484th Air Expeditionary Wing
Encyclopedia
The 484th Air Expeditionary Wing (484 AEW) is a provisional United States Air Force
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 United States Air Force
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...

 Air Combat Command
Air Combat Command
Air Combat Command is a major command of the United States Air Force. ACC is one of ten major commands , reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force ....

. It may be activated or inactivated at any time.

It was activated and attached to United States Air Forces Central for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 (Operation Iraqi Freedom). It was headquartered at Prince Sultan Air Base
Prince Sultan Air Base
Prince Sultan Air Base is an air base located at Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia.There was formerly a large United States presence there during Operations Southern Watch, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. The U.S. presence was predominantly that of multiple U.S. Air Force flying units, augmented by a...

, Saudi Arabia.

Originally activated in 1943 as the 484th Bombardment Group as a World War II United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....

 combat organization. The highly-decorated unit served primarily in the Mediterranean, African, and The Middle East Theatres
Mediterranean Theatre of World War II
The African, Mediterranean and Middle East theatres encompassed the naval, land, and air campaigns fought between the Allied and Axis forces in the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and Africa...

 of World War II.

in November 1962 the wing was designated the 484th Bombardment Wing and was stationed at Turner AFB, Georgia. In 1966 all wing aircraft, crews, all wing HQ personnel and most wing support personnel were deployed as part of the 3d Air Division for combat operations over Vietnam. The wing was deactivated on 25 March 1967 as part of the inactivation of Turner AFB.

World War II

The 484th Bombardment Group (Heavy) was constituted on 14 September 1943 as a 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 bomb group and activated on 20 September at Harvard Army Airfield
Harvard Army Airfield
Harvard State Airport , also known as Harvard State Airfield, is a public use airport located two nautical miles northeast of the central business district of Harvard, a city in Clay County, Nebraska, United States. It is owned by the Nebraska Department of Aeronautics...

, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....

. It comprised the 824th, 825th, 826th and 827th Bombardment Squadrons and service support units.

Completed training at Harvard AAF in February 1944, being ordered for deployment to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations
Mediterranean Theater of Operations
The Mediterranean Theater of Operations, United States Army was originally called North African Theater of Operations and is an American term for the conflict that took place between the Allies and Axis Powers in North Africa and Italy during World War II...

 (MTO) in Southern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. Departed the United States in early March and arriving in April at Torretto Airfield, Italy, being assigned to Fifteenth Air Force
Fifteenth Air Force
The 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....

. Redesignated 484th Bombardment Group (Pathfinder) in May 1944 but did not perform pathfinder functions. Redesignated 484th Bombardment Group (Heavy) in November 1944. Operated primarily as a strategic bombardment organization, April 1944 – April 1945. Attacked such targets as oil refineries, oil storage plants, aircraft factories, heavy industry, and communications in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, France, Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

, Hungary, Rumania, and Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....

.

On 9 June 1944 a heavy smoke screen prevented the group from bombing railroad marshalling yards at Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

; however, in spite of severe damage from flak and interceptors, and despite heavy gunfire encountered and received a Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for its persistent action. Received a second DUC for performance on 22 August 1944 when, unescorted, the organization fought its way through intense opposition to attack underground oil storage installations in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

, Austria.

In addition to strategic missions, the 484th participated in the drive toward Rome by bombing bridges, supply dumps, viaducts, and marshalling yards, April–June 1944; ferried gasoline and oil to Allied forces in southern France, September 1944; and supported the final advance by Fifth Army through northern Italy, April 1945.

After V-E Day, was assigned to Green Project which was the movement of troops from Europe to the United States via the South Atlantic Transport Route. B-24s were modified with sealed bomb bays, removal of all defensive armament and internal fuselage equipped with seating to carry approximately 30 personnel. Was assigned to Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its mission was to meet the urgent demand for the speedy reinforcement of the United States' military bases worldwide during World War II, using an air supply system to supplement surface transport...

 at Casablanca Airfield, French Morocco
French Morocco
French Protectorate of Morocco was a French protectorate in Morocco, established by the Treaty of Fez. French Morocco did not include the north of the country, which was a Spanish protectorate...

. Moved personnel from staging areas in France and Italy to Casablanca and also south to Dakar
Dakar
Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...

 in French West Africa
French West Africa
French West Africa was a federation of eight French colonial territories in Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan , French Guinea , Côte d'Ivoire , Upper Volta , Dahomey and Niger...

 where personnel were transported across the South Atlantic to Brazil and eventually to Morrison Field, Florida. Provided air transport until the end of July when the unit was inactivated .

Strategic Air Command

On 1 July 1959, 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...

 established the 4138th Strategic Wing at Turner AFB, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

 as part of SAC's plan to disburse its B-52 Stratofortress
B-52 Stratofortress
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber operated by the United States Air Force since the 1950s. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, who have continued to provide maintainence and upgrades to the aircraft in service...

 heavy bombers over a larger number of bases, thus making it more difficult for the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike. The wing consisted of the 336th Bombardment Squadron
336th Bombardment Squadron
The 336th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 4138th Strategic Wing. It was inactivated at Turner Air Force Base, Georgia on 1 Feb 1963-History:...

, consisting of 15 B-52GD, and the KC-135-equipped 919th Air Refueling Squadron. Half of the aircraft were maintained on fifteen minute alert, fully fueled, armed, and ready for combat. SAC Strategic Wings were considered a provisional unit by HQ, USAF and could not carry a permanent history or lineage.

In 1962, in order to retain the lineage of its MAJCOM 4-digit combat units and to perpetuate the lineage of many currently inactive bombardment units with illustrious 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...

 records, Headquarters SAC received authority from Headquarters USAF to discontinue its MAJCOM strategic wings that were equipped with combat aircraft and to activate AFCON units, most of which were inactive at the time which could carry a lineage and history.

The 4138th SW was redesignated as the 484th Bombardment Wing (397th BW) on 1 February 1963 in a name-only redesigation and was assigned to SAC's 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....

, 822d Air Division
822d Air Division
The 822d Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Strategic Air Command, assigned to Eighth Air Force, being stationed at Turner Air Force Base, Georgia...

. The 336th BS was also redesignated as the 824th Bombardment Squadron
824th Bombardment Squadron
The 824th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 484th Bombardment Wing. It was last stationed at Turner Air Force Base, Georgia, and was inactivated on 25 March 1967.-History:...

, one of the unit's World War II historical bomb squadrons. The 919th ARS designation was unchanged, and component support units were also redesignated to the 484th numerical designation of the newly-established wing. As under the Tri-Deputate organization, all flying components were directly assigned to the wing, no operational group element was activated. With the activation, the history, lineage and honors of the 484th Bombardment Group were bestowed upon the newly established wing upon activation.

The 484th BW trained for strategic bombardment and undertook air refueling operations to meet the operational commitments of SAC. On 13 January 1964, a B-52D bomber attached to the wing crashed near Cumberland, Maryland. From 1 April 1966 to c. 29 September 1966, all wing aircraft, crews, all wing HQ personnel and most wing support personnel were deployed as part of the 3d Air Division for combat operations over Vietnam. It was reassigned back to the Eighth Air Force, 823rd Air Division on 2 September 1966, while it was returning from Guam.

By 1967, Intercontinental ballistic missile
Intercontinental ballistic missile
An intercontinental ballistic missile is a ballistic missile with a long range typically designed for nuclear weapons delivery...

s (ICBM) 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
Indochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...

. The 484th Bombardment Wing was inactivated on 25 March 1967 and its aircraft were reassigned to other SAC units. As part of the inactivation, Turner AFB was closed; the property was transferred to the United States Navy and being redesignated as Naval Air Station Albany.

Operation Iraqi Freedom

Activated as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF) in 2003, the role of the 484th AEW was to provide A CENTRALIZED COMMAND AND CONTROL ELEMENT DEDICATED TO THE SUPPORT OF ALL Tactical Air Control Parties and Combat Weather Teams operating in the Southwest Asia theatre of operations.(Birch, 2005, p. 72) It provided combat enabling, contingency response, terminal attack and combat weather support to the coalition air forces and special forces and Army maneuver units on the battlefield. It was headquartered at Prince Sultan Air Base
Prince Sultan Air Base
Prince Sultan Air Base is an air base located at Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia.There was formerly a large United States presence there during Operations Southern Watch, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. The U.S. presence was predominantly that of multiple U.S. Air Force flying units, augmented by a...

, Saudi Arabia (24 January 2003 – later in 2003).

The wing consisted of six groups (the 3rd, 4th and 18th Expeditionary Air Support Operations Groups, a Mission Support Group, a Maintenance Group, and a Medical Group) and about 3,400 personnel.(Birch, 2005, p. 74) Operations during OEF included a joint airborne assault with the 86th Contingency Response Group from Ramstein Air Base, Germany that included twenty airmen from the wing parachuting into northern Iraq with more than 1,000 soldiers of the Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade. Their skills helped prepare and open an airfield for C-17 Globemaster IIIs that delivered more than 1 million pounds of people and cargo every night into the operations area

Approximately 500 forward air controllers were provided by the wing's air support operations groups to Army ground forces during OEF, and airmen from the 484th accompanied U.S. forces when they entered the streets of Baghdad in March 2003.

Comments by Major Birch in his Air University paper strongly suggest that the 484th AEW was a temporary organization created specifically for the Iraq campaign and that the wing was deactivated after the invasion had been successful.

Lineage

  • Constituted as 484th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 14 September 1943
Activated on 20 September 1943
Inactivated on 25 July 1945
  • Established as 484th Bombardment Wing, Heavy on 15 November 1962
Activated on 15 November 1962 to replace the 4138th Strategic Wing
Organized on 1 February 1963 assuming the resources (Manpower, Aircraft, Equipment, Weapons, & Facilities) of the 4138th Strategic Wing (Inactivated).
Discontinued, and inactivated, on 25 March 1967.
  • Redesignated as 484th Air Expeditionary Wing, and converted to provisional status: 13 January 2003
Activated on 24 January 2003
Inactivated in April 2003

Assignments

  • Second Air Force
    Second Air Force
    The 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....

    , 20 September 1943 – 11 March 1944
Attached to: 17th Bombardment Operational Training Wing, 20 September – November 1943
  • Fifteenth Air Force
    Fifteenth Air Force
    The 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....

    , 11 March 1944
  • 49th Bombardment Wing
    49th Air Division
    The 49th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the United States Air Forces in Europe, based at RAF Sculthorpe, England. It was inactivated on 1 July 1956.-History:...

    , 6 April 1944 – 25 May 1945
  • Air Transport Command
    Air Transport Command
    Air Transport Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its mission was to meet the urgent demand for the speedy reinforcement of the United States' military bases worldwide during World War II, using an air supply system to supplement surface transport...

    , 25 May 1945 – 25 July 1945

  • 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...

    , 15 November 1962
  • 822d Air Division
    822d Air Division
    The 822d Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Strategic Air Command, assigned to Eighth Air Force, being stationed at Turner Air Force Base, Georgia...

    , 1 February 1963
  • 823d Air Division
    823d Air Division
    The 823d Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Strategic Air Command, assigned to Second Air Force, being stationed at McCoy Air Force Base, Florida...

    , 2 September 1966 – 25 March 1967.
  • Air Combat Command
    Air Combat Command
    Air Combat Command is a major command of the United States Air Force. ACC is one of ten major commands , reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force ....

Attached to: United States Air Forces Central, Jan–Apr 2003


Components

  • 18th Expeditionary Air Support Operations Group, Jan–Apr 2003
  • 4th Expeditionary Air Support Operations Group, Jan–Apr 2003
  • 3d Expeditionary Air Support Operations Group, Jan–Apr 2003

  • 824th Bombardment Squadron
    824th Bombardment Squadron
    The 824th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 484th Bombardment Wing. It was last stationed at Turner Air Force Base, Georgia, and was inactivated on 25 March 1967.-History:...

    : 20 September 1943 – 25 July 1945; 1 February 1963 – 25 January 1967 (not operational, 1 April–c. 29 September 1966)
  • 825th Bombardment Squadron
    825th Bombardment Squadron
    The 825th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 484th Bombardment Group. It was last stationed at Casablanca Airport, French Morocco, and was inactivated on 25 July 1945.-History:...

    : 20 September 1943 – 25 July 1945
  • 826th Bombardment Squadron
    826th Bombardment Squadron
    The 826th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 484th Bombardment Group. It was last stationed at Casablanca Airport, French Morocco, and was inactivated on 25 July 1945.-History:...

    : 20 September 1943 – 25 July 1945
  • 827th Bombardment Squadron
    827th Bombardment Squadron
    The 827th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 484th Bombardment Group. It was last stationed at Casablanca Airport, French Morocco, and was inactivated on 25 July 1945.-History:...

    : 20 September 1943 – 25 July 1945
  • 919th Air Refueling Squadron
    919th Air Refueling Squadron
    The 919th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 306th Bombardment Wing, stationed at McCoy AFB, Florida. It was inactivated on 30 June 1971...

    : 1 February 1963 – 25 March 1967 (not operational, 1 April–c. 29 September 1966).

Stations

  • Harvard Army Airfield
    Harvard Army Airfield
    Harvard State Airport , also known as Harvard State Airfield, is a public use airport located two nautical miles northeast of the central business district of Harvard, a city in Clay County, Nebraska, United States. It is owned by the Nebraska Department of Aeronautics...

    , Nebraska
    Nebraska
    Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....

    , 20 September 1943 – 2 March 1944
  • Torretto Airfield, Italy, April 1944
  • Casablanca-Anfa Airport
    Casablanca-Anfa Airport
    Casablanca-Anfa Airport is an airport in Morocco , located about southwest of Casablanca. Anfa Airport is one of two airports serving the Casablanca area, the other being the newer and larger Mohammed V International Airport. Anfa Airport, restricted by the urban growth around it, primarily serves...

    , French Morocco
    French Morocco
    French Protectorate of Morocco was a French protectorate in Morocco, established by the Treaty of Fez. French Morocco did not include the north of the country, which was a Spanish protectorate...

    , c. 25 May – 25 July 1945
  • Turner AFB, Georgia
    Georgia (U.S. state)
    Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

    , 1 February 1963 – 25 March 1967
  • Prince Sultan Air Base
    Prince Sultan Air Base
    Prince Sultan Air Base is an air base located at Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia.There was formerly a large United States presence there during Operations Southern Watch, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. The U.S. presence was predominantly that of multiple U.S. Air Force flying units, augmented by a...

    , Saudi Arabia, 2003

Aircraft

  • 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...

    , 1943–1945
  • B-52 Stratofortress
    B-52 Stratofortress
    The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber operated by the United States Air Force since the 1950s. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, who have continued to provide maintainence and upgrades to the aircraft in service...

    , 1963–1966, 1966–1967
  • KC-135 Stratotanker
    KC-135 Stratotanker
    The 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...

    , 1963–1966, 1966–1967.

Further reading

  • Elizabeth Rees, “Standup Of 484th AEW Proved Vital To Army, Air Force Ops. Integration,” Inside the Air Force, 5 September 2003

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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