| 450th Bombardment Wing | |
|---|---|
Emblem of the 450th Bombardment Wing |
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| Active | 1 May 1943–1968 (Proposed 2008 Reactivation) |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Type | Electronic Warfare |
| Role | Electronic Attack |
| Part of | Twenty-Fourth Air Force (Proposed) |
| Engagements |
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The 450th Bombardment Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Strategic Air Command 810th Strategic Aerospace Division, stationed at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. It was inactivated on 25 July 1968.
Originally activated in 1943 as the 450th Bombardment Group, the unit saw combat during World War II as a B-24 Liberator heavy bomber group assigned to Fifteenth Air Force in Italy. The highly decorated unit received two Distinguished Unit Citations in support of the invasion of Southern France, the advance of Russian troops in the Balkans, and the Allied effort in Italy. It was inactivated in October 1945.
Reactivated as a tactical fighter wing briefly in the 1950s, it was redesignated as the Strategic Air Command 450th Bombardment Wing in 1962, flying B-52 Stratofortresses. It supported SAC combat operations in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. It was inactivated and replaced by the 5th Bombardment Wing, Heavy, in July 1968.
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The 450th Bombardment Group (Heavy) was constituted on 6 April 1943 and activated on 1 May 1943 at Gowen Field, Idaho. The new group was moved without personnel or equipment to a temporary station at Clovis Army Air Field, New Mexico on 21 May 1943 where the command and headquarters of the group was assembled. On 5 July 1943, the group was reassigned to Alamogordo Army Airfield, which was to house the Group for all phases of training with their B-24 Liberator bombers.
When the Group was finally assembled for the first time at Alamogordo, many of the key positions in both the Group and Squadrons had been filled. Both officers and men arrived daily and little by little all sections were built up to full strength. Crews were allotted in groups of eight, twelve and forty-six bringing the strength finally on 24 August 1943 to seventy or full strength.
After training was completed, was reassigned to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) in Southern Italy, arriving arriving in December 1943. Began operations with Fifteenth Air Force in January 1944 and engaged chiefly in missions against strategic targets in Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and the Balkans until April 1945. Bombed aircraft factories, assembly plants, oil refineries, storage areas, marshalling yards, airdromes, and other objectives.
Contributed to the intensive Allied campaign against the enemy aircraft industry during Big Week (20–25 February 1944) by attacking factories at Steyr and Regensburg, being awarded a DUC for braving the hazards of bad weather, enemy fighters, and flak to bombard a Messerschmitt aircraft manufacturing factory at Regensburg on 25 February.
Received second Distinguished Unit Citation for a mission on 5 April 1944 when the group fought its way through relentless attacks by enemy aircraft to bomb railroad marshalling yards at Ploesti, Romania. Also struck such objectives as enemy defenses, troop concentrations, bridges, and marshalling yards in support of the Invasion of southern France; operated from Poltava Airbase, near Kiev in the Soviet Union, to support the advance of Russian troops in the Balkans as part of Operation Frantic, and supporting the American Fifth Army in the Allied effort in Italy.
The group redeployed to the United States during May. Many personnel were demobilized upon arrival at the port of debarkation; a small caadre of key personnel was formed and the group was then established at Harvard Army Airfield Nebraska in July and the unit was redesignated the 450th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) in July and was equipped with B-29 Superfortresses and programmed for deployment to the Pacific Theater.
The Japanese Capitulation in August made the group redundant to Air Force requirements and the unit was demobilized, and the unit was inactivated on 15 October 1945.
Under Tactical Air Command, the 450th Fighter-Bomber Wing, was established and activated at Foster AFB, Texas, on 1 July 1954, replacing and absorbing the assets of the Air Training Command 3580th Pilot Training Wing. Four operational squadrons (720th, 721st, 722d and 723d) were assigned to the 450th Fighter-Bomber Group, initially being equipped with the North American F-86F Sabre.[1] Its aircraft wore an approximation of the stars and stripes, with seven red and six white stripes on the trailing edge, and three stars in white on the blue forward portion of the fin. They also were designated with a colored, scalloped nose chevron.[2]
The primary mission of the 450th FBW was to maintain tactical proficiency for combat operations and to prepare for overseas deployments as part of Ninth Air Force.[1] In early-1955, the 450th FBW began receiving new North American F-100C/D Super Sabre aircraft, replacing the obsolescent F-86s. The 450th FBW was the first operational Tactical Air Command wing to be equpped with the F-100. With the change of equipment, the wing was redesignated as the 450th Fighter-Day Wing on 8 March 1955, with all its subordinate groups and squadrons also being redesignated.[1] On 1 July 1958, the 450th was redesignated as the 450th Tactical Fighter Wing as part of a worldwide USAF naming reorganization.
On 28 August 1957, despite the fact that President Dwight D. Eisenhower appropriated funds for new construction at the base, the base was ordered closed by the spring of 1959, with the resident 450th TFW inactivating.[3] This closure was due to budgetary constraints in the Air Forces.[3] The 450th TFW F-100 aircraft were reassigned to the 4th and 36th Tactical Fighter Wings, and all units assigned to Foster were inactivated by mid-December 1958.[1]
On 1 February 1963 the 450th Bombardment Wing assumed the personnel and resources of the Strategic Air Command 4136th Strategic Wing at Minot AFB, North Dakota in a name-only transfer.
On 1 September 1958 SAC established the 4136th SW at Minot 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 4136th SW consisted of the 526th Bombardment Squadron, consisting of 15 B-52Gs, and the KC-135-equipped 906th 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 450th Bomb Wing as assigned to SAC's Second Air Force, 810th Strategic Aerospace Division. The 526th BS was also redesignated as the 720th Bombardment Squadron, one of the unit's World War II historical bomb squadrons. The 71st ARS designation was unchanged, and component support units were also redesignated to the 450th 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. Trained in global bombardment and air refueling operations. Added post attack command and control system (PACCS)/ airborne launch control system (ALCS) missions in 1967 and began active PACCS/ALCS missions in February 1968. Supported SAC combat operations in Southeast Asia by furnishing KC-135 aircraft and crews, December 1964 – July 1968, and B-52 crews, June–July 1968.
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. As part of a reduction of the B-52 force, SAC moved the 5th Bombardment Wing from Travis AFB, California to Minot in July 1968, replacing the 450th Bomb Wing in a name-only redesignation to keep the senior organization on active service. Control of Trais AFB was turned over to Military Airlift Command, and remains a major transport base under Air Mobility Command today.
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Groups
Squadrons
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
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