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6th Air Refueling Wing AI simulator
(@6th Air Refueling Wing_simulator)
Hub AI
6th Air Refueling Wing AI simulator
(@6th Air Refueling Wing_simulator)
6th Air Refueling Wing
The United States Air Force's 6th Air Refueling Wing is the host wing for MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. It is part of Air Mobility Command's (AMC) Eighteenth Air Force. The wing's 6th Operations Group is a successor organization of the 3d Observation Group, one of the seven original combat air groups formed by the United States Army Air Service shortly after the end of World War I.
The 6th Air Refueling Wing provides day-to-day mission support to more than 3,000 personnel along with more than 50 mission partners, including the United States Central Command and United States Special Operations Command. It is a force capable of rapidly projecting air refueling power anywhere in the world. The 6 ARW is organized into four unique groups and three operational flying squadrons to carry out its mission to be provide air refueling, airlift, and air base support.
The 6th Bombardment Wing (Medium) was activated Walker Air Force Base, New Mexico on 2 January 1951, where it was assigned to Strategic Air Command (SAC)'s Eighth Air Force. The 24th, 39th and 40th Bombardment Squadrons were simultaneously activated. The squadrons were nominally assigned to the wing's 6th Bombardment Group, but the group was not operational and the squadrons were attached directly to the wing's headquarters until the group was inactivated in June 1952. The wing was equipped with Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers. In August, the 307th Air Refueling Squadron, operating KB-29P Superfortress tankers to refuel the wing's bombers, moved to Walker from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, and was also attached to the Wing.
One month after the wing was activated, it was assigned to the 47th Air Division, which was activated at Walker to serve as the headquarters for the 6th and Walker's second wing, the 509th Bombardment Wing. In 1952, the 6th converted from the B-29 to the Convair B-36 Peacemaker. The Peacemaker did not require air refueling, so the 307th Squadron's attachment to the wing ended. On 31 October 1955, the entire wing deployed to Anderson Air Force Base, Guam, remaining there until 26 January 1956, when it returned to Walker. The wing continued to fly the B-36 until 1957, when it began converting to the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress.
The air refuelable B-52 brought with it a return of the air refueling mission, this time with the Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers of the 6th Air Refueling Squadron. SAC was expanding the number of its B-52 wings, increasing the number of B-52 crews it had to train. On 1 August 1959, the 4129th Combat Crew Training Squadron was organized and assigned to the wing to conduct ground training of new crews, while the following month, the 24th and 39th Bombardment Squadrons began flying training.
The 40th Bombardment Squadron continued to train for combat missions. On 10 June 1960, the entire wing became non-operational, a status that lasted until 1 December 1961, when the 40th returned to combat status. 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 579th Strategic Missile Squadron was activated in September 1961 as an SM-65 Atlas-F squadron. This addition of ICBMs resulted in the wing's redesignation as the 6th Strategic Aerospace Wing in May 1962. The squadron received its first ICBM on 24 January 1962.[citation needed] At the beginning of the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 six of the squadron's missile sites had not yet been turned over to SAC by Air Force Systems Command (AFSC). On 24 October, AFSC began to bring these missiles up to alert status. Once the crisis had abated, these missiles were removed from alert until normal training and testing could be completed. On 1 June 1963, a crew of the 579th was conducting a propellant loading exercise when an explosion occurred, destroying the squadron's launch complex 1. A nearly identical accident on 13 February 1964 destroyed launch complex 5, followed less than a month later, on 9 March 1964, by the destruction of launch complex 2 in another explosion.
On 19 November 1964, Secretary of Defense Robert MacNamara announced Project Added Effort which would phase out that all Atlas-F missiles by the end of June 1965. In implementing this project, the 579th Strategic Missile Squadron phased out its missile operations in February and inactivated on 25 March 1965.
6th Air Refueling Wing
The United States Air Force's 6th Air Refueling Wing is the host wing for MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. It is part of Air Mobility Command's (AMC) Eighteenth Air Force. The wing's 6th Operations Group is a successor organization of the 3d Observation Group, one of the seven original combat air groups formed by the United States Army Air Service shortly after the end of World War I.
The 6th Air Refueling Wing provides day-to-day mission support to more than 3,000 personnel along with more than 50 mission partners, including the United States Central Command and United States Special Operations Command. It is a force capable of rapidly projecting air refueling power anywhere in the world. The 6 ARW is organized into four unique groups and three operational flying squadrons to carry out its mission to be provide air refueling, airlift, and air base support.
The 6th Bombardment Wing (Medium) was activated Walker Air Force Base, New Mexico on 2 January 1951, where it was assigned to Strategic Air Command (SAC)'s Eighth Air Force. The 24th, 39th and 40th Bombardment Squadrons were simultaneously activated. The squadrons were nominally assigned to the wing's 6th Bombardment Group, but the group was not operational and the squadrons were attached directly to the wing's headquarters until the group was inactivated in June 1952. The wing was equipped with Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers. In August, the 307th Air Refueling Squadron, operating KB-29P Superfortress tankers to refuel the wing's bombers, moved to Walker from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, and was also attached to the Wing.
One month after the wing was activated, it was assigned to the 47th Air Division, which was activated at Walker to serve as the headquarters for the 6th and Walker's second wing, the 509th Bombardment Wing. In 1952, the 6th converted from the B-29 to the Convair B-36 Peacemaker. The Peacemaker did not require air refueling, so the 307th Squadron's attachment to the wing ended. On 31 October 1955, the entire wing deployed to Anderson Air Force Base, Guam, remaining there until 26 January 1956, when it returned to Walker. The wing continued to fly the B-36 until 1957, when it began converting to the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress.
The air refuelable B-52 brought with it a return of the air refueling mission, this time with the Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers of the 6th Air Refueling Squadron. SAC was expanding the number of its B-52 wings, increasing the number of B-52 crews it had to train. On 1 August 1959, the 4129th Combat Crew Training Squadron was organized and assigned to the wing to conduct ground training of new crews, while the following month, the 24th and 39th Bombardment Squadrons began flying training.
The 40th Bombardment Squadron continued to train for combat missions. On 10 June 1960, the entire wing became non-operational, a status that lasted until 1 December 1961, when the 40th returned to combat status. 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 579th Strategic Missile Squadron was activated in September 1961 as an SM-65 Atlas-F squadron. This addition of ICBMs resulted in the wing's redesignation as the 6th Strategic Aerospace Wing in May 1962. The squadron received its first ICBM on 24 January 1962.[citation needed] At the beginning of the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 six of the squadron's missile sites had not yet been turned over to SAC by Air Force Systems Command (AFSC). On 24 October, AFSC began to bring these missiles up to alert status. Once the crisis had abated, these missiles were removed from alert until normal training and testing could be completed. On 1 June 1963, a crew of the 579th was conducting a propellant loading exercise when an explosion occurred, destroying the squadron's launch complex 1. A nearly identical accident on 13 February 1964 destroyed launch complex 5, followed less than a month later, on 9 March 1964, by the destruction of launch complex 2 in another explosion.
On 19 November 1964, Secretary of Defense Robert MacNamara announced Project Added Effort which would phase out that all Atlas-F missiles by the end of June 1965. In implementing this project, the 579th Strategic Missile Squadron phased out its missile operations in February and inactivated on 25 March 1965.
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