305th Air Mobility Wing
This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2012) |
305th Air Mobility Wing | |
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Commanders | |
Current commander | Col Elizabeth Hanson |
Notable commanders | Lt Gen Gerald W. Johnson |
Insignia | |
305th Air Mobility Wing emblem (approved 15 June 1994)[1] | |
Patch with 305th Air Refueling Wing emblem (approved 13 April 1978)[2] | |
305th Air Refueling Wing emblem (approved 25 March 1970)[3] | |
Patch with 305th Bombardment Wing emblem (approved 23 April 1951)[4] |
The 305th Air Mobility Wing is a
The wing's motto is "Can Do," a description formulated in World War II when its predecessor unit, the
History
- For additional history and lineage, see 305th Operations Group
305th Bombardment Wing
MacDill Air Force Base operations
The 305th Bombardment Wing was established on 20 December 1950 and activated on 2 January 1951 at
In June 1952, the wing became the second
In 1953, the 305th was upgraded to the B-47B production Stratojet and the wing began operational strategic bombardment and refueling missions from MacDill. The wing deployed overseas three times, once to England (September–December 1953) and twice to North Africa (November 1955 – January 1956 and January–March 1957), in keeping with its mission of global bombardment and air-refueling operations. The wing's deployments marked the first overseas deployment of the B-47B.
Two of the wing's B-47s set speed records on 28 July 1953 when one flew from
During this period, the 305th also figured prominently in the filming of the 1955 James Stewart and June Allyson film, Strategic Air Command, a portion of which was filmed in and around both the 305th Bombardment Wing and 306th Bombardment Wing areas and their B-47 aircraft at MacDill.
In 1955, SAC upgraded the 305th to the B-47E, the major production version of the Stratojet.
A major tragedy struck the 305th on the evening of 10 October 1956, when 50 of its personnel returning from a 90-day
Bunker Hill (Grissom) Air Force Base operations
In May 1959, the 305th Bomb Wing (with B-47s) was reassigned to
In September 1960, the 305th became the second USAF wing selected to receive the
A wing B-58 set five records on 16 October 1963 by flying from Tokyo, Japan, to London, England (via Alaska and Greenland), in 8:35 hours at an average speed of approximately 938 mph (1,510 km/h).[9]
In a little-known attempt to increase the flexibility of the B-58 as a weapons system, experiments were carried out in April 1964 under a program known as Operation Bullseye to see if the B-58 could carry and deliver conventional bombs. In coordination with
The wing operated a B-58 combat crew training school (CCTS), August 1965 – December 1969, and gained a Boeing EC-135 Post-Attack Command Control System (PACCS) mission with the 3d PACCS Squadron in mid-1966.
After 26 years of bearing the name Bunker Hill, the base was renamed Grissom Air Force Base on 12 May 1968 after Lieutenant Colonel Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, USAF, a native of Mitchell, Indiana, who was one of the original seven Mercury astronauts. Having later commanded the Gemini 3 mission in 1965, Lieutenant Colonel Grissom was assigned as commander for the first manned Apollo mission, but was killed with the rest of his crew during a fire in his Apollo 1 capsule during a pre-launch rehearsal on Pad 34 at Cape Kennedy, Florida in January 1967.
The active service life of the B-58 was destined to be rather short. Phaseout of the B-58 fleet was ordered by
At that time, Secretary McNamara also announced that the
The first B-58 to go into long-term storage was B-58A (AF Serial No. 59-2446) which flew to Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona on 5 November 1969. Once underway, the B-58 retirement program moved relatively rapidly. The retirement was completed on 16 January 1970, when the 305th Bomb Wing's last two B-58s (AF Serial No. 55-0662 and 61-078) were flown to Davis-Monthan for storage.
305th Air Refueling Wing
With the loss of its bombardment squadrons, the 305th Bomb Wing was converted to an inflight-refueling wing using KC-135As, and, it was redesignated as the 305th Air Refueling Wing on 1 January 1970. It was assigned to Strategic Air Command, Second Air Force, 42nd Air Division.[1]
From the early 1970s, the wing supported worldwide tanker task forces by deploying KC-135 aircraft to Europe, Alaska, Greenland, and the Pacific. In 1975, the 3d ACCS was inactivated and its specialized EC-135s were transferred to the 70th Air Refueling Squadron for the Post-Attack Command and Control System mission. Also in 1975, the unit was transferred to the Eighth Air Force.[1]
The unit was redesignated as the 305th Air Refueling Wing, Heavy on 1 February 1978.[1]
The wing provided tanker-refueling support to units involved in the
From August 1990 to June 1991, the unit deployed personnel and aircraft to provide refueling support for air operations to and in
The Post-Attack Command and Control System mission was inactivated, and, the EC-135 aircraft were retired in May 1992. The unit was redesignated the 305th Air Refueling Wing on 1 September 1991.[1]
305th Air Mobility Wing
On 1 June 1992, Strategic Air Command (SAC) was inactivated and the 305th realigned to the newly established Air Mobility Command (AMC), merging former SAC air refueling aircraft with strategic and tactical theater airlift aircraft operated by the former Military Airlift Command (MAC), the latter also having been inactivated on the same date. The wing was also redesignated as the 305th Air Mobility Wing (305 AMW) on 1 October 1994.
The
The 305th Air Mobility Wing was moved without personnel or equipment to
The 305th Air Mobility Wing is currently operational at
On 3 March 2009, the 305th Air Mobility Wing underwent significant changes due to BRAC 2005. The wing no longer provides installation support for McGuire – the
Units today
The following squadrons make up the 305th Operations Group (305 OG):
- C-17 Globemaster IIIcargo aircraft
- 2d Air Refueling Squadron, flying KC-46 Pegasus air refueling aircraft[10]
- 32d Air Refueling Squadron, flying KC-46 Pegasusair refueling aircraft
- 305th Operations Support Squadron, supporting flying operations for wing aircrew
The following squadrons make up the 305th Maintenance Group (305 MXG):
- 305th Maintenance Operations Squadron
- 305th Maintenance Squadron
- 305th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
- 605th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
- 305th Aerial Port Squadron
Lineage
- Constituted as the 305th Bombardment Wing, Medium on 20 December 1950
- Activated on 2 January 1951
- Redesignated 305th Air Refueling Wing on 1 January 1970
- Redesignated 305th Air Refueling Wing, Heavy on 1 February 1978
- Redesignated 305th Air Refueling Wing on 1 September 1991
- Redesignated 305th Air Mobility Wing on 1 October 1994
Assignments
- Second Air Force, 2 January 1951
- 6th Air Division, 10 February 1951
- Attached to: 7th Air Division, 4 September – 5 December 1953
- Attached to: 5th Air Division, 3 November 1955 – 8 January 1956 and 7 January – 8 March 1957
- Second Air Force, 1 June 1959
- 17th Air Division, 15 July 1959
- 19th Air Division, 1 January 1961
- 825th Strategic Aerospace Division, 1 September 1964
- 42d Air Division, l January 1970
- 40th Air Division, 1 July 1973
- 42d Air Division, 1 December 1982
- Eighth Air Force, 16 June 1988
- Fifteenth Air Force, 1 September 1991
- Twenty-First Air Force, 1 July 1993
- Eighteenth Air Force, 1 October 2003–present
Components
Groups
- 305th Bombardment (later, 305th Operations) Group: 2 January 1951 – 16 June 1952; 1 September 1991 – 15 October 1993; 1 October 1994–present
- 458th Operations Group: 1 October 1994 – 1 July 1995
Squadrons
- 3d Airborne Command and Control Squadron: 1 April 1970 – 31 December 1975
- 68th Air Refueling Squadron: 1 June 1959 – 25 March 1965
- 70th Air Refueling Squadron: 1 January 1970 – 1 September 1991
- 305th Air Refueling Squadron: attached 2 July 1951 – 15 June 1952, assigned 16 June 1952 – 1 May 1959 (detached 4 January – c. 16 April 1955); assigned 25 March 1965 – 1 September 1991
- 364th Bombardment Squadron: attached 10 February 1951 – 15 June 1952, assigned 16 June 1952 – 1 January 1970
- 365th Bombardment Squadron: attached 10 February 1951 – 15 June 1952, assigned 16 June 1952 – 1 January 1970
- 366th Bombardment Squadron: attached 10 February 1951 – 15 June 1952, assigned 16 June 1952 – 1 January 1970
- 422d Bombardment Squadron: 1 January – l October 1959; 8 March 1960 – 15 February 1961.
Bases assigned
- MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, 2 January 1951 – 1 June 1959
- Bunker Hill Air Force Base(later Grissom Force Base), Indiana, 1 June 1959 – 1 October 1994
- McGuire Air Force Base (part of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst), New Jersey, 1 October 1994 – present
Aircraft operated
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See also
- List of B-29 Superfortress operators
- List of B-47 units of the United States Air Force
References
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Kane, Robert B. (28 October 2010). "Factsheet 305 Air Mobility Wing (AMC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
- ^ Ravenstein, pp. 150–151
- ^ Endicottt, p. 234
- ^ Maurer, Combat Units, p. 179. This emblem was approved for the 305th Group and used by the wing until modified with a checked border on 4 March 1958. Endicottt, p. 234.
- ^ "305th AMW Airmen attend memorial ceremony in England". Retrieved 14 March 2020.
- ^ Aviation Safety Network Aircraft Accident Douglas R6D-1 (DC-6) 131588 Land’s End, UK
- ^ "Chronology of Significant Events in Naval Aviation: "Naval Air Transport" 1941–1999". Archived from the original on 31 March 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
- ^ Grossnick, p. 241. This work claims the accident date was 11 October 1956.
- ^ Knaack, p. 395
- ^ Stuart, Shay. "2nd ARS says goodbye to KC-10." USAF. https://www.jbmdl.jb.mil/News/Article/2683328/2nd-ars-says-goodbye-to-kc-10/. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
Bibliography
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- Endicott, Judy G. (1998). Active Air Force Wings as of 1 October 1995 and USAF Active Flying, Space, and Missile Squadrons as of 1 October 1995 (PDF). Air Force History and Museums Program. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ASIN B000113MB2. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
- Grossnick, Roy A.; et al. (1995). United States Naval Aviation 1910–1997 (PDF) (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Naval Historical Center. p. 241. ISBN 978-0-160491-24-5. Archived from the original(PDF) on 12 September 2012. (.pdf is introduction only)
- 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.
- 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.