Surf Wiki
Save to docs
history/military

From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

17th Air Division

17th Air Division
FieldValue
unit_name17th Air Division
dates1940–1941; 1942–1943; 1944–1946; 1959–1971; 1975 – 1976
country
branch
identification_symbol[[File:17th Air Division crest.jpg165px]]
identification_symbol_label17th Air Division emblem
Flag of the 17th Air Division

The 17th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Pacific Air Forces, stationed at U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield, Thailand, where it was inactivated on 1 January 1976.

History

The air division was first activated as the 17th Bombardment Wing on 18 December 1940, and assigned to the Southeast Air District. It was assigned the 3d and 27th Bombardment Groups as its operational units, and the 22d Pursuit Wing was attached from January to June 1942.

Reactivated as part of Second Air Force in June 1942 as the 17th Bombardment Training Wing. Was the primary training command organization for USAAF heavy bombardment (Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Consolidated B-24 Liberator) groups during World War II from June 1942 until May 1944. Initially, it controlled the third phase of training, in which each bombardment group split into tactical components and operated from squadron sized airfields under simulated combat conditions. Later, the 17th supervised the first and second phases of heavy bombardment group and crew training.

In 1943 assumed mission for training Boeing B-29 Superfortress Very Heavy bombardment groups prior to their deployment to Twentieth Air Force in the Pacific Theater until April 1946 when it ceased all activity. It also exercised limited supervision over the training of the XXI and XXII Bomber Commands during 1944.

Strategic Air Command

The disbanded wing was reconstituted and redesignated the 17th Air Division and activated on 15 July 1959. It gained control of the 340th and the 305th Bombardment Wings at Bunker Hill Air Force Base, Indiana, and the 4040th Air Base Squadron at Richard I. Bong Air Force Base, Wisconsin in 1959. The two bombardment wings flew normal Strategic Air Command alert patrols and participated in special exercises as required. The division lost its bombardment wings and gained missile wings in 1963, assuming responsibility for Titan and Minuteman missiles in Missouri, Kansas, and later Arkansas. When joined by the 70th Bombardment Wing, on 1 July 1965 with Boeing B-52 Stratofortress and Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft, the division reverted to an earlier designation – 17th Strategic Aerospace Division. From 1965 to 1971, the division's units frequently deployed bomber and tanker resources. Operation Arc Light operations in Southeast Asia, consisting of military operations against enemy forces in Vietnam, drew most of the deployments.

Pacific Air Forces

From 1 July 1975 to 1 January 1976 as part of Pacific Air Forces, it supervised training for United States Air Force tactical units in Thailand. It was inactivated as part of the USAF withdrawal from Thailand after the end of the Vietnam War.

Lineage

  • Constituted as the 17th Bombardment Wing on 3 October 1940 : Activated on 18 December 1940 : Inactivated on 1 September 1941
  • Activated on 23 June 1942 : Redesignated 17th Bombardment Training Wing in January 1943 : Redesignated 17th Bombardment Operational Training Wing in April 1943 : Inactivated on 15 November 1943
  • Redesignated 17th Bombardment Operational Training Wing (Very Heavy) : Activated on 11 March 1944 : Inactivated on 9 April 1946 : Disbanded on 8 October 1948
  • Reconstituted and redesignated 17th Air Division, on 1 July 1959 : Activated on 15 July 1959 : Redesignated 17th Strategic Aerospace Division on 15 February 1962 : Redesignated 17th Strategic Missile Division on 1 September 1963 : Redesignated 17th Strategic Aerospace Division on 1 July 1965 : Inactivated on 30 June 1971
  • Redesignated 17th Air Division on 24 January 1975 : Activated on 1 July 1975 : Inactivated on 1 January 1976

Assignments

  • GHQ Air Force, 18 December 1940
  • Southeast Air District (later, Third Air Force), 16 January 1941 – 1 September 1941 (attached to III Bomber Command, 23 April – 1 September 1941)
  • Second Air Force, 23 June 1942
  • II Bomber Command, 15 May 1943
  • Second Air Force, 6 October – 15 November 1943; 11 March 1944
  • Fifteenth Air Force, 31 March – 9 April 1946
  • Second Air Force, 15 July 1959
  • Eighth Air Force, 1 July 1963
  • Fifteenth Air Force, 31 March 1970 – 30 June 1971
  • Pacific Air Forces, 1 July 1975 – 1 January 1976

Components

Commands

  • XXI Bomber Command: attached c. 15 April – 20 October 1944
  • XXII Bomber Command: attached 14 August 1944 – 13 February 1945

Wings

Groups

Stations

  • Hunter Army Air Field, Georgia, 18 December 1940 – 1 September 1941
  • Rapid City Army Air Base, South Dakota, 23 June 1942
  • Walla Walla Army Air Field, Washington, c. 1 July – 15 November 1943
  • Smoky Hill Army Air Field, Kansas, 11 March 1944
  • Colorado Springs Army Air Base, Colorado, April 1944
  • Grand Island Army Air Field, Nebraska, May 1944
  • Sioux City Army Air Base, Iowa, February 1945
  • Fort Worth Army Air Field, Texas, December 1945 – 9 April 1946
  • Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, 15 July 1959 – 30 June 1971
  • U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield, Thailand, 1 July 1975 – 1 January 1976

References

Notes

; Explanatory notes

; Citations

Bibliography

References

  1. (4 October 2007). "Factsheet 17 Air Division". Air Force Historical Research Agency.
  2. In September 1941, the [[wing (military aviation unit). wing]] was inactivated and its personnel used to form the [[3d Air Support Command]].Futrell, p. 13
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

military-units-and-formations-established-in-1959 units-and-formations-of-strategic-air-command air-divisions-of-the-united-states-air-force
Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about 17th Air Division — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report