The 3920th Strategic Wing (3920th SW) 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 Signal ...

unit, discontinued on 31 March 1965. The 3920th SW was a non-flying ground service support element for the

7th Air Division 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. History Hawaii As the 7th Fighter Wing, the divis ...

(AD) 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), based at

RAF Brize Norton Royal Air Force Brize Norton or RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, about west north-west of London, is the largest station of the Royal Air Force. It is close to the village of Brize Norton, and the towns of Carterton and Witney. The station ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, in the United Kingdom. It was established on 1 December 1952 as the 3920th Air Base Group. When activated, the wing assumed the resources (Manpower, Equipment, Weapons, & Facilities) of the 7503d Air Support Wing, which had been established on 25 May 1951. Throughout its existence it was controlled by

and served as the host for deployed SAC

bombardment A bombardment is an attack by artillery fire or by dropping bombs from aircraft on fortifications, combatants, or towns and buildings. Prior to World War I, the term was only applied to the bombardment of defenseless or undefended objects, ...

strategic reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmishers, ...

, and

air refueling Aerial refueling, also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to another (the receiver) while both aircraft a ...

units.

Strategic Air Command Support

The

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

, which was upgraded to a

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

in 1964, provided host station support functions primarily for SAC B-47 / RB-47 Stratojet and

KC-97 Stratofreighter The Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter is a four-engined, piston-powered United States strategic tanker aircraft based on the Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter. It replaced the KB-29 and was succeeded by the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker. Design and developme ...

elements deployed to RAF Brize Norton during REFLEX deployments from United States bases. It was organized when SAC assumed responsibility to support its deployed elements from

United States Air Forces Europe United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

)USAFE) in 1952 and was responsible for managing the Brize Norton Task Force, Provisional. Special weapons support was provided by the 4th Aviation Field Depot Squadron (later 4th Aviation Depot Squadron) from 1951 to 1956 and by the 2nd Aviation Depot Squadron (later 2nd Munitions Maintenance Squadron) after 1956. These squadrons were assigned to the 7th AD, but attached to the wing. On 1 July 1960 an RB-47 (53-4281) deployed from the

55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing The 55th Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Combat Command. The wing is primarily stationed at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, but maintains one of its groups and associated squadrons at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ar ...

Forbes AFB Topeka Regional Airport , formerly known as Forbes Field, is a joint civil-military public airport owned by the Metropolitan Topeka Airport Authority in Shawnee County, Kansas, seven miles south of downtown Topeka, the capital city of Kansas. The ...

, Kansas was shot down by the Soviet Air Forces while operating from the 3920th at RAF Brize Norton. The 3920th was inactivated in 1965 when SAC reassigned the remaining assets of unit to the Detachment 1, 98th Strategic Wing at

RAF Upper Heyford RAF Upper Heyford was a Royal Air Force station located north-west of Bicester near the village of Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, England. In the Second World War the airfield was used by Bomber Command. During the Cold War, Upper Heyford was one ...

and returned control of Brize Norton to 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) and ...

Lineage

* Designated as the 3920th Air Base Group and organized on 1 November 1952 * Redesignated 3920th Combat Support Group on 1 January 1959 * Redesignated 3920th Strategic Wing on 1 February 1964 * Discontinued on 31 March 1965.

Assignment

* 7th Air Division, 1 November 1952 – 31 March 1965

Station

* RAF Brize Norton, 1 November 1952 – 31 March 1965

Components

* 3920th Air Police Squadron (later 3920th Combat Defense Squadron), 1 November 1952 – 1 January 1959 * 3920th Field Maintenance Squadron (later 3920th Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Squadron), 1 November 1952 – 31 March 1965 * 3920th Food Service Squadron, 1 November 1952 – 1 January 1959 * 3920th Installations Squadron (later 3920th Civil Engineering Squadron), 1 November 1952 – 31 March 1965 * 3920th Medical Squadron later 3920th USAF Infirmary, 3920th USAF Dispensary, 1 November 1952 – 1 January 1959 * 3920th Motor Vehicle Squadron (later 3920th Transportation Squadron), 1 November 1952 – 1 January 1959 * 3920th Operations Squadron, 1 November 1952 – 31 March 1965 * 3920th Supply Squadron, 1 November 1952 – 1 January 1959 * 3920th Air Base Squadron (later 3920th Combat Support Squadron), 1961 - 31 Mar 1965

References

Notes

Bibliography

* {{Strategic Air Command Strategic wings of the United States Air Force Four Digit Wings of the United States Air Force Military units and formations disestablished in 1965