In 1977 the 36th TFW received it’s first Eagles. Project Ready Eagle
brought the McDonnell-Douglas F-15A to the 36th TFW. The first F-15A's
arrived at Bitburg on 7t January 1977 The first Eagles to arrive were two
TF-15A (F-15B) trainers (serial numbers 75-049 and 75-050), that had flown
non-stop from Langley AFB, VA in seven and a half hours.
These Eagles were to be used primarily for ground crew familiarization in
anticipation of the arrival of the 525th TFS's first F-15As. The 23 aircraft
for this first operational squadron left Langley on 27 april 1977 for a mass
Atlantic crossing. Over the following months the aircraft for two other
squadrons (22nd TFS and
53rd TFS) arrived. The 36th TFW's full strength of 79 fully-operational
F-15As was reached in December 1977. Project Ready Eagle was completed in
precisely one year. In 1980 more advanced F-15Cs and F-15Ds would replace
the original F-15As.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the 36th TFW conducted routine training
missions from Bitburg Air Base, however the outbreak of the Desert Shield
deployed the F-15s of Bitburg to Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
Two F-15A's from the 525th
Tactical Fighter Squadron, 36th Tactical Fighter Wing (s/n 75-0069,
75-0074), based at Bitburg Air Base, Rheinland-Pfalz (Germany), fly over
"Burg Cochem" (Cochem Castle) and the Moselle River, 1 August 1977, U.S. Air
Force Photo by SSgt. Emmett Lewis, USAF
36th TFW deployed. Desert Shield/Desert Storm
The 53rd and 22nd TFS (Combined Squadrons) and deployed
to Al-Kjarj Air Base , Saudi Arabia and the 525th TFS flew its F-15s to
Incirlik AB, Turkey as part of USAFE's Joint Task Force Proven Force. The
53rd and 22nd TFS F-15s entered the Gulf War on 17 January in support of
Operation Desert Storm and were credited with 11 confirmed kills. Two
F-15C's from the 53rd TFS (84-025 and 84-027) shot down 4 Iraqi Migs (2
each) on the first night of the war. The 525th entered combat on 19 Jauary
when two F-15s used AIM-7 Sparrow radar missiles to destroy two Iraqi Mirage
F-1’s.
During the next six weeks, until the cease-fire, 36th
TFW aircraft flew around the clock, protecting two strikes per day and one
strike each night. PROVEN FORCE strikes targeted military airfields, nuclear
and chemical facilities, communications centers, power plants, and oil
refineries and storage facilities in northern Iraq. By the middle of
February, PROVEN FORCE was attacking Baghdad. In addition to protecting
strikers, the 525th FS was frequently tasked to man barrier caps in eastern
Iraq to destroy Iraqi fighters attempting to flee to Iran. These missions,
often lasting in excess of five hours, required aircraft to operate over
150 miles (240 km) behind enemy lines without any support assets.
The 36th TFW's pilots, support personnel and aircraft
performed magnificently in Operation Desert Shield, Operation Desert Storm
and Operation Provide Comfort. The 36th Fighter Wing was credited with 17
confirmed air to air kills for the entire Gulf War. Not a single F-15C
aircraft was lost in combat during the war. On 13 march 1991 the deployed
squadrons of the 36th TFW returned to Bitburg in victory.
The celebration was brief, however, as the 525th TFS
deployed back to Incirlik Air Base on 5 April to support Operation PROVIDE
COMFORT.
Following the war against Iraq, numerous Kurdish
refugees fled northward from the remaining forces of Saddam Hussein. The
United States initiated a vast airlift operation, named Operation PROVIDE
COMFORT, to drop food and supplies to these refugees concentrated in Iraq
along the Turkish border. Because tensions between the Iraqi and Allied
forces in the area remained quite high, the 525 was called back to Turkey in
April 1991 to protect the vulnerable Allied cargo aircraft. In addition, the
525th TFW was tasked, as part of the operation, to fly at low altitude over
Iraq and provide intelligence updates of Iraqi troop and equipment
locations.
Between the 5th of April and the 25th May, 1991, the
525th flew 285 sorties over Iraq in support of Operation PROVIDE COMFORT.
Just as before, not a single aircraft was lost in Iraq due to hostile fire.
Cold War draw down
Bitburg Air Base was part of the 1993 Base Realignment
and Closure (or BRAC) process that saw the drawdown of many military
facilities. On 31 March 1992 the 525th "Bulldogs" retired their colors,
while the 22nd "Stingers" and 53rd "Tigers" remained at Bitburg Air Base. On
1 November 1992, the 606th Air Control Squadron moved to Bitburg from
Basdahl, Germany. In July 1993, HQ USAFE announced another in a series of
post-Cold War force drawdowns in Europe which announced the closure of
Bitburg Air Base and the pending inactivation of the 36th Fighter Wing.
With the announced closure of Bitburg, on 25 February
1994 the 53d Fighter Squadron was transferred to the 52d Operations Group at
Spangdahlem AB, along with its F-15 fighters. The 22d Fighter Squadron was
also moved to Spangdahlem on 1 April, however neither its personnel, nor its
F-15s were transferred to the 52d TFW. The 22d became an F-16C/D Fighting
Falcon squadron, replacing the 480th Fighter Squadron. The 606th Air Control
Squadron was also assigned to the 52d Operations Group but remained at
Bitburg until September 1995 before moving to Spangdahlem.
