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3920th Strategic Wing | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 1952-1965 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Type | MAJCOM organization |
| Role | Support for deployed strategic units |
| Part of | 7th Air Division |
| Garrison/HQ | RAF Brize Norton,Oxfordshire |
The3920th Strategic Wing (3920th SW) is an inactiveUnited States Air Force unit, discontinued on 31 March 1965. The 3920th SW was a non-flying ground service support element for the7th Air Division (AD) ofStrategic Air Command (SAC), based atRAF Brize Norton,Oxfordshire, in the United Kingdom. It was established on 1 December 1952 as the3920th Air Base Group. When activated, the wing assumed the resources (Manpower, Equipment, Weapons, & Facilities) of the7503d Air Support Wing, which had been established on 25 May 1951. Throughout its existence it was controlled byStrategic Air Commandand served as the host for deployed SACbombardment,strategic reconnaissance, andair refueling units.
Thegroup, which was upgraded to awing in 1964, provided host station support functions primarily for SACB-47 / RB-47 Stratojet andKC-97 Stratofreighter elements deployed to RAF Brize Norton duringOperation Reflex deployments from United States bases. It was organized when SAC assumed responsibility to support its deployed elements fromUnited States Air Forces Europe (USAFE) in 1952 and was responsible for managing the Brize Norton Task Force, Provisional. Special weapons support was provided by the 4th Aviation Field Depot Squadron (later 4th Aviation Depot Squadron) from 1951 to 1956 and by the 2nd Aviation Depot Squadron (later 2nd Munitions Maintenance Squadron) after 1956. Thesesquadrons were assigned to the 7th AD, but attached to the wing.
On 1 July 1960 an RB-47 (53-4281) deployed from the55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing atForbes AFB, Kansas was shot down by the Soviet Air Forces while operating from the 3920th at RAF Brize Norton. The 3920th was inactivated in 1965 when SAC reassigned the remaining assets of unit to the Detachment 1,98th Strategic Wing atRAF Upper Heyford and returned control of Brize Norton to theRoyal Air Force.
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
