48-ші әскери қанат: Азаттық мүсіні және Ливияға шабуыл операциясы

The 48th Fighter Wing (48 FW) is part of the United States Air Force's Third Air Force, assigned to Headquarters Air Command Europe and United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE). It is based at RAF Lakenheath, England. The 48 FW is the only F 15 wing based in Europe which hosts two F 15E Strike Eagle squadrons. The wing also hosts two F 35A Lightning II squadrons. The 48 FW was given the name "Statue of Liberty Wing" on 4 July 1954 and remains the only U. S. Air Force unit with both a name and a numerical designation. The 48 FW operates in support of United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa, United States European Command and NATO.

By the mid 1980s the Cold War was not the only American fear for national security; terrorists struck targets from bombing of US Marines in Beirut to Berlin, from Rome to Rotterdam. Some of these attacks were attributed to the Libyan government headed by Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. In retaliation, U. S. President Ronald Reagan ordered a strike against targets in Tripoli, which were carried out by the United States Navy Sixth Fleet and F 111s of the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing. The F 111Fs from Lakenheath were chosen for their capability to fly long distances and deliver laser guided munitions with great accuracy. At approximately 19:00 the evening of 14 April 1986, 24 F 111Fs departed Lakenheath's runway, six of which were airborne spares in the event malfunctions forced any of the primary aircraft to abort. In flights of four, aircrews flew south through the Straits of Gibraltar and began their orchestrated attack shortly after midnight on 15 April. They were targeted on Azziziyah Barracks, the Sidi Balal terrorist training camp, and Tripoli Airport. With the sky lit up from Tripoli's city lights, anti aircraft tracers, and brilliant surface to air missile detonations, determined 48th TFW crews unleashed 60 tons of munitions, damaging their targets. In spite of the mission's success, the Wing experienced a major loss. As the strike force recovered at Lakenheath, both air and ground crews were given the somber news that Major Fernando Ribas (Utuado, Puerto Rico) pilot, and Weapons System Operator Captain Paul Lorence, were missing. The grueling 14 hour flight took its toll. "Those guys were so fatigued, the crew chiefs literally had to pull some of the crews out of the cockpits", recalled CMSgt Richard O’Shaughnessy, then a Master Sergeant and weapons flight supervisor. "Most of them actually lost several pounds from sweating so much. When the guys pulled their helmets off, sweat literally poured down their foreheads and necks". On 8 September 1986, US Navy Secretary John Lehman personally presented the Navy's Meritorious Unit Commendation to the 48th TFW for its participation in the operation. The 48th TFW is the only Air Force unit to have received this prestigious award. Likewise, General Charles L. Donnelly, Jr., Commander in Chief, USAFE, visited RAF Lakenheath on 17 February 1987 and presented decorations to those who participated in the operation. The ceremony ended with a presentation to Captain Lorence's widow Diane, followed by a missing man flyover.

In response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on 2 August 1990, during the first week of August, Col Thomas J. Lennon, 48th Tactical Fighter Wing Commander, received a call from Headquarters, US States Air Force, asking if the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing was ready to deploy. Colonel Lennon built a team of 13 members from wing leadership, known as the "Lucky 13", and preparations began for the eventual movement of personnel and F 111s to Saudi Arabia. On 25 August 1990, 18 F 111s took off from Lakenheath as the first USAFE unit to deploy. In this first group, nearly 500 men and women of the Liberty Wing departed. The 48th TFW deployed more than 60 aircraft and 1,500 personnel to Taif Air Base, Saudi Arabia. The 492d, 493d and 494th TFSs deployed, supplying 66 F 111Fs, which were in place by December 1990. Some aircrew & other members of the 495th TFS were deployed & dispersed throughout its 3 sister squadrons. During the Operation Desert Storm air war 17 January 24 February 1991, and subsequent four day ground war of 24–28 February the wing's F 111Fs flew thousands of sorties, unleashing precision guided and unguided munitions on Iraqi armor, artillery, bridges, military airfields and command and control centers. The wing's crews even stopped the flow of oil contaminating the Persian Gulf by bombing a pumping installation purposefully damaged by retreating Iraqi forces. Overall, the 48th TFW flew a total of 1919 combat sorties, totaling 2203 target hits. The Wing returned to RAF Lakenheath 13 May 1991.

Incorporating the lessons learned during the desert operations, the Air Force directed changes that led to the Objective Wing Organization. Beginning in mid 1991, the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing began restructuring under this program, realigning its maintenance fighter squadron workforce and establishing several command positions to include the 48th Logistics Group, 48th Medical Group, 48th Support Group, and 48th Operations Group (originally designated the 48th Fighter Group). The program also redesignated many of the Air Force's units by dropping the "Tactical" from their names. Thus on 1 October 1991, the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing was redesignated the 48th Fighter Wing, and the 492d, 493d, 494th and 495th became simply Fighter Squadrons. The 495th FS inactivated on 13 December 1991. In the midst of the organizational changes, the wing switched aircraft again, exchanging the F 111Fs for the F 15E Strike Eagle. On 21 February 1992, the first F 15E landed at Lakenheath, with the last F 111F departing for units within the US on 16 December 1992. The final F 15E arrived in June 1993 (actually early 2000s), and the wing achieved initial operational capability on 1 October 1993. With this mission change, the 493d Fighter Squadron inactivated on 1 January 1993, only to reactivate again on 1 January 1994. The squadron received its first maintenance trainer F 15C Eagle on 10 January 1994, then its full complement of F 15C & D aircraft by 22 July 1994. This marked the first time that the 48th had flown a specifically air to air weapon system, after flying for more than 50 years with an air to ground mission. Since September 2001, in response to the terrorist attacks in the United States on 11 September 2001, various units of the 48th FW have deployed to Afghanistan to support Operation Enduring Freedom and to Iraq to support Operations Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn, and also to various other US allies such as South Korea. The wing participated in Operation Odyssey Dawn in Libya in March 2011. One of the wing's F 15E aircraft crashed in Libya after an unapproved flight maneuver on 21 March 2011, but both crew members survived with minor injuries. An F 15C Eagle from the 48th Fighter Wing crashed into the North Sea on 15 June 2020, killing the pilot on board. On 1 October 2021, the 495th Fighter Squadron was reactivated as the 48th Fighter Wing's first F 35A unit. In 2021, the 48th Fighter Wing became the first unit outside of the contiguous United States to operate the Lockheed Martin F 35A Lightning II, with two squadrons based at RAF Lakenheath.