413th Flight Test Group

The 413th Flight Test Group is a United States Air Force Reserve Command organization headquartered at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia. It operates as a tenant unit at the installation and works in partnership with Air Force Materiel Command. Its principal responsibility is the functional flight testing of aircraft after programmed depot maintenance, commonly abbreviated as PDM. The group serves as the operational supervisor for Air Force depot flight-test units distributed across several bases in the United States. The organization does not operate as a commercial brand or manufacturer. It is a military aviation unit whose identity derives from its lineage, operational mission, assigned squadrons, and historical honors. Its current structure includes five flight-test squadrons, two flight-test flights, and support organizations. The assigned units test a broad range of aircraft, including bombers, tankers, transports, airborne warning and control aircraft, reconnaissance platforms, trainers, and tactical fighters. Aircraft associated with the group include the B-1, B-52, E-3, KC-135, RC-135, KC-46, C-5, C-130, F-15, C-12, KC-10, A-10, F-16, F-22, F-35, T-6, T-38, and C-17 during the period in which the 313th Flight Test Flight operated that aircraft. The group's modern work begins after depot maintenance is completed. Flight-test personnel conduct ground checks and other inspections to confirm that an aircraft is ready for a controlled functional test flight. After the aircraft is judged airworthy, a crew performs the flight evaluation to verify basic systems and operational performance. Once testing is complete, the aircraft is returned to its home station and configured for its assigned mission. This process helps ensure that aircraft emerging from major maintenance are safe and suitable for operational service. The 413th's lineage reaches back to World War II. The 413th Fighter Group was constituted in October 1944 and activated that month to conduct very-long-range operations with Republic P-47N Thunderbolts. It moved to the Southwest Pacific Area in 1945 and operated under organizations associated with the Twentieth Air Force and VII Fighter Command. During the final months of the war, its aircraft attacked Japanese factories, radar stations, airfields, small vessels, and other targets. The group also struck targets in China and flew its only recorded B-29 escort mission on 8 August 1945 during a raid against Yawata and Kyoto. After the war, the unit contributed to the air-defense and occupation presence in the Ryukyu Islands before being inactivated in Okinawa in 1946. It returned to active service in the 1950s under Tactical Air Command and operated through successive fighter-day, strategic fighter, and tactical fighter designations. During this period it trained for combat readiness through tactical exercises, firepower demonstrations, joint training with Army and Marine Corps forces, and tactical evaluations. It also supported Sixteenth Air Force in Spain through rotational deployments in 1958 and 1959. The modern 413th Flight Test Group designation was established in 2003, and the group was activated in the Air Force Reserve on 1 October of that year. Its present mission combines the group's long combat-aviation lineage with a specialized maintenance-recovery and aircraft-readiness function.

The unit's lineage begins with the 413th Fighter Group, which was constituted on 5 October 1944 and activated on 15 October 1944. Organized for very-long-range operations, it trained with the Republic P-47N Thunderbolt, a variant suited to extended-range Pacific operations. The group moved to the Southwest Pacific Area between April and June 1945 and was assigned within the command structure supporting the Twentieth Air Force. From bases in the Pacific, the group conducted strafing and dive-bombing missions against Japanese industrial facilities, radar installations, airfields, small ships, and other military targets. It also attacked shipping and airfields in China during July 1945. Its best-known mission in the available historical record occurred on 8 August 1945, when the group's fighters escorted Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers during a raid against Yawata and Kyoto, Japan. After Japan's surrender, the group served as part of the air-defense and occupation force in the Ryukyu Islands. It was inactivated on Okinawa on 15 October 1946. The lineage returned to active service in the Cold War. The organization was redesignated the 413th Fighter-Day Group and activated on 11 November 1954 under Tactical Air Command. Its mission emphasized maintaining combat readiness through tactical exercises, firepower demonstrations, joint exercises with United States Army and Marine Corps units, and formal tactical evaluations. The organization operated aircraft including the North American F-86 Sabre and North American F-100 Super Sabre. The group was inactivated on 8 October 1957. A related wing lineage was established as the 413th Strategic Fighter Wing on 23 March 1953. It was redesignated the 413th Fighter-Day Wing in September 1957 and activated on 8 October of that year. In July 1958 it became the 413th Tactical Fighter Wing. The wing was inactivated on 15 March 1959. During 1958 and 1959, it augmented Sixteenth Air Force in Spain through rotational deployments of assigned squadrons. The group and wing lineages were consolidated on 31 January 1984 as the 413th Strategic Fighter Wing. The consolidated organization was subsequently redesignated the 413th Flight Test Group on 18 July 2003 and activated in the Air Force Reserve on 1 October 2003. This reorientation shifted the active mission from fighter operations to aircraft flight testing after programmed depot maintenance. Today, the group is based at Robins Air Force Base as a tenant organization and operates through a partnership between Air Force Materiel Command and Air Force Reserve Command. It supervises depot flight-test units located at multiple installations. The group has five squadrons and two flights, supported by organizations such as the 413th Force Support Flight and the 413th Aeromedical Staging Squadron. The workforce described in the reference material includes full-time airmen, traditional reservists, and civil servants. The modern testing sequence begins when an aircraft finishes depot maintenance. Flight crews and maintenance personnel perform ground checks and verify that systems are ready for flight. After an airworthiness determination, the aircraft completes a functional test flight. The aircraft is then returned to its home station, where it can be configured for its operational mission. The group therefore occupies a specialized position between major maintenance and the resumption of operational service.

• 2003

  Modern flight-test group activated

  [1]413th Flight Test Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The organization was redesignated the 413th Flight Test Group on 18 July and activated in the Air Force Reserve on 1 October.

• 1984

  Lineage consolidation

  [1]413th Flight Test Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The fighter-group and fighter-wing lineages were consolidated on 31 January.

• 1958

  Rotational support to Sixteenth Air Force

  [1]413th Flight Test Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Assigned squadrons supported Sixteenth Air Force in Spain through rotational deployments during 1958–1959.

• 1954

  Return under Tactical Air Command

  [1]413th Flight Test Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The organization was redesignated the 413th Fighter-Day Group and activated on 11 November for tactical readiness training.

• 1946

  Postwar inactivation

  [1]413th Flight Test Groupen.wikipedia.org

  After service in the Ryukyu Islands occupation and air-defense force, the group was inactivated on 15 October.

• 1945

  Pacific combat operations

  [1]413th Flight Test Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group moved to the Southwest Pacific Area and conducted attacks against Japanese and Chinese targets, including its recorded B-29 escort mission on 8 August.

• 1944

  413th Fighter Group constituted and activated

  [1]413th Flight Test Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The 413th Fighter Group was constituted on 5 October and activated on 15 October for very-long-range fighter operations.

A specialized United States Air Force Reserve flight-test organization linking aircraft depot maintenance with the return of safe, mission-ready aircraft to operational units.

• Military aviation service · 2003

  Post-depot-maintenance functional flight testing

  The group's core service is the controlled evaluation of aircraft after programmed depot maintenance. Personnel conduct ground checks, confirm aircraft readiness, perform functional test flights, and support the return of aircraft to their home stations for operational configuration. The work spans multiple aircraft types and is intended to identify problems before an aircraft resumes mission service.

• Military aviation management · 2003

  Depot flight-test supervision

  The 413th serves as the operational supervisor for Air Force depot flight-test units distributed across the United States. Its subordinate organizations support testing for bombers, tankers, transports, fighters, trainers, reconnaissance aircraft, and airborne command-and-control platforms.

1. 1413th Flight Test Groupen.wikipedia.org