16th Bombardment Wing (World War II)
Encyclopedia
The 16th Bombardment Wing (16th BW) is an inactive United States Air Force
unit. Its last assignment was with Continental Air Forces
, based at Colorado Springs AAF, Colorado
. It was inactivated on 8 October 1948.
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
unit. Its last assignment was with Continental Air Forces
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
, based at Colorado Springs AAF, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. It was inactivated on 8 October 1948.
Lineage
- Constituted as 16th Bombardment Wing on 19 October 1940
- Activated on 18 December 1940
- Inactivated on 1 September 1941
- (Apparently it did not have sufficient personnel for effective training and operations).
- Activated on 23 June 1942
- (Apparently it did not have sufficient personnel for effective training and operations).
- Redesignated 16th Bombardment Training Wing in January 1943
- Redesignated 16th Bombardment Operational Training Wing in April 1943
- Redesignated 16th Bombardment Operational Training Wing (Very Heavy) in May 1945
- Inactivated on 9 April 1946
- Disbanded on 8 October 1948
Assignments
- Second Air ForceSecond Air ForceThe Second Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command . It is headquartered at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi....
- 18 December 1940 – 1 September 1941
- 23 June 1942 – 8 April 1946
Bases assigned
- Langley Field, VirginiaVirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, 18 December 1940 – March 1941 - Bowman Field, KentuckyKentuckyThe Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, March – 1 September 1941 - Wendover Field, UtahUtahUtah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, 23 June 1942 - Biggs FieldBiggs Army AirfieldBiggs Army Airfield or Biggs AAF is a military airport located at Fort Bliss near El Paso, El Paso County, Texas, in the United States. The airfield was previously Biggs Air Force Base, a Strategic Air Command installation, between 1947 and 1966. The U.S. Army began operations supporting Ft...
, Texas, November 1942 - Davis-Monthan Field, ArizonaArizonaArizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, c. 1 June 1943 - Biggs FieldBiggs Army AirfieldBiggs Army Airfield or Biggs AAF is a military airport located at Fort Bliss near El Paso, El Paso County, Texas, in the United States. The airfield was previously Biggs Air Force Base, a Strategic Air Command installation, between 1947 and 1966. The U.S. Army began operations supporting Ft...
, Texas, October 1943 - Colorado Springs, ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, December 1945-9 April 1946
Units assigned
- 45th Bombardment Group45th Bombardment GroupThe 45th Operations Group is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 45th Space Wing, stationed at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.-Overview:...
: 15 January-21 August 1941 - 46th Bombardment Group46th Bombardment GroupThe 46th Bombardment Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Third Air Force, being stationed at Morris Field, North Carolina. It was inactivated on 1 May 1944....
: 15 January 1941-1 May 1942 - (Various groups assigned for training, 1942–1946)