19th Air Division

19th Air Division
19th Air Division
	; Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker refueling a B-52D Stratofortress; ; LGM-25C Titan II in its launch silo. During the 1970s and 1980s the 19th Air Division controlled two ICBM Wings
Active	1929–1941; 1942–1945; 1946–1949; 1951–1988
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Command of strategic strike forces
Equipment	see "Aircraft / Missiles" section below
Insignia
19th Air Division emblem (approved 11 May 1959)

The 19th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force formation. Its last assignment was with Eighth Air Force at Carswell Air Force Base, Texas, where it was inactivated on 30 September 1988.

During

Tunisia Campaign

in May 1943.

Later, during the 1944

V-E Day

.

Heraldry

Azure, surmounting a lightning flash gules, a globe argent with latitude and longitude lines dark blue and encircled with a planetary ring of the last strewn with stars of the third and fimbriated of the like all bandwise, in chief an olive branch fesswise or, all within a diminished border of the third. (Approved 11 March 1959.)

History

Canal Zone

The 19th Air Division was first organized on 30 June 1929 as the 19th Composite Wing at

France Field, Canal Zone

. It was a consolidation of Air Corps units in the Canal Zone, and was activated on 1 April 1931. It consisted of the following units:

6th (Composite) (later, 6 Bombardment Group)

: 1 April 1931 – 25 October 1941 (France Field)

9th Bombardment Group: 12 November 1940 – 30 October 1941 (Rio Hato Field)
16th Pursuit Group: 1 December 1932 – c. 19 October 1940 (Albrook Field)
20th Pursuit Group: 1 April 1931 – c. 25 January 1933 (France Field – Deployed from Mather Field, California)
37th Pursuit Group: 1 February – c. 19 November 1940 (Albrook Field)

During the 1930s the 19th Wing participated in maneuvers, flew patrol missions, made good will flights to Central American and South American countries, and flew mercy missions in South America. In January 1939, it flew missions to aid earthquake victims in

Santiago, Chile

.

It was redesignated as the 19th Bombardment Wing on 19 October 1940 as the United States prepared for a possible war. By late August 1941, a total of 71 aircraft, consisting of

A-20 Havocs, and A-17A Nomads

were assigned to various groups under its control.

It was replaced by the

Panama Canal Air Force

on 25 October 1941.

World War II

Reactivated as IX Bomber Command, the unit was assigned to Ninth Air Force in Egypt on 17 November 1942. Its component groups were:

B-25 Mitchell
98th Bombardment Group: c. 17 November 1942 – c. 13 September 1943, Consolidated B-24 Liberator

B-25 Mitchell

B-24 Liberator. Formed from HALPRO components along with personnel and equipment sent from Tenth Air Force
. The B-17s which were assigned were determined to be non-operational and never used in combat.

IX Bomber Command was quickly put together in late 1942 to aid the

Philippines survivor early model B-17 Flying Fortresses that had been sent from Australia, and by some early B-24 Liberator and B-25 Mitchells which were sent across the South Atlantic Transport route from Morrison Field, Florida, via Brazil

and across Central Africa via Sudan.

The

Rangoon, the Burma Road was cut, so the detachment could not be logistically

supported in China.

HALPRO's first mission was flown on 12 June 1942 against the

Ploieşti. Thirteen B-24s flew this first U.S. mission against a European target, causing negligible damage. On 15 June, seven planes assisted the Royal Air Force (RAF) in attacking an Italian fleet which had put to sea to intercept a British resupply convoy (Operation Vigorous) on its way to Malta. HALPRO then flew in support of British Commonwealth forces fighting in the Western Desert

of Egypt and Libya. HALPRO's primary mission became the interdiction of supplies to Rommel's Army in North Africa by bombing strikes on Axis cargo ships at sea or in the ports of Tobruk and Benghazi.

Reinforced during early 1943, its subordinate units attacked enemy storage areas, motor transports, troop concentrations, airdromes, bridges, shipping, and other targets in

Operation Husky

), and mainland Italy.

The command attacked airfields and rail facilities in Sicily and took part in

Operation Husky, carried paratroopers, and flew reinforcements to ground units on the island. Heavy bomb units of the Ninth also participated in Operation Tidal Wave

, the famed low-level assault on oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania on 1 August 1943.

Later in August 1943, it was decided to reassign Ninth Air Force to England to be the tactical air force in the planned invasion of France scheduled for May 1944. The IX Bomber Command reassigned its groups to

B-25 Mitchell

medium bomber groups remained with Twelfth Air Force.

The command's headquarters at

Soluch Airfield

, Libya, was inactivated on 1 October 1943.

Normandy Campaign

The IX Bomber Command was reassigned to Marks Hall, England on 16 October 1943. It took over the

3rd Bombardment Wing of the Eighth Air Force VIII Air Support Command

. It was expanded and consisted of three Wings of medium bomber groups:

323d Bomb Group airmen attend to a Martin B-26C^{[note 1]}

97th Bombardment Wing
: 12 November 1943 – 11 October 1945

409th Bombardment Group

: 7 March 1944 – June 1945 (A-20 Havoc, A-26 Invader)

410th Bombardment Group

: 4 April 1944 – June 1945 (A-20 Havoc, A-26 Invader)

416th Bombardment Group

: February 1944 – July 1945 (A-20 Havoc, A-26 Invader)

98th Bombardment Wing (Formerly 3d Bombardment Wing)
: 16 October 1943 – 27 November 1945

323d Bombardment Group

: 16 October 1943 – 16 July 1945 (B-26 Marauder)

387th Bombardment Group

: 16 October 1943 – November 1945 (B-26 Marauder)

394th Bombardment Group

: 11 March 1944 – September 1945 (B-26 Marauder)

397th Bombardment Group

: 15 April 1944 – November 1945 (B-26 Marauder)

99th Bombardment Wing (Formerly 44th Bombardment Wing)
: 16 October 1943 – 4 October 1945

322d Bombardment Group

: 16 October 1943 – 15 September 1945 (B-26 Marauder)

344th Bombardment Group

: 16 October 1943 – 15 September 1945 (B-26 Marauder)

386th Bombardment Group

: 16 October 1943 – 27 July 1945 (B-26 Marauder)

391st Bombardment Group

: 25 January 1944 – 27 July 1945 (B-26 Marauder)

In the United Kingdom, and later on the continent after

D-Day, IX Bomber Command became the medium bomber component of Ninth Air Force. Its initial mission was attack to German Atlantic Wall defenses along the English Channel

coast of France. After D-Day, its primary mission was changed to fly tactical bombardment missions supporting Allied ground forces as they advanced from the Normandy Beaches across France into Germany.

In addition, it attacked enemy airfields in Nazi-occupied areas in support of Eighth Air Force strategic bombing missions as well as operations against German V-weapon sites. Additional missions involved attacks on rail marshaling yards, railroads, airfields, industrial plants, military installations, and other enemy targets in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

It was redesignated as the 9th Bombardment Division, Medium on 30 August 1944. The last combat missions was flown on 3 May 1945 by the 386th, 391st, 409th & 410th Bomb Groups.

Air Force Reserve

Redesignated as the 19th Bombardment Wing, it served another brief period with the reserve from 1946 to 1949, carrying out routine training activities.

Strategic Air Command

It was redesignated again and activated at

KC-135 Stratotanker

aircraft training in global strategic-bombardment and air-refueling operations.

On 1 September 1952, what was then thought to be a tornado rolled across the Carswell flight line, with winds over 90 miles per hour recorded at the control tower. By the time it had passed "the flight line was a tangle of airplanes, equipment and pieces of buildings."

San Antonio Air Materiel Area, where the depot for the B-36 was located. The planes that had been most heavily damaged were towed across the field to the Convair plant where they had been manufactured. Within a month, 51 of the base's Peacemakers had been returned to service and the division was again declared operational. By May 1953, all but two of the planes had been returned to service.^{[note 2]}

In 1959, the 3958th Operational Training and Evaluation Squadron was reassigned to the division from SAC headquarters. At the same time the squadron was upgraded to a group and assigned the 3958th Combat Crew Training Squadron and the 3958th Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Squadron.[3]

The 3958th, along with its counterpart 6592d Test Squadron of

J79 engines. Before Category II tests were completed, seven aircraft were lost.^[4]

Category II tests, led by the 6592d, were completed by the end of June 1960, and, Category III tests (operational testing) began in August. These tests were conducted primarily by the division's

43d Bombardment Wing (Carswell AFB, Ft. Worth, Texas) with the technical assistance of the remainder of test force. In anticipation of its expanded testing and crew-training mission for the Hustler, SAC had inactivated the 3958th and transferred its mission, personnel and equipment to the 43d Bomb Wing.^[4]

In January 1967, the division began deploying B-52 aircraft and aircrews to Southeast Asia for combat operations, continuing until 1973. In 1975, the 19th provided air-refueling support for the evacuation of

KC-135 Stratotanker air refueling and LGM-25C Titan II

ICBM wings.

With the retirement of the Titan II in 1987, the 19th Air Division was itself inactivated in September 1988.

Lineage

Constituted as the 19th Composite Wing on 8 May 1929

Activated on 1 April 1931

Redesignated 19th Wing on 14 July 1937

Redesignated 19th Bombardment Wing on 19 October 1940

Inactivated on 25 October 1941

Activated on 24 July 1942

Redesignated IX Bomber Command on 17 November 1942

Redesignated 9th Bombardment Division, Medium on 30 August 1944

Redesignated 9th Air Division on 10 May 1945

Inactivated on 20 November 1945

Activated in the Reserve on 20 December 1946

Redesignated 19th Bombardment Wing, Very Heavy on 31 December 1946

Redesignated 19th Air Division, Bombardment on 16 April 1948

Inactivated on 27 June 1949

Redesignated 19th Air Division on 1 February 1951

Organized on 16 February 1951

Discontinued on 16 June 1952

Activated on 16 June 1952

Inactivated on 30 September 1988 [5]

Assignments

Second Corps Area
, 1 April 1931
Panama Canal Department, c. 25 January 1933 – 25 October 1941
Ninth Air Force
, 24 July 1942 – 20 November 1945

Attached to: III Fighter Command, 24 July-c. 28 September 1942

Fourteenth Air Force, 20 December 1946
Ninth Air Force, 22 December 1948
Fourteenth Air Force, 1 February – 27 June 1949
Eighth Air Force, 16 February 1951 – 16 June 1952
Eighth Air Force, 16 June 1952
Second Air Force, 1 July 1955
Eighth Air Force, 1 January 1975 – 30 September 1988^[5]

Components

Wings

2d Bombardment Wing
: 1 September 1964 – 1 July 1965; 2 July 1969 – 1 December 1982
7th Bombardment Wing: 16 February 1951 – 13 June 1988 (detached 10 July – 13 September 1955)
11th Bombardment Wing (later 11th Strategic Aerospace Wing, 11th Air Refueling Wing): 16 February 1951 – 13 December 1957 (detached 4 May – 2 July 1955); 2 July 1966 – 25 March 1969
43d Bombardment Wing
: 15 March 1960 – 1 September 1964 (detached 19–31 August 1964)
44th Bombardment Wing (later
99th Combat Bombardment Wing: c. 16 October 1943 – 16 September 1945^[6]

96th Strategic Aerospace Wing

(later 96th Bombardment Wing): 2 July 1966 – 1 July 1973

97th Bombardment Wing

: 12 November 1943 – 11 October 1945

98th Bombardment Wing (Formerly 3d Bombardment Wing)

: 16 October 1943 – 27 November 1945

305th Bombardment Wing

: 1 January 1961 – 1 September 1964

308th Strategic Missile Wing

: 1 December 1982 – 18 August 1987

340th Bombardment Wing

(later 340th Air Refueling Wing): 1 September 1964 – 2 October 1966; 2 July 1968 – 31 December 1971; 1 July 1977 – 16 June 1988

381st Strategic Missile Wing

: 1 July 1973 – 8 August 1986

384th Air Refueling Wing

: 1 July 1973 – 1 July 1987

461st Bombardment Wing

: 2 July 1966 – 25 March 1968

494th Bombardment Wing

: 1 October 1965 – 2 April 1966

4123d Strategic Wing

: 10 December 1957 – 1 March 1959

4130th Strategic Wing: 1 October 1958 – 1 July 1963^[5]

Groups

6th Composite Group (later 6th Bombardment Group): 25 January 1933 – 35 October 1941^[7]

322d Bombardment Group: assigned 16 October – 17 November 1943; attached 17 November 1943 − 1 April 1944, 23−28 September 1944^[8]

340th Air Refueling Group: 2 July 1968 – 16 June 1988

386th Bombardment Group, 16 October – 5 December 1943^[9]

410th Bombardment Group, operational control 11−18 September 1944^[10]

416th Bombardment Group, assigned c. 1−4 February 1944; operational control 11−18 September 1944^[11]

3958th Operational Evaluation and Training Group (B-58): 1 September 1959 – 15 March 1960 [5]

Squadrons

11th Air Refueling Squadron: 25 March – 2 July 1969; 30 June 1971 – 1 July 1977
3958th Operational Evaluation and Training Squadron (B-58): 11 August 1958 – 1 September 1959
4007th Combat Crew Training Squadron: 2 June – 2 July 1968
4017th Training Squadron (B-36 Transition): 17 December 1951 – 1 January 1954^[5]

Stations

France Field
, Panama Canal Zone, 1 April 1931
Albrook Field
, Panama Canal Zone, 25 January 1933 – 25 October 1941
MacDill Field
, Florida, 24 July – 28 September 1942
Payne Airfield, Egypt, 11 November 1942
Ismailia Airfield
, Egypt, 12 November 1942
Soluch Airfield
, Libya, 15 February – 1 October 1943
Marks Hall, England, 6 November 1943
Chartres Airfield (A-40),^[12]
France, 18 September 1944

Reims-Champagne Airfield, France (A-62),^[12]
October 1944

Namur Airfield (Y-47),[12] Belgium, April-20 November 1945
Birmingham Army Air Base
, Alabama, 20 December 1946 – 27 June 1949
Carswell Air Force Base, Texas, 16 February 1951 – 16 June 1952; 16 June 1952 – 30 September 1988^[5]

Aircraft / Missiles

Airco DH-4
, 1931
Boeing P-12, 1931–1939
Berliner-Joyce P-16, 1932
Boeing P-26 Peashooter, 1934–1940
Martin B-10, 1936–1939
Curtiss P-36 Hawk, 1936–1940
Consolidated PB-2
, 1936–1937;
Seversky P-35, 1938–1939
Douglas B-18 Bolo, 1939–1941
Lockheed C-40 Electra
, 1939–1940
Republic YP-43 Lancer
, 1939–1940
Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, 1940
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, 1941–1943, 1945
Consolidated B-24 Liberator, 1942–1943
North American B-25 Mitchell, 1942–1943
Martin B-26 Marauder, 1942–1945
Douglas A-20 Havoc, 1943–1945
Douglas A-26 Invader, 1944–1945
Boeing B-29 Superfortress, 1947–1949
Convair B-36 Peacemaker, 1951–1952, 1952–1957
Convair YRB-58 Hustler, 1960
Convair B-58 Hustler, 1960–1964
Convair TB-58 Hustler, 1960–1964
Convair TF-102 Delta Dagger, 1960–1962
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, 1963–1988
Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, 1963–1988
LGM-25C Titan II, 1973–1987
LGM-30F Minuteman II, 1982–1988^[5]

References

Explanatory notes

^ The aircraft is Martin B-26C-15-MO Marauder Serial 41-34969. This aircraft went on to survive the war with over 150 missions to its credit
^ One plane was written off, another was bailed to Convair to be used for experiments with nuclear power. McGowan, p. 65.

Citations

^ Maurer, pp. 435–436
^ ^a ^b McGowan, Sam (October 2016). "The Carswell B-36 Disaster" (PDF). Air Force Magazine. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
^ Mueller, pp. 68–69
^ ^a ^b Knaack, pp. 381–382
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Factsheet 19 Air Division". Air Force Historical Research Agency. 4 October 2007. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
^ "Factsheet 44 Air Division, Bombardment". Air Force Historical Research Agency. 5 October 2007. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
^ Robertson, Patsy (27 June 2017). "Factsheet 6 Operations Group (AMC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
^ Kane, Robert B. (10 May 2011). "Factsheet 322 Air Expeditionary Group (USAFE)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
^ Bailey, Carl E. (3 June 2018). "Factsheet 386 Air Expeditionary Wing (ACC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Archived from the original on 18 October 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
^ Warnock, A. Timothy, Lineage & Honors History of the 410 Air Expeditionary Wing, 4 February 2003, Air Force Historical Research Agency
^ Kane, Robert B. (24 March 2010). "Factsheet 416 Air Expeditionary Wing (ACC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c Station numbers in Johnson

Bibliography

This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

Johnson, 1st Lt. David C. (1988). U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO) D-Day to V-E Day (PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 September 2015.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
Knaack, Marcelle Size (1988). Encyclopedia of US Air Force Aircraft and Missile Systems. Vol. 2, Post-World War II Bombers 1945–1973. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.
ISBN 0-912799-59-5
.

Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961]. Air Force Combat Units of World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.
LCCN 61060979
.

Mueller, Robert (1989). Air Force Bases, Vol. I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982 (PDF). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.
ISBN 0-912799-53-6
.

Further reading

Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947–1977. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.
ISBN 0-912799-12-9
.

[2] The aircraft is Martin B-26C-15-MO Marauder Serial 41-34969. This aircraft went on to survive the war with over 150 missions to its credit

[4] One plane was written off, another was bailed to Convair to be used for experiments with nuclear power. McGowan, p. 65.

[Maurer9AD-1] Maurer, pp. 435–436

[CarswellDisaster-3] McGowan, Sam (October 2016). "The Carswell B-36 Disaster" (PDF). Air Force Magazine. Retrieved 5 April 2017.

[5] Mueller, pp. 68–69

[Knaack-6] Knaack, pp. 381–382

[19ADfacts-7] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Factsheet 19 Air Division". Air Force Historical Research Agency. 4 October 2007. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2014.

[8] "Factsheet 44 Air Division, Bombardment". Air Force Historical Research Agency. 5 October 2007. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2014.

[9] Robertson, Patsy (27 June 2017). "Factsheet 6 Operations Group (AMC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 16 April 2020.

[10] Kane, Robert B. (10 May 2011). "Factsheet 322 Air Expeditionary Group (USAFE)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 17 January 2022.

[11] Bailey, Carl E. (3 June 2018). "Factsheet 386 Air Expeditionary Wing (ACC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Archived from the original on 18 October 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2022.

[12] Warnock, A. Timothy, Lineage & Honors History of the 410 Air Expeditionary Wing, 4 February 2003, Air Force Historical Research Agency

[13] Kane, Robert B. (24 March 2010). "Factsheet 416 Air Expeditionary Wing (ACC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 17 January 2022.

[Johnson-14] Station numbers in Johnson

[1]

[note 1]

[note 2]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]