| 465th Bombardment Wing | |
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465th Bombardment Wing Insignia |
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| Active | 1943–1945, 1953–1957, 1962–1968 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Role | Bombardment |
| Part of | Strategic Air Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Robins AFB, Georgia |
The 465th Bombardment Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Strategic Air Command 57th Air Division, stationed at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It was inactivated on 21 July 1968.
Originally activated in 1943 as the 465th 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.
Inactivated at the end of the war and allotted to the Air Force Reserve, the group was reactivated as the 465th Troop Carrier Wing, Medium during the 1950s. In November 1962 the wing was designated the 465th Strategic Bombardment Wing and was stationed at Robins AFB, Georgia as a B-52 Stratofortress Strategic Air Command heavy bombardment wing. The 465th BW conducted strategic bombardment training and air refueling operations until being inactivated at Robins along with SAC's operations there in 1968.
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Activated on 19 May 1943 at Alamogordo Army Airfield, New Mexico as a B-24 Liberator heavy bomb group; assigned to II Bomber Command for training. Moved to Kerns, Utah for group formation and personnel assignments. Assigned 780th, 781st, 782d and 783d Bombardment squadrons and began initial training in September. Reassigned to McCook Army Airfield, Nebraska in October and received full complement of personnel. Completed training by February 1944 and received deployment orders to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO), being assigned to Fifteenth Air Force in Southern Italy. New B-24s for combat operations were assigned to the group from Consolidated and training was completed.
After training was completed the air echelon was then deployed to Tunisia. Began movement overseas via South Atlantic Route via Morrison Field, Florida, via Trinidad, Brazil, Dakar and Marrakesh, French Morocco, then to the Tunisia. Completed training and moved to Pantanella Airfield, Italy in April 1944
Once in Italy the 465th was assigned to the 55th Bombardment Wing of Fifteenth Air Force. Entered combat on 5 May 1944, and served primarily as a strategic bombardment organization until late in April 1945. During this time, the Group attacked marshalling yards, dock facilities, oil refineries, oil storage plants, aircraft factories, and other objectives in Italy, France, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, and the Balkans. On two different missions – to marshalling yards and an oil refinery at Vienna on 8 July 1944 and to steel plants at Friedrichshafen on 3 August 1944 – the group bombed its targets despite antiaircraft fire and fighter opposition, being awarded a DUC for each of these attacks. Other operations included bombing troop concentrations and bivouac areas in May 1944 to aid the Partisans in Yugoslavia; attacking enemy troops and supply lines to assist the drive toward Rome, in May to June 1944; striking bridges, rail lines, and gun emplacements prior to the invasion of Southern France in August 1944; bombing rail facilities and rolling stock in October 1944 to support the advance of Russian and Romanian forces in the Balkans; and hitting troops, gun positions, bridges, and supply lines during April 1945 in support of Allied forces in northern Italy.
After V-E Day, was assigned to Green Project which was the movement of troops from Europe to the United States via the South Atlantic Transport Route. B-24s were modified with sealed bomb bays, removal of all defensive armament and internal fuselage equipped with seating to carry approximately 30 personnel. Was assigned to Air Transport Command at Waller Field, Trinidad. Moved personnel from staging area at Atkinson Field, British Guiana to Morrison Field, Florida. Provided air transport until the end of July when the unit was inactivated .
The unit was reactivated in the Air Force Reserve as the 465th Troop Carrier Wing, Medium on 21 August 1953. Upon activation, the new wing was assigned the 465th Troop Carrier Group, which carried the World War II history and lineage of the unit. Squadrons assigned to the group were the 780th, 781st and 782d Troop Carrier Squadrons.
The 465th TCW engaged in training and received Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar transports at Mitchel, and after training was completed the reserve unit was activated and assigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe in April 1954, being assigned to the 322d Air Division at Toul-Rosières Air Base, France. The group element was inactivated in September 1954 when the organization adopted the Tri-Deputate organization structure, and all operational squadrons were assigned directly to the Wing, along with the lineage and history of the organization.
In Europe, the Wing participated in numerous troop carrier and airlift operation's, tests, and exercises in the European area in support of USAFE and NATO, April 1954 – July 1957. At Toul, three additional Lockheed C-130A Hercules squadrons were temporarily attached to the wing, the 39th, 40th and 41st TCS.
Funding reductions and the phaseout of the C-119 from Europe led to the wing's inactivation in July 1957. The 780th and 781st squadrons came under the command of the 317th Troop Carrier Wing. The three attached squadrons were inactivated along with the 782d TCS. The 780th and 781st TCS were demobilized and assigned to the Air Force Reserve. They were sent back to the United States in December. On 8 March 1958 they were also deactivated.
On 1 February 1959, Strategic Air Command established the 4137th Strategic Wing at Robins AFB, Georgia 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 342d Bombardment Squadron, consisting of 15 B-52Gs, and the KC-135-equipped 912th 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 4137th SW was redesignated as the 465th Bombardment Wing (465th BW) on 1 February 1963 in a name-only redesigation and was assigned to SAC's Eighth Air Force, 822d Air Division. The 341st BS was also redesignated as the 781st 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 465th 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 465th Bomb Wing continued to conduct strategic bombardment training and air refueling operations to meet operational commitments of Strategic Air Command, including deployments to Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. 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 465th Bombardment Wing was inactivated on 25 July 1968 and its aircraft were reassigned to other SAC units. As part of the inactivation Robins AFB came under the control of Air Force Logistics Command.
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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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