World War II The
wing was originally constituted as the
485th Bombardment Group (Heavy) and activated on 20 September 1943. Its original squadrons were the newly activated
828th,
829th, and
830th Bombardment Squadrons, which were joined a few days later by the
831st Bombardment Squadron at
Gowen Field, Idaho. The 831st was an experienced
Consolidated B-24 Liberator squadron that had been performing
anti-submarine warfare missions as the 11th Antisubmarine Squadron. and was assigned to
Second Air Force for training with B-24s at Gowen and at
Fairmont Army Air Field, Nebraska. The group deployed to the
Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) in March and April 1944. The 485th returned to the United States in May 1945 and was programmed for deployment to the
Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO) as a
Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bombardment group. Many combat veterans of MTO demobilized upon arrival in the United States, and a small cadre of personnel reformed at Sioux Falls Army Airfield, South Dakota at the end of May. The group was reassigned to
Second Air Force for training in Iowa. Because B-29 groups had only three combat squadrons, the 831st Bombardment Squadron was inactivated in August. to
Smoky Hill Army Air Field, Kansas in September. In August 1946 the personnel and equipment of the 485th were reassigned to the
97th Bombardment Group and the 485th was inactivated.
Matador and Mace era In 1954 USAF began deploying
TM-61 Matador cruise missiles to Germany. By 1956, three squadrons were in place and USAFE organized the
701st Tactical Missile Wing with a subordinate group at each of the main bases where Matadors were stationed. The
585th Tactical Missile Group was activated at
Bitburg Air Base, Germany in September 1956 to command the
1st Tactical Missile Squadron and two support squadrons. Shortly after activation the group began upgrading its TM-61A missiles to TM-61Cs. The TM-61C was equipped with the Shannicle guidance system which generated a grid the missile could use to navigate, replacing the ground to air steering systems of the TM-61A. The group participated in periodic test launches of Matadors at
Wheelus AB, Libya. In 1958, USAFE replaced the 701st wing with the
38th Tactical Missile Wing in an administrative move to keep on active duty units whose roots could be traced to
World War II. Simultaneously, the 1st squadron was replaced by the
71st Tactical Missile Squadron, one of the historical elements of the WW II
38th Bombardment Group. The Matador was growing obsolescent and the last Matador was taken off Victor (nuclear) Alert on 30 June 1962. The group replaced its Matadors with
TM-76 Mace (later MGM-13) missiles. These missiles did not rely on ground signals for guidance, but used an onboard
radar to match the terrain with a map stored on board the missile. In 1962 the 585th and its companion groups in Germany were inactivated and the missile squadrons assigned directly to the 38th Wing. and the wing began operating the Gryphon from 1985 until the implementation of the
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 1988. In August 1988 a ten-man Soviet Inspection Team visited Florennes to insure treaty compliance. The wing was inactivated in 1989 with the withdrawal of American forces from Florennes. ==Lineage==