| 461st Air Control Wing | |
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461st Air Control Wing Insignia |
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| Active | 1943–1945, 1953–1968, 2011- |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Role | Air Control |
| Part of | Air Combat Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Robins AFB |
| Motto | On the Attack |
| Engagements |
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The 461st Air Control Wing is an active United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the Air Combat Command, Ninth Air Force, stationed at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It was activated on 7 Oct 2011.
Originally activated in 1943 as the 461st Bombardment Group as a World War II United States Army Air Forces combat organization. The highly-decorated unit served primarily in the Mediterranean, African, and The Middle East Theatres of World War II.
Activated as a tactical bomber unit by Tactical Air Command in the 1950s, in November 1962 the wing was designated the 461st Bombardment Wing and was stationed at Amarillo AFB and assigned to Strategic Air Command. The wing flew B-52 Stratofortress heavy strategic bombers and deployed aircraft and crews to Andersen AFB, Guam for combat operations in Southeast Asia. The wing was inactivated in March 1968 with the closure of Amarillo AFB.
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Established in May 1943 as a B-24 Liberator heavy bombardment group, being activated on 1 July at Wendover Field, Utah. Trained under II Bomber Command at several airfields in Utah, Idaho, and California, with group elements undergoing combat simulation training at the Army Air Force School of Applied Tactics in Florida.
Was deployed to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) in February 1944, the air echelon flying B-24's via the South Atlantic transport route, stopping in North Africa before joining the ground echelon in Italy. Assigned to the Fifteenth Air Force 49th Bombardment Wing at Torretto Airfield, Italy, in late February.
Began combat operations in April, engaging in long range strategic bombardment operations of Nazi Germany and Occupied Europe. Engaged chiefly in bombardment of communications, industries, and other strategic objectives in Italy, France, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Austria, Romania, Yugoslavia, and Greece. Supported Fifteenth AF's counter-air operations by bombing enemy airdromes and aircraft centers, receiving a Distinguished Unit Citation for a mission on 13 April 1944 when the group battled its way through enemy defenses to attack an aircraft components plant in Budapest. The 461 BG conducted Oil Campaign of World War II operations against Brux, Blechhammer, Moosbierbaum, Vienna, and Ploesti; receiving a second DUC for a July 1944 bombing of Ploesti despite flak, clouds, smoke, and fighters. Also operated in support of ground forces and flew some interdictory missions.
Hit artillery positions in support of the invasion of Southern France in August 1944 and flew supply missions to France in September. Aided the Allied offensive in Italy in April 1945 by attacking gun emplacements and troop concentrations. After the German Capitulation, dropped supplies to prisoner-of-war camps in Austria during May 1945.
The group was alerted for re-deployment to the Pacific Theater in June 1945 and was programmed for Very Heavy bomber training with B-29 Superfortresses. Unit returned to the United States in July; many personnel being demobilized upon arrival. Small cadre formed at Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota and unit was awaiting new personnel and aircraft when Japanese Capitulation ended the Pacific War in August. Unit was inactivated on 18 August.
The unit was re-established as the 461st Bombardment Wing, Light under the Tactical Air Command Ninth Air Force on 11 December 1953. Unit was formed at Hill AFB, Utah and initially equipped with World War II-era B-26B Invader tactical light bombers brought out of storage depots in the southwest. The mission of the 461st Bomb Wing was to provide training in air support of ground forces and air interdiction from lessons learned during the Korean War. Modifications made to the aircraft were made by depot personnel at Hill as a result of combat in Korea meant that the Invader operated at considerably higher weights and with greater loads than had been achieved in World War II.
The Invader, however, was used as a transitory aircraft until the unit could receive the jet-powered Martin B-57 Canberra, which was still under development by Air Materiel Command. On 1 October 1955 the wing was reassigned to its permanent base at Blytheville AFB, Arkansas. It was redesignated as the 461st Bombardment wing, Tactical, and began receiving production B-57B Canberras. However, a number of B-57Bs were lost in accidents, particularly during high-speed, low-level operations when aircraft suddenly and unexplainably dove into the ground. As these accidents persisted, all tactically-assigned B-57Bs were grounded in May 1956 for a period of four months while the problem was investigated. The fault was eventually traced to a faulty tailplane actuator which set the trim incorrectly. The installation of a new actuator switch cured the problem.
The USAF was not very happy with the B-57B as it was initially produced. It was still deemed to be inadequate to meet the night intruder and close support role for which it had originally been designed. The target acquisition system was inadequate, the navigational range was too short, and the radio navigation could not recover the aircraft after strikes. The armament was inadequate—the gun-bomb-rocket sight, the gun charging systems, and the external stores release mechanisms were all unreliable.
After three years of service with the B-57s in tactical bomb groups, the decision was made to phase out the B-57 in favor of supersonic aircraft. The wing turned in its aircraft to TAC for disposition and the wing inactivated on 1 April 1958.
On 20 February 1960, Strategic Air Command established the 4128th Strategic Wing at Amarillo AFB, Texas 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 718th Bombardment Squadron, consisting of 15 B-52Ds, and the KC-135-equipped 909th 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.
The 4128th SW was redesignated as the 461st Bombardment Wing (461st BW) on 1 February 1963 in a name-only redesigation and was assigned to SAC's Fifteenth Air Force, 22d Air Division. The 718th BS was also redesignated as the 764th Bombardment Squadron, one of the unit's World War II historical bomb squadrons. The 909th ARS designation was unchanged, and component support units were also redesignated to the 461st numerical designation of the newly-established wing. As under the Tri-Deputate organization, all flying components were directly assigned to the wing, no operational group element was activated.
The wing trained with B-52s maintained heavy bombardment proficiency and participated in numerous operational readiness inspections and actual and simulated exercises. It deployed B-52 aircraft and crews to Andersen AFB, Guam from 18 January, to 4 July 1967 for combat operations in Southeast Asia, however its headquarters remained at Amarillo where it served as a deterrent force and also supported SAC's global air refueling mission.
By 1968, Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) had been deployed and become operational as part of the United States' strategic triad, and the need for B-52s had been reduced. In addition, funds were also needed to cover the costs of combat operations in Indochina. The 461st Bombardment Wing was inactivated on 25 March 1968 and its aircraft were reassigned to other SAC units. As part of the inactivation, Amarillo AFB was closed.
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This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
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