486th Air Expeditionary Wing

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 486th Air Expeditionary Wing


caption= 486th Air Expeditionary Wing emblem
dates= 1943-1945, 2002-Present?
country= United States
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branch= United States Air Force
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The United States Air Force's 486th Air Expeditionary Wing is a USAF wing located in Southwest Asia.

The task of developing a comprehensive listing of AEW units present in Southwest Asia and other combat areas is particularly difficult as the events of 11 September 2001 and the Global War on Terrorism has made such an effort significantly difficult. The USAF seeks to improve operational security (OPSEC) and to deceive potential enemies as to the extent of American operations, therefore a listing of which units deploying where and when is unavailable.

History

Bases Assigned

* McCook AAF, NE 20 Sep 1943
* Davis-Monthan Field, AZ 9 Nov 1943-Mar 1944
* RAF Sudbury, England Mar 1944-Aug 1945
* Drew Field, FL 3 Sep-7 Nov 1945
* Southwest Asia 2002 - Present ?
* Ahmed Al Jaber Air Base 2003
* Al Minhad Air Base, UAE Mar 2003 - Oct 2003

Aircraft flown

* Consolidated B-24 Liberator
* Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
* Lockheed C-130 Hercules (?)

World War II

Constituted as 486th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 14 Sep 1943 and activated on 20 Sep. Moved to England in Mar 1944 and assigned to Eighth AF.

The 486th was assigned to the 4th Combat Bombardment Wing, and the group tail code initially was a "Square-O". When the group converted from B-24s to B-17s during the summer of 1944, the Group ID was changed to "Square-W", perhaps to avoid confusion with the Square-D on B-17s of the 100th Bomb Group. The 486th was the only group to change its ID.

Its operational squadrons were:

* 832d Bomb Squadron (3R)
* 833d Bomb Squadron (4N)
* 834th Bomb Squadron (2S)
* 835th Bomb Squadron (H8)

The group flew both the B-24 Liberator and the B-17 Flying Fortress as part of the Eighth Air Force's strategic bombing campaign and operated chiefly against strategic objectives in Germany until May 1945. Targets included marshalling yards in Stuttgart, Cologne, and Mainz; airfields in Kassel and Munster; oil refineries and storage plants in Merseburg, Dollbergen, and Hamburg; harbours in Bremen and Kiel; and factories in Mannheim and Weimar.

Other missions included bombing airfields, gun positions, V-weapon sites (total of nine "No Ball" missions beginning June 20), [Albanese, John "Doodlebugs and Rockets (V-1 and V-2)" [http://www.486th.org/photos/Letters/doodlebugs.htm] ] and railway bridges in France in preparation for or in support of the invasion of Normandy in June 1944; striking road junctions and troop concentrations in support of ground forces pushing across France, Jul-Aug 1944; hitting gun emplacements near Arnheim to minimize transport and glider losses during the airborne invasion of Holland in September 1944; and bombing enemy installations in support of ground troops during the Battle of the Bulge (Dec 1944-Jan 1945) and the assault across the Rhine (Mar-Apr 1945).

The 468th Bomb Group returned to the Drew AAF Florida during August 1945 and was deactivated on 7 November.

Global War On Terrorism

The 486th Air Expeditionary Wing was activated as part of the GWOT. It was most recently located at Ahmed Al Jaber Air Base, Kuwait.

References

* Freeman, Roger A. (1978) Airfields of the Eighth: Then and Now. After the Battle ISBN 0900913096
* Freeman, Roger A. (1991) The Mighty Eighth The Colour Record. Cassell & Co. ISBN 0-304-35708-1
* Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0892010924.
* [http://www.codeonemagazine.com/archives/2004/articles/jan_04/jan04_oif42.html "How To Start A Wing From Scratch"] , B. Gen. John Iffland, "Code One Magazine"
* [http://www.arpc.afrc.af.mil/library/biographies/bio.asp?id=9533 Col. George L. Bondar biography]

External links