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The 19th Air Division is an inactive
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...
formation. Its last assignment was with
Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) 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 Forc ...
at
Carswell Air Force Base Carswell Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force (USAF) base, located northwest of Fort Worth, Texas. For most of its operational lifetime, the base's mission was to train and support heavy strategic bombing groups and wings. Carswe ...
, Texas, where it was inactivated on 30 September 1988. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, the unit was designated as IX Bomber Command and was the command and control organization for
Ninth Air Force The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint De ...
in the Western Desert Campaign. Using predominantly
B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models ...
heavy and
B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...
medium bombers, it supported the
British Eighth Army The Eighth Army was an Allied field army formation of the British Army during the Second World War, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns. Units came from Australia, British India, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Free French Force ...
against the German
Afrika Korps The Afrika Korps or German Africa Corps (, }; DAK) was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African Campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its African colonies, the ...
from airfields ranging from Palestine in 1942 across North Africa to the final defeat of German forces in the
Tunisia Campaign The Tunisian campaign (also known as the Battle of Tunisia) was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. Th ...
in May 1943. Later, during the 1944
Battle of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...
and the 1945
Western Allied invasion of Germany The Western Allied invasion of Germany was coordinated by the Western Allies during the final months of hostilities in the European theatre of World War II. In preparation for the Allied invasion of Germany east of the Rhine, a series of offen ...
, as the 9th Bombardment Division, the unit directed
B-26 Marauder The Martin B-26 Marauder is an American twin-engined medium bomber that saw extensive service during World War II. The B-26 was built at two locations: Baltimore, Maryland, and Omaha, Nebraska, by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in t ...
medium bombers in tactical roles supporting Allied ground forces from
D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...
to
V-E Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easte ...
.


Heraldry

Azure, surmounting a lightning flash gules, a globe argent with latitude and longitude lines dark blue and encircled with a planetary ring of the last strewn with stars of the third and fimbriated of the like all bandwise, in chief an olive branch fesswise or, all within a diminished border of the third. (Approved 11 March 1959.)


History


Canal Zone

The 19th Air Division was first organized on 30 June 1929 as the 19th Composite Wing at
France Field France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terri ...
. It was a consolidation of Air Corps units in the Canal Zone, and was activated on 1 April 1931. It consisted of the following units: * 6th (Composite) (later, 6 Bombardment Group): 1 April 1931 – 25 October 1941 (France Field) *
9th Bombardment Group 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...
: 12 November 1940 – 30 October 1941 (Rio Hato Field) *
16th Pursuit Group The 1st Special Operations Wing (1 SOW) at Hurlburt Field, Florida is one of three United States Air Force active duty Special Operations wings and falls under the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). The 1st Special Operations Wing is ...
: 1 December 1932 – c. 19 October 1940 (Albrook Field) *
20th Pursuit Group The 20th Operations Group (20 OG) is the flying component of the 20th Fighter Wing, assigned to the United States Air Force Air Combat Command. It is stationed at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is a successor organization of the 20th ...
: 1 April 1931 – c. 25 January 1933 (France Field – Deployed from Mather Field, California) *
37th Pursuit Group 37th may refer to: *37th (Howitzer) Brigade Royal Field Artillery, a brigade of the Royal Field Artillery which served in the First World War *37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot, raised in Ireland in February 1702 *37th (Northern Ontario) Batt ...
: 1 February – c. 19 November 1940 (Albrook Field) During the 1930s the 19th Wing participated in maneuvers, flew patrol missions, made good will flights to Central American and South American countries, and flew mercy missions in South America. In January 1939, it flew missions to aid earthquake victims in
Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...
. It was redesignated as the 19th Bombardment Wing on 19 October 1940 as the United States prepared for a possible war. By late August 1941, a total of 71 aircraft, consisting of
B-18 Bolo The Douglas B-18 Bolo is an American heavy bomber which served with the United States Army Air Corps and the Royal Canadian Air Force (as the Digby) during the late 1930s and early 1940s. The Bolo was developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company f ...
s; B-17B Flying Fortresses;
A-20 Havoc The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) is an American medium bomber, attack aircraft, night intruder, night fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II. Designed to meet an Army Air Corps requirement for a bomber, it was o ...
s, and A-17A Nomads were assigned to various groups under its control. It was replaced by the 13th Bombardment Wing in an administrative reorganization of the
Panama Canal Air Force The United States Air Forces Southern Command is an inactive Major Command of the United States Air Force. It was headquartered at Albrook Air Force Base, Canal Zone, being inactivated on 1 January 1976. Initially designated Panama Canal Air Forc ...
on 25 October 1941.


World War II

Reactivated as IX Bomber Command, the unit was assigned to
Ninth Air Force The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint De ...
in Egypt on 17 November 1942. Its component groups were: * 12th Bombardment Group: c. 17 November 1942 – c. 1 November 1943,
B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...
* 98th Bombardment Group: c. 17 November 1942 – c. 13 September 1943,
Consolidated B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...
* 321st Bombardment Group: 22 July – c. 28 September 1943,
B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...
*
376th Bombardment Group 376th may refer to: * 376th Air Expeditionary Wing, inactive wing of the United States Air Force, last stationed at the Transit Center at Manas International Airport, Kyrgyz Republic *376th Air Refueling Squadron, inactive United States Air Force u ...
: 17 November 1942 – 13 September 1943, B-17D Flying Fortress;
B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models ...
. Formed from HALPRO components along with personnel and equipment sent from
Tenth Air Force The Tenth Air Force (10 AF) is a unit of the U.S. Air Force, specifically a numbered air force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). 10 AF is headquartered at Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base/Carswell Field (formerly Carswel ...
. The B-17s which were assigned were determined to be non-operational and never used in combat. IX Bomber Command was quickly put together in late 1942 to aid the
British Eighth Army The Eighth Army was an Allied field army formation of the British Army during the Second World War, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns. Units came from Australia, British India, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Free French Force ...
's drive west from
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
into
Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
against General Rommel's
Afrika Corps The Afrika Korps or German Africa Corps (, }; DAK) was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African Campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its African colonies, the f ...
during the Western Desert Campaign. It consisted of units and aircraft put together for an attack on Japan which was canceled after the
Burma Road The Burma Road () was a road linking Burma (now known as Myanmar) with southwest China. Its terminals were Kunming, Yunnan, and Lashio, Burma. It was built while Burma was a British colony to convey supplies to China during the Second S ...
was captured by Japanese forces, making its planned base in China unable to support the attack (HALPRO Mission); by
Pearl Harbor Attack The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, ...
and
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
survivor early model B-17 Flying Fortresses that had been sent from Australia, and by some early B-24 Liberator and B-25 Mitchells which were sent across the South Atlantic Transport route from Morrison Field, Florida, via
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
and across Central Africa via Sudan. The
United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
(USAAF) began planning for a buildup of American air power in the Middle East in January 1942 in response to a request from the British Chief of the Air Staff. The initial unit to arrive was given the codename " Halverson Project" (HALPRO). It was under the command of Colonel Harry A. Halverson (formerly Brig Gen Billy Mitchell's Executive Officer) and consisted of twenty-three
B-24D Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models de ...
heavy bombers with hand-picked crews. It had initially been assigned to the China Burma India Theatre to attack Japan from airfields in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
, but after the fall of
Rangoon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...
, the
Burma Road The Burma Road () was a road linking Burma (now known as Myanmar) with southwest China. Its terminals were Kunming, Yunnan, and Lashio, Burma. It was built while Burma was a British colony to convey supplies to China during the Second S ...
was cut, so the detachment could not be logistically supported in China. HALPRO's first mission was flown on 12 June 1942 against the
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
n oil facilities at Ploieşti. Thirteen B-24s flew this first U.S. mission against a European target, causing negligible damage. On 15 June, seven planes assisted the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
(RAF) in attacking an Italian fleet which had put to sea to intercept a British resupply convoy ( Operation Vigorous) on its way to
Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
. HALPRO then flew in support of British Commonwealth forces fighting in the Western Desert of Egypt and Libya. HALPRO's primary mission became the interdiction of supplies to Rommel's Army in North Africa by bombing strikes on Axis cargo ships at sea or in the ports of Tobruk and Benghazi. Reinforced during early 1943, its subordinate units attacked enemy storage areas, motor transports, troop concentrations, airdromes, bridges, shipping, and other targets in
Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
, Tunisia, and other areas. In May 1943 after the Tunisian Campaign ended, Tunisia became available for launching attacks on Pantelleria ( Operation Corkscrew), Sicily (
Operation Husky Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...
), and mainland Italy. The command attacked airfields and rail facilities in Sicily and took part in
Operation Husky Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...
, carried paratroopers, and flew reinforcements to ground units on the island. Heavy bomb units of the Ninth also participated in
Operation Tidal Wave Operation Tidal Wave was an air attack by bombers of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) based in Libya on nine oil refineries around Ploiești, Romania on 1 August 1943, during World War II. It was a strategic bombing mission and part o ...
, the famed low-level assault on oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania on 1 August 1943. Later in August 1943, it was decided to reassign Ninth Air Force to England to be the tactical air force in the planned invasion of France scheduled for May 1944. The IX Bomber Command reassigned its groups to
Twelfth Air Force The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The command is the air component to ...
, and eventually its heavy bombardment groups became the core of the newly activated
Fifteenth Air Force The Fifteenth Air Force (15 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base. It was reactivated on 20 August 2020, merging the previous units of the Ninth Air Force ...
, while its
B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...
medium bomber groups remained with Twelfth Air Force. The command's headquarters at Soluch Airfield, Libya, was inactivated on 1 October 1943.


Normandy Campaign

The IX Bomber Command was reassigned to Marks Hall, England on 16 October 1943. It took over the
3rd Bombardment Wing The 3rd Wing is a unit of the United States Air Force, assigned to the Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) Eleventh Air Force. It is stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. The Wing is the largest and principal unit within 11th Air Forc ...
of the
Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) 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 Forc ...
VIII Air Support Command The VIII Air Support Command is a disbanded United States Army Air Forces unit. It was assigned to Eighth Air Force throughout its existence, and it was last stationed at Sunninghill Park, England, where it was disbanded on 1 December 1943. ...
. It was expanded and consisted of three Wings of medium bomber groups: * 97th Bombardment Wing: 12 November 1943 – 11 October 1945 : 409th Bombardment Group: 7 March 1944 – June 1945 (A-20 Havoc, A-26 Invader) :
410th Bombardment Group 41 may refer to: * 41 (number) * one of the years 41 BC, AD 41, 1941, 2041 Art and entertainment * ''41'' (film), a 2007 documentary about Nicholas O'Neill, the youngest victim of the Station nightclub fire * ''41'', a 2012 film by Glenn Triggs * ...
: 4 April 1944 – June 1945 (A-20 Havoc, A-26 Invader) :
416th Bombardment Group 416th may refer to: * 416th Air Expeditionary Operations Group, provisional unit assigned to the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command * 416th Bombardment Wing, inactive United States Air Force unit * 416th Engineer Command (TEC), US Army Re ...
: February 1944 – July 1945 (A-20 Havoc, A-26 Invader) * 98th Bombardment Wing (Formerly 3d Bombardment Wing): 16 October 1943 – 27 November 1945 : 323d Bombardment Group: 16 October 1943 – 16 July 1945 (B-26 Marauder) :
387th Bombardment Group 387th may refer to: * 387th Air Expeditionary Group (387 AEG) is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing at Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait * 387th EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) Company, part of the ...
: 16 October 1943 – November 1945 (B-26 Marauder) :
394th Bombardment Group The 106th Rescue Wing (106th RQW) is a unit of the New York Air National Guard, stationed at Francis S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base, Westhampton Beach, New York. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the United States Air ...
: 11 March 1944 – September 1945 (B-26 Marauder) : 397th Bombardment Group: 15 April 1944 – November 1945 (B-26 Marauder) * 99th Bombardment Wing (Formerly 44th Bombardment Wing): 16 October 1943 – 4 October 1945 :
322d Bombardment Group 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...
: 16 October 1943 – 15 September 1945 (B-26 Marauder) : 344th Bombardment Group: 16 October 1943 – 15 September 1945 (B-26 Marauder) : 386th Bombardment Group: 16 October 1943 – 27 July 1945 (B-26 Marauder) :
391st Bombardment Group 391st may refer to: * 391st Bombardment Group, non-flying unit of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, stationed at Horsham Air National Guard Station * 391st Bombardment Squadron, part of the 6th Air Mobility Wing at MacDill Air Force Base, Florid ...
: 25 January 1944 – 27 July 1945 (B-26 Marauder) In the United Kingdom, and later on the continent after
D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...
, IX Bomber Command became the medium bomber component of
Ninth Air Force The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint De ...
. Its initial mission was attack to German
Atlantic Wall The Atlantic Wall (german: link=no, Atlantikwall) was an extensive system of coastal defences and fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the coast of continental Europe and Scandinavia as a defence against an anticip ...
defenses along the
English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...
coast of France. After D-Day, its primary mission was changed to fly tactical bombardment missions supporting Allied ground forces as they advanced from the Normandy Beaches across France into Germany. In addition, it attacked enemy airfields in Nazi-occupied areas in support of
Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) 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 Forc ...
strategic bombing missions as well as operations against German V-weapon sites. Additional missions involved attacks on rail marshaling yards, railroads, airfields, industrial plants, military installations, and other enemy targets in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. It was redesignated as the 9th Bombardment Division, Medium on 30 August 1944. The last combat missions was flown on 3 May 1945 by the 386th, 391st, 409th & 410th Bomb Groups.


Air Force Reserve

Redesignated as the 19th Bombardment Wing, it served another brief period with the reserve from 1946 to 1949, carrying out routine training activities.


Strategic Air Command

It was redesignated again and activated at
Carswell Air Force Base Carswell Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force (USAF) base, located northwest of Fort Worth, Texas. For most of its operational lifetime, the base's mission was to train and support heavy strategic bombing groups and wings. Carswe ...
, Texas in February 1951 as the 19th Air Division, part of
Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...
(SAC). It commanded the two
Convair B-36 Peacemaker The Convair B-36 "Peacemaker" is a strategic bomber that was built by Convair and operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1949 to 1959. The B-36 is the largest mass-produced piston-engined aircraft ever built. It had the longest w ...
wings at Carswell, the 7th and
11th Bombardment Wing The 11th Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force District of Washington. It is the host unit at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C. on from June 2020. It previously was stationed at Joint Base Andrews, Maryla ...
s. By September 1952, the B-36s assigned to the 7th and 11th Wings comprised two thirds of SAC's intercontinental bomber force. These same units were later equipped with
B-52 Stratofortress The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air ...
and
KC-135 Stratotanker The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It is the predominant variant of the C-135 Stratolifter family of trans ...
aircraft training in global strategic-bombardment and air-refueling operations. On 1 September 1952, what was then thought to be a tornado rolled across the Carswell flight line, with winds over 90 miles per hour recorded at the control tower. By the time it had passed "the flight line was a tangle of airplanes, equipment and pieces of buildings." None of the 82 bombers on the base escaped damage, and SAC declared the division non-operational. Maintenance personnel of the 7th and 11th Wings went on an 84-hour weekly work schedule and began to restore the least damaged aircraft to operational status. More heavily damaged aircraft were worked on by personnel from the San Antonio Air Materiel Area, where the depot for the B-36 was located. The planes that had been most heavily damaged were towed across the field to the
Convair Convair, previously Consolidated Vultee, was an American aircraft manufacturing company that later expanded into rockets and spacecraft. The company was formed in 1943 by the merger of Consolidated Aircraft and Vultee Aircraft. In 1953, i ...
plant where they had been manufactured. Within a month, 51 of the base's Peacemakers had been returned to service and the division was again declared operational. By May 1953, all but two of the planes had been returned to service.One plane was written off, another was bailed to Convair to be used for experiments with nuclear power. McGowan, p. 65. In 1959, the 3958th Operational Training and Evaluation Squadron was reassigned to the division from SAC headquarters. At the same time the squadron was upgraded to a group and assigned the 3958th Combat Crew Training Squadron and the 3958th Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. The 3958th, along with its counterpart 6592d Test Squadron of
Air Research and Development Command The Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command. It was established in April 1951, being split off from Air Materiel Command. The mission of AFSC was Research and Development for new weapons systems. Ove ...
, representatives of
Air Materiel Command Air Materiel Command (AMC) was a United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force command. Its headquarters was located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. In 1961, the command was redesignated the Air Force Logistics Command ...
, Convair and other contractors formed the
Convair B-58 Hustler The Convair B-58 Hustler, designed and produced by American aircraft manufacturer Convair, was the first operational bomber capable of Mach 2 flight. The B-58 was developed during the 1950s for the United States Air Force (USAF) Strategic Air ...
test force, and, at the time of the 3958th's transfer, was involved in Category II testing of the B-58. This testing phase included tests of aircraft subsystems and its J79 engines. Before Category II tests were completed, seven aircraft were lost.Knaack, pp. 381–382 Category II tests, led by the 6592d, were completed by the end of June 1960, and, Category III tests (operational testing) began in August. These tests were conducted primarily by the division's 43d Bombardment Wing (Carswell AFB, Ft. Worth, Texas) with the technical assistance of the remainder of test force. In anticipation of its expanded testing and crew-training mission for the Hustler, SAC had inactivated the 3958th and transferred its mission, personnel and equipment to the 43d Bomb Wing. In January 1967, the division began deploying B-52 aircraft and aircrews to Southeast Asia for combat operations, continuing until 1973. In 1975, the 19th provided air-refueling support for the evacuation of Vietnamese and
Americans Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many dual citizens, expatriates, and permanent residents could also legally claim Ame ...
from
South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
. With the end of the Vietnam War, the division began transitioning control of most of its B-52 wings (with the exception of the 7th Bombardment Wing at Carswell AFB) into
KC-135 Stratotanker The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It is the predominant variant of the C-135 Stratolifter family of trans ...
air refueling and
LGM-25C Titan II The Titan II was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) developed by the Glenn L. Martin Company from the earlier Titan I missile. Titan II was originally designed and used as an ICBM, but was later adapted as a medium-lift space l ...
ICBM wings. With the retirement of the Titan II in 1987, the 19th Air Division was itself inactivated in September 1988.


Lineage

* Constituted as the 19th Composite Wing on 8 May 1929 : Activated on 1 April 1931 : Redesignated 19th Wing on 14 July 1937 : Redesignated 19th Bombardment Wing on 19 October 1940 : Inactivated on 25 October 1941 * Activated on 24 July 1942 : Redesignated IX Bomber Command on 17 November 1942 : Redesignated 9th Bombardment Division, Medium on 30 August 1944 : Redesignated 9th Air Division on 10 May 1945 : Inactivated on 20 November 1945 * Activated in the Reserve on 20 December 1946 : Redesignated 19th Bombardment Wing, Very Heavy on 31 December 1946 : Redesignated 19th Air Division, Bombardment on 16 April 1948 : Inactivated on 27 June 1949 * Redesignated 19th Air Division on 1 February 1951 : Organized on 16 February 1951 : Discontinued on 16 June 1952 * Activated on 16 June 1952 : Inactivated on 30 September 1988


Assignments

*
Second Corps Area A Corps area was a geographically-based organizational structure (military district) of the United States Army used to accomplish administrative, training and tactical tasks from 1920 to 1942. Each corps area included divisions of the Regular Army ...
, 1 April 1931 * Panama Canal Department, c. 25 January 1933 – 25 October 1941 *
Ninth Air Force The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint De ...
, 24 July 1942 – 20 November 1945 : Attached to:
III Fighter Command The III Fighter Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was at MacDill Field, Florida. It was inactivated on 8 April 1946. History Background GHQ Air Force (GHQ,AF) had been established with two major comba ...
, 24 July-c. 28 September 1942 *
Fourteenth Air Force The Fourteenth Air Force (14 AF; Air Forces Strategic) was a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Space Command (AFSPC). It was headquartered at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The command was responsible for the organiza ...
, 20 December 1946 * Ninth Air Force, 22 December 1948 * Fourteenth Air Force, 1 February – 27 June 1949 *
Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) 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 Forc ...
, 16 February 1951 – 16 June 1952 * Eighth Air Force, 16 June 1952 *
Second Air Force The Second Air Force (2 AF; ''2d Air Force'' in 1942) is a USAF numbered air force responsible for conducting basic military and technical training for Air Force enlisted members and non-flying officers. In World War II the CONUS unit defende ...
, 1 July 1955 * Eighth Air Force, 1 January 1975 – 30 September 1988


Components

Wings *
2d Bombardment Wing The 2nd Bomb Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force Global Strike Command and the Eighth Air Force. It is stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The wing is also the host unit at Barksdale. The wing was a ...
: 1 September 1964 – 1 July 1965; 2 July 1969 – 1 December 1982 * 7th Bombardment Wing: 16 February 1951 – 13 June 1988 (detached 10 July – 13 September 1955) * 11th Bombardment Wing (later 11th Strategic Aerospace Wing, 11th Air Refueling Wing): 16 February 1951 – 13 December 1957 (detached 4 May – 2 July 1955); 2 July 1966 – 25 March 1969 * 43d Bombardment Wing: 15 March 1960 – 1 September 1964 (detached 19–31 August 1964) * 44th Bombardment Wing (later 99th Combat Bombardment Wing: c. 16 October 1943 – 16 September 1945 * 96th Strategic Aerospace Wing (later 96th Bombardment Wing): 2 July 1966 – 1 July 1973 * 97th Bombardment Wing: 12 November 1943 – 11 October 1945 * 98th Bombardment Wing (Formerly 3d Bombardment Wing): 16 October 1943 – 27 November 1945 * 305th Bombardment Wing: 1 January 1961 – 1 September 1964 *
308th Strategic Missile Wing 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...
: 1 December 1982 – 18 August 1987 *
340th Bombardment Wing 34 may refer to: * 34 (number), the natural number following 33 and preceding 35 * one of the years 34 BC, AD 34, 1934, 2034 * ''34'' (album), a 2015 album by Dre Murray * "#34" (song), a 1994 song by Dave Matthews Band * "34", a 2006 song by Sa ...
(later 340th Air Refueling Wing): 1 September 1964 – 2 October 1966; 2 July 1968 – 31 December 1971; 1 July 1977 – 16 June 1988 * 381st Strategic Missile Wing: 1 July 1973 – 8 August 1986 * 384th Air Refueling Wing: 1 July 1973 – 1 July 1987 * 461st Bombardment Wing: 2 July 1966 – 25 March 1968 * 494th Bombardment Wing: 1 October 1965 – 2 April 1966 * 4123d Strategic Wing: 10 December 1957 – 1 March 1959 *
4130th Strategic Wing The 340th Flying Training Group is a reserve component of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the Twenty-Second Air Force of Air Force Reserve Command, at Randolph Air Force Base, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas. The group is the head ...
: 1 October 1958 – 1 July 1963 Groups *
6th Composite Group Alec Trevelyan (006) is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1995 James Bond film '' GoldenEye'', the first film to feature actor Pierce Brosnan as Bond. Trevelyan is portrayed by actor Sean Bean. The likeness of Bean as Ale ...
(later 6th Bombardment Group): 25 January 1933 – 35 October 1941 *
322d Bombardment Group 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...
: assigned 16 October – 17 November 1943; attached 17 November 1943 − 1 April 1944, 23−28 September 1944 * 340th Air Refueling Group: 2 July 1968 – 16 June 1988 * 386th Bombardment Group, 16 October – 5 December 1943 *
410th Bombardment Group 41 may refer to: * 41 (number) * one of the years 41 BC, AD 41, 1941, 2041 Art and entertainment * ''41'' (film), a 2007 documentary about Nicholas O'Neill, the youngest victim of the Station nightclub fire * ''41'', a 2012 film by Glenn Triggs * ...
, operational control 11−18 September 1944 *
416th Bombardment Group 416th may refer to: * 416th Air Expeditionary Operations Group, provisional unit assigned to the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command * 416th Bombardment Wing, inactive United States Air Force unit * 416th Engineer Command (TEC), US Army Re ...
, assigned c. 1−4 February 1944; operational control 11−18 September 1944 * 3958th Operational Evaluation and Training Group (B-58): 1 September 1959 – 15 March 1960 Squadrons *
11th Air Refueling Squadron The 11th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 340th Air Refueling Wing, stationed at Altus AFB, Oklahoma. It was inactivated on 1 October 1994. History During World War II the squadro ...
: 25 March – 2 July 1969; 30 June 1971 – 1 July 1977 * 3958th Operational Evaluation and Training Squadron (B-58): 11 August 1958 – 1 September 1959 * 4007th Combat Crew Training Squadron: 2 June – 2 July 1968 * 4017th Training Squadron (B-36 Transition): 17 December 1951 – 1 January 1954


Stations

*
France Field France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, Panama Canal Zone, 1 April 1931 *
Albrook Field Albrook Air Force Station is a former United States Air Force facility in Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern ...
, Panama Canal Zone, 25 January 1933 – 25 October 1941 * MacDill Field, Florida, 24 July – 28 September 1942 * Payne Airfield, Egypt, 11 November 1942 * Ismailia Airfield, Egypt, 12 November 1942 * Soluch Airfield, Libya, 15 February – 1 October 1943 * Marks Hall, England, 6 November 1943 *
Chartres Airfield Chartres () is the prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir department in the Centre-Val de Loire region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 170,763 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Chartres (as def ...
(A-40),Station numbers in Johnson France, 18 September 1944 * Reims-Champagne Airfield, France (A-62), October 1944 * Namur Airfield (Y-47), Belgium, April-20 November 1945 *
Birmingham Army Air Base Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
, Alabama, 20 December 1946 – 27 June 1949 * Carswell Air Force Base, Texas, 16 February 1951 – 16 June 1952; 16 June 1952 – 30 September 1988


Aircraft / Missiles

*
Airco DH-4 The Aircraft Manufacturing Company Limited (Airco) was an early British aircraft manufacturer. Established during 1912, it grew rapidly during the First World War, referring to itself as the largest aircraft company in the world by 1918. Air ...
, 1931 * Boeing P-12, 1931–1939 * Berliner-Joyce P-16, 1932 *
Boeing P-26 Peashooter The Boeing P-26 "Peashooter" was the first American production all-metal fighter aircraft and the first pursuit monoplane to enter squadron service with the United States Army Air Corps. Designed and built by Boeing, the prototype first flew in ...
, 1934–1940 *
Martin B-10 The Martin B-10 was the first all-metal monoplane bomber to be regularly used by the United States Army Air Corps, entering service in June 1934.Jackson 2003, p. 246. It was also the first mass-produced bomber whose performance was superior to ...
, 1936–1939 *
Curtiss P-36 Hawk The Curtiss P-36 Hawk, also known as the Curtiss Hawk Model 75, is an American-designed and built fighter aircraft of the 1930s and 40s. A contemporary of the Hawker Hurricane and Messerschmitt Bf 109, it was one of the first of a new generation ...
, 1936–1940 * Consolidated PB-2, 1936–1937; * Seversky P-35, 1938–1939 * Douglas B-18 Bolo, 1939–1941 * Lockheed C-40 Electra, 1939–1940 * Republic YP-43 Lancer, 1939–1940 *
Curtiss P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time an ...
, 1940 *
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Thea ...
, 1941–1943, 1945 *
Consolidated B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...
, 1942–1943 *
North American B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...
, 1942–1943 *
Martin B-26 Marauder The Martin B-26 Marauder is an American twin-engined medium bomber that saw extensive service during World War II. The B-26 was built at two locations: Baltimore, Maryland, and Omaha, Nebraska, by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in t ...
, 1942–1945 *
Douglas A-20 Havoc The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) is an American medium bomber, attack aircraft, night intruder, night fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II. Designed to meet an Army Air Corps requirement for a bomber, it was o ...
, 1943–1945 *
Douglas A-26 Invader The Douglas A-26 Invader (designated B-26 between 1948 and 1965) is an American twin-engined light bomber and ground attack aircraft. Built by Douglas Aircraft Company during World War II, the Invader also saw service during several major Col ...
, 1944–1945 *
Boeing B-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Fl ...
, 1947–1949 *
Convair B-36 Peacemaker The Convair B-36 "Peacemaker" is a strategic bomber that was built by Convair and operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1949 to 1959. The B-36 is the largest mass-produced piston-engined aircraft ever built. It had the longest w ...
, 1951–1952, 1952–1957 * Convair YRB-58 Hustler, 1960 *
Convair B-58 Hustler The Convair B-58 Hustler, designed and produced by American aircraft manufacturer Convair, was the first operational bomber capable of Mach 2 flight. The B-58 was developed during the 1950s for the United States Air Force (USAF) Strategic Air ...
, 1960–1964 * Convair TB-58 Hustler, 1960–1964 * Convair TF-102 Delta Dagger, 1960–1962 *
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air ...
, 1963–1988 *
Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It is the predominant variant of the C-135 Stratolifter family of trans ...
, 1963–1988 *
LGM-25C Titan II The Titan II was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) developed by the Glenn L. Martin Company from the earlier Titan I missile. Titan II was originally designed and used as an ICBM, but was later adapted as a medium-lift space l ...
, 1973–1987 *
LGM-30F Minuteman II The LGM-30 Minuteman is an American land-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in service with the Air Force Global Strike Command. , the LGM-30G Minuteman III version is the only land-based ICBM in service in the United States and re ...
, 1982–1988


See also

* List of United States Air Force air divisions


References

; Explanatory notes ; Citations


Bibliography

* * * * Further reading * {{USAAF 6th Air Force World War II 019 Military units and formations established in 1929 Units and formations of Strategic Air Command