page_title: North American F-82 Twin Mustang
section_title: Alaskan Air Command
hierarchical_section_title: North American F-82 Twin Mustang / Operational history / Alaskan Air Command
caption_attribution_description: English: The last flight crew and ground support personel for the F-82F Twin Mustang 46-415, Ladd AFB, 1953
context_page_description: The North American F-82 Twin Mustang is the last American piston-engine fighter ordered into production by the United States Air Force. Based on the North American P-51 Mustang, the F-82 was originally designed as a long-range escort fighter for the Boeing B-29 Superfortress in World War II. The war ended well before the first production units were operational.
  In the postwar era, Strategic Air Command used the planes as a long-range escort fighter. Radar-equipped F-82s were used extensively by the Air Defense Command as replacements for the Northrop P-61 Black Widow as all-weather day/night interceptors. During the Korean War, Japan-based F-82s were among the first USAF aircraft to operate over Korea. The first three North Korean aircraft destroyed by U.S. forces were shot down by F-82s, the first being a North-Korean Yak-11 downed over Gimpo Airfield by the USAF 68th Fighter Squadron.
context_section_description: Modified F-82F/Gs for cold weather were designated as F-82H. Six were assigned initially to the 449th F(AW)S at Adak Island in December 1948 to replace their P-61 Black Widows in the Alaska Air Defense mission. The Twin Mustang was well-suited for the air defense mission in Alaska due to its long-range flying ability. In March 1949, the squadron was reassigned to Ladd AFB, near Fairbanks, where an additional eight (14 total) arrived.
  In Alaska, the squadron would constantly patrol over wide areas of Alaska as the Soviets flying from airfields in Siberia would constantly test the air defenses. Beginning in August 1950, the 449th began receiving the F-94 Starfire jet interceptor, and the F-82s were assigned to a separate detachment within the squadron. With the outbreak of the Korean War, tensions were high in Alaska, as it was feared that it would become a "back door" to Soviet aircraft striking North America. The Soviets were constantly testing the Alaskan air defenses, with the F-94s responding when radar stations alerted them to incoming aircraft. Intercepts were rare, with only a few instances of eye-to-eye contact with Soviet aircraft. The slower F-82s had a longer range than the F-94s, and the Twin Mustangs constantly patrolled over many Alaskan villages and towns. Periodically, the F-82s were used for long-range visual reconnaissance near several known rough airstrips on the Chukchi Peninsula that the Soviets had used during World War II as landing fields for lend-lease aircraft and checking for any activity. In addition, flights around the Nome area and along the western Alaskan coastline were made. Squadron records show the Twin Mustangs were flown over some of the most remote areas of the Territory, along what today is known as the "North Slope" and over very rugged interior regions.
  The Twin Mustangs in Alaska operated further north than any other USAF aircraft at the time. In April 1952, they were flying escort duty for SAC B-36 Peacemaker bombers near Barter Island in the Beaufort Sea, near the most northerly tip of Alaska, about 1,000 mi (1,600 km) south of the North Pole. The F-82H made a brief but memorable appearance in the movie "Top of the World" (1955).
  Another mission of the 449th was to act as a simulated invasion force during U.S. Army combat maneuvers during the summer months. Army ground units in Alaska were very limited in their movements due to the geography of the land. Most movements were up and down roads and paths and railroad rights-of-way. The F-82s would fly low along the terrain then pop up and initiate simulated strafing runs against them, causing the troops to take cover by hitting the muddy tundra. On occasions, the Twin Mustangs would also drop tear gas canisters, simulating gas attacks on the units.
  The 449th would also assist the local government by bombing ice jams on the Tanana, Kuskokwim and Yukon Rivers. This helped avert disastrous floods in the region, by dropping 500 lb (230 kg) bombs and firing 127 mm (5 in) rockets at the ice, thus allowing the rivers to keep flowing and not get clogged up.
  Beginning in spring 1950, Strategic Air Command began replacing their F-82E bomber escorts and throughout the year, several were transferred to the 449th in Alaska. In February 1951, the Air Force ordered Alaskan Air Command that all the remaining F-82s in the Air Force inventory would all be transferred to Alaska. The Twin Mustangs would be used to support Army units in air-to-ground operations, and to use the F-94 Starfires for interceptor duty.
  During 1951 and 1952, F-82Fs from the Air Defense Command 52d Fighter Group at McGuire AFB and 325th Fighter Group at McChord AFB were winterized and flown to Ladd AFB as replacements when those units transitioned to the F-94.
  F-82Gs from Far East Air Force were also sent to Alaska, as jets took over combat duties over the skies of Korea. The FEAF F-82s, however, arrived in a badly corroded condition. Also, many of these aircraft which were sent to the 449th had high time on their airframes from long bomber escort and air defense flights, as w
caption: The final flight crew and maintenance support personnel of F-82 46-415, May 1953.
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