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F-15C Eagle 86-0156 beating up the field at Wright-Patterson AFB. The aircraft, which scored two aerial victories against Yugoslav AF MiG-29s over Kosovo, will eventually go on permanent display at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. (NMUSAF photos by Ty Greenlees)
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by Adam Estes
NMUSAF Accepts Historic F-15C Eagle
On April 25th, the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio received yet another historic aircraft for its vast collection, this being combat-veteran McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagle 86-0156. The aircraft arrived from its former with the 104th Fighter Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard at Barnes Air National Guard Base in Westfield, Massachusetts. Lt. Col. Matthew “Beast” Tanis flew the aircraft on this final flight, beating up the field with a high speed pass on full afterburner before landing. While Tanis had mixed feelings about 86-0156 ending its flying career, he took great pride in the responsibility which both he and his crew chief, Staff Sergeant Joshua Webster, had in maintaining the fighter’s operational status, and that the aircraft will be preserved for future generations to see. This airframe also has two aerial victories to its name, presently more than any other U.S. Air Force aircraft since the Vietnam War.
Lt. Col. Matthew “Beast” Tanis talking with the media following his arrival at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio while flying the F-15C Eagle (86-0186) behind him. The aircraft, which scored two aerial victories over Yugoslav AF MiG-29s over Kosovo, will eventually go on permanent display at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. (NMUSAF photos by Ty Greenlees)
F-15C Eagle 86-0156 beating up the field at Wright-Patterson AFB during the aircraft’s arrival for permanent display at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio on April 25th, 2023. (NMUSAF photos by Ty Greenlees)
F-15C Eagle 86-0156 beating up the field at Wright-Patterson AFB during the aircraft’s arrival for permanent display at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio on April 25th, 2023. (NMUSAF photos by Ty Greenlees)
The media scrum in front of F-15C Eagle 86-0156 following the aircraft’s arrival at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio on April 25th, 2023. (NMUSAF photos by Ty Greenlees)
A group photo in front of F-15C Eagle 86-0156 following it’s arrival at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio on April 25th, 2023. (NMUSAF photos by Ty Greenlees)
Like most aircraft of sufficient age in today’s armed forces, 86-0156 has served with numerous different units stationed at bases all over the nation and indeed the world. What makes 86-0156 unique, however, are the two green stars under its canopy, victory marks achieved over the Balkans during Operation Allied Force.
On March 26, 1999, Captain Jeff “Claw” Hwang of the 493rd Fighter Squadron, 48th Fighter Wing based at RAF Lakenheath in England, was leading a combat air patrol to enforce the no-fly zone over Bosnia when two Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29s of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Air Force (JRV) scrambled to intercept a NATO aircraft heading towards Bosnia. Captain Hwang and his wingman, Captain J. “Boomer” McMurray, spotted the two MiGs on their radar screens even though the E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft supporting them had yet to register the enemy aircraft. Hwang and McMurray decided to follow the MiGs in case they breached the no-fly zone, which they soon did. Hwang and McMurray then both fired AIM-120 missiles at the MiGs, but only Hwang’s weapons successfully struck their targets, downing both enemy jets.
Audio of the fighter intercept is available below…
While LtCol Slobodan Perić managed to eject from his stricken MiG, surviving the incident, Major Zoran “Zoki” Radosavljević was less fortunate and perished in the wreck of his fighter. As for Jeff Hwang, he later joined the Oregon Air National Guard. He later retired with the rank of colonel while serving as Vice Commander of the 142nd Fighter Wing at Portland Air National Guard Base on September 19th, 2014.
F-15C Eagle 86-0156 seen here at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, England on April 20th, 2021 while serving with the 493rd Fighter Squadron, 48th Fighter Wing. Note the two green victory stars underneath the cockpit. (photo by Alan Wilson via Wikimedia)
As for 86-0156’s future, the aircraft will have to be made safe and prepared for public display, although the museum has not yet released details on when that will take place. According to an article in the Dayton Daily News, Meghan Anderson, curator of the museum’s Research Division, stated that the F-15C will likely replace one of the two F-15A Eagles already on display at the museum, although details have yet to be finalized. We will provide further updates as more information becomes available.
U.S. Air Force photo by Ty Greenlees
U.S. Air Force photo by Ty Greenlees
Lt.Col. Matthew “Beast” Tanis, Director of Operations, 131st Fighter Squadron, 104th Fighter Wing, Massachusetts ANG, flew this F-15C Eagle 86-0156 to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force on April 25, 2023 where it will become a part of the permanent collection.
For 78 days in 1999, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO) conducted an aerial bombing campaign over the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, known as Operation Allied Force. On March 26, Captain Jeff “Claw” Hwang piloted this F-15C as the Mission Commander for an air support mission. Nearing the Bosnian/Serbian border, he acquired a single radar contact. While he and his wingman tracked the bogey, Capt Hwang identified it as two targets in an enemy formation. Within ninety seconds of detecting the second aircraft, Capt Hwang fired two AIM-120 missiles in rapid succession from a distance of sixteen miles and achieved the F-15’s first double MiG-29 Fulcrum kill in the same engagement. For his heroic actions in
the March 26, 1999, Operation Allied Force sortie, Capt Hwang was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and named the 1999 Mackay Trophy recipient.
This F-15C is a significant addition to the collection because the F-15 has more air-to-air victories than any other U.S. fighter since the Vietnam War. The F-15C model accounts for all USAF aerial victories achieved by F-15s (except for anF-15E that destroyed a low-flying Mi-24 helicopter with a laser guided bomb during
Desert Storm). NMUSAF is bringing in this aircraft to preserve and display an F-15C with aerial victories.
(U.S. Air Force photo by Ty Greenlees)
Raised in Fullerton, California, Adam has earned a Bachelor's degree in History and is now pursuing a Master's in the same field. Fascinated by aviation history from a young age, he has visited numerous air museums across the United States, including the National Air and Space Museum and the San Diego Air and Space Museum. He volunteers at the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino as a docent and researcher, gaining hands-on experience with aircraft maintenance. Known for his encyclopedic knowledge of aviation history, he is particularly interested in the stories of individual aircraft and their postwar journeys. Active in online aviation communities, he shares his work widely and seeks further opportunities in the field.
