3rd Air Division: Difference between revisions

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===Stations===
===Stations===
* Camp Blainey, England, 13 Sep 1943
* [[RAF Honington]], England, c. 27 Oct-21 Nov 1945
* [[RAF Marham]], England, 23 Aug 1948
* Bushy Park, England, 8 Sep 1948
* Victoria Park Estate (later, USAF Station), South Ruislip, England, 15 Apr 1949-1 May 1951
* [[Wiesbaden AB]], [[West Germany]], 25 Oct 1953-1 Mar 1954
* [[Andersen AFB]], [[Guam]], 18 Jun 1954-1 Apr 1970; 1 Jan 1975 - 12 Sep 1988
* [[Hickam AFB]], [[Hawaii]], 12 Sep 1988-1 Apr 1992.


=== Aircraft / Missiles / Space Vehicles ===
=== Aircraft / Missiles / Space Vehicles ===

Revision as of 15:48, 12 September 2008

3d Air Division
3d Air Division emblem
Active30 August 1943-21 November 1945
23 August 1948-1 May 1951
8 October 1953-1 March 1954
8 June 1954-1 April 1970
1 January 1975-1 April 1992
CountryUnited States
BranchUnited States Air Force
Garrison/HQsee "Stations" section below
Equipmentsee "Aircraft / Missiles / Space Vehicles" section below
Decorationssee "Lineage and Honors" section below

The 3d Air Division (3d AD) is an inactive United States Air Forceorganization. Its last assignment was with Strategic Air Command, assigned to Fifteenth Air Force, being stationed at Hickam AFB, Hawaii. It was inactivated on 1 Apr 1992.

History

Lineage

  • Established as 3 Bombardment Division on 30 Aug 1943
Activated on 13 Sep 1943
Redesignated 3 Air Division on 1 Jan 1945.
Inactivated on 21 Nov 1945.
Organized on 23 Aug 1948.
Discontinued on 1 May 1951.
  • Redesignated 3 Air Division (Operational) on 8 Oct 1953.
Activated on 25 Oct 1953.
Inactivated on 1 Mar 1954.
  • Redesignated 3 Air Division on 8 Jun 1954.
Activated on 18 Jun 1954.
Inactivated on 1 Apr 1970.
  • Activated on 1 Jan 1975.
Inactivated on 1 Apr 1992.

Assignments

VIII Bomber Command (later, Eighth Air Force), 13 Sep 1943
VIII Fighter Command, 16 Jul-21 Nov 1945
(3d Air Division in Major Command Status)
Fifteenth Air Force, 31 Jan 1982-1 Apr 1992.

Components

Wings

Groups

Squadrons

Stations

  • Camp Blainey, England, 13 Sep 1943
  • RAF Honington, England, c. 27 Oct-21 Nov 1945
  • RAF Marham, England, 23 Aug 1948
  • Bushy Park, England, 8 Sep 1948
  • Victoria Park Estate (later, USAF Station), South Ruislip, England, 15 Apr 1949-1 May 1951
  • Wiesbaden AB, West Germany, 25 Oct 1953-1 Mar 1954
  • Andersen AFB, Guam, 18 Jun 1954-1 Apr 1970; 1 Jan 1975 - 12 Sep 1988
  • Hickam AFB, Hawaii, 12 Sep 1988-1 Apr 1992.

Aircraft / Missiles / Space Vehicles

World War II

Strategic Air Command

Operational History

The division entered combat in September 1943, performing strategic bombardment against Axis targets in the European theater of operations. During the weeks immediately preceding D-Day (6 June 1944), division aircraft bombed tactical targets such as German communications centers and lines of support, and on D-Day hit targets on the Cherbourg Peninsula immediately behind the landing beaches.

In August 1948, the division assumed the job of administering and controlling attached Strategic Air Command (SAC) bombardment, fighter, and reconnaissance organizations deployed in England for training. From 3 January 1949-21 January 1951, as a major command the division controlled large numbers of USAF organizations based in the United Kingdom and supervised a tremendous airfield construction program. It also provided aircraft maintenance support for C-54 aircraft used in the Berlin Airlift. When the Berlin Airlift ended in 1949, the division participated in the Military Assistance Program in England and began an extensive air base construction program through May 1951.

It moved to Guam and gained most of the resources of the former Far East Air Forces Bomber Command (Provisional) in June 1954. The division exercised operational control over numerous deployed tactical components, since all SAC operations in the region came under its jurisdiction. It also supported air refueling needs of all United States military agencies operating in or transiting the region. In mid 1958, the deployment of entire SAC wings to Guam was replaced by an "Air Mail" alert program, whereby several B-47 wings in the U.S. maintained a specific number of B-47s and KC-97s at Andersen AFB to meet both routine and alert requirements. In April 1964, the division switched from "Air Mail" B-47 / KC-97 to "Reflex" B-52 / KC-135 alert forces, again with aircraft and crews furnished in deployed status from U.S. based SAC wings. In 1965, it became heavily involved in Arc Light and Young Tiger operations in the Far East and SE Asia (SEA). Strategic Air Command wings in the U.S. furnished the aircrews and aircraft for these operations. The first elements of the 3d Air Division to enter combat in SEA were the tanker forces under Young Tiger. In June 1965, Arc Light B-52s struck suspected Viet Cong targets in South Vietnam, commencing the first SAC combat missions. B-52s began striking targets in North Vietnam on 11 April 1966; the initial attack against the Mu Gia Pass marked the largest single bomber raid since World War II. By late 1969, most Arc Light operations staged from U Tapao, Thailand, while others were mounted from Kadena and Andersen. Andersen AFB remained the primary base for deployed forces from the U.S., however, and aircraft and crews were sent from Guam to Kadena and U Tapao for combat missions.

On 1 April 1970 the 3d Air Division's resources passed to the Eighth Air Force. Effective 1 January 1975, 3d Air Division again controlled all SAC operations in the Western Pacific, Far East, and Southeast Asia. Additionally, it assumed responsibility for air refueling support of all U.S. military forces in these areas. During Persian Gulf operations in late 1990 through early 1991, it tasked and supported numerous sorties supporting the deployment in the Pacific Area of Responsibility (AOR).

References


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