45th Air Division

45th Air Division
	A 509th Bombardment Wing FB-111A dropping Mark 82 high drag practice bombs
Active	1943–1945; 1954–1958; 1958–1989
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Command of strategic strike forces
Part of	Strategic Air Command
Engagements	European Theater of World War II
Commanders
Notable; commanders	Gen Archie J. Old Jr., Gen John C. Meyer
Insignia
45th Air Division emblem (Approved 12 May 1960)[1]

The 45th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Eighth Air Force at Pease Air Force Base, New Hampshire. It was inactivated on 14 June 1989.

History

As the 45th Bombardment Wing, the unit was one of the primary Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy strategic bombardment wings of the Eighth Air Force 3d Bombardment Division in World War II. Groups from "the wing began bombing operations against German occupied Europe on 14 September 1943. Its bombers attacked targets in such German cities as Bremen, Emden, Kiel, Ludwigshafen, Munster, Saarbrücken, Schweinfurt, and Wilhelmshaven. In June 1944 the 45th supported the Allied invasion of Normandy, France, with tactical missions, against enemy airdromes, airfields, bridges, coastal defenses, field batteries, gun positions, and railway junctions."[1]

On 21 June 1944, Colonel Archie J. Old Jr., commanding officer of the 45th Combat Bombardment Wing, served as the task force commander of a shuttle bombing mission to the Soviet Union. The task force raided a synthetic oil plant just south of Berlin, and then proceeded to Poltava in the Soviet Union, where a large number of the 45th's bombers were destroyed on the ground during a raid by German bomber and fighter aircraft. The surviving bombers bombed "an oil plant at Drohobycz, Poland, while returning from Poltava to Foggia, Italy. Shortly before the German surrender, in late April 1945, the wing flew five 'Chow Hound' mercy missions, dropping food and other supplies to the people in [the still occupied western part of the Netherlands]. After the German surrender on 8 May 1945, it helped transport displaced Europeans back to their respective native countries."[1]

Reactivated an intermediate command echelon of Strategic Air Command in October 1954, the 45th Air Division "assumed responsibility for the training and combat readiness of its assigned units. It achieved this goal through staff assistance visits and supervising or participating in exercises such as Golden Hour Tango, Rubber Ball, and Sky Shield."[1]

Inactivated in June 1989[1] due to budget constraints and the reduction of forces after the end of the Cold War.

Lineage

Established as the 45th Bombardment Wing (Medium) on 15 February 1943

Activated on 1 April 1943

Redesignated: 45th Bombardment Wing (Heavy) on 6 April 1943

Redesignated: 45th Combat Bombardment Wing (Heavy) on 30 August 1943

Redesignated: 45th Combat Bombardment Wing, Heavy on 24 August 1944

Disbanded on 18 June 1945

Reestablished and redesignated 45th Air Division on 24 September 1954

Activated on 8 October 1954

Inactivated on 18 January 1958

Activated on 20 November 1958

Inactivated on 15 June 1989[1]

Assignments

Third Air Force, 1 April 1943-c. 5 August 1943
Eighth Air Force, c. 25 August 1943
3d Bombardment Division, (by 18 August 1944)-18 June 1945
Eighth Air Force, 8 October 1954 – 18 January 1958; 20 November 1958
Second Air Force, 31 March 1970
Eighth Air Force, 1 January 1975 – 15 June 1989[1]

Components

Wings

17th Bombardment Wing: 2 July 1969 – 30 June 1971
42d Bombardment Wing: 8 October 1954 – 18 January 1958; l December 1958 – 29 March 1989
95th Strategic Wing: 2 October 1966 – 30 September 1976
99th Bombardment Wing: 30 June 1971 – 31 March 1974
380th Strategic Aerospace Wing (later 380th Bombardment Wing): 1 July 1968 – 2 July 1969; 30 June 1971 – 29 March 1989
416th Bombardment Wing: 2 July 1969 – 30 June 1971; 1 July 1973 – 1 December 1982
509th Bombardment Wing: 30 June 1971 – 9 March 1989
702d Strategic Missile Wing: 1 January 1959 – 25 June 1961
4081st Strategic Wing: 1 January 1959 – 25 June 1966
4082d Strategic Wing: 1 January 1959 – 2 October 1966[1]

Groups

34th Bombardment Group, 24 May-18 June 1945
96th Bombardment Group, 13 September 1943 – 11 December 1945
388th Bombardment Group, 8 January 1944 – 5 August 1945
452d Bombardment Group, 8 January 1944 – 5 August 1945[1]

Stations

MacDill Field, Florida, 1 April – 4 August 1943
Brampton Grange (AAF-102), England, c. 25 August 1943
RAF Snetterton Heath (AAF-138), England, 13 September 1943 – 18 June 1945
Loring Air Force Base, Maine, 8 October 1954 – 18 January 1958; 20 November 1958
Pease Air Force Base, New Hampshire, 30 June 1971 – 15 June 1989[1]

Aircraft and Missiles

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, 1943 – 1945
Convair B-36 Peacemaker, 1954 – 1956
Boeing KC-97 Stratotanker, 1955 – 1957
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, 1956 – 1989
Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, 1957 – 1989
Snark (SM-62), 1959 – 1961
General Dynamics FB-111A Aardvark, 1971 – 1989[1]

References

Notes

"Factsheet 45 Air Division". Air Force Historical Research Agency. 5 October 2007. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2014.

Bibliography

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

Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961]. Air Force Combat Units of World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-02-1. LCCN 61060979.
Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947–1977. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-12-9.

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[45ADfacts-1] "Factsheet 45 Air Division". Air Force Historical Research Agency. 5 October 2007. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2014.