97th Operations Group
Encyclopedia
The 97th Operations Group (97 OG) is a United States Air Force
unit assigned to the Air Mobility Command
97th Air Mobility Wing
. It is stationed at Altus Air Force Base
, Oklahoma
During World War II
, the group's predecessor unit, the 97th Bombardment Group was the first VIII Bomber Command
B-17 Flying Fortress bombardment group to fly a heavy bomber mission from the United Kingdom against the Rouen-Sotteville marshalling yards in France. It launched the attack from RAF Polebrook
on 17 August 1942. Inactivated on 29 October 1945.
In the postwar era, the 97d Bombardment Group was one of the USAAF bombardment groups assigned to Strategic Air Command
on 4 August 1946, the group being activated as a redesignation of the 485th Bombardment Group due to the Air Force's policy of retaining only low-numbered groups on active duty after the war. The group was inactivated in 1952 when the parent wing adopted the Tri-Deputate organization and assigned all of the groups squadrons directly to the wing.
Reactivated as the 97th Operations Group in 1991 when the 97th Wing adopted the USAF Objective organization plan.
-Sotteville marshalling yards in France. The lead aircraft of the group, Butcher Shop, was piloted by the Group Commander, Colonel Frank A. Armstrong
, and squadron commander Major Paul W. Tibbets
(who later flew the Enola Gay
to Hiroshima
Japan on the first atomic bomb mission). In the leading aircraft of the second flight, Yankee Doodle
, flew General Ira C. Eaker, the commanding general of the Eighth Air Force Bomber Command.
The 97th BG conducted a total of 14 missions from Polebrook, attacking airfields, marshalling yards, industries, naval installations, and other targets in France and the Low Countries.
The group sortie
d 247 aircraft, dropped 395 tons of bombs on Nazi-controlled territory, and lost 14 aircraft. On 21 October 1942, the 97th Bomb Group was transferred to the Twelfth Air Force in the Mediterranean theater being assigned first to Twelfth and later (November 1943) to Fifteenth Air Force.
From November 1942 through May 1943, struck shipping in the Mediterranean Sea and airfields, docks, harbors, and marshalling yards in north Africa, southern France, Sardinia, Sicily, and the southern Italian mainland in a campaign to cut supply lines to German forces in north Africa. Helped force the capitulation of Pantelleria Island in June 1943. Bombed in preparation for and in support of the invasions of Sicily and southern Italy in the summer and fall of 1943. From November 1943 to April 1945, attacked targets in Italy, France, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, and Greece, attacking oil refineries, marshalling yards, aircraft factories, and other strategic objectives.
Earned a Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for leading a raid against an aircraft factory at Steyr on 24 February 1944 during Big Week, the intensive air campaign against the German aircraft industry.
Participated in first shuttle-bombing mission to Russia (Operation Frantic) in June 1944. The group earned a second DUC for a devastating raid against one of the Ploesti oil refineries in Rumania on 18 August 1944. Supported Allied forces at Anzio and Cassino by pounding enemy communications, transportation targets, and airfields. Bombed coastal defenses in preparation for the invasion of southern France. Assisted the American Fifth and British Eighth Armies in their advance through the Po Valley of northern Italy until the German surrender in May 1945. Flew 467 combat missions; 110 aircraft lost.
, Kansas
on 4 August 1946. Assigned to Strategic Air Command
and was equipped with B-29 Superfortress
es. Operational squadrons of the 97th BG were the 340th, 341st and 342d Bomb Squadrons
The group participated in numerous exercises, operational readiness inspections, and overseas deployments. Deployed to northern Alaska
in 1947–1948 to provide a strategic bombing force east of the Bering Straits. Deployed twice to the United Kingdom as part of SAC's forward rotation of B-29 groups to Europe. The group was left unmanned after its second forward deployment to England from 10 February 1951 to 16 June 1952 when the group was inactivated when the Air Force reorganized its wings into the tri-deputate system.
Between September 1991 and April 1992 the 97 OG flew aerial refueling missions for the Strategic Air Command. Reassigned to Air Mobility Command, between October 1992 and July 1993, the group flew strategic airlift and aerial refueling training missions
After 1 July 1993, supported Air Education and Training Command by training flying crews with strategic airlift and air refueling aircraft.
Squadrons
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 assigned to the Air Mobility Command
Air Mobility Command
Air Mobility Command is a Major Command of the U.S. Air Force. AMC is headquartered at Scott AFB, Illinois, east of St. Louis....
97th Air Mobility Wing
97th Air Mobility Wing
The 97th Air Mobility Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Education and Training Command Nineteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma. The wing is also the host unit at Altus...
. It is stationed at Altus Air Force Base
Altus Air Force Base
Altus Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately east-northeast of Altus, Oklahoma.The host unit at Altus AFB is the 97th Air Mobility Wing , assigned to the Nineteenth Air Force of the Air Education and Training Command...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the group's predecessor unit, the 97th Bombardment Group was the first VIII Bomber Command
VIII Bomber Command
The VIII Bomber Command is an inactive United States Army Air Forces unit that is better known as the later appellation Eighth Air Force, as was popularized in post-World War II filmsand is frequently called the First Eighth Air Force by its veterans and successors in the services.The command was...
B-17 Flying Fortress bombardment group to fly a heavy bomber mission from the United Kingdom against the Rouen-Sotteville marshalling yards in France. It launched the attack from RAF Polebrook
RAF Polebrook
RAF Polebrook is a former World War II airfield located 3.5 miles east-south-east of Oundle, at Polebrook, Northamptonshire, UK. The airfield was built on Rothschild estate land starting in August 1940....
on 17 August 1942. Inactivated on 29 October 1945.
In the postwar era, the 97d Bombardment Group was one of the USAAF bombardment groups assigned to Strategic Air Command
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...
on 4 August 1946, the group being activated as a redesignation of the 485th Bombardment Group due to the Air Force's policy of retaining only low-numbered groups on active duty after the war. The group was inactivated in 1952 when the parent wing adopted the Tri-Deputate organization and assigned all of the groups squadrons directly to the wing.
Reactivated as the 97th Operations Group in 1991 when the 97th Wing adopted the USAF Objective organization plan.
Overview
The 97th Operations Group is the flying component of the 97th Air Mobility Wing. It plans and executes C-17, KC-135 formal school initial and advanced specialty training programs for up to 3000 students annually. Sustains C-17, KC-135 airland, airdrop and air refueling mobility forces providing global reach for combat and contingency operations. Provides air traffic control and weather forecasting for flying operations.Units
The 97 OG (tail flash "Altus") consists of the following squadrons:- 97th Operations Support Squadron
- Activated as the 1709th Training Squadron under the 1707th Air Transport Group in September 1952 at Palm Beach AFB, Florida. Today the squadron provides direct mission support to all operational units assigned to the 97th Air Mobility Wing. Provides air traffic services, weather, airfield management, intelligence, life support, tactics, flight records, scheduling, and current operations services. Manages and provides administrative support for active duty, reserves, and international students at the command's airlift and tanker training center.
- 97th Training Squadron Squadron
- Manages the 97th Air Mobility Wing's $1.01-billion contracted aircrew training program for more than 350-plus assigned instructors and as many as 2100 C-17 and KC-135 students.
- 54th Air Refueling Squadron54th Air Refueling SquadronThe 54th Air Refueling Squadron is part of the 97th Air Mobility Wing at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma. It operates the KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft conducting aerial refueling training.-History:...
(KC-135R)
- 54th Air Refueling Squadron
- Is one of two Air Education and Training Command KC-135R flying training squadron and provides KC-135R initial and advanced flight qualification
- 55th Air Refueling Squadron55th Air Refueling SquadronThe 55th Air Refueling Squadron is part of the 97th Air Mobility Wing at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma. It is one of two Air Force units that operates the formal Combat Crew Training School and Central Flight Instructor Course for KC-135 Stratotanker aircrew qualification training.-Mission:The...
(KC-135R)
- 55th Air Refueling Squadron
- Provides KC-135R initial and advanced flight qualification.
- 56th Airlift Squadron56th Airlift SquadronThe 56th Airlift Squadron was most recently part of the 97th Air Mobility Wing at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma. It operated C-5 Galaxy aircraft training pilots for airlift and airdrop operations.-Mission:...
(C-5)
- 56th Airlift Squadron
- Air Force's formal school for C-5 initial and advanced airland and aerial refueling qualification training. Provides select aircrew instructors to train and produce officer and enlisted aircrew members annually for Air Mobility Command, Air Force Reserve, and Air National Guard. Provides airlift support for peacetime, contingency, and wartime mobility operations.
- 58th Airlift Squadron58th Airlift SquadronThe 58th Airlift Squadron is part of the 97th Air Mobility Wing at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma. It operates C-17 Globemaster III aircraft training pilots for airlift and airdrop operations.-Mission:...
(C-17)
- 58th Airlift Squadron
- The nation's only formal C-17 Combat Crew Training School, providing pilot and loadmaster initial qualification and advanced upgrades for all United States active duty, reserve, and guard units
World War II
The group was established early in 1942 and initially trained B-17 crews in Florida and flew antisubmarine patrols. Was deployed to England and became first operationally-ready Eighth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortress group. Combat operations by the group began on 17 August 1942, when the 97th BG flew the first Eighth Air Force heavy bomber mission of the war, attacking the RouenRouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
-Sotteville marshalling yards in France. The lead aircraft of the group, Butcher Shop, was piloted by the Group Commander, Colonel Frank A. Armstrong
Frank A. Armstrong
Frank Alton Armstrong, Jr. was a brigadier general in the United States Army Air Forces and the inspiration for the main character in the novel and subsequent film, Twelve O'Clock High. After the war he became a lieutenant general in the United States Air Force.Armstrong was born in Hamilton,...
, and squadron commander Major Paul W. Tibbets
Paul Tibbets
Paul Warfield Tibbets, Jr. was a brigadier general in the United States Air Force, best known for being the pilot of the Enola Gay, the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb in the history of warfare. The bomb, code-named Little Boy, was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima...
(who later flew the Enola Gay
Enola Gay
Enola Gay is a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, named after Enola Gay Tibbets, mother of the pilot, then-Colonel Paul Tibbets. On August 6, 1945, during the final stages of World War II, it became the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb as a weapon of war...
to Hiroshima
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
Japan on the first atomic bomb mission). In the leading aircraft of the second flight, Yankee Doodle
Yankee Doodle
"Yankee Doodle" is a well-known Anglo-American song, the origin of which dates back to the Seven Years' War. It is often sung patriotically in the United States today and is the state anthem of Connecticut...
, flew General Ira C. Eaker, the commanding general of the Eighth Air Force Bomber Command.
The 97th BG conducted a total of 14 missions from Polebrook, attacking airfields, marshalling yards, industries, naval installations, and other targets in France and the Low Countries.
The group sortie
Sortie
Sortie is a term for deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops from a strongpoint. The sortie, whether by one or more aircraft or vessels, usually has a specific mission....
d 247 aircraft, dropped 395 tons of bombs on Nazi-controlled territory, and lost 14 aircraft. On 21 October 1942, the 97th Bomb Group was transferred to the Twelfth Air Force in the Mediterranean theater being assigned first to Twelfth and later (November 1943) to Fifteenth Air Force.
From November 1942 through May 1943, struck shipping in the Mediterranean Sea and airfields, docks, harbors, and marshalling yards in north Africa, southern France, Sardinia, Sicily, and the southern Italian mainland in a campaign to cut supply lines to German forces in north Africa. Helped force the capitulation of Pantelleria Island in June 1943. Bombed in preparation for and in support of the invasions of Sicily and southern Italy in the summer and fall of 1943. From November 1943 to April 1945, attacked targets in Italy, France, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, and Greece, attacking oil refineries, marshalling yards, aircraft factories, and other strategic objectives.
Earned a Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for leading a raid against an aircraft factory at Steyr on 24 February 1944 during Big Week, the intensive air campaign against the German aircraft industry.
Participated in first shuttle-bombing mission to Russia (Operation Frantic) in June 1944. The group earned a second DUC for a devastating raid against one of the Ploesti oil refineries in Rumania on 18 August 1944. Supported Allied forces at Anzio and Cassino by pounding enemy communications, transportation targets, and airfields. Bombed coastal defenses in preparation for the invasion of southern France. Assisted the American Fifth and British Eighth Armies in their advance through the Po Valley of northern Italy until the German surrender in May 1945. Flew 467 combat missions; 110 aircraft lost.
Cold War
The unit was redesignated as the 97th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) and was reactivated at Smoky Hill AAFld (later, Smoky Hill AFB)Salina Municipal Airport
Salina Municipal Airport is a public-use airport located three nautical miles southwest of the central business district of Salina, a city in Saline County, Kansas, United States. It is owned by the Salina Airport Authority....
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
on 4 August 1946. Assigned to Strategic Air Command
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...
and was equipped with B-29 Superfortress
B-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
es. Operational squadrons of the 97th BG were the 340th, 341st and 342d Bomb Squadrons
The group participated in numerous exercises, operational readiness inspections, and overseas deployments. Deployed to northern Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
in 1947–1948 to provide a strategic bombing force east of the Bering Straits. Deployed twice to the United Kingdom as part of SAC's forward rotation of B-29 groups to Europe. The group was left unmanned after its second forward deployment to England from 10 February 1951 to 16 June 1952 when the group was inactivated when the Air Force reorganized its wings into the tri-deputate system.
Modern era
On 29 August 1991, the 97th Bombardment Wing was redesignated as the 97d Wing under the "Objective Wing" concept adapted by the Air Force as the lines between tactical and strategic forces blurred. The flying components of the former 97th Bombardment Wing were reassigned to the newly established 97th Operations Group. Upon activation, the 97 OG was bestowed the history, lineage and honors of the 97d Bombardment Group from the 97 Wing.Between September 1991 and April 1992 the 97 OG flew aerial refueling missions for the Strategic Air Command. Reassigned to Air Mobility Command, between October 1992 and July 1993, the group flew strategic airlift and aerial refueling training missions
After 1 July 1993, supported Air Education and Training Command by training flying crews with strategic airlift and air refueling aircraft.
Lineage
- Established as 97 Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 28 January 1942
- Activated on 3 February 1942
- Redesignated 97 Bombardment Group, Heavy, on 30 September 1944
- Inactivated on 29 October 1945
- Redesignated 97 Bombardment Group, Very Heavy, on 15 July 1946
- Organized and activated, on 4 August 1946 from the personnel and equipment of the 485th Bombardment Group (Inactivated)
- Redesignated 97 Bombardment Group, Medium, on 12 July 1948
- Inactivated on 16 June 1952
- Redesignated 97 Operations Group on 29 August 1991
- Activated on 1 September 1991
- Inactivated on 1 April 1992
- Activated on 1 October 1992.
Assignments
- Third Air ForceThird Air ForceThe Third Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe . It is headquartered at Ramstein Air Base, Germany....
, 3 February 1942 - VIII Bomber CommandVIII Bomber CommandThe VIII Bomber Command is an inactive United States Army Air Forces unit that is better known as the later appellation Eighth Air Force, as was popularized in post-World War II filmsand is frequently called the First Eighth Air Force by its veterans and successors in the services.The command was...
, 20 May 1942 - 1st Bombardment Wing, August 1942
- XII Bomber CommandXII Bomber CommandThe XII Bomber Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the Twelfth Air Force, based in Corsica, France...
, 14 September 1942 - 5th Bombardment Wing, January 1943-c. 29 October 1945
- Fifteenth Air ForceFifteenth Air ForceThe Fifteenth Expeditionary Mobility Task Force is one of two EMTFs assigned to the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command . It is headquartered at Travis Air Force Base, California....
, 4 August 1946
- Attached to Yukon Sector, Alaskan Air CommandAlaskan Air CommandAlaskan Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command. Established in 1945 under the United States Army Air Forces, its mission was to organize and administer the air defense system of Alaska, exercise direct control of all active measures, and coordinate all passive means of...
, c. 2–30 November 1947
- 97 Bombardment Wing, Very Heavy (later, 97 Bombardment Wing, Medium), 1 December 1947 – 16 June 1952
- Attached to: 3d Air Division, 4 November 1948 – 15 February 1949
- Attached to: 3d Air Division, c. 26 July 1950 – 9 February 1951
- Not operational, 10 February 1951 – 16 June 1952
- 97th Wing, 1 September 1991 – 1 April 1992
- 97th Air Mobility Wing97th Air Mobility WingThe 97th Air Mobility Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Education and Training Command Nineteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma. The wing is also the host unit at Altus...
, 1 October 1992–present
Components
Groups- 401st Bombardment Group: attached 27 June 1949 – 10 February 1951
Squadrons
- 11th Air Refueling Squadron11th Air Refueling SquadronThe 11th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 340th Air Refueling Wing, stationed at Altus AFB, Oklahoma...
: 1 October 1992 – 1 July 1993 - 54th Air Refueling Squadron54th Air Refueling SquadronThe 54th Air Refueling Squadron is part of the 97th Air Mobility Wing at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma. It operates the KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft conducting aerial refueling training.-History:...
: 16 January 1998–present - 55th Air Refueling Squadron55th Air Refueling SquadronThe 55th Air Refueling Squadron is part of the 97th Air Mobility Wing at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma. It is one of two Air Force units that operates the formal Combat Crew Training School and Central Flight Instructor Course for KC-135 Stratotanker aircrew qualification training.-Mission:The...
: 28 October 1994–present - 97th Air Refueling Squadron97th Air Refueling SquadronThe 97th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 92d Air Refueling Wing, stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington...
: 1 March 1949 – 16 June 1952 (not operational 1 March 1949 – 23 January 1950; detached 12 July 1950 – 16 June 1952); 1 September 1991 – 1 April 1992 - 306th Air Refueling Squadron306th Air Refueling SquadronThe 306th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 457th Operations Group, stationed at Altus AFB, Oklahoma...
: 1 October 1992 – 1 July 1993
- 56th Airlift Squadron56th Airlift SquadronThe 56th Airlift Squadron was most recently part of the 97th Air Mobility Wing at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma. It operated C-5 Galaxy aircraft training pilots for airlift and airdrop operations.-Mission:...
: 1 October 1992–present - 57th Airlift Squadron: 1 October 1992 – 30 September 2001
- 58th Airlift Squadron58th Airlift SquadronThe 58th Airlift Squadron is part of the 97th Air Mobility Wing at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma. It operates C-17 Globemaster III aircraft training pilots for airlift and airdrop operations.-Mission:...
: 30 January 1996–present
- 24th Reconnaissance later, 414th Bombardment Squadron414th Bombardment SquadronThe 414th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 97th Bombardment Group, stationed at Marcianise Airfield, Italy. It was inactivated on 29 October 1945-History:...
: 3 February 1942 – 29 October 1945 - 340th Bombardment Squadron (later, 340 Bomb): 3 February 1942 – 29 October 1945; 4 August 1946 – 16 June 1952 (detached, 10 February 1951 – 16 June 1952); 1 September 1991 – 7 January 1992
- 341st Bombardment Squadron341st Bombardment SquadronThe 341st Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 4038th Strategic Wing. It was last stationed at Dow Air Force Base, Maine, and was inactivated on 1 February 1963.-History:...
: 3 February 1942 – 29 October 1945; 4 August 1946 – 16 June 1952 (detached 10 February 1951 – 16 June 1952) - 342d Bombardment Squadron342d Bombardment SquadronThe 342d Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 4137th Strategic Wing. It was last stationed at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, and was inactivated on 1 February 1963.-History:...
: 3 February 1942 – 29 October 1945; 4 August 1946 – 16 June 1952 (detached 10 February 1951 – 16 June 1952).
Stations
- MacDill Field, Florida, 3 February 1942
- Sarasota Army Airfield, Florida, 29 March-c. 16 May 1942
- RAF PolebrookRAF PolebrookRAF Polebrook is a former World War II airfield located 3.5 miles east-south-east of Oundle, at Polebrook, Northamptonshire, UK. The airfield was built on Rothschild estate land starting in August 1940....
(USAAF Station 110), England, c. 13 June-c. 9 November 1942 - Maison Blanche Airport, AlgiersAlgiers' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
, Algeria, c. 13 November 1942 - Tafaraoui Airfield, Algeria, c. 22 November 1942
- Biskra Airfield, Algeria, c. 25 December 1942
- Chateau-dun-du-Rhumel AirfieldChateau-dun-du-Rhumel AirfieldChateau-dun-du-Rhumel Airfield is an abandoned military airfield in Algeria, located about 6 km north-northwest of Chelghoum el Aid, in Mila province, about 47 km southwest of Constantine....
, Algeria, c. 8 February 1943 - Pont du Fahs AirfieldPont du Fahs AirfieldPont du Fahs Airfield is an abandoned military airfield in Tunisia, which was located approximately 6 km west-southwest of El Fahs, and 55 km southwest of Tunis....
, Tunisia, c. 1 August 1943 - Depienne AirfieldDepienne AirfieldDepienne Airfield is a World War II airfield in Tunisia, located approximately 12 km northeast of El Fahs, and 53 km southwest of Tunis. The airfield was first used by the German Luftwaffe in 1941 and 1942, and was captured by the British Army by a parachute attack on 3 December 1942...
, Tunisia, c. 15 August 1943 - Cerignola Airfield, Italy, c. 20 December 1943
- Amendola Airfield, Italy, 16 January 1944
- Marcianise AirfieldMarcianise AirfieldMarcianise Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield in southeast Italy, which is located approximately 10 km north-northwest of Marcianise in the province of Caserta, Campania; about 32 km north-northwest of Naples...
, Italy, c. 1–29 October 1945 - Smoky Hill AAFld (later, Smoky Hill AFB), KansasKansasKansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, 4 August 1946
- Deployed at Mile 26 Air Field [later, Eielson AFB] , AlaskaAlaskaAlaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, 2 November 1947 – 13 March 1948- Biggs AFB, Texas, 17 May 1948 – 16 June 1952
- Deployed at RAF MarhamRAF MarhamRoyal Air Force Station Marham, more commonly known as RAF Marham, is a Royal Air Force station; a military airbase, near the village of Marham in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia....
, England, 4 November 1948 – 15 February 1949 - Deployed at RAF SculthorpeRAF SculthorpeRAF Sculthorpe is a military training facility for the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence, situated about west of Fakenham in Norfolk, England...
, England, c. 26 July 1950 – 9 February 1951- Eaker AFB, ArkansasArkansasArkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, 1 June 1968 – 1 April 1992 - Altus AFB, OklahomaOklahomaOklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, 1 October 1992–present
- Eaker AFB, Arkansas
Aircraft assigned
- B-17 Flying Fortress, 1942–1945
- B-29 SuperfortressB-29 SuperfortressThe B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
, 1946–1950 (KB-29 Tanker, 1950–1951) - B-50 SuperfortressB-50 SuperfortressThe Boeing B-50 Superfortress strategic bomber was a post-World War II revision of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, fitted with more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-4360 radial engines, stronger structure, a taller fin, and other improvements. It was the last piston-engined bomber designed by Boeing for...
, 1950–1951 - KC-135 StratotankerKC-135 StratotankerThe Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an aerial refueling military aircraft. It and the Boeing 707 airliner were developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype. The KC-135 was the US Air Force's first jet-powered refueling tanker and replaced the KC-97 Stratotanker...
, 1991–1992; 1992–1993; 1994–present
- C-141 StarlifterC-141 StarlifterThe Lockheed C-141 Starlifter was a military strategic airlifter in service with the Air Mobility Command of the United States Air Force...
, 1992–2001 - C-5 GalaxyC-5 GalaxyThe Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a large military transport aircraft built by Lockheed. It provides the United States Air Force with a heavy intercontinental-range strategic airlift capability, one that can carry outsize and oversize cargos, including all air-certifiable cargo. The Galaxy has many...
, 1992–present - C-17 Globemaster IIIC-17 Globemaster IIIThe Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft. Developed for the United States Air Force from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas, the C-17 is used for rapid strategic airlift of troops and cargo to main operating bases or forward operating bases throughout...
, 1996–present