| 705th Strategic Missile Wing Later 510th Tactical Missile Wing | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 1943–1944; 1958–1960 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | intermediate range ballistic missile training |
| Size | wing |
Thewing's first predecessor is the5th Combat Crew Replacement Center Group, a formerArmy Air Forces unit. This group was activated in England duringWorld War II and trained replacement crews forEighth Air Force until it was disbanded in 1944.
The second predecessor of the wing is the705th Strategic Missile Wing, an inactiveUnited States Air Force unit. It was last assigned as an active unit to the7th Air Division atSouth Ruislip Air Station, England, where it was discontinued on 1 April 1960. The wing was formed to trainRoyal Air Force operations and maintenance personnel on theSM-75 Thorintermediate range ballistic missile.
In July 1985 the two units were consolidated as the510th Tactical Missile Wing. However, the consolidated unit has remained inactive.
TheWing's first predecessor is the5th Combat Crew Replacement Center Group, which was organized underVIII Composite Command atHigh Wycombe, England, the headquarters ofVII Bomber Command on 5 November 1943. The following February, it moved toRAF Cheddington, England, with the mission of training newly arriving replacement bomber crews. Thegroup moved toRAF Greencastle, Northern Ireland, in July 1944, and was disbanded there on 5 August 1944.
Strategic Air Command (SAC) activated the705th Strategic Missile Wing on 20 February 1958 atRAF Lakenheath, England,[1] to monitor thePGM-17 Thor IRBM program in the United Kingdom and provide technical assistance to the fourRoyal Air Force Thor squadrons. The wing never became operational, and its only manning was by additional duty personnel of the7th Air Division Directorate of Ballistic Missiles and six weeks after activation, the wing moved toSouth Ruislip Air Station, thedivision's station, where it remained through 1960.[1][2] Even its commanding officer, Col. William R. Yancy acted in that capacity as an additional duty from March to November 1958,[1]
The wing's672d Technical Training Squadron was located atRAF Feltwell, where, on 22 June 1959,No. 77 Squadron RAF became the first British-based Thor squadron to reach operational status.[3] The 672d moved toRAF Lakenheath, from which location it trained the remaining three RAF missile squadrons. On 11 September and 22 December 1959, the second and third British-based Thor squadrons were declared operational and assigned to Royal Air Force personnel. When SAC turned over the fourth and final British-based Thor to the Royal Air Force on 22 April 1960, the deployment of the Thor IRBM weapon system in the United Kingdom was completed. The wing was inactivated on 1 April 1960, followed shortly by the elimination of 7th Air Division's Directorate of Ballistic Missiles.[2]
While the missiles were assigned to the RAF for control, SAC retained control over the squadron's nuclear warheads and assigned detachments of the attached 99th Aviation Depot Squadron with each RAF missile squadron to maintain custody and control over, and maintain reentry vehicles and warheads until it received U. S. warhead release orders. It also operated USAF communications facilities and trained Royal Air Force personnel on Thor missile operations.[4]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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