389th Strategic Missile Wing | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 1942–1945; 1961–1965 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Role | |
| Part of | Strategic Air Command |
| Nickname | Sky Scorpions (World War II)[1] |
| Engagements | European Theater of Operations |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation |
| Insignia | |
| 389th Strategic Missile Wing emblem (approved 15 May 1962)[2] |  |
| VIII Bomber Command Tail Marking[1] | Circle C |
The389th Strategic Missile Wing is an inactive unit of theUnited States Air Force. Its last assignment was with the13th Strategic Missile Division atFrancis E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming, where it was inactivated on 25 March 1965.
Thewing was first active duringWorld War II as the389th Bombardment Group, aConsolidated B-24 Liberator unit that served withVIII Bomber Command in England. The group was stationed atRAF Hethel in early 1943. It was one of threeEighth Air Force B-24 groups that took part inOperation Tidal Wave, the Ploiești Mission of 1 August 1943. For his actions during the Ploiești operation,Second LieutenantLloyd Herbert Hughes was awarded theMedal of Honor. The group continued in combat until thesurrender of Germany in 1945, then returned to the United States where it was inactivated.
The389th Strategic Missile Wing was activated in 1961, when it assumed the assets of the inactivating706th Strategic Missile Wing. It operated Atlas missiles at Warren until they were phased out in 1965.
In early 1984, the group and wing were consolidated into a single unit, but have not been active since.
The wing was first activated as the389th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 19 December 1942 atDavis–Monthan Field, Arizona[3] with the564th,[4]565th,[5]566th[6] and567th Bombardment Squadrons[7] assigned. Thegroup prepared for duty overseas withConsolidated B-24 Liberators.[3]
The group moved toRAF Hethel England in June and July 1943, where it was assigned toEighth Air Force.[3] The 389th was assigned to the2nd Combat Bombardment Wing, and the group tail code until high visibility markings were adopted in May 1944 was a "Circle-C".[1]
Upon its arrival at Hethel, the group sent a detachment to Libya, where it began operations on 9 July 1943. The detachment flew missions toCrete,Sicily, Italy, Austria, and Romania. The group received aDistinguished Unit Citation for the detachment's participation inOperation Tidal Wave, the 1943 low-level attack againstoil refineries atPloiești, Rumania on 1 August 1943.[3]
For his action during the Ploiești attack,Second LieutenantLloyd Herbert Hughes was awarded theMedal of Honor. Refusing to turn back although gasoline was streaming from his flak-damaged plane, Lt Hughes flew at low altitude over the blazing target area and bombed the objective. His plane crashed before Hughes could make the forced landing that he attempted after the bomb run.[3]
The detachment returned to England in August and the group flew several missions against airfields in France and theNetherlands. The unit deployed again toTunisia during September and October 1943 to support Allied operations atSalerno duringOperation Avalanche. While deployed the unit hit targets in Corsica, Italy, and Austria.[3]
The 389th resumed operations from England in October 1943 the group concentrated primarily on strategic objectives in France, theLow Countries, and Germany. Targets struck by the group includedshipyards at Vegesack, industrial areas ofBerlin, oil facilities atMerseburg,factories atMünster,rail yards atSangerhausen, andV-weapon sites in thePas de Calais. The group participated in the intensive air campaign against the German aircraft industry duringBig Week from 20–25 February 1944. It also flew support andair interdiction missions on several occasions, bombing gun batteries andairfields in support ofOperation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy, in June 1944. It struck enemy positions to aid the breakthrough atSt Lo in July 1944, hit storage depots and communications centers during theBattle of the Bulge from December 1944 – January 1945 and dropped food, ammunition, gasoline, and other supplies to troops participating in theOperation Varsity. the airborne assault across theRhine in March 1945.[3]
On 7 April 1945, the 389th Bomb Group was one of the targets of theSonderkommando Elbe,Luftwaffeaerial ramming unit. Two B-24s were destroyed by Heinrich Rosner in one ramming attack.
The 389th Bomb Group flew its last combat mission late in April 1945. It returned toCharleston Army Air Field, South Carolina on 30 May 1945 and was inactivated there on 13 September 1945.[3]
During the Cold War, the389th Strategic Missile Wing was organized in 1961 atFrancis E. Warren Air Force Base, as aStrategic Air Commandintercontinental ballistic missile unit. The unit assumed the mission, personnel andSM-65 Atlas missiles of the706th Strategic Missile Wing. Two of the wing'sWorld War II squadrons, the 564th[4] and 565th[5] Strategic Missile Squadrons were already stationed at Warren and were transferred from the 706th.[8] The 566th Strategic Missile Squadron, another of the units World War II units, moved to Warren fromOffutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, trading places with the 706th wing's549th Strategic Missile Squadron.[6][9][10]
Thewing conducted strategic missile training operations.[2] The Wing was placed onalert during theCuban Missile Crisis in November 1962. In May 1964, as the Atlas D missiles were being phased out, the 389th Strategic Missile Wing received SAC's last operational readiness inspection for this system. In September 1965, SAC inactivated the wing,[2] completing the phaseout of the Atlas E at Warren.
389th Bombardment Group
389th Strategic Missile Wing
| Award streamer | Award | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Distinguished Unit Citation | August 1, 1943 | 389th Bombardment Group, Ploiești[3] |
| Campaign Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Air Combat, EAME Theater | 11 June 1943 – 11 May 1945 | 389th Bombardment Group[3] |
| Air Offensive, Europe | 11 June 1943 – 5 June 1944 | 389th Bombardment Group[3] |
| Sicily | 11 June 1943 – 17 August 1943 | 389th Bombardment Group[3] |
| Naples-Foggia | 18 August 1943 – 21 January 1944 | 389th Bombardment Group[3] |
| Normandy | 6 June 1944 – 24 July 1944 | 389th Bombardment Group[3] |
| Northern France | 25 July 1944 – 14 September 1944 | 389th Bombardment Group[3] |
| Rhineland | 15 September 1944 – 21 March 1945 | 389th Bombardment Group[3] |
| Ardennes-Alsace | 16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945 | 389th Bombardment Group[3] |
| Central Europe | 22 March 1944 – 21 May 1945 | 389th Bombardment Group[3] |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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