Starting in 1957, the
28th Bombardment Wing at
Ellsworth Air Force Base began to upgrade from the
Convair B-36 Peacemaker to the
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress. However,
Strategic Air Command (SAC) was concerned that bases with large concentrations of the new jet bombers made attractive targets. SAC's response was to break up its B-52 wings and scatter their aircraft 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. At the same time, the reduced number of interceptors available to
Air Defense Command (ADC) due to attrition and closing production lines made ADC bases along the northern tier of states available for expansion to accommodate SAC
heavy bombers and
tankers. In 1958 SAC established strategic wings at
Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota,
Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, and
Glasgow Air Force Base, Montana, all ADC bases. The
821st Air Division was activated at Ellsworth in January 1959 to command these new strategic wings and the 28th Wing at Ellsworth. Although
Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers were assigned earlier, Minot and Glasgow only received their bombers in 1961 and the Grand Forks wing only activated its bomber squadron in 1962. As their squadrons became combat ready, one third of each wing's aircraft were maintained on fifteen-minute
alert, fully fueled, armed and ready for combat to reduce vulnerability to a Soviet missile strike. This was increased to half their aircraft in 1962. In December 1960, the division added an
intercontinental ballistic missile squadron to its strike forces, when the
850th Strategic Missile Squadron was activated and assigned to the 28th Bombardment Wing as an
HGM-25A Titan I squadron. However, the squadron never became operational while assigned to the 28th. The same day, the division assumed support responsibility for Ellsworth through its 821st Combat Support Group. The following month, the division became the
821st Strategic Aerospace Division when SAC added the term "
aerospace" to the names of its units with both bomber and missile strike elements. On 23 October 1962, in response to the
Cuban Missile Crisis, the 341st placed its first two Minuteman missiles on alert. The 341st was in the process of accepting their first flight of missiles from
Air Force Systems Command. Eventually Malmstrom was able to place six missiles on alert for the duration of the crisis. These were the first and only SAC Minutemen to stand alert during the crisis. On 20 October SAC had directed its B-52 wings, including the 28th, to put two additional planes on alert. Two days later 1/8 of the division's B-52s were placed on airborne alert. Additional KC-135s were also placed on alert to replace the KC-135s devoted to maintaining the B-52 airborne alert. On 24 October SAC increased its readiness status to
DEFCON 2, placing all its combat aircraft on alert. On 21 November SAC returned to normal airborne alert posture. and on 27 November SAC returned to normal ground alert posture. The division lost the first Minuteman wing, the 341st, in 1964. After these changes to the division's missile units, its composition remained stable until it was inactivated. Between 1966 and 1970, the division's subordinate units loaned B-52 and KC-135 aircraft and crews to Strategic Air Command organizations in
Southeast Asia in support of
Operation Arc Light combat missions. The 821st conducted numerous staff assistance visits, and participated in tactical exercises such as
Operation Chrome Dome. The division was inactivated in 1971 as part of SAC's realignment of division headquarters on a functional basis. The 28th Bombardment Wing joined other bomber units in the
47th Air Division, while the 44th and 90th Strategic Missile Wings were reassigned to the
4th Strategic Missile Division. ==Lineage==