Congo River mentioned in 1535. Abraham Ortelius in his world map of 1564 labeled as "Manicongo" the city at the mouth of the river. The tribal names in "Kongo" possibly derive from a word for a public gathering or tribal assembly. The modern name of the Kongo people or "Bakongo" was introduced in the early 20th century. The name "Zaire" is from a Portuguese adaptation of a Kikongo word, ("river"), a truncation of ("river swallowing rivers"). The river was known as "Zaire" during the 16th and 17th centuries; "Congo" seems to have replaced "Zaire" gradually in English usage during the 18th century,
27th Fighter Squadron These planes returned to Loring after the crisis. The squadron continued its air defense 1 July 1971 when it transferred its mission, personnel and equipment to the 83d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron The squadron moved the same day on paper to MacDill Air Force Base, Florida and was redesignated the 27th Tactical Fighter Squadron as part of the reorganized 1st Tactical Fighter Wing, later the 1st Fighter Wing. While at MacDill, the 27th trained aircrews in the F-4E Phantom II. In June 1975, the 27th Tactical Fighter Squadron was moved to Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, becoming the first operational squadron to