307th Bomb Wing

307th Bomb Wing

307th Bomb Wing - Boeing B-52H Stratofortress 61-0017
Active 1947-1948; 1948-1965; 1970-1975; 2011 – present
Country  United States
Branch  United States Air Force
Type Wing
Role Bombardment
Part of   Air Force Reserve Command
Garrison/HQ Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana
Tail Code "BD"
Decorations Presidential Unit Citation
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation
Insignia
307th Bomb Wing emblem
Aircraft flown
Bomber B-52H Stratofortress

The 307th Bomb Wing (307 BW) is an Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the Tenth Air Force of Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana.

The 307 BW, if mobilized, is gained by Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC).

The wing was first activated in 1947 as part of the test of the Wing Base Organization system as the 307th Bombardment Wing as the headquarters for the 307th Bombardment Group and its supporting organizations. It served in the Korean War, where it earned a Presidential Unit Citation. It served as a strategic bomber organization until inactivated in 1945.

The wing was again activated as the 307th Strategic Wing in 1970 at U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield, Thailand. It managed deployed Strategic Air Command tankers and bombers participating in combat operations in Southeast Asia until it was inactivated on 30 September 1975.

Overview

The 307th Bomb Wing is the only reserve unit that operates the Boeing B-52H Stratofortress. The wing employs approximately 1,600 Air Force Reservists in a combination of full-time Active Guard & Reserve (AGR) and Air Reserve Technician (ART) and part-time Traditional Reservist (TR) personnel.

Units

The 307th Bomb Wing consists of the following major units:

93d Bomb Squadron
343d Bomb Squadron
307th Operations Support Squadron

History

For additional lineage and history, see 307th Operations Group

The 307th replaced the 94th Combat Bombardment Wing, Very Heavy Bomber (Provisional) and other organizations in August 1947. From then until 15 December 1948 the 307th Wing controlled, in addition to its own units, the 82d Fighter Wing at Grenier Field, NH. In September 1947 it began training other SAC combat units in anti-submarine warfare. In February, it began operating a Boeing B-29 Superfortress transition training school and standardized combat training for all SAC units.

Korean War

A 307th BG B-29 bombing a target in Korea, 1950-51.

In August 1950, the 307th deployed to Okinawa. Detached from Strategic Air Command (SAC), it began operations under Far East Air Forces Bomber Command, Provisional. The attached 306th Bombardment Group transferred to its parent wing on 1 September 1950 and until 10 February 1951 the 307th had no tactical mission. On that date, wing resources were used to form the 6th Air Division at MacDill and the wing deployed without personnel to Kadena Air Base, where it absorbed resources of the 307th Bomb Group and began flying combat missions.

During the Korean War, the 307th Bomb Wing received a Presidential Unit Citation for its extraordinary heroism in action against an enemy of the United Nations during the period of 11 to 27 July 1953. During this time it flew 93 sorties and dropped 860 tons of bombs on targets at the North Korean Simanju Airfield, where, despite severe airframe icing, intense enemy anti-aircraft fire and co-ordinated searchlight and fighter opposition, it rendered the airfield unserviceable. The 307th also flew the last B-29 Superfortress combat mission on 23 July 1953.

By the end of the hostilities, the wing (including its tactical group) had flown 5,810 combat sorties in 573 combat missions. The wing remained in the Far East in combat ready status and on 15 August 1953 Kadena became its permanent base.

Cold War

The 307th returned to the United States in November 1954 and disposed of its B-29's at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. It proceeded to its new base, Lincoln Air Force Base, Nebraska. It replaced the propeller-driven B-29s with new Boeing B-47E Stratojet swept-wing medium bombers in 1955, capable of flying at high subsonic speeds and primarily designed for penetrating the airspace of the Soviet Union.

It conducted strategic bombardment training and air refueling operations to meet SAC's global commitments. 4362d Support Squadron (later the 4352d Post Attack Command and Control Squadron) was attached to the wing from 20 July 1962 until 24 December 1964. In January 1965 the wing began phasing down as Lincoln AFB was being closed and the wing's B-47s were retired. It was inactivated on 25 March 1965.

Vietnam War

See also: U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield

The wing was again activated in 1970 as the 307th Strategic Wing when it replaced the 4258th Strategic Wing at U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield, Thailand. SAC organized the 4258th at U-Tapao on 2 June 1966 and assigned it to the 3d Air Division[1] to supporting deployed Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers that engaged in combat operations over Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. The wing was assigned three maintenance squadrons and received administrative and logistics support from the 635th Combat Support Group of Pacific Air Forces. The wing was detached from the 3d Air Division from organization until 25 October 1965.[1] The following year, the wing added the 4258th Munitions Maintenance Squadron, which enabled it to support Boeing B-52 Stratofortress operations as well.

In 1970, in order to perpetuate the lineage of inactive bombardment units with illustrious World War II records, SAC received authority from Headquarters, USAF to discontinue its two Major Command controlled (MAJCON) strategic wings in the Pacific and replace them with Air Force controlled (AFCON) units, which could carry a lineage and history.[2] On 1 April 1970, the 4258th SW was discontinued and replaced by the 307th Strategic Wing which assumed its mission, personnel, and equipment on 1 February 1963.[3] The 4258th's maintenance squadrons were replaced by ones with the 307th numerical designation of the newly established wing. Each of the new units assumed the personnel, equipment, and mission of its predecessor. The 307th was the only regular Air Force SAC Wing stationed in Southeast Asia.

Using aircraft and crews deployed from the United States, the 307th conducted conventional bombardment operations and provided KC-135 aerial refueling (Young Tiger Tanker Task Force) of U.S. aircraft in Southeast Asia as directed through the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. It ended all combat operations on 14 August 1973 as a result of the Congressionally mandated end of US Combat activities over Laos and Cambodia.

The final B-52 returned to its home unit in June 1975, but the wing continued some KC-135 and refueling operations supporting the USAF tactical units in Thailand until inactivated on 30 September 1975 as part of the USAF withdrawsl from its Thai bases.

Lineage

Emblem of the 307th Bombardment Wing
Emblem of the 4258th Strategic Wing
Redesignated 307th Strategic Wing on 21 January 1970

Assignments

Attached to: Far East Air Forces Bomber Command, Provisional, 10 February – 11 August 1951
Attached to: Far East Air Forces Bomber Command, Provisional, ADVON, 12 August – 11 September 1951
Attached to: Far East Air Forces Bomber Command, Provisional, 12 September 1951 – 17 June 1954
Attached to: Twentieth Air Force, 18 June 1954
Remained attached to Twentieth Air Force to 19 November 1954
Attached to: 7th Air Division, 7 July – 5 October 1956
Attached to Air Division Provisional, 17th, 1 June 1972 – 31 December 1974

Components

Wing
Groups
Squadrons

Stations

Operational components operated from: Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, 8 August 1950 – 9 February 1951
Operated from: Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, 10 February 1951 – 14 August 1953
  • Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, 15 August 1953 – 19 November 1954;
  • Lincoln Air Force Base, Nebraska, 20 November 1954 – 25 March 1965
  • U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield, Thailand, 1 April 1970 – 30 September 1975
  • Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, 1 January 2011 – Present

Aircraft flown

  • Boeing B-29 Superfortress, 1947–1950
  • Boeing B-50 Superfortress, 1950
  • Boeing B-47 Stratojet, 1955-1965 (EB-47, 1962–1964)
  • Boeing KC-97 Stratotanker, 1955–1960
  • Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, 1972-1972, 1974-1975 (RC-135, 1975)
  • Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, 1970–1975, 2011–present

See also

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 "Factsheet 3 Air Division". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  2. ↑ MAJCON units could not carry a permanent history or lineage. Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). A Guide to Air Force Lineage and Honors (2d, Revised ed.). Maxwell AFB, AL: USAF Historical Research Center. p. 12.
  3. ↑ The 307th Wing continued, through temporary bestowal, the history, and honors of the World War II 307th Bombardment Group. It was also entitled to retain the honors (but not the history or lineage) of the 4258th.
  4. ↑ Composed of aircraft deployed from multiple SAC wings

Bibliography

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

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