6th Air Division

6th Air Division
Active 1940–1941; 1942–1943; 1946–1948; 1951–1966; 1968–1969
Country  United States
Branch  United States Air Force
Equipment see "Aircraft / Missiles / Space Vehicles" section below
Insignia
6th Air Division emblem (approved 5 October 1955)[1]

The 6th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the Thirteenth Air Force, based at Clark Air Base, Philippines. It was inactivated on 15 December 1969.

Heraldry

On a shield per chevron argent and gules, in chief, a stylized silhouetted jet aircraft, issuing from chief, nose toward base azure; in base a sphere with land areas of the first and water areas of the third, grid lines black, over a branch of olive or, between two lightning bolts argent; superimposed overall and flanking the dexter and sinister, two stylized arrows or. (Approved 5 October 1955)

History

Established as a pursuit wing in 1940, under Northeast Air District (later First Air Force). Deployed to the European Theater of Operations in the summer of 1942, the 6th Fighter Wing was a training organization for VIII Fighter Command in England during 1942/43 where it trained replacement pilots for fighter organizations. After the war, it served in the Canal Zone as part of the defense forces of the Panama Canal

Being redesignated as an Air Division in 1951, the 6th Air Division was an intermediate command echelon of Strategic Air Command, performing, organizing, and training assigned units for sustained long–range offensive bombardment and air-to-air refueling operations around the world.

Inactivated by SAC with the closure of Dow Air Force Base in 1966, the unit was reactivated under Thirteenth Air Force in the Philippines as a theater transport command and control organization, supporting US forces in the Vietnam War. Units under the division's control participated in Arc Light missions and controlled aircraft that flew weather reconnaissance missions in Southeast Asia.[1]

Inactivated in 1969 due to budget restraints.

Lineage

Activated on 18 December 1940
Inactivated on 7 December 1941
Activated on 7 June 1942
Disestablished on 13 September 1943
Activated on 25 August 1946
Inactivated on 28 July 1948
Organized on 10 February 1951
Discontinued on 16 June 1952
Discontinued and inactivated on 2 July 1966
Organized on 1 August 1968
Inactivated on 15 December 1969[1]

Assignments

Apparently further assigned to: Northeast Air District, later 1st Air Force, 16 January 1941
Apparently further assigned to: I Interceptor Command, 5 June – 7 December 1941

Components

Wings

Detached 4 September – 5 December 1953, 3 November 1955 – 8 January 1956, and 7 January – 8 March 1957
Detached 11 June – 7 September 1953, 5 January – 21 February 1955, 23 October 1956-9 January 1957 and 9–15 October 1957

Groups

Squadrons

341st Air Refueling Squadron: 1 April 1961 – 1 February 1963
  • 414th Night Fighter Squadron: 24 March – 1 September 1947
  • 6400th Test Squadron: 1 August 1968 – 15 October 1969
  • 6485th Operations Squadron: 1 December 1968 – 15 October 1969[1]

Stations

Aircraft / Missiles / Space Vehicles

See also

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Factsheet 6 Air Division". Air Force Historical Research Agency. 4 October 2007. Archived from the original on 30 October 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2014.

Bibliography

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

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