2d Bomb Wing

2d Bomb Wing
	Boeing B-52H bomber at Barksdale Air Force Base
Active	15 October 1947 – present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Bomber
Part of	Air Force Global Strike Command ; Eighth Air Force
Garrison/HQ	Barksdale Air Force Base
Motto(s)	LIBERTATEM DEFENDIMUS; Latin: We Defend Liberty
Aircraft	B-52 Stratofortress
Decorations	see "Lineage and Honors" section below
Commanders
Current; commander	Colonel Michael A. Miller
Notable; commanders	George J. Eade ; Eugene E. Habiger ; Charles T. Robertson, Jr. ; John Dale Ryan
Insignia
2d Bomb Wing emblem (approved 10 August 1951) [1]

Last updated March 05, 2019

The 2d Bomb Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force Global Strike Command and Eighth Air Force. It is stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The wing is also the host unit at Barksdale. The wing was assigned to the Air Force Global Strike Command in February 2010 as part of the reassignment of Eighth Air Force.

The United States Air Force (USAF) is the aerial and space warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the five branches of the United States Armed Forces, and one of the seven American uniformed services. Initially formed as a part of the United States Army on 1 August 1907, the USAF was established as a separate branch of the U.S. Armed Forces on 18 September 1947 with the passing of the National Security Act of 1947. It is the youngest branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, and the fourth in order of precedence. The USAF is the largest and most technologically advanced air force in the world. The Air Force articulates its core missions as air and space superiority, global integrated intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, rapid global mobility, global strike, and command and control.

Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) is a Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. AFGSC provides combat-ready forces to conduct strategic nuclear deterrence and global strike operations in support of combatant commanders. It is subordinated to the USSTRATCOM.

The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces Strategic – Global Strike, one of the air components of United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM). The Eighth Air Force includes the heart of America's heavy bomber force: the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, the B-1 Lancer supersonic bomber, and the B-52 Stratofortress heavy bomber aircraft.

The 5th Bomb Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Force Global Strike Command's Eighth Air Force. It is stationed at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. The wing is also the host unit at Minot. The 5 BW is one of only two Boeing B-52H Stratofortress wings in the United States Air Force, the other being the 2d Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana.

Minot Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force installation in Ward County, North Dakota, 13 miles (20 km) north of the city of Minot via U.S. 83. In the 2010 census, the base was counted as a CDP with a total population of 5,521, down from 7,599 in 2000. Minot AFB is the home of two major wings: the 5th Bomb Wing and 91st Missile Wing, both of the Global Strike Command (AFGSC).

Its 2d Operations Group is the oldest bomb group of the Air Force, having fought on the Western Front as the 1st Day Bombardment Group during World War I, entering combat on 12 September 1918.^[2] After the war, it participated in Brigadier General Billy Mitchell's 1921 off-shore bombing test. Active for over 60 years, the 2 BW was a component wing of Strategic Air Command (SAC)'s heavy bomber deterrent force throughout the Cold War.

2d Operations Group flying component of the United States Air Force 2d Bomb Wing

The 2d Operations Group is the flying component of the United States Air Force 2d Bomb Wing, assigned to the Air Force Global Strike Command Eighth Air Force. The group is stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana.

The Western Front was the main theatre of war during the First World War. Following the outbreak of war in August 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne. Following the Race to the Sea, both sides dug in along a meandering line of fortified trenches, stretching from the North Sea to the Swiss frontier with France, which changed little except during early 1917 and in 1918.

World War I 1914–1918 global war originating in Europe

World War I, also known as the First World War or the Great War, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. Contemporaneously described as "the war to end all wars", it led to the mobilisation of more than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, making it one of the largest wars in history. It is also one of the deadliest conflicts in history, with an estimated nine million combatants and seven million civilian deaths as a direct result of the war, while resulting genocides and the 1918 influenza pandemic caused another 50 to 100 million deaths worldwide.

The 2d Bomb Wing is commanded by Colonel Michael A. Miller. The Command Chief Master Sergeant is Joshua W. Swanger.^[3]

Units

Today, as the largest bomb wing in Air Force Global Strike Command and as a part of the historic "Mighty Eighth" Air Force, the wing continues to reflect the heritage of its motto Libertatem Defendimus: "Liberty We Defend."

2d Maintenance Group

2d Maintenance Squadron

2d Maintenance Operations Squadron

2d Aircraft Maintenance Squadron

2d Munitions Squadron

2d Medical Group
2d Operations Group

2d Operations Support Squadron ("Posse")

11th Bomb Squadron ("Jiggs Squadron")

20th Bomb Squadron ("Buccaneers")

96th Bomb Squadron ("The Devil's Own")

2d Mission Support Group

2d Contracting Squadron

2d Communications Squadron

2d Civil Engineer Squadron

2d Logistics Readiness Squadron

2d Mission Support Squadron

2d Security Forces Squadron

2d Services Squadron

History

Medium bomber era

The 2d Bombardment Wing was activated by the United States Air Force on 5 November 1947, though it initially had no headquarters or home station of its own. Its assigned 2d Bombardment Group was attached to the 43rd Bombardment Wing at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, all assigned to the Strategic Air Command Eighth Air Force.

Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense (DoD) Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command (MAJCOM), responsible for Cold War command and control of two of the three components of the U.S. military's strategic nuclear strike forces, the so-called "nuclear triad," with SAC having control of land-based strategic bomber aircraft and intercontinental ballistic missiles or ICBMs.

A debate over where to station the new wing ended with the selection of Chatham Air Force Base, Georgia, a World War II training airfield. Located about 10 miles northwest of Savannah, Georgia, Chatham had an adequate airfield for B-29 operations, but the base's cantonment area was in extremely poor condition. Its buildings had been built to last for five years, were heated with potbellied stoves and had only outdoor latrines.

After these facilities were upgraded, wing headquarters were stood up 1 January 1949 at Chatham. The 2d Bomb Wing assumed the assets of the 307th Bombardment Group, which had been deployed to the base from MacDill Air Force Base, Florida; and the 2d Bombardment Group, which had returned from a deployment to RAF Lakenheath, England. Equipped with B-29 Superfortresses, the wing's primary mission was training for strategic bombardment operations. In early 1949, the B-29s began to be replaced by the B-50 Superfortress, a B-29 derivative designed for atomic warfare with more powerful engines, a higher top speed, and a higher ceiling.

Air Force leaders remained dissatisfied with Chatham's facilities, and made plans to move the wing to better ones. The city of Savannah, however, offered the USAF the former Hunter Army Airfield, which was closer to the city (5 miles NW), along with 3,500 acres (14 km²) of adjacent land for base expansions. Hunter Field was built in 1929 as Savannah Municipal Airport and in 1940 the Air Corps received approval to build a permanent base at the site. During World War II it was used both as a training base as well as an antisubmarine airfield during the war. In June 1946, the airfield was returned to the City of Savannah. In addition, Headquarters, Eighth Air Force was established in Savannah in January 1942, and there was a strong desire to have an Eighth Air Force wing be stationed in the area. On 29 September 1950, the 2d Bomb Wing moved to the reopened Hunter Air Force Base and Chatham was turned over to the City of Savannah, where it was redeveloped into a regional airport.

B-50 Superfortress operations continued until November 1953, when the 2 BW began receiving jet-powered B-47E Stratojet medium bombers. The B-47 was a fast bomber that relied on speed to penetrate the air defenses of the Soviet Union. Produced in large numbers, it became the SAC's main medium bomber throughout the 1950s. The wing participated in SAC REFLEX deployments to North Africa and England. Beginning in 1958, the B-47 was becoming obsolete, as the air defenses of the Soviet Union improved. The Stratojet was phased out of SAC beginning in 1960.

Plans were made to upgrade the wing to the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress. However, although adequate for B-47 operations, the runway at Hunter was inadequate for B-52 operations when tested in the early 1960s. In addition, during the 1950s the urban area of the City of Savannah was expanding and encroaching on the airfield, making Hunter unsuitable for heavy nuclear-equipped bomber operations over the urbanized area. A 1958 Tybee Island B-47 crash in which a Mark 15 hydrogen bomb was lost in the Atlantic Ocean just off the coast of Savannah was another reason in the decision by SAC to move the Wing to a non-urban area.

In early 1963 the wing began to send its B-47s to storage at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The 2d Bombardment Wing would be moved, and Hunter AFB was reassigned to Military Air Transport Service (MATS). MATS closed its facilities at Donaldson Air Force Base, South Carolina and reassigned the 63rd Troop Carrier Wing to Hunter, using the base for Douglas C-124 Globemaster II intercontinental cargo aircraft operations to points around the world.

B-52 Stratofortress

The 2d Bombardment Wing moved to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana on 1 April 1963 where it assumed the existing B-52F Stratofortress heavy bombers and personnel of 4238th Strategic Wing (SW). The wing has been stationed at Barksdale continuously for over 50 years.

4238th Strategic Wing

B-52 operations at Barksdale can be traced to 1 March 1958 when SAC established the 4238th SW.^[4] and assigned it to the 4th Air Division ^[5] as part of SAC's plan to disperse its Boeing B-52 Stratofortress heavy bombers over a larger number of bases, thus making it more difficult for the Soviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike.^[6] The 4238th was initially assigned only three maintenance squadrons, but on 15 April, the 4238th Air Base Group was activated under the wing as the host organization for Barksdale when the 805th Air Base Group^[4] and the 301st Bombardment Wing ^[7] were inactivated. The 301st and 376th Air Refueling Squadrons, flying Boeing KC-97 Stratotankers were transferred to the wing from the 301st while the 20th Aviation Depot Squadron was transferred from the 805th to oversee the wing's special weapons. In June, the 913th Air Refueling Squadron, flying Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers was activated in anticipation of the arrival of the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress. The two KC-97 units were inactivated or transferred from Barksdale by 1962.^[4]

The wing gained its fourth operational squadron on 1 August when the 436th Bombardment Squadron (BS), consisting of 15 Boeing B-52 Stratofortresses moved to Barksdale from Carswell AFB, Texas where it had been one of the three squadrons of the 7th Bombardment Wing.^[8] Starting in 1960, 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.^[9] The 4238th (and later the 2d) continued to maintain an alert commitment until the end of the Cold War. In 1962, the wing's bombers began to be equipped with the GAM-77 Hound Dog and the GAM-72 Quail air-launched cruise missiles, The 4134th Airborne Missile Maintenance Squadron was activated in November to maintain these missiles.

2d Bombardment Wing, Heavy

In 1962, in order to perpetuate the lineage of bombardment units with illustrious World War II records, Headquarters SAC received authority from Headquarters USAF to discontinue its Major Command controlled (MAJCON) strategic wings that were equipped with combat aircraft and replace them with Air Force controlled (AFCON) units, which could carry a lineage and history.^[10] Rather than inactivate the 2d Bombardment Wing when Hunter closed, SAC moved it to replace the 4238th SW.^[11] and assume its mission, personnel, and equipment.^[12]

In the same way the 20th Bombardment Squadron, one of the unit's historical bomb squadrons, replaced the 436th BS.^[13] The 855th Medical Group, 20th Munitions Maintenance Squadron and the 913th Air Refueling Squadron were reassigned to the 2d. The 4238th's support group and maintenance squadrons were replaced by ones with the 2d numerical designation. Each of the new units assumed the personnel, equipment, and mission of its predecessor.

At Barksdale, 2 BW supported Second Air Force's post-attack command and control system from April 1963 until March 1970. It conducted bombardment training and air refueling operations from April 1963 except for periods when all aircraft and crews were on loan to SAC organizations involved in combat operations in Southeast Asia. It began supporting SAC operations in Southeast Asia with aircraft and personnel in 1965, and increasingly supported these operations in 1966 and 1967. On 15 April 1968, gained a second B-52 and a second KC-135 squadron, again becoming a SAC "super" wing. From late May 1972 until 26 October 1973, it loaned all wing B-52 resources to SAC organizations in the Far East and Southeast Asia. From May 1972 to early November 1972 the wing loaned all but four of the wing's KC-135s and a few aircrews to other SAC units. After the return of combat resources, the wing continued supporting SAC operations in Southeast Asia into 1975, on a reduced scale.^[11]

Gained KC-10 tankers in November 1981 to augment refueling operations for the USAF, AFRES, and ANG. Provided air refueling for rescue efforts in Grenada, October–November 1983, the attack on Libya, April 1986, and the invasion of Panama, December 1989 – January 1990. Presented the Omaha Trophy for "the Outstanding Wing in the Strategic Air Command" f2. Deployed B-52, KC-135, and KC-10 aircraft, aircrews, and support personnel to several locations in support of operations in Southwest Asia, 7 August 1990 – 17 April 1991.

1991 Gulf War

Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm brought Barksdale warriors into the spotlight again with their efforts to liberate Kuwait.

The 596th Bomb Squadron, 2d Bomb Wing flew what was then the longest combat mission in the history of military aviation at the start of Desert Storm in 1991. Seven B-52s flew a 35.4-hour mission On 16–17 January 1991 and, for the time in U.S. Air Force history, fired a devastating barrage of conventional Air Launched Cruise Missile (CALCMs). The official name of this mission was SENIOR Surprise, unofficially it was referred to as Secret Squirrel. The 2d Bomb Wing delivered one-fourth of all U.S. Air Force bombs during Desert Storm. The 2d Bomb Wing KC-135s and KC-10s provided more than 1,000 of the 13,700 coalition refueling missions.

Two 2d Bomb Wing B-52s conducted a missile strike against surface-to-air missile sites and air defense radars in Iraq in September 1996. Desert Strike was ordered in response to Iraqi attacks on Kurds in northern Iraq. The mission earned the wing the prestigious 1996 Mackay Trophy as the most meritorious flight of the year.

The 2d Bomb Wing took part in Operation Southern Watch, Desert Fox and Allied Force throughout the late 1990s.

On 19 September 2001, wing elements deployed to Diego Garcia and on 7 October flew early attacks on targets in Afghanistan in Operation Enduring Freedom to rid that country of terrorist bases and its extremist Taliban rulers and Al-Qaeda militants; later flew airborne alert missions and, in Operation Anaconda, flew bombing missions against targets in eastern Afghanistan, 1–18 March 2002. In the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, flew missions on 21 March in "shock and awe" strikes against command and control targets.

Lineage

Established as 2d Bombardment Wing, Very Heavy on 15 October 1947

Organized on 5 November 1947

Redesignated: 2d Bombardment Wing, Medium on 12 July 1948

Redesignated: 2d Bombardment Wing, Heavy on 1 April 1963

Redesignated: 2d Wing on 1 September 1991

Redesignated: 2d Bomb Wing on 1 October 1993.

Assignments

Eighth Air Force, 5 November 1947

Attached to 43rd Bombardment Wing, 17 November 1947 – 31 December 1948

Second Air Force, 1 April 1950

Attached to 7th Air Division, 4 May-31 August 1951

38th Air Division, 10 October 1951

Attached to 7th Air Division, 10 September-4 December 1952

Attached to 5th Air Division, 4 August- 20 September 1954; 6 July-26 August 1956

6th Air Division, 1 November 1959
823rd Air Division, 1 April 1961
4th Air Division, 1 April 1963
19th Air Division, 1 September 1964
42d Air Division, 1 July 1965
19th Air Division, 2 July 1969
42d Air Division, 1 December 1982
Eighth Air Force, 16 June 1988 – present^[1]

Components

Groups

2d Bombardment (later, 2d Operations): 5 November 1947 – 16 June 1952 (detached 17 November 1947 – 31 December 1948 and 18 February – 16 May 1950); 1 September 1991–present^[1]

Squadrons

2d Air Refueling Squadron: attached 10 February 1951 – 15 June 1952, assigned 16 June 1952 – 1 April 1963; assigned 3 January 1989 – 1 September 1991
11th Bomb Squadron: 1 July 1994–present
20th Bomb Squadron: attached 10 February 1951 – 15 June 1952, assigned 16 June 1952 – 25 June 1965
32d Air Refueling Squadron: 1 November 1981 – 1 September 1991
49th Bombardment Squadron: attached 10 February 1951 – 15 June 1952, assigned 16 June 1952 – 1 April 1963
62d Bombardment Squadron: 25 June 1965 – 1 September 1991
71st Air Refueling Squadron: 15 April 1968 – 1 September 1991
96th Bombardment Squadron: attached 10 February 1951 – 15 June 1952, assigned 16 June 1952 – 1 April 1963
308th Air Refueling Squadron: 1 July 1959 – 1 March 1960
429th Bombardment Squadron: 1 October 1958 – 1 January 1962
596th Bombardment Squadron: 15 April 1968 – 1 September 1991
913th Air Refueling Squadron: 1 April 1963 – 1 November 1981. (Active 15 March 1958 – 1 November 1981)^[1]

Stations

Davis-Monthan Field (later Davis-Monthan Air Force Base), Arizona, 5 November 1947
Chatham Air Force Base, Georgia, 1 April 1949
Hunter Air Force Base, Georgia, 22 September 1950

Deployed at RAF Mildenhall, England, May–August 1951

Deployed at RAF Upper Heyford, England, September–December 1952

Deployed at Sidi Slimane Air Base, French Morocco, August–September 1954 and July–August 1956.

Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, 1 April 1963–present

Aircraft

B-29 Superfortress, 5 November 1947 – 10 October 1951
B-50 Superfortress, 5 November 1947 – 4 August 1954
KB-29 Superfortress, 1 April 1950 – 4 August 1954
KC-97 Stratotanker, 4 August 1954 – 1 April 1963
B-47 Stratojet, 4 August 1954 – 1 April 1963

B-52 Stratofortress, 1 April 1963 –
KC-135 Stratotanker, 1 April 1963 – 1994
Boeing EC-135, 1966–1971
Boeing RC-135, 1977–1980
KC-10 Extender, November 1981 – 1 June 1992^[1]

Awards and campaigns

In addition to the following awards, the wing is entitled to display the two Distinguished Unit Citations earned by the 2d Operations Group during World War II

Award	Dates	Notes
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 November 1956 – 1 April 1957	2d Bombardment Wing^[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 July 1986 – 30 June 1987	2d Bombardment Wing^[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 July 1987 – 30 June 1989	2d Bombardment Wing^[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 October 1993 – 31 May 1995	2d Bomb Wing^[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 June 1995 – 31 May 1996	2d Bomb Wing^[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 June 1996 – 31 May 1997	2d Bomb Wing^[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 June 1998 – 31 May 2000	2d Bomb Wing^[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 June 2000 – 31 May 2002	2d Bomb Wing^[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 January 2008 – 31 December 2009	2d Bomb Wing^[14]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 January 2010 – 31 December 2011	2d Bomb Wing^[14]

Mackay Trophy (for the "Most Meritorious Flight of the Year") 1996
Omaha Trophy (for the "Outstanding Wing in the Strategic Air Command") (2): 1988, 1992, 2015

In addition to the following awards, the wing is entitled to display the 16 campaign streamers earned by the 2d Operations Group during World War I and World War II

Campaign	Dates	Notes
Grenada	1983	2d Bombardment Wing^[1]
Defense of Saudi Arabia	2 August 1990 – 16 January 1991	2d Bombardment Wing^[1]
Liberation and Defense of Kuwait	17 January 1991 – 11 April 1991	2d Bombardment Wing^[1]

Emblem

Blazon : Or, in fess four aerial bombs descending bendwise sinister Azure garnished Argent on a chief engrailed Vert a fleur-de-lis White between two pallets Sable, all within a diminished bordure of the first. The bombs signify original squadrons, the stripes represent major World War I offensives, and the white fleur de lis symbolizes the French location of the battles.

Motto: LIBERTATEM DEFENDIMUS—Liberty We Defend.

References

Notes

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Robertson, Patsy (11 January 2007). "Factsheet 2 Bomb Wing (ACC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Archived from the original on 23 March 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
↑ Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961]. Air Force Combat Units of World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. pp. 25–28. ISBN 0-912799-02-1. LCCN 61060979.
↑ "Chief Master Sergeant Joshua W. Swanger". Barksdale Air Force Base. September 2018.
1 2 3 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. pp. 15–23. ISBN 0-912799-53-6.
↑ "Factsheet 4 Air Division". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Archived from the original on 30 October 2012. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
↑ "Abstract (Unclassified), Vol 1, History of Strategic Air Command, Jan-Jun 1957 (Secret)". Air Force History Index. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
↑ Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947–1977 (PDF). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. pp. 144–146. ISBN 0-912799-12-9.
↑ Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. pp. 538–540. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556.
↑ "Abstract (Unclassified), History of the Strategic Bomber since 1945 (Top Secret, downgraded to Secret)". Air Force History Index. 1 April 1975. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
↑ MAJCON units could not carry a permanent history or lineage. Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). A Guide to Air Force Lineage and Honors (2d, Revised ed.). Maxwell AFB, AL: USAF Historical Research Center. p. 12.
1 2 Ravenstein, Combat Wings, pp. 7-9
↑ The 2d Wing continued, through temporary bestowal, the history, and honors of the 2d Bombardment Group. It is also entitled to retain the honors (but not the history or lineage) of the 4238th.
↑ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 105-106, 538-540
1 2 "Air Force Recognition Programs". Air Force Personnel Center. Retrieved March 23, 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.
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 (PDF). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-12-9.
Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). A Guide to Air Force Lineage and Honors (2d, Revised ed.). Maxwell AFB, AL: USAF Historical Research Center.

External links

"About Us: 2nd Bomb Wing History". Official United States Air Force Website. February 3, 2010. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
Barksdale Air Force Base official web site
WW2 2nd Bomb Group Association website

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
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[2BWfacts-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Robertson, Patsy (11 January 2007). "Factsheet 2 Bomb Wing (ACC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Archived from the original on 23 March 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2014.

[2] Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961]. Air Force Combat Units of World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. pp. 25–28. ISBN 0-912799-02-1. LCCN 61060979.

[3] "Chief Master Sergeant Joshua W. Swanger". Barksdale Air Force Base. September 2018.

[Mueller-4] 1 2 3 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. pp. 15–23. ISBN 0-912799-53-6.

[5] "Factsheet 4 Air Division". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Archived from the original on 30 October 2012. Retrieved March 12, 2014.

[6] "Abstract (Unclassified), Vol 1, History of Strategic Air Command, Jan-Jun 1957 (Secret)". Air Force History Index. Retrieved March 4, 2014.

[7] Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947–1977 (PDF). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. pp. 144–146. ISBN 0-912799-12-9.

[8] Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. pp. 538–540. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556.

[9] "Abstract (Unclassified), History of the Strategic Bomber since 1945 (Top Secret, downgraded to Secret)". Air Force History Index. 1 April 1975. Retrieved March 4, 2014.

[10] MAJCON units could not carry a permanent history or lineage. Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). A Guide to Air Force Lineage and Honors (2d, Revised ed.). Maxwell AFB, AL: USAF Historical Research Center. p. 12.

[Ravenstein7-11] 1 2 Ravenstein, Combat Wings, pp. 7-9

[12] The 2d Wing continued, through temporary bestowal, the history, and honors of the 2d Bombardment Group. It is also entitled to retain the honors (but not the history or lineage) of the 4238th.

[13] Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 105-106, 538-540

[AFawards-14] 1 2 "Air Force Recognition Programs". Air Force Personnel Center. Retrieved March 23, 2014.