452nd Air Mobility Wing

The 452nd Air Mobility Wing is an Air Reserve Component of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the Fourth Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at March Air Reserve Base, California. If mobilized, the Wing is gained by the Air Mobility Command.

During World War II, its predecessor unit, the 452nd Bombardment Group (Heavy) was an Eighth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortress unit in England, stationed at RAF Deopham Green. 1st Lieutenant Donald J. Gott and 2nd Lieutenant William E. Metzger, Jr were both awarded the Medal of Honor for their heroic actions.

The 452nd Air Mobility Wing's mission is to organize, train and equip aircrews to provide air refueling and strategic airlift any time, any place. The wing's aircraft operate under widely varying situations ranging from small movements in battle to large movements over long distances.

The 452d Air Mobility Wing consists of the following major units:

The wing was first activated as a reserve organization at Long Beach Army Air Field California in June 1949 as the 452nd Bombardment Wing, when Continental Air Command (ConAC) converted its reserve flying organizations under the wing base organization, which combined them with their support organizations under a single wing. It trained under the supervision of the 2347th Air Force Reserve Training Center. President Truman's reduced 1949 defense budget also required reductions in the number of units in the Air Force, and the wing drew its cadre from the 304th Air Division, which was simultaneously inactivated, and the 459th Bombardment Group, which moved on paper to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The wing trained for light bomber with the Douglas B-26 Invader, but also operated trainer aircraft. The wing was manned at 25% of normal strength but its combat group was authorized four squadrons rather than the three of active duty units.

The wing, along with all reserve combat and corollary units, was mobilized for the Korean war. It was called up in August 1950, and was one of the first two reserve wings to be mobilized The wing was brought up to strength by absorbing more than half the personnel of the 448th Bombardment Wing, also located at Long Beach. Upon mobilization, the wing moved to George Air Force Base, California, and began accelerated aircrew training.

On 15 October 1950, the first of five echelons of the 452nd left George for Itazuke Air Base, Kyushu, Japan. Its 731st Bombardment Squadron, trained in night operations, was detached to the 3rd Bombardment Wing at Iwakuni Air Base, Honshu, Japan. The first B-26 of the 452nd arrived at Itazuke on 25 October, and two days later the wing flew its initial B-26 interdiction mission to Korea, exactly seventy-seven days after recall. On the last day of the month, the aircrews of the 452nd learned they were in a real shooting war, as three Yakovlev fighters jumped one of their B-26s and a Mosquito controller near Yangsi. The B-26 crew shot down one of the Soviet-designed fighters, and North American F-51 Mustangs arrived to destroy the other two.

Upon arrival in the theater, the 452nd Bombardment Wing was the only B-26 unit conducting daylight operations. Until June 1951, it gave close support to ground units in Korea and engaged in interdiction of communist-held airfields, supply lines, and bridges, reaching peak operations in February 1951.