380th Air Expeditionary Wing

History

The 380th Air Expeditionary Wing is a provisional unit of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command. It is attached to the United States Air Forces Central Command and is stationed at Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates. Its mission is aerial refueling and reconnaissance.

The Wing's origins date to 1942 when the 380th Bombardment Group was established. It operated primarily in the Southwest Pacific Theater as a Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber unit assigned to Fifth Air Force.

Active for over 40 years, the 380th Bombardment Wing was a component organization of Strategic Air Command's deterrent force during the Cold War, as a strategic bombardment wing.

About 1,200 active duty military members, Reserve, and Air National Guard personnel make up the wing. The wing's aircraft include McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extenders, Lockheed U-2 Dragon Ladies, Boeing E-3 Sentry airborne early warning aircraft, and Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk reconnaissance drones.

Text from Wikipedia: 380th Air Expeditionary Wing, CC BY-SA 4.0, lightly trimmed.

Key dates

1. 1942
   The history of the 380th dates back to 28 October 1942 when the 380th Bombardment Group (Heavy) was established.
2. 1942
   529th Bombardment Squadron: 3 November 1942 – 20 February 1946; 17 July 1947 – 27 June 1949; 11 July 1955 – 25 June 1966 and 6 January 1971 – 1 September 1991
3. 1946
   The 380th Group was inactivated on 20 February 1946.
4. 1956
   Major Harold L. Neal piloted the first flight of a B-47 by a 380th's crew on 27 January 1956 at Pinecastle.
5. 1961
   In 1961 and 1962, construction began on 12 SM-65 Atlas missile sites.
6. 1962
   Between 20 July 1962 and 24 December 1964, the 380th also flew EB-47 assigned to the 4365th Post Attack Command and Control Squadron.
7. 1968
   On 21 January 1968, tragedy struck the wing again when B-52G, serial 58-0188, crashed near Thule Air Base in Greenland while on a Chrome Dome mission.
8. 1984
   In 1984, the 380th once again proved itself worthy of its motto, "Best of the Best", as it achieved an unprecedented fifth Fairchild Trophy at the annual SAC Bombing and Navigation Competition.
9. 2001
   Redesignated 380th Air Expeditionary Wing and converted to provisional status on 4 December 2001.

Dates and events quoted from the same Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Records that place someone with this unit

A unit history doesn't name everyone who served. These records do:

• Morning reports (include Army Air Forces units)
• Search Army and AAF morning reports, 1912–1946 (National Archives Catalog)
• Air Force organizational records and lineage (AFHRA)

More history

• Air Force Historical Research Agency
• Wikipedia: 380th Air Expeditionary Wing