389th Strategic Missile Wing
| 389th Strategic Missile Wing
F.E. Warren AFB | ||
|---|---|---|
| Active | 1942–1945; 1961–1965 | |
| Country |  United States | |
| Branch | United States Air Force | |
| Role | ||
| Part of | VIII Bomber Command Tail Marking[1] | Circle C |
The 389th Strategic Missile Wing is an inactive unit of the United States Air Force. Its last assignment was with the 13th Strategic Missile Division at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming, where it was inactivated on 25 March 1965.
The
surrender of Germany
in 1945, then returned to the United States where it was inactivated.
The 389th Strategic Missile Wing was activated in 1961, when it assumed the assets of the inactivating
706th Strategic Missile Wing
. It operated Atlas missiles at Warren until they were phased out in 1965.
In early 1984, the group and wing were consolidated into a single unit, but have not been active since.
History
World War II
The wing was first activated as the 389th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 19 December 1942 at
group prepared for duty overseas with Consolidated B-24 Liberators.[3]
The group moved to
Eighth Air Force.[3] The 389th was assigned to the 2nd Combat Bombardment Wing, and the group tail code until high visibility markings were adopted in May 1944 was a "Circle-C".[1]
Upon its arrival at Hethel, almost immediately the group sent a detachment to Libya, where it began operations on 9 July 1943. The detachment flew missions to
Distinguished Unit Citation for the detachment's participation in Operation Tidal Wave, the 1943 low-level attack against oil refineries at Ploiești, Rumania on 1 August 1943.[3]
For his action during the Ploiești attack,
Second Lieutenant Lloyd Herbert Hughes was awarded the Medal of Honor. Refusing to turn back although gasoline was streaming from his flak-damaged plane, Lt Hughes flew at low altitude over the blazing target area and bombed the objective. His plane crashed before Hughes could make the forced landing that he attempted after the bomb run.[3]
The detachment returned to England in August and the group flew several missions against airfields in France and the Netherlands. The unit deployed again to Tunisia during September and October 1943 to support Allied operations at Salerno during Operation Avalanche. While deployed the unit hit targets in Corsica, Italy, and Austria.[3]
The 389th resumed operations from England in October 1943 the group concentrated primarily on strategic objectives in France, the
St Lo in July 1944, hit storage depots and communications centers during the Battle of the Bulge from December 1944 – January 1945 and dropped food, ammunition, gasoline, and other supplies to troops participating in the Operation Varsity. the airborne assault across the Rhine in March 1945.[3]
On 7 April 1945, the 389th Bomb Group was one of the targets of the Sonderkommando Elbe, Luftwaffe aerial ramming unit. Two B-24s were destroyed by Heinrich Rosner in one ramming attack.
The 389th Bomb Group flew its last combat mission late in April 1945. It returned to
Charleston Army Air Field, South Carolina on 30 May 1945 and was inactivated there on 13 September 1945.[3]
Cold War
During the Cold War, the 389th Strategic Missile Wing was organized in 1961 at
706th Strategic Missile Wing. Two of the wing's World War II squadrons, the 564th[4] and 565th[5] Strategic Missile Squadrons were already stationed at Warren and were transferred from the 706th.[8] The 566th Strategic Missile Squadron, another of the units World War II units, moved to Warren from Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, trading places with the 706th wing's 549th Strategic Missile Squadron.[6][9][10]
The
wing conducted strategic missile training operations.[2] The Wing was placed on alert during the Cuban Missile Crisis in November 1962. In May 1964, as the Atlas D missiles were being phased out, the 389th Strategic Missile Wing received SAC's last operational readiness inspection for this system. In September 1965, SAC inactivated the wing,[2]
completing the phaseout of the Atlas E at Warren.
Lineage
389th Bombardment Group
- Constituted as the 389th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 19 December 1942
- Activated on 24 December 1942
- Redesignated 389th Bombardment Group, Heavy on 20 August 1943
- Inactivated on 13 September 1945
- Consolidated with the 389th Strategic Missile Wing as the 389th Strategic Missile Wing on 31 January 1984[11]
389th Strategic Missile Wing
- Constituted as the 389th Strategic Missile Wing (ICBM-Atlas) and activated on 26 April 1961 (not organized)
- Organized on 1 July 1961
- Discontinued and inactivated on 25 March 1965[2]
- Consolidated with the 389th Bombardment Group on 31 January 1984[11]
Assignments
- II Bomber Command: 24 December 1942
- Eighth Air Force: 8 June 1943
- VIII Bomber Command: June 1943
- 2d Bombardment Wing (later 2d Combat Bombardment Wing): 11 June 1943 – 30 May 1945 (attached to 201st Combat Bombardment Wing (Provisional) until 13 September 1943)
- Army Service Forces, Port of Embarkation, 12 June 1945 – 13 September 1945.
- Strategic Air Command, 26 April 1961 (not organized)
- 13th Air (later Strategic Missile) Division, 1 July 1961 – 25 March 1965
Components
- 389th Missile Maintenance Squadron, 1 July 1961 – 25 March 1965[12]
- 389th Support Squadron, 1 July 1961 – 25 March 1965[12]
- 564th Bombardment Squadron (later Strategic Missile Squadron), 24 December 1942 – 13 September 1945;[4] 1 July 1961 – 1 September 1964 (not operational after 3 August 1964)[2]
- 565th Bombardment Squadron (later Strategic Missile Squadron), 24 December 1942 – 13 September 1945;[5] 1 July 1961 – 1 December 1964 (not operational after October 1964[2]
- 566th Bombardment Squadron (later Strategic Missile Squadron), 24 December 1942 – 13 September 1945;[6] 1 July 1961 – 25 March 1965 (not operational after c. 15 February 1965)[2]
- 567th Bombardment Squadron, 24 December 1942 – 13 September 1945[7]
Stations
- Davis–Monthan Field, Arizona, 24 December 1942.
- Biggs Field, Texas, 1 February 1943.
- Lowry Field, Colorado, 19 April – 8 June 1943.
- RAF Hethel (AAF Station 114),[13] England, 11 June 1943 – 30 May 1945.
- Charleston Army Air Field, South Carolina, 12 June – 13 September 1945.
- Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming, 1 July 1961 – 25 March 1965.
Aircraft and missiles
- Consolidated B-24 Liberator, 1942–1945
- General Dynamics SM-65D Atlas, 1961–1964
- General Dynamics SM-65E Atlas, 1961–1965
Awards and campaigns
| Award streamer | Award | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Distinguished Unit Citation |
August 1, 1943 | 389th Bombardment Group, Ploiești[3] |
| Campaign Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Air Combat, EAME Theater | 11 June 1943 – 11 May 1945 | 389th Bombardment Group[3] |
|
Air Offensive, Europe | 11 June 1943 – 5 June 1944 | 389th Bombardment Group[3] |
|
Sicily | 11 June 1943 – 17 August 1943 | 389th Bombardment Group[3] |
|
Naples-Foggia | 18 August 1943 – 21 January 1944 | 389th Bombardment Group[3] |
|
Normandy | 6 June 1944 – 24 July 1944 | 389th Bombardment Group[3] |
|
Northern France | 25 July 1944 – 14 September 1944 | 389th Bombardment Group[3] |
|
Rhineland | 15 September 1944 – 21 March 1945 | 389th Bombardment Group[3] |
|
Ardennes-Alsace | 16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945 | 389th Bombardment Group[3] |
|
Central Europe | 22 March 1944 – 21 May 1945 | 389th Bombardment Group[3] |
References
Notes
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7643-1987-7.
- ^ ISBN 0-912799-12-9.
- ^ LCCN 61060979.
- ^ OCLC 72556.
- ^ a b c Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 663
- ^ a b c Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 664
- ^ a b Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 664–665
- ^ Ravenstein, pp. 294–295
- ^ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 652–653
- ^ Although the 389th Wing was a new organization, it continued, through temporary bestowal, the history, and honors of the World War II 389th Bombardment Group. This temporary bestowal ended in January 1984, when the wing and group were consolidated into a single unit.
- ^ a b Department of the Air Force/MPM Letter 539q, 31 January 1984, Subject: Consolidation of Units
- ^ ISBN 0-912799-53-6.
- ^ Station number in Anderson, Capt. Barry (1985). Army Air Forces Stations: A Guide to the Stations Where U.S. Army Air Forces Personnel Served in the United Kingdom During World War II (PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
Bibliography
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- Anderson, Capt. Barry (1985). Army Air Forces Stations: A Guide to the Stations Where U.S. Army Air Forces Personnel Served in the United Kingdom During World War II (PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
- 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.
- Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. OCLC 72556.
- 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.
- 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.
- Watkins, Robert (2008). Battle Colors: Insignia and Markings of the Eighth Air Force in World War II. Vol. I (VIII) Bomber Command. Atglen, PA: Shiffer Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7643-1987-7.
Further reading
- Ardery, Philip (1978). Bomber Pilot: A Memoir of World War II. Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Press. ISBN 978-0-813108-66-7.
- Freeman, Roger A. (1978). Airfields of the Eighth: Then and Now. London, England: After the Battle. ISBN 0-900913-09-6.
- Freeman, Roger A. (1991). The Mighty Eighth: The Colour Record. London, England: Cassell & Co. ISBN 0-304-35708-1.
- MacKay, Ron; Wilson, Paul (2006). The Sky Scorpions: The Story of the 389th Bomb Group in World War II. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7643-2422-2.
- Anonymous (1946). 389th Bombardment Group: a Pictorial Review of Operations in the ETO. San Angelo, Texas: Newsfoto Publishing Company.
