4th Fighter Wing

Coordinates: 35°21′00.6″N 77°57′08.6″W / 35.350167°N 77.952389°W / 35.350167; -77.952389

The 4th Fighter Wing (4 FW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command Ninth Air Force. It is stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, where it is also the host unit.

The 4 FW is home to the multi-role, all-weather F-15E Strike Eagle and provides worldwide deployable aircraft and personnel capable of executing combat missions in support of the Aerospace Expeditionary Force. The wing also provides logistical support to an Air Force Reserve KC-135R Stratotanker unit. The wing is also responsible for managing the storage and beddown of the Southwest Asia prepositioned vehicle package. The general manages and controls assets in excess of $4.8 billion and executes an annual operations and maintenance budget of $193 million.

The 4 FW is one of two Air Force units that can trace its history to another country. The wing's 4th Operations Group has its origins as the Royal Air Force Eagle Squadrons (Nos. 71, 121 and 133). When the United States entered World War II, these units, and the American pilots in them, were transferred to the United States Army Air Forces VIII Fighter Command, forming the 4th Fighter Group on 12 September 1942. The only other Air Force unit with a similar history is the 23rd Fighter Group, which was originally the 1st American Volunteer Group, a unit in the Chinese Air Force until the American entry into World War II. The "Flying Tigers" were then reorganized as the 23rd FG. The 4 FW was the first fighter group to use belly tanks, the first to penetrate Germany, the first to accompany bombers to Berlin, the first to accomplish the England-to-Russia shuttle and the first to down jet fighters. The group was credited with the destruction of 1,016 (including strafing kills) enemy aircraft, more than any other American fighter unit, and produced 38 aces.