USAF F-15E STRIKE EAGLE RECEIVES AMAZING HERITAGE PAINT SCHEME

The fighter jet received a special livery to celebrate 75 years of 4th Fighter Wing.

USAF 4th Fighter Wing unveils F-15E Strike Eagle with heritage paint scheme

The 4th Fighter Wing has celebrated its 75th anniversary with a weekend of celebratory events and ceremonies in mid-September 2017. The 4th Fighter Group, currently based in Seymour Johnson AFB, was activated Sept. 29, 1942 in Debden, England during World War II.

The weekend of celebration included a static display composed by P-51 Mustang, F-86 Sabre, A-10 Thunderbolt II, and F-4 Phantom. The display was made even more interesting by the presence of an F-15E with a new amazing heritage paint scheme. The 4th Equipment Maintenance Squadron spent more than one month painting the anniversary scheme for one of the wing’s Strike Eagle. The aircraft will remain painted this way for one full year.

Below are just a few examples of the 4 FW’s list of accomplishments and noteworthy achievements:

- The 4 FG flew P-51 Mustangs in February 1944 and are credited as the top scoring Allied fighter group of WWII. The group was the first to infiltrate airspace over Germany and collectively destroyed 1,016 enemy aircraft.

- In March 1949, the group transitioned to the F-86 Sabre aircraft and flew missions during the Korean War. Once again, the 4th was designated the top fighter unit during that conflict, having destroyed 502 enemy aircraft.

- The 336th Fighter Squadron became the first operational F-15E Strike Eagle squadron in 1989, and in 1991, the 4th FW became the first fully operational Strike Eagle wing in the entire Air Force.

- The 4 FW has been commanded by many noteworthy officers, including Brig. Gen. Chuck Yeager, the first person to travel faster than the speed of sound. He also travelled with the wing to Korea when the U.S.S. Pueblo was seized by North Korea in 1968.

- The wing was also commanded by then Col. Jeannie Leavitt, the first female to lead an active duty Air Force fighter wing and the Air Force’s first female fighter pilot.

The wing has flown nine different aircraft in 75 years and destroyed more than 1,500 enemy aircraft, dropped more than 4 million pounds of ordnance, produced 63 aces, countless Distinguished Flying Cross recipients and one Medal of Honor recipient. 

The 4 FW currently flies the F-15E, a dual-role fighter designed to perform air-to-air and air-to-ground missions. The Strike Eagle has fought in many operations, including, Desert Storm, Southern Watch, Enduring Freedom, Anaconda, Iraqi Freedom and Inherent Resolve. Today the wing’s Airmen support operations across the globe.

Photo credits: USAF