World War II The
68th Observation Group was established at
Brownwood Army Air Field, Texas, on 1 September 1941. Its primary mission was observation aircraft training and antisubmarine patrols. The group moved to several different U.S. locations in preparation for overseas deployment in 1942. It moved to the
Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO), October–November 1942, and became part of
Twelfth Air Force. Shortly after the group began operations most of its
squadrons were detached for separate duty in order to carry out diverse activities over a wide area. Operating from bases in North Africa until November 1943, the group, or elements of the group, engaged in patrolling the Mediterranean; strafing trucks, tanks, gun positions, and supply dumps to support ground troops in Tunisia; training fighter pilots and replacement crews; and flying photographic and visual reconnaissance missions in Tunisia, Sicily, and Italy to provide information needed to adjust artillery fire. The group moved to Italy and became part of
Fifteenth Air Force in November 1943. It continued visual and photographic reconnaissance and began flying weather reconnaissance missions in Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, and the[Balkans. Also engaged in electronic-countermeasure activities, investigating radar equipment captured from the enemy, flying ferret missions along the coasts of Italy and southern France, and accompanying bomber formations to detect approaching enemy fighters. It was inactivated in 1944.
Strategic reconnaissance The
unit trained in the Reserve as the
68th Reconnaissance Group at
Hamilton Field (later Hamilton Air Force Base), California between 1947–1949. In 1949 it was inactivated, as a result of
Continental Air Command's reorganization of its flying units under the Wing-Base
Hobson Plan. Its personnel were transferred to the
349th Troop Carrier Wing. The
68th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing was activated by
Strategic Air Command (SAC) on 10 October 1951, with an initial cadre of 16 people from the
44th Bombardment Wing. The group was assigned as a subordinate unit to the new wing at
Lake Charles Air Force Base, Louisiana. The wing was assigned to the
37th Air Division of
Second Air Force. The group was activated as the
68th Strategic Reconnaissance Group, but it was a paper unit, with token personnel assigned on additional duty to keep it active and with its flying squadrons controlled by the
wing. Support organizations for the wing were also activated, but they were located at
Lockbourne AFB, Ohio and were not controlled by the wing. It was not until May 1952 that the wing received
Boeing RB-29 Superfortress aircraft. Its primary mission was gathering intelligence on the Soviet Union. In June the group was discontinued entirely. Under SAC's new Dual Deputate organization, squadrons all flying and maintenance squadrons were directly assigned to the wing, so no operational group element was needed. It added a
Boeing KC-97 refueling mission in November 1953.
Strategic bombardment Medium Bomber era The wing replaced its propeller-driven RB-29s with new
Boeing B-47E Stratojet swept-wing medium bombers in October 1953 and was redesignated as the
68th Bombardment Wing. The B-47 was capable of flying at high subsonic speeds and primarily designed for penetrating the airspace of the
Soviet Union. Becoming operationally ready with the B-47 in May 1954, the wing conducted strategic bombardment training and air refueling to meet SAC's global commitments. The wing performed deployments to
RAF Fairford, from 14 June to 7 August 1954 and to
RAF Brize Norton, both in the southern
United Kingdom, from 27 September 1957 to 8 January 1958. The B-47s were reaching the end of their operational life in the late 1950s, and the wing's aircraft were sent to
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in April 1963 with the closure of Chennault AFB. With the closing of Chennault, and in order to retain the lineage of the wing, Headquarters SAC received authority from Headquarters USAF to move the 68th without personnel or equipment to
Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina on 15 April where it replaced the
4241st Strategic Wing, which could not carry a permanent history or lineage.
Heavy Bombardment era 4241st Strategic Wing SAC had organized the
4241st Strategic Wing at Seymour Johnson on 1 October 1958 and assigned it to Second Air Force as part of SAC's plan to disperse its
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress heavy bombers over a larger number of bases, thus making it more difficult for the
Soviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike. The wing remained a
headquarters only until 1 December 1959 when the
911th Air Refueling Squadron, flying
Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers, three maintenance squadrons, and a squadron to provide security for special weapons were activated and assigned to the wing. The wing was fully organized at the start of May when the 53rd Aviation Depot Squadron' moved from
Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana to oversee the wing's special weapons. Starting in 1960, one third of the squadron's aircraft were maintained on fifteen-minute
alert, fully fueled and ready for combat to reduce vulnerability to a Soviet missile strike. This was increased to half the squadron's aircraft in 1962. The 4241st (and later the 68th) continued to maintain an alert commitment until the end of the
Cold War. In 1962, the wing's
bombers began to be equipped with the
GAM-77 Hound Dog and the
GAM-72 Quail air-launched
cruise missiles, The 4134th Airborne Missile Maintenance Squadron was activated in November to maintain these missiles.
68th Bombardment Wing, Heavy When the 68th replaced the 4341st the 53rd Munitions Maintenance Squadron and the 911th Air Refueling Squadron were reassigned to the 68th. The 4241st's maintenance and security squadrons were replaced by ones with the 68th numerical designation. Each of the new units assumed the personnel, equipment, and mission of its predecessor. The wing continued to conduct strategic bombardment training and global refueling operations to meet SAC commitments. Wing aircraft, most aircrews and maintenance personnel, and other support personnel were loaned to other SAC units for combat operations in Southeast Asia, 27 May 1972 – 15 July 1973.
Air refueling In 1982 the B-52Gs of the wing were retired and the 68th Wing became the
68th Air Refueling Group. Elevated back to wing status in 1986, the 68th Air Refueling Wing participated in combat operations in Grenada (Operation Urgent Fury) in October 1983, in Libya (
Operation Eldorado Canyon) in April 1986, and in Panama (
Operation Just Cause) in December 1989. It deployed to Spain to provide airlift and air refueling during Operation
Desert Shield/
Desert Storm from August 1990 to March 1991. The
68th Air Refueling Wing was inactivated on 22 April 1991 as part of the objective wing reorganization of the Air Force, which called for one wing on a base. Its 911th Air Refueling Squadron was reassigned to the
4th Wing. Its support organizations were inactivated and their personnel and equipment assigned to elements of the 4th Wing or transferred,
The 1990s and twenty-first century The group was activated again on 15 April 1993 as the
68th Electronic Combat Group. It provided operational and technical electronic combat expertise for US combat air forces from 1993 to 1998 when it was inactivated and replaced by the
53rd Electronic Warfare Group due to USAF policy that groups carry the same number as their parent wing. Two years later the 68th was consolidated with the 53rd that had replaced it. The group performed
electronic warfare technology assessments; tested, developed, managed, and maintained electronic warfare systems hardware and software to meet Combat Air Force mission requirements. In June 2021, the group was inactivated and its assets were used to form the
350th Spectrum Warfare Wing. ==Lineage==