306th Strategic Wing

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"306th Bombardment Wing" redirects here. For 306th Bombardment Wing of World War II, see 306th Fighter Wing.

306th Strategic Wing
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Insignia
Patch with 306th Strategic Wing emblem (approved 10 November 1977)[1]
Patch with 306th Bombardment Wing emblem (approved 2 October 1951)[2]

The 306th Strategic Wing, previously the 306th Bombardment Wing, is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Strategic Air Command at RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk and was inactivated on 1 February 1992. The wing's mission was to coordinate all SAC air refueling and reconnaissance resources in the European Theater with the

98th Strategic Wing
when that unit was inactivated in 1976.

The wing's World War II predecessor unit, the

VIII Bomber Command. It was stationed at RAF Thurleigh, UK, from 6 September 1942 until 25 December 1945, the longest tenure at one station for any one Eighth Air Force group. That unit's lineage and history is held by the present-day 306th Flying Training Group, Air Education and Training Command, active at the United States Air Force Academy.[3][4] From 1954 until the wing was inactivated, it was temporarily bestowed with the honors and heritage of the 306th Bomb Group.[5]

During the

Boeing KC-97 and Boeing B-47 Stratojet
aircraft at MacDill.

The wing moved to

McCoy AFB, Florida in 1963, where it was a redesignated as a heavy bombardment wing flying Boeing B-52 Stratofortress and Boeing KC-135A and KC-135Q Stratotanker aircraft. The 306th forward deployed to Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War
in the 1960s and 1970s. As a result of post-Vietnam reductions in force, the wing was inactivated in late 1974 with the concurrent closure of McCoy AFB.

the 306th was activated once again as the 306th Strategic Wing at

USAFE
).

History

For additional history and lineage, see 306th Flying Training Group

B-47 Stratojet era

The wing activated as the 306th Bombardment Wing, Medium on 1 September 1950 at

Davis–Monthan AFB
, Arizona to supplement the B-29s but used them for non-operational training flights.

The wing began upgrading to the jet age with the arrival of the new

Colonel Michael N. W. McCoy,[6]
the 306th's wing commander, who flew it from the Boeing Wichita plant to MacDill AFB.

KC-97Es of the 306th Air Refueling Squadron at MacDill AFB

The first

Air Force Outstanding Unit Award.[1]

During this period, the 306th also figured prominently in the filming of the 1955

305th Bombardment Wing
. In the film's plot Stewart's character is assigned to fly B-47s as a vice wing commander at MacDill.

In 1959 the wing added a fourth bombardment squadron, the 423d Bombardment Squadron[1] as SAC's B-47 force reached its peak of twenty-seven wings. However, the B-47 soon began to be phased out of SAC's strategic arsenal. The wing began phasing down, with the 423d becoming non-operational in 1961 and the 369th in early 1963. The wing began sending aircraft to Davis–Monthan inventory beginning in late 1962 in anticipation of the wing's planned inactivation. However, inactivation plans were cancelled and the wing moved to replace the 4047th Strategic Wing instead.[1]

B-52 Stratofortress era

As the

B-52 Stratofortress replaced the B-47, the 306th Bombardment was redesignated as the 306th Bombardment Wing, Heavy and moved on paper from MacDill to McCoy Air Force Base
, Florida on 1 April 1963, where it replaced the 4047th Strategic Wing.

4047th Strategic Wing

4047th Strategic Wing emblem

The 4047th was organized on 1 July 1961 as a tenant of the

99th Bombardment Wing.[10] One third of the wing's aircraft were maintained on fifteen-minute alert, fully fueled, armed and ready for combat to reduce vulnerability to a Soviet missile strike. This was increased to half the wing's aircraft in 1962.[11]
The 4047th (and later the 306th) continued to maintain an alert commitment until the 306th was inactivated.

Later that same month, the 4047th became the host for McCoy AFB when the 321st Bombardment Wing inactivated and transferred the 813th Medical Group to the wing, along with 39th Munitions Maintenance Squadron to oversee the wing's special weapons. The 4047th became fully organized on 1 July 1962 when the

cruise missiles
, The 4042d Airborne Missile Maintenance Squadron was activated in November to maintain these missiles.

However, SAC Strategic Wings could not carry a permanent history or lineage[12] and SAC looked for a way to make its Strategic Wings permanent. In 1962, Headquarters SAC received authority from Headquarters USAF to discontinue its Major Command controlled (MAJCON) strategic wings that were equipped with combat aircraft and to replace them with Air Force controlled (AFCON) units, which could carry a lineage and history.[note 1]

306th Bombardment Wing

As a result, the 4047th SW was replaced by the 306th Bombardment Wing,[1] which assumed its mission, personnel, and equipment on 1 April 1963.[note 2] In the same way the

367th Bombardment Squadron, one of the unit's World War II historical bomb squadrons, replaced the 347th BS. The 813d Medical Group, 39th Munitions Maintenance Squadron and the 306th Air Refueling Squadron were reassigned to the 306th. Component support units were replaced by units with numerical designation of the 306th. Under the Dual Deputate organization,[note 3]
all flying and maintenance squadrons were directly assigned to the wing, so no operational group was activated, although the 306th Combat Support Group became the wing's administrative support unit. Each of the new units assumed the personnel, equipment, and mission of its predecessor.

Immediately after the move to McCoy, the 306th began transitioning to the B-52D version of the Stratofortress during the spring and summer of 1963 and assumed strategic nuclear alert duties under SAC's

Mediterranean
every day until 31 December 1963. Each B-52D required two air refuelings inbound to Spain and two more outbound over the Mediterranean, with mission duration averaging 25 to 27 hours in length. The 306th Air Refueling Squadron ground alert was also degraded to support Chrome Dome refueling along the southern route.

The 306 BW was tasked to maintain airborne alert several more times until the wing deployed to support conventional bombing operations in

McCoy AFB
.

Beginning in September 1966, the 306 BW also began routinely deploying bombers to Southeast Asia as part of

Okinawa. As part of Operation Young Tiger, it also deployed tankers to these bases and to U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield, Thailand. At times these deployments depleted all wing resources remaining at McCoy.[1]

The 919th Air Refueling Squadron (919 ARS) was assigned to McCoy in March 1967. When not forward deployed for operations over Vietnam, the 306th continued to operate out of McCoy AFB for both training and nuclear alert role. In January 1968, the 306 BW received another

Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
for this "double-duty" for combat operations in Southeast Asia while maintaining an alert status for SAC.

On 19 November 1968 a B-52, s/n 55-103 attached to the

Naha AB, twenty-three miles away.[14]

While deployed to Andersen AFB during Linebacker II operations on 21–22 December 1972, the 306 BW sustained a combat loss when B-52D, s/n 56-669, callsign "Straw 2", was hit by a

Gia Lam railway repair shops east of Hanoi. Despite heavy damage, Straw 2 attempted to divert to Thailand. The aircraft crossed into Laos, became uncontrollable, and all crewmembers except the radar navigator were rescued.[15] This loss came on top of a stateside loss earlier in the year on 31 March 1972, when B-52D s/n 56-625 sustained multiple engine failures and an engine pod fire shortly after takeoff from McCoy AFB on a routine training mission. The aircraft immediately attempted to return to the base, but crashed just short of Runway 18R in a civilian residential area of Orlando, Florida immediately north of the airfield, destroying or damaging eight homes. The crew of 7 airmen and 1 civilian on the ground were killed.[16][17]

The 306 BW returned to

SR-71 reconnaissance aircraft. By the fall of 1973 all wing tactical squadrons were reassigned or became non-operational in preparation for the shutdown of Air Force activity at McCoy.[1]

The 306th was inactivated in July 1974 as part of a post-Vietnam reduction in force and the related base closure process for McCoy AFB. Its

Carswell AFB, Texas to the former McCoy AFB, now Orlando International Airport
, for permanent static display at the airport's McCoy AFB/B-52 Memorial Park.

306th Strategic Wing

306th Strategic Wing RC-135 refueling over the North Sea

On 15 August 1976, the 306th was activated once again as the 306th Strategic Wing at

European Command.[1]

On 1 July 1978, the 306th moved to

McDonnell Douglas KC-10
A Extender aircraft were assigned to Zaragoza.

The 306th supported air refueling requirements for a variety of aircraft in or transiting the European Theater including USAF EC-135s,

SR-71s, and RAF Lightning F6 aircraft. The 306 SW operated at Mildenhall until 31 March 1992 when it was inactivated in anticipation of SAC's disestablishment and the transfer of SAC's European assets. The wing's tanker mission transferred to USAFE's 100th Air Refueling Wing, while its air reconnaissance mission and 922d squadron transferred to Air Combat Command's 55th Wing
.

Lineage

  • Constituted as the 306th Bombardment Wing, Medium on 11 August 1948
Activated on 1 September 1950
Redesignated 306th Bombardment Wing, Heavy on 1 April 1963
Inactivated on 1 July 1974
  • Redesignated 306th Strategic Wing on 14 August 1976
Activated on 15 August 1976
Inactivated on 31 March 1992

Assignments
Attached to: 7th Air Division, 11 June – 7 September 1953
Attached to: 5th Air Division, 5 January – 21 February 1955 and 23 October 1956 – 9 January 1957
Attached to: Sidi Slimane Task Force, 9–15 October 1957
  • 823d Air Division, 6 February 1961
  • 42d Air Division
    , 30 June 1971 – 1 July 1974
  • Strategic Air Command, 15 August 1976
  • 7th Air Division, 1 July 1978
  • Strategic Air Command, 1 February 1992 – 31 March 1992

Components

Group

  • 306th Bombardment Group
    : 1 September 1950 – 16 June 1952 (not operational after 11 February 1951)

Squadrons

  • 34th Strategic Squadron: 1 August 1978 – 1 October 1986; 1 August 1990 – 31 March 1992
Zaragoza AB, Spain
  • 305th Air Refueling Squadron: attached 5 January 1954 – 21 February 1955 and c. 20 December 1956 – c. 9 January 1957; assigned 1 May 1959 – 15 January 1960
  • 306th Air Refueling Squadron: attached 10 February 1951 – 15 June 1952, assigned 16 June 1952 – 1 July 1962 (detached 8 November – 22 December 1954, 5 January – 21 February 1955, 20 December 1956 – 9 January 1957, c. 9–15 October 1957, 1 July – 5 October 1958, 5 April – 12 July 1961; not operational, 13 June – 1 July 1962); assigned 1 April 1963 – 30 September 1973 (not operational, 1–30 September 1973)
  • 367th Bombardment Squadron
    : attached 10 February 1951 – 15 June 1952, assigned 16 June 1952 – 1 July 1974 (not operational, 3 January – 1 April 1963 and c. 1 November 1973 – 1 July 1974)
  • 368th Bombardment Squadron
    : attached 10 February 1951 – 15 June 1952, assigned 16 June 1952 – 1 April 1963
  • 369th Bombardment Squadron: attached 10 February 1951 – 15 June 1952, assigned 16 June 1952 – 1 April 1963 (not operational, 3 January – 1 April 1963)
  • 423d Bombardment Squadron: 1 January 1959 – 1 January 1962 (not operational, 15 October 1961 – 1 January 1962)
  • 919th Air Refueling Squadron: 25 March 1967 – 30 June 1971 (not operational, 15–30 June 1971)
  • 922d Strategic Squadron: 1 July 1978 – 31 March 1992
Hellenikon AB, Greece.

Stations

Aircraft assigned

See also

References

Notes
  1. ^ MAJCON units could not carry a permanent history or lineage. Ravenstein. A Guide to Air Force Lineage and Honors, p.12
  2. ^ The 306th Wing continued, through temporary bestowal, the history and honors of the World War II 306th Bombardment Group. It was also entitled to retain the honors (but not the history or lineage) of the 4047th.
  3. ^ Under this plan flying squadrons reported to the wing Deputy Commander for Operations and maintenance squadrons reported to the wing Deputy Commander for Maintenance
Citations
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Ravenstein, Combat Wings, pp. 151–153
  2. ^ Maurer, Combat Units, pp. 179–180
  3. ^ "306th Flying Training Group History".
  4. ^ "306th Flying Training Group Open House" (PDF). United States Air Force Academy. 1 September 2017.
  5. ^ Ravenstein, Combat Wings, Appendix V
  6. ^ "Behind the Legend of Col. Mike McCoy". OrlandoSentinel.com. Archived from the original on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
  7. ^ Schake, et al. p. 175
  8. ^ "Factsheet 823 Air Division". Air Force Historical Research Agency. 11 October 2007. Archived from the original on 30 October 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  9. ^ "Abstract (Unclassified), Vol 1, History of Strategic Air Command, Jan–Jun 1957 (Secret)". Air Force History Index. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  10. ^ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 430–431
  11. ^ "Abstract (Unclassified), History of the Strategic Bomber since 1945 (Top Secret, downgraded to Secret)". Air Force History Index. 1 April 1975. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  12. ^ Ravenstein, Guide to Air Force Lineage and Honors, p. 12
  13. ^ story from SP5 Tom Madracki, retrieved 8-11-12: http://www.madracki.com/usarmyhawk/storyb52.html Archived 13 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ "Thunder in the Night" Story of John Logan, 824th USA Dispensary at Kadena, AFB retrieved 8-11-12: http://www.madracki.com/usarmyhawk/storyb52.html Archived 13 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ Hobson, p. 243
  16. ^ "McCoy AFB SAC 306 BOMB WINGFIRE DEPT".
  17. ^ "Orlando Place Crash". Vanderbilt Television News Archive. 31 March 1972. Archived from the original on 2 December 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2011. Vanderbilt Television News Archive

Bibliography

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

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