| 45th Air Division | |
|---|---|
 45th Air Division emblem | |
| Active | 15 February 1943 – 18 June 1945 24 September 1954 – 18 January 1958 20 November 1958 – 15 June 1989 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Garrison/HQ | see "Stations" section below |
| Equipment | see "Aircraft / Missiles / Space vehicles" section below |
| Decorations | see "Lineage and honors" section below |
The 45th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Eighth Air Force, stationed at Pease AFB, New Hampshire. It was inactivated on 14 June 1989.
As the 45th Bombardment Wing, the unit was one of the primary B-17 Flying Fortress heavy strategic bombardment wings of the Eighth Air Force 3d Bombardment Division in World War II.
History
lineage
- Established as 45 Bombardment Wing (Medium) on 15 Feb 1943
- Activated on 1 Apr 1943
- Redesignated: 45 Bombardment Wing (Heavy) on 6 Apr 1943
- Redesignated: 45 Combat Bombardment Wing (Heavy) on 30 Aug 1943
- Redesignated: 45 Combat Bombardment Wing, Heavy on 24 Aug 1944
- Disestablished on 18 Jun 1945
- Reestablished, and redesignated 45 Air Division, on 24 Sep 1954
- Activated on 8 Oct 1954
- Inactivated on 18 Jan 1958
- Activated on 20 Nov 1958
- Inactivated on 15 Jun 1989
Assignments
- Third Air Force, 1 Apr 1943-c. 5 Aug 1943
- Eighth Air Force, c. 25 Aug 1943
- 3d Bombardment Division, (by 18 Aug 1944)-18 Jun 1945
- Eighth Air Force, 8 Oct 1954-18 Jan 1958; 20 Nov 1958
- Second Air Force, 31 Mar 1970
- Eighth Air Force, 1 Jan 1975-15 Jun 1989.
Components
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Wings
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Groups
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Stations
Aircraft and Missiles
B-17 Flying Fortress, 1943 – 1945.
B-36 Peacemaker, 1954 – 1956; KC-97 Stratotanker, 1955 – 1957; B-52 Stratofortress, 1956 – 1958; KC-135 Stratotanker, 1957 – 1958.
B-52 Stratofortress, 1958 – 1989; KC-135 Stratotanker, 1958 – 1989; Snark (SM-62), 1959 – 1961; FB-111 Aardvark, 1971 – 1989.
Operations
The 45th Bombardment 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, Saarbrucken, 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. 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 occupied Holland. After the German surrender on 8 May 1945, it helped transport displaced Europeans back to their respective native countries. The 45th, reestablished as an Air Division, in October 1954, 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.
References
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
External links
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