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| 397th Bombardment Wing | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Boeing B-52G in storage atDavis–Monthan Air Force Base. This plane was assigned to the 397th Bombardment Wing in 1968 | |
| Active | 1943–1946, 1963–1968 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Strategic bombardment |
| Motto | Custodes Libertatis (Latin for 'Guardians of Freedom') |
| Engagements | European theater of World War II |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation |
| Insignia | |
| 397th Bombardment Wing emblem[a][1] |  |
The397th Bombardment Wing is an inactiveUnited States Air Force unit, last assigned to the45th Air Division ofStrategic Air Command atDow Air Force Base, Maine, where it was inactivated on 25 April 1968.
It was originally organized as the397th Bombardment Group, aWorld War IIUnited States Army Air Forces combat organization. It deployed to Western Europe withNinth Air Force as a medium bombardment unit equipped withMartin B-26 Marauders. It returned to the United States during December 1945, being inactivated on 6 January 1946.
The397th Bombardment Wing was organized in 1963 as part ofStrategic Air Command's deterrent force during theCold War. It was inactivated when Dow closed. In early 1984 the group and wing were consolidated into a single unit, but have not been active since.
Constituted as397th Bombardment Group (Medium) on 20 March 1943. Activated on 20 April 1943. Trained with B-26's. Moved toRAF Gosfield England, March–April 1944, and assigned toNinth Air Force, however. no sooner had they arrived than they were moved on toRAF Rivenhall. The group's identification marking was a yellow diagonal band across both sides of the vertical tailplane.
Over the next few days, more than 60 'bare metal' B-26s were to be seen on the Rivenhall hardstands. Although fresh from the training grounds in south-eastern United States, and having only reached the UK early in April. the 397th undertook its first combat mission on 20 April: an attack on aPas de CalaisV-1 site.
During its tenure of Rivenhall the 397th undertook 56 bombing missions, 32 of them attacks on bridges. Other targets were enemy airfields, rail junctions, fuel and ammunition stores, V-weapon sites and various military installations in France and the Low Countries. During these missions a total of 16 B-26s were missing in action and several others wrecked in crash-landings at the base.
Early in August, officially on the 5th, the 397th moved from Rivenhall toRAF Hurn in Hampshire, to give the Marauders a better radius of action as the break-out of the Allied forces from theNormandy beachhead meant that potential targets were receding.
Although moving from Rivenhall, the group arrived without ceasing operations and flew 72 missions from Hurn before moving to the Advanced Landing Ground atGorges Airfield, France (A-26) on 19 August, with the last departures on the 30th and 31st. Three Marauders were lost during the month's stay.
On the continent, the 397th struck enemy positions atSt Malo andBrest and bombed targets in theRouen area as Allied armies swept across theSeine and advanced to theSiegfried Line. The group began flying missions into Germany in September, attacking such targets as bridges, defended areas, and storage depots.
The 397th struck the enemy's communications during theBattle of the Bulge (December 1944 – January 1945) and received aDistinguished Unit Citation for a mission on 23 December 1944 when the group withstood heavy flak and fighter attack to sever a railway bridge at Eller, a vital link in the enemy's supply line across theMoselle.
The group continued to support the Allied drive into Germany until April 1945, being stationed atVenlo, the Netherlands (Y-55) on VE-Day. It returned to the United States during December 1945 – January 1946, being inactivated at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey on 6 January 1946.
On 1 August 1958,Strategic Air Command (SAC) organized the 4038th Strategic Wing atDow Air Force Base, Maine[2] and assigned it to the820th Air Division on 1 January 1959[3] as part of SAC's plan to disperse itsBoeing B-52 Stratofortressheavy bombers over a larger number of bases, thus making it more difficult for theSoviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike.[4] The wing remained a headquarters only until 1 February 1960 when the4060th Air Refueling Wing was discontinued and its support organizations transferred to the 4038th in addition to the71st and341st Air Refueling Squadrons, flyingBoeing KC-97 Stratofreighters. Fifteen days later the341st Bombardment Squadron moved to Dow from its previous station atBlytheville Air Force Base, Arkansas where it had been one of the three squadrons assigned to the97th Bombardment Wing and re-equipped with 15 B-52Gs.[5] Starting in 1960, one third of the wing's aircraft were maintained on fifteen-minutealert, fully fueled and ready for combat to reduce vulnerability to a Soviet missile strike. This was increased to half the unit's aircraft in 1962.[6] On 1 April 1961, thewing was transferred to the control of the6th Air Division.[7] In 1962, the wingbombers began to be equipped with theGAM-77 Hound Dog and theGAM-72 Quail air-launchedcruise missiles, The4038th Airborne Missile Maintenance Squadron was activated in November to maintain these missiles.
In 1962, in order to perpetuate the lineage of many currently inactive bombardment units with illustriousWorld War II records, Headquarters SAC received authority from Headquarters USAF to discontinue its Major Command controlled (MAJCON) strategic wings controlling combat squadron, which could not carry a permanent history or lineage, and to activate Air Force controlled (AFCON) units to replace them, time which could carry a lineage and history. As a result, the 4038th was replaced by the397th Bombardment Wing, Heavy, which assumed its mission, personnel, and equipment on 1 February 1963.[1]
In the same way the596th Bombardment Squadron, one of the unit's World War II historical bomb squadrons, replaced the 341st. The 860th Medical Group, 57th Munitions Maintenance Squadron and the twoair refueling squadrons were reassigned to the 397th. Component support units were replaced by units with numerical designation of the newly established wing. Under the Dual Deputate organization,[d] all flying and maintenancesquadrons were directly assigned to the wing, so no operational group element was activated. Therefore, the history, lineage and honors of the 397th Bombardment Group were temporarily bestowed upon the newly established wing upon activation.
The 397th Bomb Wing continued to conduct strategic bombardment training and air refueling operations to meet operational commitments ofStrategic Air Command, including deployments to Southeast Asia during theVietnam War. The wing's refueling elements changed when the 341st Air Refueling Squadron inactivated in the fall of 1963, while the 71st traded in its KC-97s forBoeing KC-135 Stratotankers the following spring. By 1968,Intercontinental ballistic missiles had been deployed and become operational as part of the United States' strategic triad, and the need for B-52s had been reduced. In addition, funds were also needed to cover the costs of combat operations in Indochina. The 397th Bombardment Wing was inactivated on 25 April 1968[1] and its aircraft were reassigned to other SAC units. As part of the inactivation, Dow was closed.
397th Bombardment Group
397th Bombardment Wing
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This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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