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On 4 July 1952 the 31st Fighter Escort Wing executed Operation Fox Peter One, the mass movement of the entire wing from Turner Field, Georgia, to Misawa Air Base, Japan, using aerial refuelling to fly non-stop from Turner to Travis AFB, California, and from Travis to Hickam AFB, Hawaii with no alternate landing sites or divert fields,. The unit then island-hopped across the rest of the Pacific with stops at Midway and Wake Island; Eniwetok Atoll; Guam; Iwo Jima, and Yokota AB, Japan. The sheer magnitude of the accomplishment was sufficient to name the 31st Fighter-Escort Wing as the recipient of the first-ever Air Force Outstanding Unit Award. This movement included the longest over-water flight attempted to that date, and was the first trans-Pacific mass flight of jet aircraft. At 9 a.m. on the 4th of July, Colonel David C. Schilling, 31st Fighter Escort Wing commander, took off from Turner field and flew the 1,800 nautical miles to Travis AFB, Calif., non-stop. Refuelled en route by 24 KB-29Ps over Texas, this served as the rehearsal for the main event, designated Fox Peter One. Fifty-nine F-84Gs followed. Having conceived and tested the idea of mass movements of aircraft over the Atlantic in a series of operations before taking command of the 31st, it was only fitting Schilling lead the operation. This was the first such Pacific attempt--hence the name, Fox Peter One (Fighters, Pacific, Number 1). After the air-to-air refuel over Texas, the 60 fighters touched down at Travis AFB, California. The flight from Turner to Travis took almost 7 hours of flying. Upon landing, the enroute maintenance support teams worked around the clock to ensure the jets were ready for the longest over-water leg of the flight. On 6 June, the first package of about 20 fighters, again led by Colonel Schilling, took off for Hawaii. Another package would follow the next day, with the final leaving on the third day. The journey was not without difficulty--Colonel Schilling had to turn back on that first day when a vital piece of equipment was damaged on his aircraft during a refuel. However, his disappointment was tempered by the experience he gained. He said, "The silver lining in this case turned out to be that in witnessing this initial over-the-Pacific refuelling, I was able to return to Travis with data which proved of great aid to the pilots in the two succeeding flights." Thus the wing proceeded to Japan, hopping from one stop to the next until tragedy struck on July 15. While on final approach to Iwo Jima, one of the aircraft experienced catastrophic structural failure. The pilot, Lt. Col. Elmer G. DaRosa, was killed. The arrival of the last aircraft in Japan on July 16, less than two weeks after leaving Georgia, marked Fox Peter One as a resounding success. The 31st Fighter Escort Wing would not return to Turner Air Force Base until the latter part of September, with the remaining crews returning the first part of October. As a tribute to that historic flight, here's my take on it, using an Academy Boeing KB-29P and a Hobby Boss Republic F-84E. W