416th Air Expeditionary Wing
416th Air Expeditionary Wing | |
---|---|
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | |
Insignia | |
416th Air Expeditionary Wing emblem (approved 2 March 1964)[2] | |
World War II Fuselage Identification Codes | 5H (668th Bomb Sq) 2A (669th Bomb Sq) F6 (670th Bomb Sq) 5C (671st Bomb Sq)[1] |
ACC tail marking at Griffiss AFB)[3] | GR |
The 416th Air Expeditionary Wing (AEW) is a provisional unit assigned to the Air Combat Command of the United States Air Force to activate or inactivate as needed.
The wing began life in
The group's heritage was continued by the 416th Bombardment Wing (BW), a
In 2002 the wing was converted to provisional status as the 416th Air Expeditionary Group It served as the host unit at Karshi-Khanabad Air Base (K2), in Qarshi, Uzbekistan, from 2002 to 2005, where it supported operations against the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. It was redesignated as the 416th Air Expeditionary Wing in 2010, but the current status of this unit is not publicly known.
History
World War II
Media related to 416th Bombardment Group (United States Army Air Forces) at Wikimedia Commons
Training in the United States
The
Fifty-one officers and two hundred and forty-one (241) enlisted men were transferred to the group on 15 February 1943. The source of the
The group originally operated as an Operational Training Unit under the
Combat in the European Theater
The
The group assisted the airborne attack on the Netherlands in September. It also supported the assault on the Siegfried Line by pounding transportation, warehouses, supply dumps, and defended villages in Germany.[4] in November, the group converted to Douglas A-26 Invader aircraft. With its new aircraft it attacked transportation facilities, strong points, communications centers, and troop concentrations during the Battle of the Bulge from December 1944 through January 1945. It aided the Allied thrust into Germany by continuing its strikes against transportation, communications, airfields, storage depots, and other objectives, February—May 1945. It also bombed flak positions in support of the airborne assault across the Rhine in March 1945.[4] The group returned to the US between July and October 1945 and was inactivated at the port of embarkation on 24 October 1945.
Cold War
4039th Strategic Wing
The origins of the 416th Bombardment Wing begin on 1 August 1958 when
416th Bombardment Wing
In 1962, in order to perpetuate the lineage of many currently inactive bombardment units with illustrious World War II records, Headquarters SAC received authority from Headquarters USAF to discontinue its Major Command controlled (MAJCON) strategic wings that were equipped with combat aircraft and to activate Air Force controlled (AFCON) units, most of which were inactive at the time which could carry a lineage and history.
The 4039th SW was replaced by the newly constituted 416th Bombardment Wing (416th BW) on 1 February 1963
The 416th Bomb Wing continued to conduct strategic bombardment training and air refueling operations to meet operational commitments of
In 1988, the wing began to prepare for a primarily conventional warfare role.
In September 1991, the wing ended its support of worldwide
Post Cold War era
The wing became a provisional air
Lineage
416th Bombardment Group
- Constituted as 416th Bombardment Group (Light) on 25 January 1943
- Activated on 5 February 1943
- Redesignated 416th Bombardment Group, Light on 20 August 1943
- Inactivated on 24 October 1945[4]
- Consolidated with the 416th Bombardment Wing, Heavy on 31 January 1984 as the 416th Bombardment Wing, Heavy[14]
416th Bombardment Wing
- Constituted as 416th Bombardment Wing, Heavy, on 15 November 1962
- Activated on 15 November 1962
- Organized on 1 February 1963
- Consolidated with the 416th Bombardment Group, Light on 31 January 1984[2]
- Redesignated 416th Wing on 1 September 1991
- Redesignated 416th Bomb Wing on 1 June 1992
- Inactivated on 30 September 1995
- Redesignated 416th Air Expeditionary Group, and converted to provisional status, on 3 May 2002
- Redesignated 416th Air Expeditionary Wing on 23 February 2010[14]
Assignments
|
|
Components
Groups
- 416th Combat Support Group (later 416th Support Group),[10] 1 July 1970 – 30 September 1995
- 416th Logistics Group, 1 September 1991 – 30 September 1995
- 416th Operations Group, 1 September 1991 – 30 September 1995
Operational Squadrons
- 41st Air Refueling Squadron: 1 February 1963 – 1 September 1991[14]
- 509th Air Refueling Squadron: 30 June 1990 – 1 September 1991[16]
- 668th Bombardment Squadron: 5 February 1943 – 24 October 1945; 1 February 1963 – 1 September 1991[5]
- 669th Bombardment Squadron: 5 February 1943 – 24 October 1945[6]
- 670th Bombardment Squadron: 5 February 1943 – 24 October 1945[7]
- 671st Bombardment Squadron: 5 February 1943 – 24 October 1945[8]
Support Squadrons
- 56th Munitions Maintenance Squadron, 1 February 1963 – 1 October 1972[10]
- 416th Airborne Missile Maintenance Squadron, 1 February 1963 – 30 September 1974[10]
- 416th Armament & Electronics Maintenance Squadron (later 416th Avionics Maintenance Squadron, 416th Intermediate Level Maintenance Squadron), 1 February 1963 – 1 September 1991[10]
- 416th Combat Defense Squadron (later 416th Security Police Squadron), 1 February 1963 – 1 July 1970[10]
- 416th Field Maintenance Squadron,[10] 1 February 1963 – 1 September 1991
- 416th Munitions Maintenance Squadron,[10] 1 October 1972 – 1 September 1991
- 416th Organizational Maintenance Squadron,[10] 1 February 1963 – 1 September 1991
Detachments
- Detachment 1
- Westover AFB, Massachusetts also with 2 Alert KC-135A's,[citation needed] 2 April 1969 – 31 December 1971
- Detachment[citation needed]
- Minot AFB, North Dakota 2 Alert B-52G's & 2 KC-135A's (Shared with a Detachment 5th Bombardment Wing
Stations
|
|
Aircraft
|
|
Awards and campaigns
Award streamer | Award | Dates | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Distinguished Unit Citation |
6 August 1944 – 9 August 1944 | France, 416th Bombardment Group[4] | |
Combat "V" Device |
1 July 2004 – 31 May 2005 | 416th Air Expeditionary Group[19] | |
Combat "V" Device |
1 June 2005 – 31 May 2006 | 416th Air Expeditionary Group[19] | |
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
15 September 1981 – 31 October 1982 | 416th Bombardment Wing[14] | |
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
1 July 1984 – 30 June 1986 | 416th Bombardment Wing[14] | |
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
1 July 1989 – 30 June 1991 | 416th Bombardment Wing[14] |
Campaign Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Air Offensive, Europe | 1 February 1944 – 5 June 1944 | 416th Bombardment Group[4] | |
Normandy | 6 June 1944 – 24 July 1944 | 416th Bombardment Group[4] | |
Northern France | 25 July 1944 – 14 September 1944 | 416th Bombardment Group[4] | |
Rhineland | 5 September 1944 – 21 March 1945 | 416th Bombardment Group[4] | |
Ardennes-Alsace | 6 December 1944 – 25 January 1945 | 416th Bombardment Group[4] | |
Central Europe | 22 March 1944 – 21 May 1945 | 416th Bombardment Group[4] | |
Defense of Saudi Arabia | 416th Air Expeditionary Group[14] | ||
Liberation of Kuwait | 416th Air Expeditionary Group[14] |
See also
References
Notes
- ^ The authority for the organization of this group was contained in General Orders #3, Headquarter Army Air Base, Will Rogers Field, Oklahoma, 4 February 1943.
- ^ Although the 416th Wing was a new organization, it continued, through temporary bestowal, the history, and honors of the World War II 416th Bombardment Group. It was also entitled to retain the honors (but not the history or lineage) of the 4039th. This temporary bestowal ended in January 1984, when the wing and group were consolidated into a single unit.
Citations
- ^ a b Watkins, pp. 118–119
- ^ a b c d e Ravenstein, pp. 223–224
- ^ Rogers[page needed]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Maurer, Combat Units, pp. 299–300
- ^ a b Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 698
- ^ a b Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 698–699
- ^ a b Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 699–700
- ^ a b Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 700
- ^ Green & Keane, p. 18
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Mueller, pp. 205–210
- ^ "Abstract (Unclassified), Vol 1, History of Strategic Air Command, Jan–Jun 1957 (Secret)". Air Force History Index. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
- ^ "Factsheet 820 Strategic Aerospace Division". Air Force Historical Research Agency. 11 October 2007. Archived from the original on 30 October 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Kane, Robert B. (6 April 2010). "Factsheet 416 Air Expeditionary Wing (ACC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
- ^ "Factsheet 6 Air Division". Air Force Historical Research Agency. 4 October 2007. Archived from the original on 30 October 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
- ^ a b Bailey, Carl E. (19 December 2007). "Factsheet 509 Weapons Squadron (AMC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
- ^ Station number from Anderson
- ^ a b c Station number from Johnson
- ^ a b Air Force Recognition Programs searchable page (retrieved 5 February 2013)
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.
- Green, Eugene L.; Keane, Paul A.; Callanan, Lewis E. (1946). The Sky Lancer: The 417th Bomb Group. Bangor Public Library World War Regimental Histories No. 75. Sydney, NSW, Australia: John Sands Pty., Ltd. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
- 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 17 September 2016.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - 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. Vol. III Insignia and Markings of the Ninth Air Force in World War II. Atglen, PA: Shiffer Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7643-2938-8.