USAF 48th Tactical Fighter Wing TFW Patch F-111F Bomb Comp 1984 – Variant A

48th TFW 1984 Bomb Competition Patch Strategic Air Command SAC Bomb Comp USAF F-111F Tactical Fighter Wing RAF Lakenheath USAFE 1984 (5 Inch) Variant A

48th TFW 1984 Bomb Competition Patch Strategic Air Command SAC Giant Voice Bomb Comp F-111F Tactical Fighter Wing RAF Lakenheath 1984 Variant A

This is a very rare patch for crews participating in the first USAFE deployment to the Strategic Air Command SAC 1984 Twenty-eighth Annual Bombing and Navigation Competition Giant Voice Bomb Comp at Barksdale AFB United States. The patch utilised the same design as the Warsaw Pact Central Heating WPCH which began to be used in 1982.

Validation – Tangible authentic and original

Manufacturer – British made by P&M with their own looms

Manufacture – embroidered on twill sewn through white pressed fabric stiffener with white synthetic return thread and a cut edge

Visibility – color

Condition – very good has not been sewn to uniform

Size – 127mm x 104mm diameter

Approximate imperial size – five inches by four inches

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48th TFW 1984 Bomb Competition Patch Strategic Air Command SAC Giant Voice Bomb Comp Barksdale AFB F-111F USAFE

48th Tactical Fighter Wing F-111F Aardvark

This original 48th TFW 1984 Bomb Comp patch is from the famous F-111F Aardvark era of the Liberty Wing. Operating from RAF Lakenheath during the height of the Cold War the Wing flew advanced F-111F Aardvark fighter bomber from 1977. 48th Tactical Fighter Wing became one of the most combat-capable tactical strike wings in USAF in Europe and NATO.

In 1977 the 48th TFW exchanged its F-4D Phantom II aircraft for the F-111F Aardvark transferred from the 347th TFW at Mountain Home Air Force Base. The successful transition earned the Wing its third Air Force Outstanding Unit Award. The Wing’s flying Squadrons remained the 492nd, 493rd and 494th Tactical Fighter Squadrons. Equipped with the long-range strike capability of the F-111F, the Wing immediately expanded operational deployments and exercises throughout Europe and the Middle East, including Italy, Iran, Greece and Pakistan.

The Wing’s operational strength increased further when the 495th Tactical Fighter Squadron was activated on 1 April 1977.  Acting as a replacement training unit, the 495th TFS helped maintain combat readiness across the Liberty Wing. By 1979 the 48th TFW had flown the highest number of flying hours ever recorded by an F-111 unit in a fiscal year. The Wing passed  its USAFE Operational Readiness Inspection and NATO Tactical Evaluation in 1980 and received its fourth Air Force Outstanding Unit Award.

During the 1980s the F-111F became internationally recognised through its precision strike capability and frontline NATO role. The 48th TFW deployed temporarily to RAF Sculthorpe in 1983 while RAF Lakenheath’s runway was resurfaced.

Operation El Dorado Canyon

In 1986 the Wing participated in the long-range strike mission against Libyan targets in Tripoli during Operation El Dorado Canyon. The attack was undertaken alongside the United States Navy Sixth Fleet. Although one aircraft and crew were lost, the Wing received the US Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation for the operation.

Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm Gulf War

The Wing again entered combat during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990. Deploying as 48th TFW (Provisional) to Taif Air Base, Saudi Arabia, the 492nd, 493rd and 494th Tactical Fighter Squadrons flew 2,500 combat sorties. They achieved more than 2,200 target hits using the F-111F Aardvark and and dropped 7.3 million pounds of precision-guided munitions. 48th TFW (P) executed the first combat drop of the GBU-28 “bunker buster” bomb on 27 February 1991 and is credited with destroying hundreds of Iraqi tanks. The Wing returned to RAF Lakenheath in May 1991 and soon began restructuring under the USAF Objective Wing Organization program.

On 1 October 1991 the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing was redesignated the 48th Fighter Wing, while the Tactical Fighter Squadrons became Fighter Squadrons. The 495th FS was inactivated in December 1991 followed by the 493rd FS in December 1992, marking the end of the famous F-111F era at RAF Lakenheath.

This original USAF 48th TFW F-111F Aardvark patch is highly collectible among RAF Lakenheath, USAFE Operation Desert Storm and Cold War aviation memorabilia collectors, preserving the heritage of one of the United States Air Force’s most important combat fighter wings.

1984 Strategic Air Command Annual Bombing and Navigation Competition Giant Voice known as Bomb Comp

48th Tactical Fighter Wing with their F-111F fighter bomber aircraft were chosen to represent USAFE at the Strategic Air Command SAC 1984 Twenty-eighth Annual Bombing and Navigation Competition Giant Voice. This was the first time USAFE had been invited to attend, and two F-111F aircraft were deployed to Barksdale AFB United States by the Wing. The competition tested aircrews on navigation, precision inert practice bomb drops, and quick-turn round load crew execution under rigorous “hostile” conditions.

This 48th TFW 1984 Bomb Competition Patch Strategic Air Command SAC Giant Voice Bomb Comp F-111F Tactical Fighter Wing RAF Lakenheath dates from 1984

Review the 48th Tactical Fighter History