In an awesome show of strength, the Seymour Johnson AFB's 4th Fighter Wing launched 70 F-I5E Strike Eagles on April 16. The aircraft took part in a training mission to destroy more than 1,000 targets on bombing ranges across North Carolina. The exercise marked the 67th anniversary of the unit's predecessor gaining the milestone of a thousand 'kills' during World War Two. "This F-I5E Strike package honoured the excellence and sacrifices of our Wing's past while 'flexing' 4th FW airpower today," said Col Patrick Doherty, 4th FW commander. "In 1945 the greatest challenge in Europe was destroying a Luftwaffe that refused to take to the air. One of the 4th FG's most notorious missions was also its last. The group's Airmen were tasked to take out the Luftwaffe and in two airfield attacks on April 15, 1945, the group's aviators destroyed 105 enemy aircraft. The same day other 8th Air Force fighter groups attacked Luftwaffe airfields all over Germany, claiming a total of 752 aircraft destroyed. The Luftwaffe never recovered from this terrible and devastating blow."
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