Intensification of the Cold War in the
early 1960s brought the 366th
TFW back to life at Chaumont AB, France, in April 1962.
This marked the first peacetime activation of a wing at
an overseas location. Throughout its time in France, the wing flew
the F-84F, deploying regularly to Libya for gunnery training.
Tensions in Europe decreased slightly over the
next year and the wing returned to the United States in July
1963 to its new home at Holloman AFB, New Mexico.
There, the wing began converting to the new F-4C
Phantom II in February
1965.
Later that
year, the wing sent its first squadron to the Republic of Vietnam.
The 390 th
Fighter Squadron was assigned to Da Nang AB, Republic
of Vietnam, and the 391 st
went to Cam Ranh Bay AB in early 1966.
By March, the rest of the wing entered the conflict and moved
to Phan Rang AB, Republic of Vietnam.
The 366th
TFW moved to Da Nang AB and regained the 390
th FS in October 1966.
While at Da Nang, pilots were frustrated that they were missing
opportunities to shoot down enemy MiGs because the F-4C lacked a
cannon and its missiles were ineffective at short ranges. So wing
maintainers and aircrews modified the mounting of an external 20-millimeter
Gatling gun pod on the F-4Cs used for ground attack for use in air-to-air
combat, and in less than a month, starting on May 14, 1967, the wing’s
pilots had scored four MiG kills. The gun pod innovation and the MiG kills
that followed earned the wing the nickname it carries today, the “Gunfighters.”
During this period, the wing earned a Presidential
Unit Citation
for shooting down 11 enemy aircraft in a six-week period
and other combat actions..
It should be noted that not all the action was in the
air. Starting with a Viet Cong rocket attack in February 1967 followed
by similar attacks in July and September of that year and with increasing
frequency thereafter, several ground personnel were killed and injured.
The number of enemy attacks throughout the remainder of the conflict
earned DaNang Air Base its well-deserved nickname: "Rocket City"
.
By May 1968, the wing had upgraded to the F-4D
aircraft, and then in 1969, two squadrons of F-4E's joined the
wing. After this, the F-4D's assumed forward air control duties,
while the more advanced F-4E's concentrated on aircraft escort duties
and conducted ground attack missions. By November 1971, the 366
th was the only United States
tactical fighter wing still stationed in Vietnam.
During it's final months in Southeast Asia before returning
to the United States the wing earned it's second
Presidential Unit Citation
.
Of the 179 aircraft imported from China by North Vietnam
during the conflict, 137 were downed by the U.S. Air Force. Of these
137, 107.5 were downed by F-4s.
Between 1966 and 1972, the Gunfighters logged
18 confirmed MiG kills in Vietnam.
Upon the wing's returned to the United States in October
1972, Captain Lance P. Sijan, a 366th
pilot shot down in 1967, was posthumously awarded
the Medal of Honor
for his actions as a prisoner of war.
