476th Fighter Group
The 476th Fighter Group is an Air Force Reserve associate unit that supports A-10C Thunderbolt II operations at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The 476th Fighter Group is a unit of the United States Air Force Reserve and part of Tenth Air Force within Air Force Reserve Command. Based at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia, it is assigned administratively to the 442d Fighter Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, while operating in close association with the active-duty 23d Fighter Group and the 23d Wing at Moody. If mobilized, the group is gained by Air Combat Command. The group has existed in several distinct forms across the history of the United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force. Its first activation occurred in China on 19 May 1943, when it was assigned to Fourteenth Air Force. That wartime incarnation was disbanded only a few months later without becoming operational. The organization was reconstituted and activated again at Richmond Army Air Base, Virginia, on 1 December 1943 as a First Air Force replacement-training unit. It was intended to prepare fighter crews for deployment, but the Army Air Forces was then reorganizing its training structure around more functional base-level organizations. The group consequently did not become operational in the expected training role. It moved to Pocatello Army Air Field, Idaho, in March 1944, where its personnel and equipment were absorbed into a numbered Army Air Forces base unit. The organization returned in the Cold War as the 476th Fighter Group (Air Defense). Activated on 8 February 1957 under Air Defense Command, it helped establish and organize the air-defense presence at Glasgow Air Force Base, Montana. The group's operational activity became more defined in 1959, when the 13th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron transferred to Glasgow and began preparing for operations with McDonnell F-101B Voodoo interceptors. Glasgow's strategic importance changed as Strategic Air Command developed the installation as part of its nuclear-strike support structure. On 1 April 1960, Strategic Air Command assumed control of the base, and the group's personnel and equipment were transferred to form the 4141st Combat Support Group. The 476th and its associated support organizations were discontinued, while the interceptor squadron was reassigned. After remaining inactive through later redesignations, the group was redesignated the 476th Fighter Group in January 2009 and activated on 1 February 2009 as an Air Force Reserve associate unit. Its modern mission is performed alongside active-duty personnel rather than as an isolated flying organization. The group integrates its operations with the 74th and 75th Fighter Squadrons, the 23d Maintenance Group, and other elements of the 23d Wing. Its principal subordinate elements are the 76th Fighter Squadron, the 476th Maintenance Squadron, and the 476th Aerospace Medical Flight. The modern group is equipped for A-10C Thunderbolt II operations and provides reserve manpower, maintenance capability, medical support, and mission integration. Public descriptions have placed its initial strength at approximately 115 reservists, Air Reserve technicians, and civilians, with plans for expansion to roughly 230 traditional reservists and full-time personnel. Its identity is therefore institutional and operational rather than commercial: the group represents a lineage-bearing Air Force organization whose role has shifted from wartime activation and aircrew training, to Cold War air defense, and finally to reserve-associate support for active-duty close-air-support and combat-search-and-rescue forces.
History
The 476th Fighter Group was constituted on 20 April 1943 and first activated in China on 19 May of that year. Assigned to Fourteenth Air Force and stationed at Kunming Airport, it was never brought to operational strength and was disbanded on 31 July 1943. The group was reconstituted on 11 October 1943 and activated at Richmond Army Air Base, Virginia, on 1 December. In this second World War II incarnation it was assigned to First Air Force as a replacement-training unit. The 453d Fighter Squadron joined it, along with the newly activated 541st, 542d, and 543d Fighter Squadrons. Such units were designed to train aircrews before deployment to combat theaters. During this period, however, the Army Air Forces concluded that large, standardized organizations were poorly suited to the increasingly specialized training mission. It adopted a functional base-organization system in which numbered base units assumed many responsibilities previously assigned to groups and squadrons. The 476th therefore apparently never operated as a fully functioning replacement-training group. It moved to Pocatello Army Air Field, Idaho, in late March 1944, and on 1 April was disbanded. Its people and equipment were used to establish the 265th Army Air Forces Base Unit, a fighter replacement-training organization. The lineage was revived during the Cold War. On 11 December 1956 the organization was reconstituted and redesignated the 476th Fighter Group (Air Defense), then activated on 8 February 1957 under Air Defense Command. Its principal institutional task was connected with opening and organizing Glasgow Air Force Base, Montana. The group and its support elements established the framework for air-defense operations at the installation. The 13th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron moved from Sioux City Municipal Airport to Glasgow on 2 July 1959 and began working up with the McDonnell F-101B Voodoo, an interceptor designed for high-speed defense against aerial threats. The Glasgow arrangement was short-lived. Strategic Air Command had already established a tenant presence through the 4141st Strategic Wing and was developing the base for a strategic mission associated with the nuclear-armed bomber force. As that mission became predominant, control of Glasgow shifted from Air Defense Command to Strategic Air Command. On 1 April 1960, the 476th Fighter Group was discontinued; its personnel and equipment, together with those of its support units, were transferred to organize the 4141st Combat Support Group. The 13th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was reassigned directly to the 29th Air Division. The inactive lineage later received another designation. On 31 July 1985 the organization was redesignated the 476th Tactical Fighter Group, although it remained inactive. On 6 January 2009 it was redesignated the 476th Fighter Group, and on 1 February 2009 it was activated as an Air Force Reserve Command associate unit. The group was linked with the active-duty 23d Fighter Group at Moody Air Force Base and assigned to the 442d Fighter Wing. In its current form, the group operates as an integrated reserve component rather than an independent base-hosting organization. It works with the 23d Wing's 74th and 75th Fighter Squadrons and the 23d Maintenance Group, while retaining its own command structure. The 442d Fighter Wing supplies administrative and mission-support functions not provided by Moody's host wing. The 476th's modern structure includes the 76th Fighter Squadron, the 476th Maintenance Squadron, and the 476th Aerospace Medical Flight. Its aircraft lineage in the modern era is centered on the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, specifically the A-10C variant. The group provides reserve aircrew, maintenance, medical, and staff capacity and can be mobilized under Air Combat Command.
- 2009
Return as an Air Force Reserve associate unit
[1]The group was redesignated the 476th Fighter Group on 6 January and activated on 1 February 2009 as an Air Force Reserve associate unit linked to the 23d Fighter Group at Moody Air Force Base.
- 1985
Tactical-fighter redesignation
[1]The inactive organization was redesignated the 476th Tactical Fighter Group on 31 July 1985.
- 1960
Transfer from Air Defense Command
[1]Strategic Air Command assumed control of Glasgow Air Force Base on 1 April 1960. The 476th was discontinued and its personnel and equipment transferred to the new 4141st Combat Support Group.
- 1959
F-101 interceptor activity at Glasgow
[1]The 13th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron moved to Glasgow Air Force Base on 2 July 1959 and began training with McDonnell F-101B Voodoo interceptors.
- 1957
Cold War air-defense activation
[1]The organization was reconstituted as the 476th Fighter Group (Air Defense) and activated under Air Defense Command on 8 February 1957.
- 1944
Disbandment at Pocatello
[1]The group was disbanded at Pocatello Army Air Field on 1 April 1944, with its personnel and equipment used to form the 265th Army Air Forces Base Unit.
- 1943
Initial activation in China
[1]The 476th Fighter Group was activated at Kunming Airport, China, on 19 May 1943 under Fourteenth Air Force. It did not become operational and was disbanded on 31 July.
- 1943
Reactivation as a replacement-training unit
[1]The group was activated at Richmond Army Air Base, Virginia, on 1 December 1943 under First Air Force with four fighter squadrons assigned for replacement training.
Products and positioning
A reserve-component fighter group integrated with an active-duty Air Force wing, combining A-10C operational support, maintenance, medical services, and deployable personnel under the lineage of a historically reactivated military organization.
Military aviation · 2009
A-10C Thunderbolt II operations
The group's modern flying association is with the Fairchild Republic A-10C Thunderbolt II. Through its reserve-associate structure, the 476th contributes personnel and operational capacity alongside active-duty Moody Air Force Base units rather than presenting a separately marketed aircraft service.
Military maintenance · 2009
Aircraft maintenance support
The 476th Maintenance Squadron provides the group's reserve maintenance component and supports aircraft readiness, sortie generation, and integration with the 23d Maintenance Group.
Military medical services · 2009
Aerospace medical support
The 476th Aerospace Medical Flight supplies medical capability within the group's Air Force Reserve structure and supports the personnel and operational requirements of the associated flying mission.
Historical military aviation · 1959
F-101B air-defense operations
During its Cold War incarnation, the group supported air-defense activity at Glasgow Air Force Base, where the 13th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron worked up with McDonnell F-101B Voodoo interceptors in 1959 and 1960.
Brand decisions
2009
Reactivation as a reserve associateStrategyBackground
The Air Force Reserve established the group to provide an integrated reserve presence alongside the active-duty 23d Fighter Group at Moody Air Force Base.
Action taken
The organization was redesignated and activated under the 442d Fighter Wing, with the 76th Fighter Squadron, 476th Maintenance Squadron, and 476th Aerospace Medical Flight.
Aftermath
The group became part of the ongoing reserve-active-duty integration supporting A-10C operations at Moody.
1960
Transfer of Glasgow Air Force Base to Strategic Air CommandStrategyBackground
Strategic Air Command's nuclear-strike support mission became more important at Glasgow than the Air Defense Command mission originally associated with the 476th.
Action taken
Control of Glasgow transferred to Strategic Air Command, and the 476th's people and equipment were used to organize the 4141st Combat Support Group.
Aftermath
The 476th was discontinued and the 13th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was reassigned to the 29th Air Division.
1944
Adoption of a functional training-base structureStrategyBackground
The Army Air Forces determined that standardized groups and squadrons were not sufficiently flexible for replacement training.
Action taken
The 476th was moved to Pocatello and disbanded, with its personnel and equipment reassigned to a numbered base unit.
Aftermath
The group's second World War II activation ended without it operating as a conventional replacement-training group.
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