| 2d Bomb Wing | |
|---|---|
2d Bomb Wing emblem |
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| Active | 15 October 1947 – |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Role | Bomber |
| Part of | Air Force Global Strike Command Eighth Air Force |
| Garrison/HQ | Barksdale Air Force Base |
| Motto | LIBERTATEM DEFENDIMUS Latin: Liberty We Defend |
| Aircraft | B-52 Stratofortress |
| Engagements |
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| Decorations | see "Lineage and Honors" section below |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Colonel Tim Fay |
| Notable commanders |
George J. Eade Eugene E. Habiger Charles T. Robertson, Jr. John Dale Ryan |
The 2d Bomb Wing (2 BW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force Global Strike Command and Eighth Air Force. It is stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The wing is also the host unit at Barksdale. The 2 BW was assigned to the Air Force Global Strike Command in February 2010 as part of the reassignment of Eighth Air Force.
The 2 BW is one of only two B-52H Stratofortress wings in the United States Air Force, the other being the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base.
Its 2d Operations Group is a successor organization to the 2d Bombardment Group, which was one of the 15 original combat air groups formed by the Army before World War II.
It is the oldest bomb group of the Air Force, having fought on the Western Front during World War I, entering combat on 12 September 1918. After the war, it participated in Brigadier General Billy Mitchell's 1921 off-shore bombing test. Active for over 60 years, the 2 BW was a component wing of Strategic Air Command's heavy bomber deterrent force throughout the Cold War.
The 2d Bomb Wing is commanded by Colonel Tim Fay. Its Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sergeant Larry Malcom.
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Today, as the largest bomb wing in Air Force Global Strike Command and as a part of the historic "Mighty Eighth" Air Force, the wing continues to reflect the heritage of its motto Libertatem Defendimus: "Liberty We Defend."
The 2d Bombardment Wing was activated by the United States Air Force on 5 November 1947 and was assigned to the Strategic Air Command Eighth Air Force. At the time of its activation, wing headquarters remained non-operational; it's assigned 2d Bombardment Group being attached to the 43rd Bombardment Wing at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona.
At the time of its activation, there was considerable debate about where to station the new wing. Its planned station, Chatham Air Force Base, Georgia was a World War II training airfield with facilities deemed inadequate by SAC. Located approximately 10 miles northwest of Savannah, Georgia, Chatham had an adequate airfield for B-29 operations, however the base's the cantonment area was in extremely poor condition. Constructed to last for five years, the buildings had reached the end of their life expectancy. In addition, the buildings' shortcomings also included outside latrines and potbellied stoves for heating.
Work was begun to modernize the base from its World War II wartime configuration into a permanent Air Force Base with modern facilities. On 1 January 1949 wing headquarters was activated at Chatam, with the 2d Bomb Wing assuming the assets of the 307th Bombardment Group which had been deployed to the base from MacDill AFB, Florida and the assets of the 2d Bombardment Group, which had returned from a deployment to RAF Lakenheath, England. Equipped with B-29 Superfortresses, the wing's primary mission was training for strategic bombardment operations. In early 1949, the first B-50 Superfortresses began to arrive, replacing the B-29s. A derivative of the B-29, the B-50 was designed for atomic warfare, had faster, more powerful engines and could fly at higher altitudes than the B-29.
The facilities, however, at Chatham remained unsatisfactory to SAC leadership, and plans were initiated to move the wing to better facilities. The city of Savannah, however, offered the USAF the facilities at the former Hunter Army Airfield, which was located closer to the city (5 miles NW), along with 3,500 acres (14 km²) of additional land around Hunter for future base expansions. Hunter AAF was built in 1929 as Savannah Municipal Airport and in 1940 the Air Corps received approval to build a permanent base at the site. During World War II it was used both as a training base as well as an antisubmarine airfield during the war. In June 1946, the airfield was returned to the City of Savannah. In addition, Headquarters, Eighth Air Force was established in Savannah in January, 1942, and there was a strong desire to have an Eighth Air Force Wing be stationed in the area. This arrangement was agreed to and on 29 September 1950, the 2d Bomb Wing moved to the reopened Hunter Air Force Base and Chatam was turned over to the City of Savannah, where it was redeveloped into a regional airport.
B-50 Superfortress operations continued until November 1953, when 2 BW began receiving jet-powered B-47E Stratojet medium bombers. The B-47 was a fast bomber which relied on speed to penetrate the air defenses of the Soviet Union, and was produced in large numbers. It became the mainstay of the medium-bombing strength of SAC all throughout the 1950s. The wing participated in SAC REFLEX deployments to North Africa and England. Beginning in 1958 the B-47 was becoming obsolete, as the air defenses of the Soviet Union improved. The Stratojet was phased out of SAC beginning in 1960.
Plans were made to upgrade the wing to the B-52 Stratofortress. However, adequate for B-47 operations, the runway at Hunter was inadequate for B-52 operations when tested in the early 1960s. In addition, during the 1950s the urban area of the City of Savannah was expanding and encroaching on the airfield, making Hunter unsuitable for heavy nuclear-equipped bomber operations over the urbanized area. A 1958 Tybee Island B-47 crash in which a Mark 15 hydrogen bomb was lost in the Atlantic Ocean just off the coast of Savannah was another reason in the decision by SAC to move the Wing to a non-urban area.
In early 1963 the wing began to send its B-47s to storage at Davis-Monthan AFB. The 2d Bombardment Wing would be moved, and Hunter AFB was reassigned to Military Air Transport Service (MATS). MATS closed its facilities at Donaldson AFB, South Carolina and reassigned the 63rd Troop Carrier Wing to Hunter, using the base for C-124 Globemaster II intercontinental cargo aircraft operations to points around the world.
The 2d Bombardment Wing was moved to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana on 1 April 1963 where it assumed the existing B-52F Stratofortress heavy bombers and personnel of the provisional SAC 4238th Strategic Wing in a name-only redesignation. The wing has been stationed at Barksdale continuously for almost 50 years.
On 15 March 1958, SAC established the 4238th SW at Barksdale as part of SAC's plan to disburse its B-52 Stratofortress heavy bombers over a larger number of bases, thus making it more difficult for the Soviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike. The wing consisted of the 436th Bombardment Squadron, consisting of 15 B-52Fs, and the KC-135-equipped 913th Air Refueling Squadron. Half of the aircraft were maintained on fifteen minute alert, fully fueled, armed, and ready for combat. SAC Strategic Wings were considered a provisional unit by HQ, USAF and could not carry a permanent history or lineage.
In 1962, in order to retain the lineage of its MAJCOM 4-digit combat units and 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 MAJCOM strategic wings that were equipped with combat aircraft and to activate AFCON units, most of which were inactive at the time which could carry a lineage and history.
With the move to Barksdale, the 2d Bomb Wing absorbed the assets of the 4238th SW. It was assigned to the Second Air Force 823rd Air Division. The 4238th's 436th BS was also redesignated as the 20th Bombardment Squadron. The 913th ARS designation was unchanged, and component support units were also redesignated to the 2d numerical designation of the newly-established wing.
At Barksdale, 2 BW supported Second Air Force's post-attack command and control system, April 1963 – March 1970. Conducted bombardment training and air refueling operations from April 1963 except for periods when all aircraft and crews were on loan to SAC organizations involved in combat operations in Southeast Asia. Began supporting SAC operations in Southeast Asia with aircraft and personnel in 1965, and increasingly supported these operations in 1966 and 1967. On 15 April 1968, gained a second B-52 and a second KC-135 squadron, again becoming a SAC "super" wing. From late May 1972 until 26 October 1973, loaned all wing B-52 resources to SAC organizations in the Far East and Southeast Asia; from May 1972 to early November 1972, loaned all but four of the wing's KC-135s and a few aircrews to other SAC units. After the return of combat resources, the wing continued supporting SAC operations in Southeast Asia into 1975, on a reduced scale.
Gained KC-10 tankers in November 1981 to augment refueling operations for the USAF, AFRES, and ANG. Provided air refueling for rescue efforts in Grenada, October–November 1983, the attack on Libya, April 1986, and the invasion of Panama, December 1989 – January 1990. Presented the Omaha Trophy for "the Outstanding Wing in the Strategic Air Command" f2. Deployed B-52, KC-135, and KC-10 aircraft, aircrews, and support personnel to several locations in support of operations in Southwest Asia, 7 August 1990 – 17 April 1991.
Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm brought Barksdale warriors into the spotlight again with their efforts to liberate Kuwait. The 2d Bomb Wing flew what was then the longest combat mission in the history of military aviation at the start of Desert Storm in 1991 when seven B-52s flew a 35-hour mission and, for the time in U.S. Air Force history, fired a devastating barrage of conventional air-launched cruise missiles. The 2d Bomb Wing delivered one-fourth of all U.S. Air Force bombs during Desert Storm. The 2d Bomb Wing KC-135s and KC-10s provided more than 1,000 of the 13,700 coalition refueling missions.
On 16–17 January 1991 seven B-52Gs from the Eighth Air Force, 2d Bomb Wing, 596th Bomb Squadron, Barksdale AFB, LA. Flew the longest combat mission (35.4 hours) in aviation history, and the first Combat launch of conventional Air Launched Cruise Missile (CALCM) in Operation Desert Storm against Iraq. The official name of this mission was SENIOR Surprise, unofficially it was referred to as Secret Squirrel.
Two 2d Bomb Wing B-52s conducted a missile strike against surface-to-air missile sites and air defense radars in Iraq in September 1996. Desert Strike was ordered in response to Iraqi attacks on Kurds in northern Iraq. The mission earned the wing the prestigious 1996 Mackay Trophy as the most meritorious flight of the year.
Recognizing the mighty B-52 as a weapon of choice, the National Command Authorities called upon the 2d Bomb Wing throughout the late 1990s to flex its muscles against rogue states in Southwest Asia and the Balkans: operations Southern Watch, Desert Fox and Allied Force.
On 19 September 2001, wing elements deployed to Diego Garcia and on 7 October flew early attacks on targets in Afghanistan in Operation Enduring Freedom to rid that country of terrorist bases and its extremist Taliban rulers and Al-Qaeda militants; later flew airborne alert missions and, in Operation Anaconda, flew bombing missions against targets in eastern Afghanistan, 1–18 March 2002. In the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, flew missions on 21 March in "shock and awe" strikes against command and control targets.
The group's emblem was approved in 1924 for the 2d Bombardment Group, and in 1951 for the 2d Bomb Wing. The bombs signify original squadrons, the stripes represent major World War I offensives, and the white fleur de lis symbolizes the French location of the battles.
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Groups
Squadrons
References for commands and major units assigned, components and stations:[1][2][3]
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Blazon: Or, in fess four aerial bombs descending bendwise sinister Azure garnished Argent on a chief engrailed Vert a fleur-de-lis White between two pallets Sable, all within a diminished bordure of the first.
Motto: LIBERTATEM DEFENDIMUS—Liberty We Defend.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
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