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On 1 November the Mustangs were transferred to other units and the 160th was re-equipped with RF-80A Shooting Star photo-reconnaissance jets and transferred to Lawson AFB, Georgia. At Lawson, the wartime group was formed as the 160th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, the 157th TRS (South Carolina ANG) (RF-80) and 112th TRS (Ohio ANG) (RB-26).
It was issued with the RF-80A Shooting Star aircraft, and trained for daylight reconnaissance missions. The squadron, however, was stationed at Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base in West Germany due to the uncompleted facilities at Toul-Rosières Air Base. Weather conditions in Germany severely restricted the training operations of the assigned RF-80As.
The roots of the 187th Fighter Wing date back to 1952 when the Alabama Air National Guard organized the 160th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron in Birmingham, Alabama equipped with the RF-51 Mustang. The squadron moved to Dannelly Field on January 1, 1953, and entered the jet age with the arrival of the RF-80 Shooting Star in 1955.
The RF-80s were responsible for the daylight operations; the RB-26s for night photography. In June 1952, the 117th was involved in Exercise 'June Primer'. This exercise took place in an area bordered by a line drawn from Cherbourg to Geneva in the east and in the west by this Swiss, Austrian and Russian occupation zone borders.
In 1956, the 10th TRG began to transition to the RB-66 and WB-66 Destroyers, and the RF-84Fs were transferred to the 66th TRG at Phalsbourg-Bourscheid Air Base, France. On 8 December 1957 the 10th Tactical Reconnaissance Group was inactivated with its component squadrons, personnel and equipment being assigned directly to the wing.
In March 1954 the unit moved back to Japan and in August 1956, moved to Okinawa. The unit transitioned to Republic RF-84F Thunderflashes from 1956-1958 and then to McDonnell RF-101 Voodoos, continuing its long history of photographic reconnaissance. During the Vietnam era the 15th Squadron was based at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, flying the RF ...
It became Tactical Air Command's replacement training unit for the McDonnell RF-4C Phantom II. From 1968 to 1970, it acquired a fighter unit and also trained fighter aircrews on the F-4. In July 1971, Mountain Home became a fighter base and the wing moved without personnel or equipment to Bergstrom Air Force Base , Texas, where it absorbed the ...
The RF-80's were responsible for the daylight operations; the RB-26s for night photography. In June 1952, the 117th was involved in Exercise June Primer. This exercise took place in an area bordered by a line drawn from Cherbourg Naval Base to Geneva in the east and in the west by Swiss, Austrian and Russian Occupation Zone of Germany borders.