| 40th Air Expeditionary Wing | |
|---|---|
 40th Air Expeditionary Wing emblem | |
| Active | 22 November 1940–1964 2002–2006(?) |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Engagements |
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| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | David A. Burchinal |
TheUnited States Air Force's40th Air Expeditionary Wing (40 AEW) was an Air expeditionary unit located atDiego Garcia, in the Indian Ocean, from 2002 to c. 2006. The 40 AEW's mission was to support combat forces inAfghanistan and other combat areas supportingOperation Enduring Freedom. Operations began in October 2001.
Its predecessor unit, theUnited States Army Air Forces40th Bombardment Group (40th BG) was part ofTwentieth Air Force during World War II. The unit served primarily in thePacific Ocean theater andChina Burma India Theater of World War II. The 40th Bomb Group's aircraft engaged in very heavy bombardmentB-29 Superfortress operations against Japan. Its aircraft were identified by Triangle "S".
The 40th Bombardment Group was one of the original ten USAAF bombardment groups assigned toStrategic Air Command on 21 March 1946; however, it was inactivated due to budget constraints on 1 August 1946. The unit was reactivated and elevated to Wing status in 1952 as a SACB-47 Stratojet organization until the phaseout of the aircraft in 1964. Reactivated as aUSAFE wing to be the host unit atAviano Air Base, Italy in 1966 to provide support toTactical Air Command deployed rotational elements until 1992.
The40th Bombardment Group was constituted in Puerto Rico on 22 November 1940 and activated on 1 April 1941.[1] The unit's operational squadrons (29th, 44th and 45th) were equipped withDouglas B-18 Bolos[2] then earlyBoeing B-17 Flying Fortresses andMartin B-26 Marauder aircraft to train, and patrol theCaribbean area, later to provide air defense of thePanama Canal after theJapanese attack on Pearl Harbor.[3]
With the diminished need for defenses in the Caribbean, the 40th was reassigned back to the United States and redesignated the40th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) in November 1943, being assigned toPratt Army Airfield,Kansas and to the firstB-29 Superfortress wing, the 58th Bombardment Wing. At Pratt, the group's squadrons (25th 44th, 45th, and 395th) began transition training on the new aircraft and its new mission.
In March 1944, the group left the United States and deployed to a formerB-24 Liberator airfield atChakulia, India. In India, the group was assigned to the XX Bombardment Command of the newTwentieth Air Force. During the week of 15–22 April, no less than five 58th Bomb Wing B-29s crashed nearKarachi all from overheated engines. The entire Wing had to be grounded en route until the cause was found. The cause was traced to the fact that the B-29's R-3350 engine had not been designed to operate at ground temperatures higher than 115 °F (46 °C), which were typically exceeded in India. Modifications had also to be made to the aircraft and after these modifications, B-29 flights to India were resumed.
From India, the 40th Bomb Group planned to fly missions against Japan from airfields in China. However, all the supplies of fuel, bombs, and spares needed to support the forward bases in China had to be flown in from India over "The Hump" (the name given by Allied pilots to the eastern end of theHimalayan Mountains), since Japanese control of the seas around the Chinese coast made seaborne supply of China impossible. Many of the supplies had to be delivered to China by the B-29s themselves. For this role, they were stripped of nearly all combat equipment and used as flying tankers and each carried seven tons of fuel. The Hump route was so dangerous and difficult that each time a B-29 flew from India to China it was counted as a combat mission,
The first combat mission by the group took place on 5 June 1944 when the group's squadrons took off from India to attack the Makasan railroad yards atBangkok, Thailand. This involved a 2261-mile round trip, the longest bombing mission yet attempted during the war.
On 15 June the group participated in the first Army Air Forces attack on theJapanese Home Islands since theDoolittle raid in 1942 when it took part in thebombing of Yawata. Operating from bases in India, and at times staging through fields in China, the group struck such targets as transportation centers, naval installations, iron works, and aircraft plants inBurma, Thailand, China, Japan,Indonesia, andFormosa, receiving aDistinguished Unit Citation for bombing iron and steel works atYawata, Japan, on 20 August 1944. From a staging field inCeylon, the 40th mined waters near the port ofPalembang,Sumatra, in August 1944.
The group was reassigned toTinian, in theMarianas February–April 1945, for further operations against Japan with the XXI Bomb Command. The 40th made daylight attacks from high altitude on strategic targets, participated in incendiary raids on urban areas, and dropped mines in Japanese shipping lanes. Received aDistinguished Unit Citation for attacking naval aircraft factories atKure, oil storage facilities atOshima, and the industrial area ofNagoya, in May 1945. Raided light metal industries inOsaka in July 1945, being awarded another DUC for this mission.
AfterV-J Day, the group dropped food and supplies to Allied prisoners in Japan, Korea, and Formosa, and took part in show-of-force missions.
The group returned to the United States in November 1945, being assigned toMarch Field, California. It was assigned to theFourth Air Force of Continental Air Forces. Continental Air Forces would later evolve into theStrategic Air Command on 21 March 1946.
The 40th Bombardment Group was one of the ten existing bombardment groups assigned to SAC when it was first formed. The group was relocated toDavis–Monthan Field,Arizona and had the 25th, 44th, 45th, 343d and 395th Bomb Squadrons, equipped with B-29s. Demobilization, however, was in full swing and the group turned in its aircraft and was inactivated on 1 October 1946. Many of the wing's personnel and aircraft were reassigned to the43d Bombardment Wing, which was reactivated at Davis–Monthan on 1 October 1946 as part of the re-establishedEighth Air Force.
The unit was reactivated as the40th Bombardment Wing, Medium atSmoky Hill Air Force Base,Kansas on 28 May 1952. Although activated, it was not manned until early February 1953, when it gained personnel and equipment from the 40th Tactical and Maintenance Squadron (Provisional) established at Davis–Monthan AFB, Arizona as a holding unit for people and equipment surplus to the303d Bombardment Wing being formed at Davis–Monthan. Once activated, the wing received control and guidance from the310th Bombardment Wing at Smoky Hill until 1 May 1953.
The new wing was initially assigned to the802d Air Division,Fifteenth Air Force. By October 1953, all tactical squadrons were minimally operational. Flew second-lineBoeing B-29 Superfortresses in 1953–1954 which had returned fromKadena AB,Okinawa and theKorean War while becoming operational. In 1953, the wing gainedKC-97 Stratofreighters and took on a refueling mission.
Replaced the propeller-driven B-29s with newB-47E Stratojet swept-wing bomber medium bombers in 1954, capable of flying at high subsonic speeds and primarily designed for penetrating the airspace of theSoviet Union and became combat ready in April 1955. Reassigned toEighth Air Force,802d Air Division on 1 July 1955 after becoming operationally ready with the B-47. It carried out bombardment training and air refueling operations to meet SAC's global commitments. Attached to the7th Air Division From 9 June to 9 September 1955 while deployed toRAF Lakenheath, England. Deployed toRAF Greenham Common, England July–October 1957.
In 1959, the Department of Defense began a major renovation of Schilling AFB. During the next year, millions of dollars were spent preparing the runways and taxiways for the next generation of bombers and tankers, namely the B-52 and KC-135. The 40th Bomb Wing was reassigned toFifteenth Air Force along with the 802d AD on 1 January 1959. With Schilling under construction, the wing was reassigned toForbes AFB,Kansas on 20 June 1960 and the Second Air Force, 21st Air Division.
In the early 1960s, the B-47 was considered to be reaching obsolescence, and was being phased out of SAC's strategic arsenal. At Forbes, the 40th Bomb Wing gained an Atlas missile squadron in January 1964, and was redesignated the 40th Strategic Aerospace Wing on 1 February 1964. Began phasing down for inactivation with the retirement of its B-47s during the spring of 1964 and was designated as non-operational from 15 August, to 1 September 1964.
The wing was discontinued and inactivated on 1 September 1964.
On 1 April 1966, the40th Tactical Group was activated atAviano AB, Italy, and replaced the 7227th Combat Support Group to handle theTactical Air Command rotational units from the United States deploying a permanent basis. The redesignation was part of theUSAFE takeover of the base and its support functions. On 30 July 1990, the USAF redesignated the MAJCOM group the AFCON40th Tactical Support Wing and formally consolidated the unit with the historical 40th Bombardment Wing and 40th Bombardment Group which gave the host unit at Aviano a unit with a combat lineage.
With the closure of USAF operations atTorrejon AB, Spain on 4 May 1992, the401st Tactical Fighter Wing moved to Aviano AB without personnel or equipment and administratively replaced the 40th TSW, which inactivated the same day.
The wing was reactivated after January 2002 as an Air Expeditionary Wing to bomb targets and provide aerial refueling during theUnited States invasion of Afghanistan.
Years afterwards, in 2007, Globalsecurity.org listed its flying units as including the9th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron; the28th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron; the40th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron; wing support organizations included the 40th Expeditionary Logistics Group; and also reported that it parented the60th Air Expeditionary Group; the321st Air Expeditionary Group, for a time located atJacobabad in Pakistan, and the462d Air Expeditionary Group.[4]
It is known that the 40 AEWB-52 Stratofortresses dropped about 58 percent of the munitions used duringOperation Anaconda and had flown more than 80 sorties; releasing more than 2,000 bombs supportingOperation Enduring Freedom.
It is not known when the wing was inactivated or if it is still operational. However, it is known that bomber operations from Diego Garcia concluded on 15 August 2006.[5]
40th Air Expeditionary Wing
40th Strategic Aerospace Wing
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United States Army Air Forces | United States Air Force
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This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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