The540th Combat Crew Training Wing is an inactiveUnited States Air Force unit. It was last active in 1946 atColorado Springs, assigned toContinental Air Forces. Thewing was first activated in the pre-World War II buildup of theUnited States Army Air Corps, but was inactivated in 1942 and its personnel used as thecadre for another unit. The wing was activated the following year as the16th Bombardment Training Wing, and controlledOperational Training Units forheavy bombers, and later very heavy bombers. Following the end of the war, it was inactivated. In 1985, it was redesignated, but has remained inactive since then.
The16th Bombardment Wing was first activated atLangley Field, Virginia, in December 1940 as part of the expansion of theAir Corps in response to the war in Europe (Woodring Plan). Its operational components, the45th and46th Bombardment Groups, were assigned in January 1941. It moved toBowman Field, Kentucky, in the spring of 1941.[1] In September 1941, thewing was inactivated and its personnel used to form the5th Air Support Command.[2]
On 2 November 1942, the Second Air Force reorganized its bombardment training. From that date its wings controlled new bombardment groups from their activation until completion of operational training. The wing also assumed responsibility for training replacement combat crews. With this reorganization the16th Bombardment Training Wing now controlledOperational Training Units (OTUs) atClovis Army Air Field, New Mexico,Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona;Kearney Army Air Field, Nebraska andAlamogordo Army Air Field, New Mexico. It also was assigned Replacement Control Centers (RCCs) atPueblo Army Air Field, Colorado andBiggs Field, Texas.[6] It was assigned the following OTU groups to conduct training:
39th Bombardment Group at Davis-Monthan Field, Tucson, Arizona: parent group, First Phase OTU.
The wing mission changed to very heavy bombardment group training (Boeing B-29 Superfortress), which lasted until operations ceased in late 1945.[1] It moved toColorado Springs, Colorado, where it was a paper unit until inactivating in 1946.
^Lineage through 1948 in Maurer,Combat Units, p. 385
^Department of the Air Force/MPM Letter 648q, 31 July 1985, Subject: Reconstitution, Redesignation, and Consolidation of Selected Air Force Organizations
History of the Second Air Force, December 7, 1941, to December 31, 1942, United States Air Force Microfilm #A4091, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
History of the 16th Bombardment Operational Training Wing, 5 June to 31 December 1942, United States Air Force Microfilm #B0917, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
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This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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