7th Air Division emblem (approved 16 September 1954)[1]
Military unit
The 7th Air Division (7 AD) served the United States Air Force with distinction from early 1944 through early 1992, earning an outstanding unit decoration and a service streamer along the way.
On 15 December 1947 the wing was redesignated the 7 Air Division, but then inactivated on 1 May 1948. It was organized again on the same day, but then discontinued on 3 September 1948.
Strategic Air Command rotation to England
Strategic Air Command (SAC) formed two air divisions in early 1951. The 7th Air Division was formed for its bases in England, while the 5th Air Division was and activated at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, where Maj Gen Archie J. Old, Jr. formed its cadre before it moved overseas to control SAC units in Morocco.[1][2] The 7th, led by Brig Gen Paul T. Cullen, was the first to deploy, leaving for England in March, but the Douglas C-124 Globemaster II aircraft carrying General Cullen and his staff ditched in the Atlantic, leaving no survivors. General Old hastily flew to England, where he took command of the 7th Division until Maj Gen John P. McConnell could arrive. Once a new commander was appointed in May, General Old and his staff left for Morocco.[3]
The division controlled deployed bombardment and reconnaissance forces between 1951 and 1965.[2] During the 1950s, SAC's presence in England grew, with nine bases being constructed for the use of SAC bombers, and another six throughout the United Kingdom for support of SAC activities.[4] In 1953, shortly after the death of Stalin, the first Boeing B-47 Stratojets, from the 306th Bombardment Wing, arrived in England for 90 days duty, beginning what would be known as Reflex operations in the United Kingdom.[5]
It participated in alerts, exercises, operational readiness inspections, evaluations, and intensive training programs to provide an advanced combat ready force. It also assumed responsibility for air base construction and improvement, which included building complexes to accommodate bombers, fighters, and special functions such as communications, weapons storage, aircraft parts, and navigational aids.
In September 1957, B-47s in Morocco were put on ground alert, armed, fueled and ready to take off upon notice. This posture was expanded to the bases under the 7th Air Division's command in early 1958. For the remainder of the division's existence, this status, known as Reflex Action (usually shortened to just Reflex), would be the normal status for the Stratojets rotating through England. The number of 7th Air Division bases used for Reflex reached a peak of nine in early 1959.[7]
The development of Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles by the Soviet Union made forward bases for SAC medium range bombers increasingly vulnerable. After 1958, when the 100th Bombardment Wing departed RAF Brize Norton, SAC bombardment wings no longer rotated as entire units, although six bombers continued on alert at each of the division's bomber bases.[8] The number of B-47 wings capable of sending aircraft to Reflex operations at the division's bases began to decline after 1958.[9] The replacement of the medium bomber by the heavy bomber and the intercontinental ballistic missile in the SAC inventory continued into the early 1960s and this removed the need for SAC bases in England, leading to the inactivation of the division in June 1965.[1][10]
Strategic Air Command in Europe
From 1978, the division was activated in Europe to provide command and control for SAC units assigned to USAFE, primarily air refueling and reconnaissance organizations, but also ground support units such as the 3920th Strategic Wing. It assured that assigned units trained to conduct strategic warfare according to the Emergency War Order. It also assured that assigned units could conduct strategic reconnaissance and air refueling and function as the nucleus of a SAC advanced echelon in event of contingency operations.[1]
7th Air Division in Desert Shield and Desert Storm
The 801st BW (P) consisted of 28 B-52G Stratofortresses and was formed around a nucleus provided by the 2d Bombardment Wing at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana and drew aircraft from the crews of the 524th BS/379th BW, Wurtsmith AFB, Michigan; the 668th BS/416th BW at Griffiss AFB, New York and from 69th BS/42d BW at Loring AFB, Maine. One B-52G (52-6503) was sent from the 340th BS/97th BW at Eaker AFB, Arkansas.
The 806th BW (P) was formed around a cadre of air and ground crews provided by the 97th Bombardment Wing, Eaker AFB, Arkansas. It consisted of a total of 11 B-52G Stratofortresses, also being drawn from the 668th BS/416th BW at Griffiss AFB, New York; 596th BS/2d BW, Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, and the 328th BS/93d BW at Castle AFB, California.
The lead unit for the 4300th BW (P) was the 69th Bomb Squadron/42d BW from Loring AFB, Maine.[11] Aircraft were also drawn from the 328th BS/93d BW at Castle AFB, California. Six aircraft were transferred to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on 17 January 1991 and they were replaced by six B-52Gs from the 1500th SW (P) at Andersen AFB, Guam.
United States
United States Air Force
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