392nd Strategic Missile Wing
Encyclopedia
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. It was last assigned to the 1st Strategic Aerospace Division
1st Strategic Aerospace Division
The 1st Strategic Aerospace Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Strategic Air Command, assigned to Fifteenth Air Force, being stationed at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California...
, stationed at Vandenberg Air Force Base
Vandenberg Air Force Base
Vandenberg Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base, located approximately northwest of Lompoc, California. It is under the jurisdiction of the 30th Space Wing, Air Force Space Command ....
, California. It was inactivated on 20 December 1961.
During World War II, its predecessor unit, the 392d Bombardment Group was a Eighth Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
heavy bombardment group stationed in England, stationed at RAF Wendling
RAF Wendling
RAF Station Wendling is a former World War II airfield in Norfolk, England. The airfield is located approximately west-northwest of East Dereham.Opened in 1942, it was used by both the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Force...
. The group flew 285 combat missions, suffering 1552 casualties including 835 killed in action or line of duty and 184 aircraft lost.
World War II
Activated 26 January 1943 at Davis Monthan AAFd, Arizona, and trained there until February 1943. The unit moved to Biggs Field, Texas, and on March 1943, and then to Alamogordo AAB, New Mexico on 18 April 1943. The ground unit left for the port of embarkation on 18 July 1943. The unit sailed out from New York on 25 July 1943, and arrived in England on 30 July 1943. Assigned to the Eighth Air ForceEighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
at RAF Wendling
RAF Wendling
RAF Station Wendling is a former World War II airfield in Norfolk, England. The airfield is located approximately west-northwest of East Dereham.Opened in 1942, it was used by both the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Force...
in East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
. The group was assigned to the 14th Combat Bombardment Wing, and the group tail code was a "Circle-D".
The 392d BG entered combat on 9 September 1943 and engaged primarily in bombardment of strategic objectives on the Continent until April 1945. The group attacked such targets as an oil refinery at Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the Ruhr area. Its population in 2006 was c. 267,000....
, a marshalling yard at Osnabrück
Osnabrück
Osnabrück is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, some 80 km NNE of Dortmund, 45 km NE of Münster, and some 100 km due west of Hanover. It lies in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest...
, a railroad viaduct at Bielefeld
Bielefeld
Bielefeld is an independent city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 323,000, it is also the most populous city in the Regierungsbezirk Detmold...
, steel plants at Brunswick
Braunschweig
Braunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser....
, a tank factory at Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
, and gas works at Berlin.
The group took part in the intensive campaign of heavy bombers against the German aircraft industry during Big Week
Big Week
Between February 20–25, 1944, as part of the European strategic bombing campaign, the United States Strategic Air Forces launched Operation Argument, a series of missions against the Third Reich that became known as Big Week. The planners intended to lure the Luftwaffe into a decisive battle by...
, 20–25 February 1944, being awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for bombing an aircraft and component parts factory at Gotha
Gotha (town)
Gotha is a town in Thuringia, within the central core of Germany. It is the capital of the district of Gotha.- History :The town has existed at least since the 8th century, when it was mentioned in a document signed by Charlemagne as Villa Gotaha . Its importance derives from having been chosen in...
on 24 February. The unit sometimes supported ground forces or carried out interdictory operations along with bombing airfields and V-weapon sites in France prior to the Normandy invasion
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
in June 1944 and struck coastal defenses and choke points on D-Day.
The group hit enemy positions to assist ground forces at Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô is a commune in north-western France, the capital of the Manche department in Normandy.-History:Originally called Briovère , the town is built on and around ramparts. Originally it was a Gaul fortified settlement...
during the breakthrough in July 1944. Bombed railroads, bridges, and highways to cut off German supply lines during the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
, December 1944 – January 1945. Dropped supplies to Allied troops during the air attack on Holland in September 1944 and during the airborne assault across the Rhine
Operation Varsity
Operation Varsity was a successful joint American–British airborne operation that took place toward the end of World War II...
in March 1945.
The 392d Bomb Group flew its last combat mission on 25 April 1945, then carried food to the Dutch. The unit returned to Charleston AAF South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
on 25 June 1945 and was deactivated on 13 September 1945.
Redeployed to the US May/June 1945. First of the aircraft departed the United Kingdom on 29 May 1945. Ground echelon sailed on Queen Mary on 15 June 1945, arriving in New York on 20 June 1945. Personnel had 30 days R and R with the unit assembling in Charleston AAFd, South Carolina, in late June 1945 for air transport duties but was not fully manned and inactivated on 13 September 1945.
Cold War
Reactivated as a reserve corollary of the 47th Bombardment Wing, Light in 1949.The wing was reformed in 1961 to control missile training operations at Vandenberg AFB, Lompoc, California. It operated the Atlas missile, with the 564th SMS (18 October 1961 – 20 December 1961) and the 565th SMS (1 July 1961 – 1 December 1964)and the Titan. However it was eliminated by a reorganization of 1st Strategic Aerospace Division
1st Strategic Aerospace Division
The 1st Strategic Aerospace Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Strategic Air Command, assigned to Fifteenth Air Force, being stationed at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California...
.
Lineage
- Constituted as 392d Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 15 January 1943
- Activated on 26 January 1943
- Deactivated on 13 September 1945
- Wing established as 392d Bombardment Wing, Light, on 16 May 1949
- Activated in the Reserve on 27 June 1949
- 392d Bombardment Group assigned to wing as subordinate unit
- Wing and Group inactivated on 10 November 1949
- Redesignated 392d Fighter-Day Wing on 23 March 1953 (Remained inactive)
- Redesignated 392d Strategic Missile Wing and activated on 6 October 1961
- Organized on 18 October 1961.
- Discontinued, and inactivated, on 20 December 1961
Assignments
- IV Bomber CommandIV Bomber CommandThe IV Bomber Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Fourth Air Force, based at San Francisco, California. It was inactivated on 31 March 1944.-Lineage:...
, 26 January – 18 July 1943 - 2d Bombardment Wing, July 1943
- Attached to: 202d Provisional Combat Bombardment Wing, 2 September 1943
- 14th Combat Bombardment Wing, 13 September 1943 – 15 June 1945
- Army Service Forces, 25 June-13 September 1945
- Twelfth Air Force, 27 June-10 November 1949
- Attached to: 47th Bombardment Wing (Light) 27 June-2 October 1949
- Strategic Air CommandStrategic Air CommandThe 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...
, 6 October 1961 - 1st Strategic Aerospace Division1st Strategic Aerospace DivisionThe 1st Strategic Aerospace Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Strategic Air Command, assigned to Fifteenth Air Force, being stationed at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California...
, 18 October-20 December 1961
- Strategic Air Command
Components
- 392d Bombardment Group, 27 June-10 November 1949
- 576th Bombardment (later missile) Squadron (CI), 26 January 1943 – 13 September 1945; 27 June-10 November 1949 (Group); 18 October-20 December 1961
- 577th Bombardment Squadron (DC), 26 January 1943 – 13 September 1945; 27 June-10 November 1949 (Group)
- 578th Bombardment Squadron (EC), 26 January 1943 – 13 September 1945; 27 June-10 November 1949 (Group)
- 579th Bombardment Squadron (GC), 26 January 1943 – 13 September 1945; 27 June-10 November 1949 (Group)
Stations Assigned
- 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...
, 26 January 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, 1 March 1943 - Alamogordo AAB, New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, 18 April – 18 July 1943 - RAF WendlingRAF WendlingRAF Station Wendling is a former World War II airfield in Norfolk, England. The airfield is located approximately west-northwest of East Dereham.Opened in 1942, it was used by both the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Force...
(USAAF Station 118), England, July 1943 – 15 June 1945
- Charleston AAFld, South CarolinaSouth CarolinaSouth Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, 25 June – 13 September 1945 - Barksdale AFB, LouisianaLouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, 27 June – 10 November 1949. - Vandenberg AFB California, 18 October – 20 December 1961
Aircraft and missiles
- Consolidated B-24 LiberatorB-24 LiberatorThe Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
- B-26 InvaderA-26 InvaderThe Douglas A-26 Invader was a United States twin-engined light attack bomber built by the Douglas Aircraft Co. during World War II that also saw service during several of the Cold War's major conflicts...
, 1949 - Atlas, Minuteman and Titan missiles, 1961