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Jim arrived at K-13 in late February 1953. He
was assigned to the 8th Fighter-Bomber Group. The 8th FBG was
attached to the 8th Fighter-Bomber Wing, which consisted of an
Air Base Group, Medical Group, and Fighter-Bomber Group. The
Group was still flying the F-80C Shooting Star when Jim arrived,
but soon after began the transition into the F-86F Sabre.
After
orientation training, Jim was assigned to the 36th
Fighter-Bomber Squadron. They were (and still are) called the Flying
Fiends, and their squadron patch was affectionately called
the "Pukin' Pup" by the pilots. There
were four flights in the 36th FBS: Mike, Queen, Uncle, and
Victor. Jim was in Mike Flight.
The other two
squadrons attached to the 8th FBG were the 35th FBS Black
Panthers and the 80th FBS Headhunters. Each squadron
was identified by the color of the tail flashes that were on
their planes. The 35th had blue tail flashes; the 36th had red
tail flashes; the 80th had yellow tail flashes.
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