16th Bombardment Wing (World War II)

The 16th Bombardment Wing (16th BW) is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Continental Air Forces, based at Colorado Springs AAF, Colorado. It was inactivated on 8 October 1948.

History

Lineage

• Constituted as 16th Bombardment Wing on 19 October 1940

Activated on 18 December 1940

Inactivated on 1 September 1941

(Apparently it did not have sufficient personnel for effective training and operations).

• Activated on 23 June 1942

Redesignated 16th Bombardment Training Wing in January 1943

Redesignated 16th Bombardment Operational Training Wing in April 1943

Redesignated 16th Bombardment Operational Training Wing (Very Heavy) in May 1945

Inactivated on 9 April 1946

Disbanded on 8 October 1948

Assignments

• Second Air Force

18 December 1940 – 1 September 1941

23 June 1942 – 8 April 1946

Bases assigned

• Langley Field, Virginia, 18 December 1940 – March 1941
• Bowman Field, Kentucky, March – 1 September 1941
• Wendover Field, Utah, 23 June 1942
• Biggs Field, Texas, November 1942
• Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona, c. 1 June 1943
• Biggs Field, Texas, October 1943
• Colorado Springs, Colorado, December 1945-9 April 1946

Units assigned

• 45th Bombardment Group: 15 January-21 August 1941
• 46th Bombardment Group: 15 January 1941-1 May 1942
• (Various groups assigned for training, 1942–1946, including possibly the 19th, 305th, and 39th Bombardment Groups)

Operational history

The 16th Bombardment Wing performed training heavy bombardment groups (B-17/B-24) and personnel in June 1942. It was subsequently changed to very heavy bombardment group training (B-29), which lasted until operations ceased in late 1945.

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

• Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.

External links