World War II The group was first activated in July 1942 at
Salt Lake City Army Air Base, Utah as the 96th Bombardment Group, with the
337th,
338th,
339th and
413th Bombardment Squadrons assigned as its original components. After moving to
Gowen Field, Idaho the group received its initial
cadre. The group trained at various bases in the northwestern United States. In early 1943, the 96th relocated to
Pyote Army Air Base, Texas, where it resumed its combat training. In April 1943 the group began its overseas movement. The air echelon ferried its bombers via the
North Atlantic Ferry Route, while the ground echelon proceeded to the New York Port of Embarkation and sailed on the for
Greenock, Scotland. The group arrived at
RAF Grafton Underwood England in May 1943, for duty with
Eighth Air Force. The group was assigned to the
45th Combat Bombardment Wing of the
3d Bombardment Division. The group commenced combat operations on 14 May with an attack on
Kortrijk (Courtrai), after an aborted mission the previous day. The 96th moved east at the end of May to
RAF Andrews Field. The 96th appears to have only carried out one mission while based at Andrews. On 29 May 1943 they took part in a raid on Rennes naval storage depot from which one B-17 failed to return. However, Eighth Air Force was not pleased with the initial performance of the
Martin B-26 Marauder units assigned to it and decided to move them from their bases in north
Suffolk to stations nearer the continent. As the first step in this move, the
386th Bombardment Group left its base at
RAF Snetterton Heath for
RAF Boxted. The 96th took the 386th's place at Snetterton Heath the following day, leaving its previous base available for the
322d Bombardment Group. As the most conveniently reached station from
3d Air Division Headquarters at Elveden Hall, Snetterton Heath units often led to major operations carrying commanding generals. General
Curtis LeMay led the
Regensburg shuttle mission to North Africa flying out of this base, and the group received a
Distinguished Unit Citation for withstanding severe assaults by enemy fighters. In October, however, the two squadrons at Jackson were transferred to the
384th Bombardment Group. and the 96th Group and 2586th Center were inactivated in July 1949 and not replaced as flying operations at Gunter ceased.
Strategic Air Command The 96th Bombardment Wing was activated in November 1953 at
Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma. Wing headquarters and most of the wing components were not manned until March 1954; those components were controlled by the 96th Air Base Group, whose commander served additional duty as the 96th's wing commander. The wing soon received
Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighters and began air refueling operations in March 1954. It was assigned to the wing from September 1959 until it was inactivated in March 1961. The wing added
intercontinental ballistic missiles to its nuclear strike force when the
578th Strategic Missile Squadron, with
Convair SM-65 Atlas missiles joined the wing in July 1961. The first Atlas missile went on alert in April 1962. The wing's Atlases were phased out in March 1965. Dispersing bombers carried nuclear weapons in ferrying configuration. On 24 October SAC went to
DEFCON 2, placing all its combat aircraft on alert. Most dispersal bases were civilian airfields with
Air Force Reserve or
Air National Guard units. The B-47s were configured for execution of the Emergency War Order as soon as possible after dispersal. On 15 November, 1/6 of the dispersed B-47s were recalled to their home bases. On 21 November SAC relaxed its alert posture to DEFCON 3. its dispersed B-47s and their supporting tankers were recalled on 24 November. On 27 November SAC returned to normal alert posture. By the early 1960s, the B-47 was being phased out of SAC's strategic arsenal. In June 1961, the 341st Bombardment Wing had been inactivated and the 96th became the single Stratojet wing at Dyess. In March 1963, two of the wing's bomber squadrons were inactivated, and by December 1963, its remaining squadron had converted to the
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress. The 96th received B-52Cs from the 99th Bomb Wing from
Walker Air Force Base in Roswell, New Mexico. In 1970 and again 1972–1973, most wing personnel and all of its aircraft and
crews deployed to the Pacific in support of the War in Vietnam. On 1 October 1993 the 96th Wing inactivated, The B-1Bs of the 337th Squadron were reassigned to the 7th Wing, and the 337th absorbed the B-1s of the inactivating 338th Crew Training Squadron as part of the new wing. The
96th Air Base Wing stood up as a non-flying organization on 15 March 1994. It assumed the mission of supporting the Air Armament Center and associate units at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The wing performs developmental test and evaluation for a wide variety of customers including: Air Force Systems Program Offices, the
Air Force Research Laboratory, Materiel Command's logistics and product centers; major commands; other
Department of Defense services and U.S. government agencies (Department of Transportation, NASA, etc.); foreign military sales; and private industry. As of 18 July 2012, the
46th Test Group at Holloman Air Force Base was 'reflagged' as the
96th Test Group. It operated test facilities for high speed sled track testing, navigation and guidance system testing, radar signature measurements, weapon systems flight testing, and Air Force liaison for all AF programs tested at
White Sands Missile Range. The group's Operating Location AA at
Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico was responsible for
directed energy and
high energy laser testing and Operating Location AC at
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and performed
landing gear and aircraft
survivability tests. The Air Force Test Center began a reorganization in 2015 to move some units within the AFTC from the 96th Test Wing over to the
Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC). The largest change was the transfer of the 96th Test Group to the AEDC and its redesignation as the
704th Test Group, effective 1 December 2016. ==Lineage==