World War II Established as the
100th Fighter Wing and organized in England in late 1943. Assigned to the
European Theater of Operations (ETO),
IX Fighter Command,
Ninth Air Force. Began operational missions in April 1944, mission of the Wing was to receive operational orders from Headquarters, IX Fighter Command and direct subordinate groups in attacking enemy targets in Occupied France and the Low Countries in preparation for the
Normandy Invasion in June 1944. Targets included bridges, roads, railroads and enemy interceptor aircraft both on the ground as well as in air-to-air combat. After the
D-Day invasion, was reassigned to
IX Tactical Air Command and directed to provide ground support for advancing
United States First Army forces in France, attacking enemy targets initially in the
Cotentin Peninsula, then supported
Operation Cobra, the breakout of Normandy and attacked enemy forces in the
Falaise-Argentan Gap. Wing headquarters and subordinate units operated primarily from liberated airfields and newly built temporary
Advanced Landing Grounds in France, moved into north-central France, its groups attacking enemy targets near
Paris then north-west into Belgium and the southern Netherlands. In December 1944/January 1945, engaged enemy targets on the north side of the
Battle of the Bulge, then moved eastward into the Northern
Rhineland as part of the
Western Allied invasion of Germany. Supported First Army as it crossed the
Rhine River at
Remagen then moved north to attack ground targets in the
Ruhr, providing air support as Allied ground forces encircled enemy forces in the
Ruhr Pocket, essentially ending organized enemy resistance in Western Germany. First Army halted its advance at the
Elbe River in late April 1945, the wing engaging targets of opportunity in enemy-controlled areas until combat was ended on 5 May 1945. It remained in Europe for four months after
VE Day, as part of
United States Air Forces in Europe. It performed occupation duty and the destruction or shipment to the United States of captured enemy combat equipment -
Operation Lusty. It was inactivated in Germany in August 1945.
From 1957 The
704th Strategic Missile Wing activated on 1 July 1957 at
Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, but was not operational until mid-November 1957. While it had two operational squadrons, its task was training on the
SM-65 Atlas,
PGM-19 Jupiter, and the
PGM-17 Thor from November 1957 – April 1959. Not operational 6 April – 1 July 1959. The wing then was redesignated as the
404th Tactical Missile Wing on 31 July 1985. As an air expeditionary unit, it has been activated and inactivated on several occasions by USAFE from 2003 to 2008. In June–July 2003 it was activated at
RAF Mildenhall, UK. It was part of the
323d Air Expeditionary Wing from 14 March – 30 April 2008 at
Balotești, Romania, when the 323th Wing served briefly as the USAF headquarters for the
2008 Bucharest summit. During the deployment to Romania, the 404th Group with the 404th Expeditionary Air Base Squadron prepared the airfield of
Câmpia Turzii for the
F-15 fighters which were to be stationed there. The wing was attached to
Seventeenth Air Force (Air Forces Africa) until 17th AF was disestablished. The wing was listed in the AF Almanac for 2013.
Operations and decorations • Combat Operations: Combat in European Theater of Operations (ETO), 15 April 1944-May 1945. • Campaigns: Air Offensive, Europe; Normandy; Northern France; Rhineland; Ardennes-Alsace; Central Europe
Lineage ; 100th Fighter Wing • Established as the
100th Fighter Wing on 8 November 1943 : Activated on 24 November 1943 : Inactivated on 7 November 1945 : Disestablished on 15 June 1983 • Reestablished and consolidated with the
704th Strategic Missile Wing on 31 July 1985 as the
404th Tactical Missile Wing :: Attached to
48th Fighter Wing, 21 August – 15 September 2008 :: Attached to Seventeenth Air Force (Air Forces Africa) 1 October 2008 •
865th Strategic Missile Squadron (later 865th Technical Training Squadron) 1 July 1958 – 1 July 1959 (attached to 1st Missile Division after 1 November 1958) •
866th Strategic Missile Squadron: 1 September 1958 – 1 July 1959 (attached to 1st Missile Division after 1 November 1958) •
37th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron: 28 June – 30 July 2007 • 42d Expeditionary Airlift Squadron: 1 October 2008–present •
336th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron: 21 August – 15 September 2008 •
351st Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron: 21 August – 15 September 2008 •
492d Expeditionary Fighter Squadron: 14 March – 7 April 2008 •
493d Expeditionary Fighter Squadron: 14 March – 7 April 2008 England, 24 November 1943 •
RAF Greenham Common (AAF-486), England, 6 December 1943 •
RAF Ibsley (AAF-347), England, 13 January 1944 •
RAF Lashenden (AAF-410), England, c. 15 April – June 1944 •
Cricqueville Airfield (A-2), France, 1 July 1944 •
Saint-Pierre-Église (A-5), France, 8 August 1944 •
Le Mans Airfield (A-35), France, 19 September 1944 •
Metz Airdrome (Y-34), France, 29 December 1944 •
Königstein, Germany, 14 April–August 1945 •
Seymour Johnson Field, North Carolina, 6 September – 7 November 1945 •
Cooke Air Force Base (later Vandenberg Air Force Base), California, 1 July 1957 – 1 July 1959 •
RAF Mildenhall, England, 16 June – 8 July 2003 •
Graf Ignatievo Air Base, Bulgaria, 27 August – 19 September 2003 •
31st Tactical Air Base, Krzesiny, Poland, 27 May – 22 June 2005 •
Ramstein Air Base, Germany, 28 June – 30 July 2007 •
Câmpia Turzii, Romania, 14 March – 30 April 2008 •
Keflavik Air Station, Iceland, 21 August – 15 September 2008 • Ramstein Air Base, Germany, 1 October 2008 – present
Known aircraft and missiles •
Lockheed P-38 Lightning, 1944–1945 •
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, 1944–1945 •
North American P-51 Mustang, 1944–1945 •
SM-65 Atlas, 1958–1959 •
PGM-19 Jupiter, 1958 •
PGM-17 Thor, 1958–1959 •
HGM-25A Titan I, 1959 •
Lockheed C-130 Hercules, 2008–present ==References==