348th Tactical Electronics Group

The 348th Tactical Electronics Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit designation whose lineage derives from the 9th Pursuit Wing and the 9th Fighter Wing of the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War. It was not a commercial brand, manufacturer, or operating electronics business; the name belongs to a military organizational lineage. The unit's original predecessor, the 9th Pursuit Wing, was constituted on 19 October 1940 and activated on 18 December 1940. It was assigned initially to the Southwest Air District, later known as the Fourth Air Force, and was based at March Field, California. During its first period of activity, the wing had limited component assignments. The 14th Fighter Group served with it from June to September 1941, while the 51st Fighter Group was associated with it during the summer of 1941. The 9th Pursuit Wing was inactivated on 1 October 1941. The organization was reactivated on 24 July 1942 under the designation 9th Fighter Wing at Drew Field, Florida. It remained there until December 1942, when it moved to the Middle East in connection with the Ninth Air Force's wartime operations. The wing was stationed at RAF Station Kabrit in Egypt from 1 February 1943 until its inactivation on 31 March 1943. Although it was assigned to the Ninth Air Force, the fighter groups operating in the eastern desert were detached to the Royal Air Force rather than assigned as component units of the wing. Consequently, the 9th Fighter Wing had no component units during its final period of active service. The wing was formally disbanded on 15 June 1983. On 31 July 1985, its lineage was reconstituted and redesignated as the 348th Tactical Electronics Group. The redesignation did not create an active operating unit, and the group remained inactive. The later title reflects a Cold War-era Air Force organizational naming convention, but the available historical account does not identify an activation, headquarters, personnel complement, equipment portfolio, or operational deployment under the 348th Tactical Electronics Group name. Because the subject is an Air Force unit rather than a consumer-electronics company, conventional brand attributes such as products, retail markets, commercial positioning, sales, ownership structure, and public-company information do not apply. Its historical significance lies instead in the preservation of the lineage of a World War II pursuit and fighter wing and in the documented sequence of its constitution, activations, inactivations, disbandment, and later redesignation.

The lineage associated with the 348th Tactical Electronics Group began with the constitution of the 9th Pursuit Wing on 19 October 1940. The wing was activated on 18 December 1940 and assigned to the Southwest Air District, later designated the Fourth Air Force. Its first station was March Field, California. During this prewar period, the 14th Fighter Group and the 51st Fighter Group were associated with the wing for limited periods in 1941. The 9th Pursuit Wing was inactivated on 1 October 1941. The organization returned to active status on 24 July 1942 as the 9th Fighter Wing. It was based at Drew Field, Florida, until 13 December 1942. The wing then moved to the Middle East as part of the Ninth Air Force's wartime structure and was stationed at RAF Station Kabrit in Egypt beginning on 1 February 1943. The wing's administrative position did not translate into control of the fighter groups operating in the eastern desert: those groups were detached to the Royal Air Force, leaving the wing without component units. The 9th Fighter Wing was inactivated on 31 March 1943. Although inactive after the war, the lineage remained in Air Force records. The organization was not formally disbanded until 15 June 1983. Two years later, on 31 July 1985, it was reconstituted and redesignated as the 348th Tactical Electronics Group. The new designation was not accompanied by an activation, and the group was recorded as not active. The available record therefore presents the subject primarily as a lineage entry. It documents changes in designation, assignment, station, and status, but does not provide evidence of a commercial operation, a separately marketed electronics product line, named civilian executives, or a later operational history under the 348th Tactical Electronics Group title.

1. 1985Reconstituted as 348th Tactical Electronics Group

   The lineage was reconstituted and redesignated as the 348th Tactical Electronics Group on 31 July 1985; the group was not active.

   Source
2. 1983Lineage disbanded

   The organization was formally disbanded on 15 June 1983.

   Source
3. 19439th Fighter Wing inactivated

   After serving at RAF Station Kabrit, Egypt, the wing was inactivated on 31 March 1943.

   Source
4. 1942Redesignated as 9th Fighter Wing

   The organization was reactivated under the 9th Fighter Wing designation on 24 July 1942 at Drew Field, Florida.

   Source
5. 1942Moved to Egypt

   The wing left Drew Field in December 1942 and moved to the Middle East in support of Ninth Air Force operations.

   Source
6. 1941First activation ended

   The 9th Pursuit Wing was inactivated on 1 October 1941.

   Source
7. 19409th Pursuit Wing constituted

   The predecessor organization was constituted on 19 October 1940.

   Source
8. 19409th Pursuit Wing activated

   The wing was activated on 18 December 1940 at March Field, California, under the Southwest Air District, later the Fourth Air Force.

   Source

A United States Air Force organizational lineage designation, not a commercial electronics brand.

1. 348th Tactical Electronics Group