44th Fighter Group
The 44th Fighter Group is a United States Air Force Reserve associate unit that supports F-35A Lightning II operations and training at Tyndall Air Force Base.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The 44th Fighter Group is an Air Reserve Component organization of the United States Air Force. It belongs administratively to the Air Force Reserve Command's 301st Fighter Wing at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas, while its principal operational location is Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. At Tyndall, the group operates as an associate unit of the active-duty 325th Fighter Wing, sharing personnel, aircraft operations, maintenance, and training responsibilities. If mobilized, it is operationally gained by Air Combat Command. The modern fighter group was activated on 9 April 2010 at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, initially to support the active-duty 49th Fighter Wing's F-22A Raptor mission. The group included the 301st Fighter Squadron and an aircraft maintenance organization. It subsequently helped support F-22 training and operations, including the use of T-38 Talon aircraft in adversary-training activities. A detachment at Holloman also supported training associated with the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft. A major organizational transition occurred after the United States Air Force decided to consolidate F-22 operations at Tyndall. The move was delayed by congressional restrictions on force-structure changes, but the transfer began in January 2014 and the 44th Fighter Group completed its relocation to Tyndall in July of that year. The unit operated and maintained F-22 aircraft in association with the 325th Fighter Wing and became one of only a small number of Air Force Reserve organizations connected with the Raptor fleet. Hurricane Michael severely damaged Tyndall Air Force Base in October 2018. As the base recovered, the 325th Fighter Wing's formal training activities and associated personnel moved temporarily to Eglin Air Force Base. The 44th Fighter Group followed the mission during this period, continuing to support the F-22 training enterprise. The group later returned to Tyndall in April 2023. The unit's institutional heritage is older than its current fighter designation. Its lineage includes the 44th Bombardment Group, constituted in 1940 and activated in 1941. During World War II, the predecessor became the first Eighth Air Force B-24 Liberator heavy-bombardment group based in England. It flew missions against strategic and tactical targets across occupied Europe and the Mediterranean, including submarine facilities, industrial sites, airfields, ports, railways, oil installations, and transportation networks. The group received Distinguished Unit Citations for actions at Kiel in May 1943 and during the Ploiești raid in August 1943. Its wartime commander, Colonel Leon W. Johnson, received the Medal of Honor for his leadership during the Ploiești operation. The lineage also passed through Strategic Air Command bombardment and missile operations. A later 44th Operations Group helped deactivate Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missiles in the early 1990s before inactivating in 1994. The present 44th Fighter Group therefore represents the fighter-era continuation of a long-standing Air Force lineage rather than a commercial consumer brand.
History
The lineage associated with the 44th Fighter Group began with the 44th Bombardment Group, constituted on 20 November 1940 and activated at MacDill Field, Florida, on 15 January 1941. Equipped with B-24 Liberator aircraft, the group moved to Barksdale Field, Louisiana, where it trained other heavy-bombardment groups and conducted anti-submarine patrols over the Gulf of Mexico. It later prepared for overseas deployment at Will Rogers Field, Oklahoma, and moved to England in 1942. The predecessor group became the first VIII Bomber Command B-24 heavy-bombardment group stationed in England. It arrived at RAF Cheddington in September 1942 and moved to RAF Shipdham the following month. From England and temporary bases in North Africa, it attacked targets throughout western and central Europe and the Mediterranean. Its missions covered submarine facilities, factories, airfields, ports, shipyards, rail networks, oil installations, and other strategic objectives. The 44th's wartime record included a highly exposed incendiary attack against naval installations at Kiel on 14 May 1943. Because the group followed the principal bomber formations and delivered incendiaries after high-explosive attacks, its aircraft faced concentrated fighter and anti-aircraft opposition. The action resulted in a Distinguished Unit Citation. A North African detachment also participated in the low-level attack on the Ploiești oil fields in Romania on 1 August 1943. Colonel Leon W. Johnson, the group's commander, received the Medal of Honor for his conduct during that operation. The group later supported operations connected with Sicily, Salerno, the Normandy invasion, the Caen offensive, the Saint-Lô breakthrough, the airborne assault in the Netherlands, the Battle of the Bulge, and the Allied advance into Germany. Its final combat mission took place on 25 April 1945. The group returned to the United States in June 1945 and was selected for possible reformation as a B-29 Superfortress unit. It was ultimately inactivated on 12 July 1946. The lineage was later associated with Strategic Air Command bombardment activities during the Korean War era. In 1991, the 44th Operations Group was activated under the Air Force's objective-wing structure and inherited missile-operational responsibilities connected with the 44th Missile Wing. It helped dismantle Minuteman II launch-control and missile infrastructure after the end of the Cold War. The group lost its emergency-war-order mission in 1992 and inactivated on 4 July 1994 after the missile complex was deactivated. The current Air Force Reserve fighter organization was activated on 9 April 2010 at Holloman Air Force Base as an associate unit to the active-duty 49th Fighter Wing. It supported F-22A Raptor operations, maintenance, and training, and included the 301st Fighter Squadron. In 2012, the Air Force announced that the Holloman F-22 mission would move to Tyndall as part of fleet consolidation. Congressional restrictions delayed the transfer, but aircraft began departing in January 2014. The last F-22 left Holloman in April, and the 44th Fighter Group completed its move to Tyndall in July 2014 as an associate unit of the 325th Fighter Wing. At Tyndall, the group continued supporting F-22 formal training and related operations. It also retained a Holloman detachment connected with MQ-1 and MQ-9 remotely piloted aircraft training. Hurricane Michael forced Tyndall's fighter-training enterprise to operate from Eglin in 2018, and reserve personnel relocated with the mission. As the Air Force shifted F-22 formal training away from Tyndall and converted the 325th Fighter Wing and 301st Fighter Wing toward the F-35A Lightning II, the 44th Fighter Group transitioned into a combat-coded F-35A associate role. The group returned to Tyndall in April 2023 and remains part of the Air Force Reserve's active-duty associate structure.
- 2023
Return to Tyndall
[1]The group returned to Tyndall after the temporary Eglin operating period.
- 2018
Temporary relocation after Hurricane Michael
[1]The group moved with Tyndall's F-22 training enterprise to Eglin after Hurricane Michael damaged the base.
- 2014
Relocation to Tyndall completed
[1]The group completed its move to Tyndall and became an associate unit of the 325th Fighter Wing.
- 2010
Modern fighter group activated
[1]The Air Force Reserve activated the 44th Fighter Group at Holloman to support F-22 operations.
- 1994
Missile operations lineage inactivated
[1]The 44th Operations Group inactivated after completion of the Minuteman II deactivation mission.
- 1991
44th Operations Group activated
[1]The lineage was reactivated as an operations group associated with Minuteman II missile operations.
- 1945
Final World War II combat mission
[1]The predecessor group flew its final combat mission on 25 April.
- 1943
Kiel and Ploiești operations
[1]The group received recognition for its Kiel mission and participated in the Ploiești raid, during which Colonel Leon W. Johnson earned the Medal of Honor.
- 1942
Deployment to England
[1]The group arrived at RAF Cheddington and became the first VIII Bomber Command B-24 group stationed in England.
- 1941
Bombardment group activated
[1]The 44th Bombardment Group was activated at MacDill Field, Florida, with B-24 Liberators.
Products and positioning
A reserve associate organization that integrates Air Force Reserve personnel with active-duty fighter wings to provide operational, training, maintenance, and support capacity.
Fighter aircraft
F-35A Lightning II
The F-35A is the group's current fighter platform in its combat-coded Air Force Reserve associate role with the 325th Fighter Wing. The group contributes reserve personnel to flying, maintenance, and operational support rather than marketing or selling the aircraft.
Fighter aircraft
F-22A Raptor
The F-22A was the principal platform supported by the modern 44th Fighter Group from its activation in 2010 through the transition of the Tyndall mission. The group supported operations, maintenance, and formal training in association with active-duty fighter wings.
Trainer aircraft
T-38 Talon
The group supported T-38 activities at Holloman, including adversary-aircraft functions used in F-22 training exercises. This role complemented the unit's wider reserve-associate support for fighter instruction and readiness.
Heavy bomber
B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberators were operated by the World War II predecessor, the 44th Bombardment Group. The group used the aircraft in strategic bombing and tactical-support missions across Europe and the Mediterranean, including attacks on industrial, maritime, airfield, and transportation targets.
Brand decisions
2020
Transition toward F-35A associate operationsGeneration changeBackground
The Air Force planned to move the F-22 formal training mission away from Tyndall while transitioning the 325th Fighter Wing and its reserve associate structure to the F-35A.
Action taken
The 44th Fighter Group shifted from its F-22 support role toward a combat-coded F-35A associate mission.
Aftermath
The group continued as a reserve associate organization supporting the 325th Fighter Wing at Tyndall.
2018
Temporary relocation to Eglin after Hurricane MichaelStrategyBackground
Hurricane Michael caused extensive damage at Tyndall Air Force Base, interrupting normal fighter-training operations.
Action taken
The 44th Fighter Group relocated with the 325th Fighter Wing's F-22 and T-38 training activities to Eglin Air Force Base.
Aftermath
The group continued supporting the displaced training mission and later returned to Tyndall in April 2023.
2012
Plan to consolidate F-22 operations at TyndallStrategyBackground
The Air Force planned to move Holloman's F-22 aircraft, aircrews, and support personnel to Tyndall as part of a broader fleet-consolidation effort.
Action taken
The 44th Fighter Group prepared to shift from its Holloman association with the 49th Fighter Wing to a Tyndall association with the 325th Fighter Wing.
Aftermath
Congressional restrictions delayed the move, but the transfer proceeded in 2014 and the group completed its relocation to Tyndall.
Sources1 sources
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