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| 501st Combat Support Wing | |
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| Active |
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| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Type | Combat support wing |
| Role | Administrative and mission support wing |
| Size | c. 2,000 personnel |
| Part of | US Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (Third Air Force) |
| Headquarters | RAF Fairford, United Kingdom |
| Nickname | Pathfinders |
| Motto | Pathfinders "light the way" |
| Website | Official website |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Colonel Michael J. Jewell |
The501st Combat Support Wing is an administrative supportwing of theUnited States Air Force, based atRAF Fairford, United Kingdom. It is one of three wings located in the United Kingdom as components of theThird Air Force andUnited States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE).
The first predecessor of the 501st Wing was activated on 1 June 1944 as the501st Bombardment Group atDalhart Army Air Field, Texas for training withBoeing B-29 Superfortresses. Its components were the21st,41st and485th Bombardment Squadrons.[1] In August, the 501st Group and its squadrons moved toHarvard Army Air Field, Nebraska and began to equip with Superfortresses. The group completed its training and departed for the Pacific on 7 March 1945.[2]
The group was equipped with theBell Aircraft manufactured B-29B, which was designed to save weight by removing all of the guns and sighting equipment used on other B-29s, except the tail gun, allowing the B-29B to fly a little higher and a little further. The B-29B also had two new radar units installed, theAN/APQ-7 Eagle radar for bombing and navigation and the AN/APG-15 for aiming the tail gun. These two radar units gave the B-29B a distinctive shape as the APQ-7 antenna appeared as a small wing under the fuselage, between the two bomb bay doors and the APG-15 added a ball shaped antenna to the tail of the aircraft below the tail guns.[3]
The group arrived at its combat station,Northwest Field onGuam on 14 April 1945. It flew its first combat mission on 19 June 1945, attacking Japanese fortifications onTruk. Later that month, on 26 June, it flew its first mission attacking a target in Japan. For the remainder of the war, the 501st operated principally against the enemy's petroleum industry onHonshu. These attacks included missions against theMaruzen oil refinery at Shimotso, the Utsobo oil refinery atYokkaichi and the petroleum center atKawasaki during the week beginning on 6 July 1945. For its performance on these missions, the group was awarded theDistinguished Unit Citation.[2]
FollowingV-J Day, the group dropped supplies toAlliedprisoners of war in Japan, Korea, Manchuria and China. It remained at Northwest Field until May 1946, when it became non-operational, and was inactivated there on 10 June 1946.[2][1]
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The second predecessor of the wing is the701st Tactical Missile Wing, which was activated on 15 September 1956 atHahn Air Base, West Germany. The first tactical missile wing in the U.S. Air Force when activated, it replaced the 7382d Guided Missile Group (Tactical), whichUnited States Air Forces in Europe had established at Hahn on 1 February 1956. The 701st TMW controlled three tactical missile groups in Germany, each with one missile squadron ofTM-61 Matador missiles and a support and maintenance squadron. In turn, the wing was inactivated on 18 June 1958 and replaced by the38th Tactical Missile Wing.
The 701st was redesignated as the501st Tactical Missile Wing on 11 January 1982 and consolidated with the501st Bombardment Group. It was activated on 1 July 1982, atRAF Greenham Common, England, to operate the Gryphon (BGM-109G)Ground Launched Cruise Missile (GLCM). The 501 TMW was inactivated on 31 May 1991 after ratification of theIntermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty resulted in decommissioning of the BGM-109G. The USAF's first GLCM wing when it stood up, it was the also the last GLCM wing to be inactivated.
The 501 TMW's emblem was approved on 20 June 1957 and modified on 1 October 1982. It features a shieldquartered: first and fourth quarters,Or, on abendAzure an arrow of the first [color mentioned]per bend; second quarter, Azure, a griffinsegreant Or,languedGules; third quarter, Azure, a torchin pale, flamed, between two branches of olive Or; on anescutcheon of pretence Gules, anastral crown Or. The golden arrow signifies guided flight. The golden griffin, half eagle and half lion, symbolizes a warlike character with the cunning and intelligence of the eagle in flight and the courage and valor of the lion in battle. The torch and olive wreath represent the peacetime pursuit of knowledge and progress. The small shield and crown signify the authority of command. The astral crown denotes command in the air and obedience to guidance. The blue and yellow colors stand for the Air Force, and the red stands for the courage and strength with which the wing carries out its mission.
The unit was redesignated the501st Combat Support Wing on 22 March 2005 and activated on 12 May 2005 atRAF Mildenhall, England, to manage and support geographically separated USAF units, installations and activities in the United Kingdom not directly supporting operations at RAF Mildenhall orRAF Lakenheath. Effective 1 May 2007, it relocated toRAF Alconbury.
The 501 CSW currently oversees and supports four Air Base Groups operating a total of eleven installations and operating locations in the U.K. and Norway; the422d Air Base Group at Royal Air Force (RAF) Fairford andRAF Welford; the421st Air Base Squadron at RAF Menwith Hill; the422d Air Base Group atRAF Croughton; and the423d Air Base Group at RAF Alconbury, includingRAF Molesworth, RAF Upwood andSola Air Station (what the USAF calls Stavanger Air Base) in Norway. The 501st CSW also serves as the administrative agent for NATO in the U.K.
RAF Fairford and RAF Welford are squadrons assigned to the 422d Air Base Group. Their mission is to receive, bed-down and sustain munitions to enable U.S. and NATO forces to conduct full-spectrum flying operations from USAFE's only bomber-forward operating location.RAF Fairford is a forward operating location for theBoeing B-52, the B-1 and the B-2 bomber aircraft. It also assists in U-2 aircraft deployment, deployed operations training and serves as an alternate landing site for the U.S. Space Shuttle. RAF Fairford annually hosts the world's largest military airshow called theRoyal International Air Tattoo (RIAT); typically held in July.
RAF Welford comprises 806 acres and is bordered by a 31,680 foot fence-line. They are home to the U.S. Air Forces in Europe's second largest munitions hub. The installation currently maintains 15,000 bombs; over a $160 million stockpile.
RAF Menwith Hill houses the 421st Air Base Squadron. Their mission is to ensure a full range of base support services for an installation populace of 4,500 military, civilians, contractors and their families. The group hosts 10 multi-national, multi-service, multi-agency units performing U.S. and U.K. cryptologic missions and provides base mission support to RAF Menwith Hill. Menwith Hill Station serves as an integral part of theUKUSA intelligence network serving U.K., U.S. and their allied interests.
RAF Croughton houses the 422d Air Base Group whose mission is to provide installation support, services, force protection, and worldwide communications across the entire spectrum of operations. The group is the premier global communication provider in the U.K. and supports NATO, U.S. European Command, U.S. Central Command, Air Force Special Operations Command, U.S. Department of State operations and Ministry of Defense operations. The group sustains more than 450 C2 circuits; and supports 25 percent of all European Theater to continental United States (CONUS) communications.
RAF Alconbury houses the 423rd Air Base Group whose mission is to provide mission support services to the Joint Intelligent Operations Center Europe (JIOCEUR) Analytic Center (commonly known as theJoint Analysis Center), NATO's Intelligence Fusion Center, and the RAF Alconbury, RAF Molesworth and RAF Upwood and Stavanger Air Base (Norway) communities. RAF Alconbury is also home to the 501st CSW headquarters staff and hosts a community of 6,000 individuals associated with more than 15 multi-service and multi-national units.
RAF Upwood used to house the medical and dental facilities for the RAF Alconbury, RAF Molesworth, andRAF Upwood communities; however, they were formally closed and a new facility was opened to accommodate these service members and their families on RAF Alconbury in 2012.
USAF activities atSola Air Station ("Stavanger Air Base" to the USAF) in southern Norway are also under the 501st CSW, and the station houses the 426th Air Base Squadron. The squadron provides base-level support to 220 U.S. service members and their families at NATO'sJoint Warfare Center. The squadron also supports "Operating Location-A" in Oslo, Norway, shipping for $50 million war readiness material and $900 million U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy equipment.
In total, the 501st CSW has almost 2,600 U.S. military and civilian employees directly assigned, including non-appropriated fund employees. There are also 117 U.K. personnel who work directly for the wing in appropriated and non-appropriated positions and more than 180 U.K.Ministry of Defence Police, Defense Schools and our many tenant units along with family members and retirees who reside in the United Kingdom.
The423d Air Base Group commander, Col. Robert G. Steele, was dismissed from his position on 18 January 2008 by the 501 CSW commander after only 6 months in command. The reason Col. Kimberly Toney gave was "I lost confidence in Col. Steele's ability to lead the group." No criminal charges were filed against Col. Steele.[4] The group commander of RAF Croughton, Col. John Jordan, was brought in to dually command the group at RAF Alconbury. The 501 CSW commander acknowledged the period was a "Painful challenge" and the 501 CSW commander (Col. Kimberly Toney) made a statement in an interview to theStars and Stripes newspaper that indicated the members of the 423rd ABG "blame themselves" for the sacking of Steele.[5]
In December 2022, the wing's new headquarters atRAF Fairford was unveiled during a ribbon cutting ceremony. The first elements are due to relocate there during the summer of 2023.[6]
As of December 2025[update], the 501st Combat Support Wing comprises the following units. Unless indicated otherwise, subordinate units are located at the same location as the unit they report to.[7]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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