477th Fighter Group

The 477th Fighter Group is an Air Reserve unit of the United States Air Force assigned to Tenth Air Force within Air Force Reserve Command. Based at Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson in Alaska, it operates as an associate unit of the active-duty 3rd Wing of Pacific Air Forces. In that structure, Reserve and active-duty personnel work together across nearly all major F-22A Raptor mission areas, combining the operational availability of the active force with the experience, continuity, and career depth of the Reserve component. The group was reactivated on 1 October 2007 as the first Air Force Reserve organization established to fly, maintain, and support the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor. Its modern mission is not commercial brand management or manufacturing, but the recruitment, training, development, and retention of Citizen Airmen who can support the 3rd Wing and Air Force expeditionary requirements. The unit provides a combat-ready force of approximately 425 Air Reserve Technicians, Traditional Reservists, and civil servants. Its current organization includes the 302nd Fighter Squadron, 477th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, 477th Maintenance Squadron, 477th Civil Engineer Squadron, 477th Aerospace Medicine Flight, 477th Mission Support Flight, 477th Operations Support Flight, and 477th Force Support Squadron. Together, these elements cover flight operations, aircraft maintenance, installation support, medical readiness, logistics, personnel services, civil engineering, and other functions required to sustain an F-22 combat force. The group has a significant World War II lineage. It was first established in 1943 as the 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) at MacDill Field, Florida, where it trained with Martin B-26 Marauder medium bombers. That organization was inactivated later the same year. It was reactivated in January 1944 at Selfridge Field, Michigan, as a segregated African-American bombardment group. The unit trained Black military aviators, including personnel associated with the Tuskegee Airmen, using Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighters and North American B-25 Mitchell bombers. The wartime group moved to Godman Field, Kentucky, in May 1944 and later to Freeman Field, Indiana, in March 1945. At Freeman Field, racial discrimination and attempts to impose segregated officers' facilities led to the Freeman Field Mutiny, a major protest by Black officers. The group was subsequently returned to Godman Field. Colonel Benjamin O. Davis Jr. assumed command on 1 July 1945, and Black officers took command and supervisory roles that had previously been denied to them. The unit was preparing for combat deployment when Japan surrendered in August 1945, so it never entered combat. It was later moved to Lockbourne Army Air Base, Ohio, and inactivated in 1947. The lineage remained inactive for decades, then passed through special-operations designations before being converted into the modern fighter group. The current 477th Fighter Group therefore links a pioneering World War II African-American training organization with a contemporary Air Force Reserve and Total Force integration mission centered on the F-22 Raptor.

The 477th Fighter Group traces its lineage to the 477th Bombardment Group (Medium), established in May 1943 and activated at MacDill Field, Florida, on 1 June of that year. Assigned to Third Air Force, the group trained with Martin B-26 Marauder medium bombers. Its initial existence was brief, and it was inactivated on 25 August 1943. The organization was reactivated at Selfridge Field, Michigan, on 15 January 1944 as the 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) (Colored), under First Air Force. Its new role was to train African-American personnel for bomber and fighter-related duties. The group used Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighters and North American B-25 Mitchell bombers and became associated with the broader history of the Tuskegee Airmen. The expansion of Black participation into bomber-crew positions reflected sustained pressure from African-American civic leaders and military advocates during World War II. On 5 May 1944, the group was moved to Godman Field at Fort Knox, Kentucky. The relocation was influenced in part by concern about racial unrest in the Detroit area, while Godman itself presented operational difficulties because its facilities were not well suited to the B-25. Morale was also weakened by racial barriers to advancement and command. Black officers, including combat veterans transferred from the 332nd Fighter Group, were often prevented from obtaining leadership positions appropriate to their experience. By early 1945, the unit had reached full combat strength and was scheduled to enter combat on 1 July. To prepare for the planned deployment, it moved to Freeman Field, Indiana, on 5 March 1945. Freeman had facilities more suitable for B-25 operations, but racial segregation and discriminatory treatment produced a major confrontation known as the Freeman Field Mutiny. Black officers resisted orders and practices that restricted their access to officers' facilities. The protest became an important episode in the history of the United States military's eventual desegregation. Following the confrontation, the group returned to Godman Field. Colonel Benjamin O. Davis Jr. assumed command on 1 July 1945, and Black officers replaced white officers in a number of lower command and supervisory roles. Training was expected to conclude by the end of August, but Japan surrendered on 14 August, ending the immediate need for the group's combat deployment. The 477th was consequently reduced in size, redesignated as the 477th Composite Group on 22 June 1945 for part of its later lineage, and moved to Lockbourne Army Air Base, Ohio, in March 1946. It was inactivated on 1 July 1947. The lineage remained inactive until it was redesignated as the 477th Special Operations Group in 1985. It was later redesignated the 477th Expeditionary Special Operations Group and placed in provisional status in 2005, then returned to a non-provisional 477th Special Operations Group designation in 2006. On 21 September 2007, the lineage was redesignated the 477th Fighter Group, and the group was activated on 1 October 2007 at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, now part of Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson. The modern group was created as the first Air Force Reserve unit designed to fly, maintain, and support the F-22 Raptor. It became an associate unit of the active-duty 3rd Wing and was assigned to Tenth Air Force. Its operating model integrates Reserve personnel with active-duty partners across nearly all F-22 mission areas. The group recruits and develops Air Reserve Technicians, Traditional Reservists, and civil servants, preserving Reserve experience and continuity while contributing to the 3rd Wing's combat capability and expeditionary readiness. Today, the group includes flight, maintenance, engineering, medical, mission-support, operations-support, and force-support organizations. Its lineage consequently encompasses two distinct but connected eras: the World War II effort to train African-American military aviators under segregation, including the events surrounding the Freeman Field Mutiny, and the contemporary Total Force model supporting fifth-generation fighter operations in Alaska and the Pacific theater.

• 2007

  Reactivation as a fighter group

  [1]477th Fighter Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The lineage was redesignated the 477th Fighter Group on 21 September and activated on 1 October at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska.

• 2005

  Provisional expeditionary designation

  [1]477th Fighter Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The lineage was redesignated the 477th Expeditionary Special Operations Group and converted to provisional status.

• 1985

  Special operations redesignation

  [1]477th Fighter Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The inactive lineage was redesignated the 477th Special Operations Group.

• 1947

  Postwar inactivation

  [1]477th Fighter Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Following its move to Lockbourne Army Air Base, Ohio, the group was inactivated on 1 July.

• 1945

  Freeman Field Mutiny

  [1]477th Fighter Groupen.wikipedia.org

  After moving to Freeman Field, Indiana, the group's Black officers protested discriminatory segregation policies in an episode now known as the Freeman Field Mutiny.

• 1945

  Command transition under Benjamin O. Davis Jr.

  [1]477th Fighter Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Colonel Benjamin O. Davis Jr. took command on 1 July, after which Black officers assumed additional command and supervisory roles.

• 1944

  Reactivation as an African-American training group

  [1]477th Fighter Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The 477th was reactivated at Selfridge Field, Michigan, on 15 January to train African-American personnel with P-47 fighters and B-25 bombers.

• 1944

  Move to Godman Field

  [1]477th Fighter Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group relocated to Godman Field at Fort Knox, Kentucky, in May, where it faced operational limitations and continuing racial barriers.

• 1943

  Initial establishment

  [1]477th Fighter Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) was established on 13 May and activated at MacDill Field, Florida, on 1 June to train with B-26 Marauder bombers.

• 1943

  First inactivation

  [1]477th Fighter Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The original bombardment group was inactivated on 25 August after a short training existence.

A Total Force Air Reserve partner that provides experienced, continuously trained personnel and operational support for F-22 Raptor missions at Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson.

• Fifth-generation fighter operations · 2007

  F-22A Raptor operations

  The group's central modern mission is to provide Reserve personnel who fly, maintain, and support the Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor. The 477th works as an associate unit with the active-duty 3rd Wing, integrating personnel across most operational areas rather than operating as an isolated Reserve formation. Its contribution supports air-combat readiness, training, sustainment, and expeditionary requirements.

• Military support services · 2007

  Air Reserve mission support

  The group provides a broad support structure for fighter operations through maintenance, civil engineering, aerospace medicine, operations support, mission support, force support, and personnel functions. These capabilities allow Reserve members and civil servants to reinforce the 3rd Wing while retaining Reserve administrative support and professional continuity.

• Military aviation training · 1944

  World War II bomber and fighter training

  During World War II, the 477th trained African-American military personnel with Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighters and North American B-25 Mitchell bombers. The training program was intended to expand Black participation in skilled aircrew and combat-support roles, although segregation and discriminatory command practices shaped the group's experience.

• 1945

  Freeman Field Mutiny

  At Freeman Field in Indiana, Black officers of the 477th resisted discriminatory rules governing access to officers' facilities. The confrontation, commonly called the Freeman Field Mutiny, exposed racial discrimination within the wartime Army Air Forces and became an important event in the history of African-American military service and desegregation.

  Source

Read more

• 2007

  Creation of an F-22 Reserve associate unitStrategy

  Background

  The Air Force sought to integrate Air Force Reserve capabilities with the active-duty F-22 force at Elmendorf Air Force Base.

  Action taken

  The lineage was redesignated as the 477th Fighter Group and activated as the first Air Force Reserve unit established to fly, maintain, and support the F-22 Raptor.

  Aftermath

  The group became an associate unit of the 3rd Wing and a principal Reserve contributor to F-22 readiness in Alaska and the Pacific region.

  Source

• 1945

  Command reorganization after the Freeman Field protestStrategy

  Background

  The Freeman Field confrontation highlighted the exclusion of experienced Black officers from meaningful command positions.

  Action taken

  After the group returned to Godman Field, Colonel Benjamin O. Davis Jr. assumed command and Black officers took over additional lower-level command and supervisory positions.

  Aftermath

  The change strengthened Black leadership within the group, although the planned combat deployment was ended by Japan's surrender in August 1945.

  Source

• 1944

  Expansion of African-American bomber trainingStrategy

  Background

  Pressure from African-American civilian leaders and military advocates encouraged the Army Air Forces to open additional skilled bomber-crew roles to Black servicemen.

  Action taken

  The reactivated 477th was assigned to train African-American personnel using P-47 fighters and B-25 bombers.

  Aftermath

  The group became a major wartime setting for debates over racial equality, command opportunities, and the readiness of Black aircrew personnel.

  Source

1. 1477th Fighter Groupen.wikipedia.org