The
801st Air Division was activated at
Lockbourne Air Force Base, Ohio in 1952 when
Strategic Air Command (SAC) departed from the
wing base organization system and created air divisions as the headquarters on bases with two operational wings. The
division assumed command of the
26th and
91st Strategic Reconnaissance Wings The 26th wing was activated the same day as the division but remained unmanned until January 1953. The division drew its
cadre from the
37th Air Division, which had controlled SAC
reconnaissance wings at Lockbourne and
Lake Charles Air Force Bases. The division trained and maintained a force capable of conducting worldwide reconnaissance and electronic countermeasures operations. The
Boeing KB-29 Superfortresses of the
91st Air Refueling Squadron were transferred to the 100th, while the 91st converted to
Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighters. Once its training was completed, the 100th returned to Turner in November. In January 1955 the
70th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing was activated at
Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas. However, Little Rock was not ready to receive the wing's RB-47 aircraft, so the wing was deployed to Lockbourne and attached to the 801st until construction at Little Rock was completed. The 70th wing trained and received its initial manning during this period and did not become fully operational before moving its operations to Little Rock in October. In 1956 the 4025th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, Light was activated at Lockbourne and assigned directly to the division. This squadron was to be SAC's first high altitude reconnaissance unit and was equipped with
Martin RB-57D Canberras. In May 1956 the squadron moved to Turner Air Force Base, Georgia where it was assigned to the newly organized
4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing. In November 1957 the 91st wing was inactivated. The 91st wing's
91st Air Refueling Squadron remained active and was transferred to the 376th wing upon its arrival at Lockbourne. It was assigned directly to the 801st during the three-week gap between the inactivation of the 91st and the transfer of the 376th. In April of the following year, as Barksdale converted from B-47s to
Boeing B-52 Stratofortresses, Barksdale's other wing, the
301st Bombardment Wing, moved to Lockbourne. Shortly thereafter, the 26th wing inactivated. enhancing survivability in the event of a nuclear attack. The squadron did not become operational until November 1962 and was attached to the 376th wing the entire time it was assigned to the division. The 4363d was inactivated a little less than three years later in March 1965 when the
Post-Attack Command and Control System was transferred to air refueling units flying
Boeing EC-135Cs and located at bases with SAC auxiliary command posts. ==Lineage==