Firsts of the 1st Fighter Wing

  • Published
  • By 1st Fighter Wing
  • History Office
LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. (AFPN) --  During its nine decades of service, the 1st Fighter Wing carved its niche in U.S. air history.

For its part, the 1st FW was:

-- The first U.S. group-level unit to enter air combat.

-- The first U.S. unit to destroy an enemy aircraft in World War I. 

-- The parent unit of the first recipient of the Medal of Honor for aerial combat. 

-- The parent unit of the two highest scoring U.S. aces in World War I. 

-- The only U.S. Army fighter group from 1919 to 1932. 

-- The first unit equipped with the Lockheed P-38 Lightning. 

-- The first fighter unit to deploy en masse over the North Atlantic. 

-- The first American unit to destroy a German aircraft in World War II (the group shared the victory with another unit.) 

-- The first U.S. jet fighter unit. 

-- The first operational unit to fly the F-15 Eagle. 

-- The first tactical fighter unit to deploy to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Desert Shield.