USAF 20th TFW Victory by Valour Crest Patch F-111E RAF Upper Heyford 1978 (4 Inch) – Variant A1

USAF 20th TFW Victory By Valour Crest Patch Tactical Fighter Wing USAFE F-111E Aardvark RAF Upper Heyford 1978 4 Inch Variant A1

USAF 20th TFW Victory by Valour Crest Patch Variant with motto in Black Lettering on yellow motto scroll

Validation – Tangible authentic and original

Manufacturer – Taiwan hand guided machine made possibly Ace Novelty subcontract

Manufacture – fully embroidered through twill and paper backing with white cotton return thread and merrowed overlocked edge

Visibility – colour

Condition – very good has not been sewn to uniform

Size – 103mm diameter

Approximate imperial size – four inches diameter

Free Shipping

Wing F-111E Aardvark and EF-111A Raven Era 1970 to 1993

On 10 December 1969 20th Tactical Fighter Wing was established its Detachment 1 at RAF Upper Heyford to manage the Wing’s relocation there formally achieved on 1 June 1970.  During September 1970 the Wing began converting to F-111E Aardvark fighter bombers being declared operational on 12 February 1971. The Wing operated from RAF Greenham Common as Operating Location OL A for dispersal exercises between 29 April 1976 and 17 August 1976.

A fourth flying squadron 42nd Electronic Combat Squadron was activated as part of the Wing on 1 July 1983 with the first EF-111A Raven electronic warfare aircraft arriving at RAF Upper Heyford during February 1984. On 1 June 1985 42nd ECS was reassigned to the 66th Electronic Combat Wing at Sembach AB, West Germany but the Squadron remained at RAF Upper Heyford officially attached to 20th TFW on 2 June 1985.

Operation El Dorado Canyon 1986

42nd ECS Operation Eldorado Canyon raid on Libya on 14 April 1986 as airborne reserve for 48th TFW’s F-111F fighter bombers of and to provide electronic warfare capabilities.

Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm 1990 1991

The Wings fighter squadrons deployed to Incirlik AB Turkey for Weapons Training from March to May 1989 and had aircraft there on Weapons Training Deployment in August 1990 when Iraq invaded Kuwait and Operation Desert Shield began. 42nd ECS was reassigned from 66th Electronic Combat Wing direct to 20th TFW on 25 January 1991. Further assets were deployed by the Wing to Incirlik and incorporated into 7440th Wing Provisional Operation Proven Force and for Desert Storm providing tactical and electronic combat operations from 17 January 1991 to 28 February 1991 with F-111Es flying 456 combat missions and 1327 combat hours and EF-111As flying 252 combat missions and 704 combat hours. The wing also deployed four 42nd Electronic Combat Squadron EF-111A aircraft to Taif AB, Saudi Arabia for the operation flying 219 combat missions and 1155 combat hours. 42nd Electronic Combat Squadron was inactivated at RAF Upper Heyford on 1 July 1992.

For the campaign RAF Upper Heyford was designated as the Regional Evacuation Control Center and 20th TFW activated the contingency hospital complex and carried out major facility upgrades at RAF Bicester, RAF Little Rissington and RAF Croughton to provide food transportation and lodging requirements as well as personnel, legal, financial and recreational services to support 5000 augmenting personnel and an anticipated 2000 patients. In the first six months of 1991 transient alert personnel in support of Desert Storm serviced and launched 1408 aircraft the largest number of transient aircraft in the history of RAF Upper Heyford.

On 1 October 1991 the Wing was redesignated 20th Fighter Wing and during October won the 1991 Gunsmoke tactical gunnery competition in the F-111 category. The Wing was relieved of electronic combat mission on 1 July 1992 with the inactivation of 42nd ECS. 79th Fighter Squadron was inactivated on 23 April 1993 with 77th Fighter Squadron following on 9 July 1993 and 20th FW carried out its last operational deployment from Upper Heyford with 55th Fighter Squadron deploying to Incirlik for Dynamic Guard September 1993 prior to 55th Fighter Squadron’s disbandment on 15 October 1993 with the last F-111E aircraft departing RAF Upper Heyford on 7 December 1993 the station was closed on 15 December 1993.

This USAF 20th TFW Victory by Valour Crest Patch dates from 1978.