85-ші топ: Исландия қорғанысының күзетшісі

The 85th Group, formerly the Air Forces Iceland, is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with United States Air Forces in Europe at Naval Air Station Keflavik, Iceland, assigned as a unit of the 48th Fighter Wing whose home station is at RAF Lakenheath, UK. It was inactivated on 28 June 2006.

The 85th Group was the United States Air Force (USAF) component of U. S. Joint Forces Command's (USJFCOM) Iceland Defense Force (IDF). the 85th Group was a tenant unit of U. S. Naval Air Station (NAS) Keflavík, strategically located on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) base in the southwest corner of Iceland. Operationally, the group was assigned to the Iceland Defense Force (IDF) as part of Island Command Iceland. As the "Guardians of the North," the 85th Group was responsible for deterring aggression in the North Atlantic, protecting Iceland's airspace and supporting contingency operations. This was accomplished through surveillance, air superiority and the use of rescue assets. The 85th Group was responsible for deterring aggression in the North Atlantic and protecting Iceland's airspace. It also supported contingency operations through surveillance, air superiority and rescue forces.

85th Operations Squadron (85th OS). Was the air arm of the Iceland Defense Force and sole provider of Iceland's air sovereignty. It executed USACOM tasking for rotational F 15, KC 135, and HC 130 assets. It provided operational control, intelligence, total force management and maintenance of all U. S. Air Force combat aircraft in Iceland. It also provided all aerospace intelligence to IDF. Maintains organizational infrastructure and assets for U. S. Air Force contingency operations. The group's original squadrons were the 305th, 306th, 307th, and 308th Bombardment Squadrons. It moved to Bowman Field, Kentucky to train for close air support and received its first aircraft there. It converted to A 24 Banshee dive bombers in August 1942 and was reassigned to Fourth Air Force in California, taking part in training maneuvers at the Desert Training Center with Army ground units programmed for the Operation Torch landings in North Africa. It continued to participate in maneuvers in California during fall and winter of 1942–1943. In late 1943, it assumed a split operation as its 500th Fighter Bomber Squadron (FBS) moved to Harris Neck Army Air Field, Georgia and its 502d FBS moved to Punta Gorda Army Air Field, Florida, while the group and remaining squadrons remained at Waycross Army Air Field. It received a few P 47 Thunderbolts in March 1944. It served as a RTU until it disbanded in early in 1944, Those at Punta Gorda became the duty of the 344th AAF Base Unit (Replacement Training Unit, Fighter) and at Harris Neck of the 346th AAF Base Unit (Replacement Training Unit, Fighter). This reorganization occurred because the AAF found that standard military units, based on relatively inflexible tables of organization were proving less well adapted to the mission. Accordingly, a more functional system was adopted in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit.