US Army is the commanding formation of all US Army troops in South Korea. ... The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (NATO reporting name Fagot) was a jet fighter developed for the USSR. History Design began under the bureau designation I-310, which first flew in 1947. ...

On 1 August 1954, the 51 FIW returned to Naha Air Base to resume air defense coverage of the Ryukyu Islands. At the same time, the wing demonstrated its mobility readiness in response to three regional crises. From August 1958 to January 1959, the 51 FIW deployed eight F-86Ds to Taiwan to fly combat air support missions for Nationalist Chinese forces after mainland Communist Chinese forces shelled the Nationalist-held islands of Quemoy and Matsu. Six years later, the wing deployed 12 F-102s to the Philippines and South Vietnam from August to October 1964 for air defense against possible Communist North Vietnamese air attacks. Finally, on 23 January 1968, North Korean naval forces seized the USS Pueblo. From January to February 1968, the 51st dispatched 12 F-102s to Suwon AB, South Korea. The 51 FIW ended almost 17 years of service in the Pacific from Naha when it inactivated on 31 May 1971. The first proposals for the North American Aviation F-86 Sabre were made in 1944, but construction was not begun until after World War II. Many elements of German jet design were implemented in the Sabre, after the American liberation troops captured a number of working Messerschmitt Me 262 experimental... The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger fighter aircraft was part of the backbone of the United States air defenses in the late 1950s. ...

Redesignated and activated as the 51st Air Base Wing on 1 November 1971, the 51st assumed the host responsibilities of the inactivated 6314th Support Wing at Osan AB, to include the Koon-ni range and a variety of remote sites. In the first of many changes in name and combat capability over the next 20 years, the 51 ABW became the 51st Composite Wing (Tactical) on 30 September 1974, when an F-4E fighter squadron and OV-10 tactical air support squadron were assigned. The defining changes of these decades included the addition of a squadron of A-10s on 1 January 1982, then based at Suwon AB; the transition from the F-4E to the F-16 in August 1988; and the assignment of a flight of turboprop C-12Js in August 1992. The F-4 Phantom II (simply F-4 Phantom after 1990) is a two-place (tandem), supersonic, long-range, all-weather fighter-bomber built by McDonnell Douglas Corporation. ... The A-10/OA-10 Thunderbolt II, often known as the Warthog, is the first US Air Force aircraft specifically designed for close air support of ground forces. ... The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a modern multi-role jet fighter aircraft built in the United States and used by dozens of countries all over the world. ... The C-12F Huron provides logistics support between Navy air stations. ...

On 1 October 1993, after a half-dozen name changes, the wing returned to its original and current designation as the 51st Fighter Wing. Since then, the 51st has stayed true to its proud heritage, ensuring the defense of South Korea as a proven combat force and as an able host ready to receive and integrate follow-on forces on the peninsula.

Source: 51 FW History Office