7th Bomb Wing

7th Bomb Wing

The B-1 commemorates its 20th anniversary at Dyess AFB
Active 1947-present
Country  United States
Branch  United States Air Force
Part of Global Strike Command
Eighth Air Force
Garrison/HQ Dyess Air Force Base
Motto(s) "MORS AB ALTO"
Latin: Death From Above
Equipment B-1B Lancer
Commanders
Current
commander		 Colonel David Benson
Current vice-commander Colonel Michael Miller
Current command chief Chief Master Sgt. Aaron Bennett
Notable
commanders
George J. Eade
Wendell L. Griffin
Jonathan D. George
Garrett Harencak
Insignia
7th Bomb Wing emblem (approved 15 June 1994)[1][note 1]

The 7th Bomb Wing (7 BW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Global Strike Command Eighth Air Force. It is stationed at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, where it is also the host unit.

The 7 BW is one of only two B-1B Lancer strategic bombardment wings in the United States Air Force, the other being the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota.

Its origins date to the 1918 establishment of the 1st Army Observation Group (later 7th Bombardment Group), one of the 15 original combat air groups formed by the United States Army before World War II.

The 7th Operations Group carries the lineage and history of its highly decorated World War II predecessor unit. It operated initially in the Philippines as a B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber unit assigned to Fifth Air Force but after the fall of the Philippines in early 1942, operated primarily with the Tenth Air Force in India as a B-24 Liberator unit. Active for over 60 years, the 7 BW was a component wing of Strategic Air Command's heavy bomber deterrent force throughout the Cold War.

The 7th Bomb Wing is commanded by Colonel David Benson. Its Vice Commander is Colonel Michael Miller. Its Command Chief is Chief Master Sergeant Aaron Bennett.[2]

Mission

7th Bomb Wing is responsible for providing combat-ready B-1B aircraft, crews and associate combat support for global engagement taskings, supervising military and civilian personnel and managing the largest B-1B base and flying wing.

Units

7th Civil Engineer Squadron
7th Contracting Squadron
7th Communications Squadron
7th Logistics Readiness Squadron
7th Force Support Squadron (formerly 7th Mission Support and 7th Services Squadrons)
7th Security Forces Squadron
7th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
7th Component Maintenance Squadron
7th Equipment Maintenance Squadron
7th Munitions Squadron
7th Medical Support Squadron
7th Aerospace Medicine Squadron
7th Medical Operations Squadron

History

For additional history and lineage information, see 7th Operations Group

Cold War

Patch with 7th Bombardment Wing emblem (approved 12 September 1952)[3]

B-36 era

Arrival of the first B-36A at Carswell AFB[note 2] in June 1948 along with a 7th Bomb Wing B-29.
7th Bombardment Wing Consolidated B-36D-1-CF Peacemaker 44-92097, showing Triangle-J tail code, September 1950
Consolidated B-36B-1-CF Peacemaker 44-92033 in flight
YB-52 prototype bomber at Carswell AFB, 1955 shown with a 7th Bomb Wing B-36

On 17 November 1947, the 7th Bombardment Wing, Very Heavy was organized at Fort Worth Army Air Field, Texas [3] as part of the United States Air Force's wing base reorganization, in which combat groups and all supporting units on a base were assigned to a single wing. The wing mission was to organize and train a force capable of immediate and sustained long range offensive warfare and operations in any part of the world. The 7th Bombardment Group, flying Boeing B-29 Superfortresses became its operational component. The wing's mission was to prepare for global strategic bombardment in the event of hostilities. Under various designations, the 7th Bomb Wing flew a wide variety of aircraft at the base until it moved in 1993.

Starting in June 1948 the wing received the first five Convair B-36A Peacemakers. The B-36As were delivered unarmed and were used for training and crew conversion.[4][note 3] The first B-36 was designated the "City of Fort Worth" (AF Serial No. 44-92015), and was assigned to the 492d Bombardment Squadron. When the wing base organization was made permanent in 1948, the wing was redesignated as the 7th Bombardment Wing, Heavy on 1 August.[3] In November 1948, B-36B aircraft began to join the B-36As. On 7 December one of the new B-36Bs flew a nonstop simulated bombing mission to Hawaii, dropping a 10,000 lb simulated bombload in the ocean. The flight took over 35 and a half hours and covered more than 8,000 miles.[5] The wing's last B-29 was transferred on 6 December to the 97th Bombardment Group at Biggs Air Force Base. For 10 years, the "Peacemaker" served as our nation's major deterrent weapons system.

The 11th Bombardment Group was activated on 1 December 1948 with the 26th,[6] 42d,[7] and 98th Bombardment Squadrons, Heavy assigned.[8][9] The 11th Bomb Group was assigned to Eighth Air Force, but attached to the 7th wing and was also equipped with B-36As for training.[10] A five ship B-36 formation was flown on 15 January 1949, in an air review over Washington, D.C., commemorating the inauguration of the President of the United States, Harry S. Truman.

By December 1950 the wing and its attached groups had 38 B-36s on hand, including several B-36Ds with four General Electric J47 jet engines augmenting its six reciprocating engines and its B-36Bs began to be upgraded to B-36D standard. In January 1951, the 7th took part in a special training mission to the United Kingdom. This was the first flight of B-36s outside the continental United States since the simulated mission to Hawaii.[11] The purpose of the mission was to evaluate the B-36D under simulated war plan conditions. Also, further evaluate the equivalent airspeed and compression tactics for heavy bombardment aircraft. The aircraft, staging through Limestone AFB, Maine, would land at RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom, following a night radar bombing attack on Helgoland, West Germany. From there the bombers would conduct a simulated bomb run on the Heston Bomb Plot, London, finally landing at RAF Lakenheath.

This was the first deployment of wing and SAC B-36 aircraft to England and Europe. For the next four days the flight flew sorties out of England. The aircraft redeployed to the states on 20 January arriving at Carswell on 21 January.

B-52 era

On 10 December 1957, the 98th Bomb Squadron was detached from the wing and assigned to the newly activated 4123rd Strategic Wing' at Carswell. This would become the first Boeing B-52 Stratofortress unit at Carswell. During January 1958, the wing began transferring its B-36 bombers to various SAC wings. On 20 January, the wing transferred all B-52 equipment and property on hand to the 4123rd Strategic Wing in order to facilitate that organization's conversion, which was scheduled several months ahead of the 7th Bomb Wing at Carswell. The 7th Bomb Wing officially became a B-52 organization with the adoption of manning documents and equipping authorizations on 1 February 1958.

On 30 May, Memorial Day, the last of the B-36's in the wing were retired with appropriate ceremonies and "Open House". Air Force and civilian personnel of the base, and civilians from surrounding communities were on hand to bid the "Peacemaker" a fond farewell. This last flight of a B-36 phased out completely the B-36 program in the wing.

During the late 1950s and early 1960s, the primary mission of the wing was training in global strategic bombardment and air refueling operations. On 13 April 1965, the 7 BW deployed its forces to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam to support SAC combat operations in Southeast Asia. Most of the wing's bombers and tankers, along with aircrews and some support personnel, were deployed. At Andersen AFB, the wing flew more than 1,300 missions over Vietnam, and returned to Carswell in December 1965.

In 1964 and 1965, the wing's B-52Fs were selected for modification under programs South Bay and Sun Bath. These modifications enabled the wing's bombers to double their bomb load from 24 to 48 750 lb bombs by the installation of external bomb racks. With these modifications, the wing's planes, along with those of the 320th Bombardment Wing were the first to deploy to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam and the first to fly Arc Light bombing missions. The modified B-52Fs were the only SAC bombers to deploy for Arc Light missions until 1966, when the B-52Fs were replaced by B-52Ds with the Big Belly modification than enabled them to carry a larger and more varied bomb load.[12]

Later B-52 crews were sent through an intensive two-week course on the B-52D, making them eligible for duty in Southeast Asia. B-52s assigned to combat duty in Vietnam were painted in a modified camouflage scheme with the undersides, lower fuselage, and both sides of the vertical fin being painted in a glossy black. The USAF serial number was painted in black on the fin over a horizontal red stripe across the length of the fin.

The B-52 effort was concentrated primarily against suspected Viet Cong targets in South Vietnam, but the Ho Chi Minh Trail and targets in Laos were also hit. During the relief of Khe Sanh, unbroken waves of six aircraft, attacking every three hours, dropped bombs as close as 900 feet from friendly lines. Cambodia was increasingly bombed by B-52s from March 1969 onward.

By mid-1973 most wing KC-135 resources had redeployed, and most B-52 resources returned by January 1974. The wing resumed nuclear alert status on 3 January 1974. From 4 December 1973 to May 1975, the wing conducted B-52D replacement training, and from January 1974 also conducted B-52D combat crew training, i.e., providing B-52 flight training to novice crews. Beginning in June 1974 the wing also conducted B-52 and KC-135 Central Flight Instructors' courses. Participated in numerous USAF and NATO exercises worldwide. Used B-52s for ocean surveillance and ship identification in joint naval operations.

Wing KC-135 aerial refuelers supported tanker task forces worldwide. In October – November 1983, the wing supported the invasion of Grenada with aerial refueling. In the 1980s the base received several new weapons systems, including modified B-52H aircraft. In 1983, B-52 crews began training with a new weapon system, the SRAM (Short Range Attack Missile) and later, in 1985, the ALCM (Air Launched Cruise Missile). Also, the wing flew numerous atmospheric sampling missions during 1986 and 1987 in response to the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident.

Deployed air refueling personnel and equipment to provisional wings in Southwest Asia, August 1990 – February 1992. The wing hosted the first Soviet START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) exhibition inspection team in September 1991.

Modern era

Began preparations for base closure at Carswell AFB in January 1992 and was released of all operational capabilities on 1 January 1993. The wing closed Carswell AFB on 30 September 1993 and moved to Dyess AFB, TX without personnel or equipment on 1 October 1993. There, the 7th Wing became a composite wing equipped with B-1B and C-130 aircraft. In 1997, the wing assumed responsibility for all B-1B initial qualification and instructor upgrade training for Air Combat Command. On 1 April 1997, the wing again became the 7th Bomb Wing when the airlift mission transferred to Air Mobility Command. Since 2000, the 7th Bomb Wing has provided bombing, airlift support, training and combat support to combatant commanders.

The Department of the Air Force announced in the spring of 2015 that effective 1 October 2015 the 28th, along with the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth Air Force Base would be realigned under Air Force Global Strike Command, reuniting all the Air Force's bomber and strategic missiles under a single command for the first time since Strategic Air Command was discontinued 23 years earlier.[13]

Lineage

Organized on 17 November 1947
Discontinued on 1 August 1948
Redesignated 7th Bombardment Wing, Heavy on 1 August 1948 and activated[3]
Redesignated 7th Wing on 1 September 1991
Redesignated 7th Bomb Wing on 1 June 1992
Redesignated 7th Wing on 1 October 1993
Redesignated 7th Bomb Wing on 1 April 1997[1]

Assignments

Components

Groups

Squadrons

Stations

Major Aircraft Assigned

B-52F (1957–1969); B-52D (1969–1983); B-52H (1982–1992)

Commanders

Dyess Air Force Base:

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ This restored the emblem approved in slightly different shape for the 7th Bombardment Group on 30 January 1933.
  2. ↑ "City of Fort Worth" (AF Serial No. 44-92015)
  3. ↑ These planes were never operational as bombers. They were converted to RB-36 reconnaissance aircraft. Knaack, p. 21

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Robertson, Patsy (November 5, 2007). "Factsheet 7 Bomb Wing (ACC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved May 24, 2014.
  2. ↑ http://www.dyess.af.mil/library/biographies/index.asp
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ravenstein, pp. 18–19
  4. ↑ Knaack, p. 21
  5. ↑ Knaack, p. 25
  6. ↑ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 133–134
  7. ↑ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 193-194
  8. ↑ Maurer, Combat Units, pp. 53–54
  9. ↑ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 326
  10. ↑ Robertson, Patsy (2011-04-25). "Factsheet 11 Wing (USAF)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved May 24, 2014.
  11. ↑ Knaack, p. 32
  12. ↑ Knaack, pp. 256, 268
  13. ↑ "AF realigns B-1, LRS-B under Air Force Global Strike Command". Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
  14. ↑ Baugher, Joe. "USAAC/USAAF/USAF Bomber Aircraft". Archived from the original on 21 March 2009. Retrieved May 24, 2014.

Bibliography

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

External links

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