6th Air Refueling Wing

6th Bombardment Wing B-36 Peacemakers[note 4]

The 6th Bombardment Wing (Medium) was activated Walker Air Force Base, New Mexico on 2 January 1951, where it was assigned to Strategic Air Command (SAC)'s Eighth Air Force. The 24th, 39th and 40th Bombardment Squadrons were simultaneously activated. The squadrons were nominally assigned to the wing's 6th Bombardment Group, but the group was not operational and the squadrons were attached directly to the wing's headquarters until the group was inactivated in June 1952. The wing was equipped with Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers. In August, the 307th Air Refueling Squadron, operating KB-29P Superfortress tankers to refuel the wing's bombers, moved to Walker from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, and was also attached to the Wing.[1][3][note 5]

One month after the wing was activated, it was assigned to the 47th Air Division, which was activated at Walker to serve as the headquarters for the 6th and Walker's second wing, the 509th Bombardment Wing.[4] In 1952, the 6th converted from the B-29 to the Convair B-36 Peacemaker. The Peacemaker did not require air refueling, so the 307th Squadron's attachment to the wing ended. On 31 October 1955, the entire wing deployed to Anderson Air Force Base, Guam, remaining there until 26 January 1956, when it returned to Walker. The wing continued to fly the B-36 until 1957, when it began converting to the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress.[1]

The air refuelable B-52 brought with it a return of the air refueling mission, this time with the Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers of the 6th Air Refueling Squadron. SAC was expanding the number of its B-52 wings, increasing the number of B-52 crews it had to train. On 1 August 1959, the 4129th Combat Crew Training Squadron was organized and assigned to the wing to conduct ground training of new crews, while the following month, the 24th and 39th Bombardment Squadrons[note 6][1] began flying training.[1]

The 40th Bombardment Squadron continued to train for combat missions. On 10 June 1960, the entire wing became non-operational, a status that lasted until 1 December 1961, when the 40th returned to combat status.[1] One third of the squadron's aircraft were maintained on fifteen minute alert, fully fueled and ready for combat to reduce vulnerability to a Soviet missile strike. This was increased to half the squadron's aircraft in 1962.[5]

The 579th Strategic Missile Squadron was activated in September 1961 as an SM-65 Atlas-F squadron.[1] This addition of ICBMs resulted in the wing's redesignation as the 6th Strategic Aerospace Wing in May 1962. The squadron received its first ICBM on 24 January 1962. At the beginning of the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 six of the squadron's missile sites had not yet been turned over to SAC by Air Force Systems Command (AFSC). On 24 October, AFSC began to bring these missiles up to alert status. Once the crisis had abated, these missiles were removed from alert until normal training and testing could be completed.[6] On 1 June 1963, a crew of the 579th was conducting a propellant loading exercise when an explosion occurred, destroying the squadron's launch complex 1.[7] A nearly identical accident on 13 February 1964 destroyed launch complex 5, followed less than a month later, on 9 March 1964, by the destruction of launch complex 2 in another explosion.[8]

On 19 November 1964, Secretary of Defense Robert MacNamara announced Project Added Effort which would phase out that all Atlas-F missiles by the end of June 1965.[9] In implementing this project, the 579th Strategic Missile Squadron phased out its missile operations in February and inactivated on 25 March 1965.[1][10]

The Cuban Missile Crisis impacted the wing's flying force as well. On 20 October each of the wing's B-52 squadrons was directed to put two additional planes on alert. Additional KC-135s were also placed on alert to replace KC-135s devoted to maintaining 1/8 of SAC's B-52 bomber force on airborne alert.[11] On 24 October SAC went to DEFCON 2, placing all aircraft on alert.[12] On 21 November SAC returned to its normal alert posture.[13] However, the wing's return to the training mission was short-lived, for on 5 September 1963, the 24th and 39th Squadrons returned to combat status, and three weeks later, on 25 September, the 39th Bombardment Squadron and 4129th Combat Crew Training Squadron were discontinued.[1]

In June 1965, the 310th Air Refueling Squadron moved to Walker from Schilling Air Force Base. The 310th had supported the Boeing B-47 Stratojets of the 310th Bombardment Wing at Schilling with Boeing KC-97s, but in preparation for its move to Walker, had re-equipped with KC-135s during 1964.[14] This made the 6th a double-sized wing and one of the largest in SAC with its 60 heavy jet aircraft. Soon after, on 8 December 1965, the Department of Defense announced that Walker would close in connection with the drawdown of older model B-52s.[15]

All operational elements of the wing had ceased operations by 25 January 1957. The 310th Air Refueling Squadron moved to Plattsburgh Air Force Base, New York while the remaining operational squadrons were discontinued. On 25 March, wing headquarters moved on paper to Eielson Air Force Base.[1][14]

SAC had long deployed bombardment and reconnaissance aircraft to the Arctic. In 1955, the tactical and maintenance elements of the 90th Bombardment Wing deployed to Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, and SAC formed the provisional Eielson Task Force to control its forces temporarily stationed there. In August of the following year, the 14th Aviation Depot Squadron (later the 14th Munitions Maintenance Squadron) of Fifteenth Air Force moved to Eielson to oversee special weapons there.[16]

On 1 July 1960, SAC formed the 4157th Combat Support Group[16] to provide support for forward deployed SAC bombardment and reconnaissance elements at Eielson. The group was a tenant of the 5010th Air Base Wing (later 5010th Combat Support Group) of Alaskan Air Command.[16] Its original component squadron was the 14th Aviation Depot Squadron. When the focus of the 4157th shifted to reconnaissance with the discontinuance of Reflex operations in August 1962, the 14th was inactivated.[16] In 1962, the group expanded to become the 4157th Strategic Wing, and its commander assumed duties as the commander of the Eielson Task Force.[17] The wing mission had expanded to include air refueling support for B-52s involved with Operation Chrome Dome operations[18] In 1966 it added a permanently based maintenance squadron was added to the wing to provide maintenance support for deployed aircraft.[16][19]

In July 1965 the wing was reassigned to the 18th Strategic Aerospace Division,[20] However, SAC Major Command Controlled (MAJCON) Strategic Wings could not carry a permanent history or lineage[21] and SAC took the opportunity presented by the drawdown at Walker to replace the 4157th with the 6th Strategic Wing.[16][note 7]

RC-135E "Rivet Amber" at Eielson AFB[note 8]

The wing moved on paper to Eielson, where it became the 6th Strategic Wing and assumed the personnel, equipment and mission of the 4157th Strategic Wing. In addition to a maintenance squadron, the wing was assigned the new 24th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron.[1][note 9]

In Alaska, the wing's 24th Squadron flew RC–135 strategic reconnaissance missions and conducted Alaska Tanker Task Force[note 10] missions with deployed KC–135s from SAC, the Air Force Reserve and the Air National Guard. Task force aircraft flew missions to support reconnaissance and numerous exercises for the Air Force and United States Navy. From April 1968 to July 1972 the wing periodically served as the airborne monitor of the Alaskan Ballistic Missile Early Warning System station at Clear, Alaska. The wing maintained a detachment at Shemya Air Force Station, in the Aleutian Islands On two occasions, from February through May 1975 and June through September 1976, the wing moved all operations to Shemya when Eielson closed for repair of earthquake damage.[1]

The wing won the P.T. Cullen Award for greatest contributions to SAC's photographic and signal intelligence effortsthree times, in 1973, 1978 and 1983.[1] On 4 October 1968, exactly 11 years to the day after the launch of Sputnik-1, a wing Rivet Ball aircraft captured the first photographic evidence of a Soviet ICBM test with three multiple reentry vehicles.

The wing suffered several losses while at Eielson. On 13 January 1969, RC-135S, serial 59-1491 hydroplaned off the end of Runway 28 at Shemya while attempting to land after an operational mission. The aircraft was totally destroyed. No one was seriously injured. On 5 June 1969 an RC-135E crashed in the Bering Sea minutes after leaving Shemya. Nineteen crewmembers died. On 15 March 1981, an RC-135 Cobra Ball aircraft, serial 61-2664 departed Eielson for Shemya with 24 people on board. While attempting to land on Shemya they encountered a rapid decline in weather that resulted in a crash landing. Six men died and several medals were awarded for bravery. On 25 February 1985, an RC-135T, serial 55-3121 Rivet Dandy aircraft crashed into a mountainous area near Valdez, Alaska while on a training mission. All three crewmembers perished. The wreckage was not located until 2 August 1985.

On 1 April 1988, SAC renamed the wing the 6th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing. In December 1991, it was decided to transfer the wing's reconnaissance mission to the 55th Wing at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, and terminate the Alaska Tanker Task. The 24th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron moved to Offutt on 7 July 1992, terminating the wing's operational mission and it was inactivated on 1 September 1992.[1]

Following the 1991 Base Realignment and Closure Commission decision to terminate the 56th Fighter Wing's mission at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida by the end of 1993 and relocate it and its General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft to Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, Air Mobility Command assumed responsibility for operating MacDill and providing support for United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), United States Central Command (USCENTCOM) and other tenant units from Air Combat Command. The wing was redesignated the 6th Air Base Wing and activated on 4 January 1994 at MacDill to perform the support mission.[1]

On 1 October 1996, the wing returned to a flying mission when the 91st Air Refueling Squadron and its KC-135R aircraft moved from Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana to MacDill.[22] The 6th Bombardment Group was reactivated as the 6th Operations Group to be the headquarters for the 91st Squadron and the wing was renamed the 6th Air Refueling Wing.[1] The following year, the wing also assumed support responsibility for Boeing EC-135 command post aircraft at MacDill supporting USCENTCOM and USSOCOM commanders and a Boeing T-43 Bobcat supporting the United States Southern Command commander in Miami, Florida. The wing provided refueling support for global air mobility missions. In 1998, it deployed crews and aircraft to support Operation Northern Watch[1]

On 1 January 2001, three C-37A Gulfstream V aircraft replaced the Bobcats.[1] with the addition of the C-37s to the wing's EC-135Ys, the 310th Airlift Squadron was activated under the 6th Operations Group,[23] and the wing was redesignated the 6th Air Mobility Wing.[1] Following the 9/11 attacks, the wing also provided refueling support for fighters flying homeland security over the southeastern United States.[1]

The wing has twice won the Air Mobility Rodeo Best Air Mobility Wing Award; in 2000 and 2005.

On 1 October 2008, the 927th Air Refueling Wing moved on paper to MacDill from Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan and became a classic reserve associate unit, providing crews and support personnel sharing operation of the 6th's KC-135R aircraft.[24] The 927th had transferred its existing aircraft to the 127th Wing of the Michigan Air National Guard at Selfridge. This move resulted from a recommendation by the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission.

The wing deploys to forward locations to support the Global War on Terrorism and performs medical evacuation missions from overseas theaters of operations.[1] After the devastating earthquake in Haiti on 12 January 2010, the wing supported Operation United Response providing humanitarian aid to victims of the earthquake until June 2010.[24]

In April 2008, the 911th Air Refueling Squadron was activated at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina. The 911th is an "Active Associate" unit, partnering with the reserve 77th Air Refueling Squadron of the 916th Air Refueling Wing and using the 77th's KC-135Rs. The 911th was the first tanker active associate unit to be formed and the 77th received an additional eight airplanes for it to operate with the 911th.[25] The squadron won its second Spaatz Trophy as an associate unit.[1][26]

In October 2009, the 99th Air Refueling Squadron, was activated at Birmingham Air National Guard Base (since renamed Sumpter Smith ANGB), Alabama, as the wing's second active associate squadron. The 99th operates the KC-135Rs of the 106th Air Refueling Squadron of the Alabama Air National Guard's 117th Air Refueling Wing.[1][27]

On 1 October 2019, due to the deactivation of the 310th Airlift Squadron, the 6th Air Mobility Wing was redesignated as the 6th Air Refueling Wing.[28]

Groups

• 6th Bombardment Group (later 6th Operations Group): 2 January 1951 – 16 June 1952 (not operational), 1 October 1996 – present[1]

Squadrons

• 6th Air Refueling Squadron: 3 January 1958 – 25 January 1967
• 24th Bombardment Squadron (later 24 Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron): attached 2 January 1951 – 15 June 1952, assigned 16 June 1952 – 25 January 1967; assigned 25 March 1967 – 7 July 1992
• 39th Bombardment Squadron: attached 2 January 1951 – 15 June 1952, assigned 16 June 1952 – 15 September 1963
• 40th Bombardment Squadron: attached 2 January 1951 – 15 June 1952, assigned 16 June 1952 – 25 January 1967
• 307th Air Refueling Squadron: attached c. 1 August 1951 – 16 June 1952
• 310th Air Refueling Squadron: 25 June 1965 – 25 January 1967
• 579th Strategic Missile Squadron: 1 September 1961 – 25 March 1965
• 4129th Combat Crew Training Squadron: 1 August 1959 – 15 September 1963[1]

• Walker Air Force Base, New Mexico, 2 January 1951
• Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, 25 March 1967 – 1 September 1992
• MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, 4 January 1994 – present[1]

Explanatory notes

Citations

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

• Kipp, Robert; Peake, Lynn; Wolk, Herman. "Strategic Air Command Operations in the Cuban Crisis of 1962, SAC Historical Study No. 90 (Top Secret NOFORN, FRD, redacted and declassified)". Strategic Air Command. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
• Knaack, Marcelle Size (1988). Encyclopedia of US Air Force Aircraft and Missile Systems. Vol. 2, Post-World War II Bombers 1945-1973. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-59-5.
• 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. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556.
• Mueller, Robert (1989). Air Force Bases, Vol. I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982 (PDF). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-53-6.
• 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. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
• Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). A Guide to Air Force Lineage and Honors (2d, Revised ed.). Maxwell AFB, AL: USAF Historical Research Center.
• SAC Missile Chronology 1939-1988 (PDF). Offutt AFB, NE: Office of the Historian, Strategic Air Command. 1990. ISBN 978-1521159439. Retrieved 29 January 2018.

Further Reading

• Dorr, R. & Peacock, L. (2000). B-52 Stratofortress: Boeing's Cold War Warrior. Osprey Aviation: Great Britain. ISBN 1-84176-097-8
• Lloyd, A. (1999). A Cold War Legacy: A Tribute to the Strategic Air Command 1946–1992. Pictorial Histories Publishing Co: Missoula, Montana. ISBN 1-57510-052-5