16th Air Expeditionary Wing

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16th Air Expeditionary Wing
USAF - 16th Air Expeditionary Wing.png
Emblem of the 16th Air Expeditionary Wing
Active 1944–1946
1999-c.2005–06
Country United States
Branch United States Air Force
Part of United States Air Forces in Europe
Garrison/HQ Aviano AB, Italy
Engagements
World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg Asiatic-Pacific Campaign ribbon.svg Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary ribbon.svg
  • World War II
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign (1945)
  • Global War on Terrorism
    (Dates TBD)
Two F-16s from Aviano Air Base, Italy, after fueling from a KC-135 Stratotanker over the Adriatic Sea.

The United States Air Force's 16th Air Expeditionary Wing (16 AEW) was a provisional Air Expeditionary unit of the United States Air Forces in Europe from 1997 for the purpose of supporting US no-fly zone and other operations in the Balkans. It remained active until June 2003, when it was replaced by the 401st Air Expeditionary Wing at Aviano.[1]

Contents

Units [edit]

The Wing was located at Aviano AB, Italy. It operated expeditionary sites at Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo; Camp Able Sentry, Macedonia; Sarajevo and Tuzla Air Base, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Taszar Air Base, Hungary; Zagreb, Croatia and Naval Air Station Sigonella and San Vito Air Station, Italy; in addition to a contingency processing center at Rhein-Main AB, Germany.

Weapons systems operated [edit]

reference for Weapons systems operated[2]

History [edit]

World War II [edit]

16th Bomb Group B-29s Northwest Field Guam 1945
Unidentified B-29 Superfortress of the 16th Bombardment Group

The unit was activated on 1 April 1944 at Dalhart AAF, Texas. Equipped with the Boeing B-29B Superfortresses, the operational bomb squadrons were the 15th, 16th, 17th and 21st. The unit trained for combat initially at Dalhart, then moving to Fairmont AAF, Nebraska on 15 August 1944.

The B-29B was a limited production aircraft, built solely by Bell-Atlanta. It had all but the tail defensive armament removed, since experience had shown that by 1944 the only significant Japanese fighter attacks were coming from the rear. The tail gun was aimed and fired automatically by the new AN/APG-15B radar fire control system that detected the approaching enemy plane and made all the necessary calculations. The elimination of the turrets and the associated General Electric computerized gun system increased the top speed of the Superfortress to 364 mph (586 km/h) at 25,000 feet (7,600 m) and made the B-29B suitable for fast, unescorted hit-and-run bombing raids and photographic missions.

The 16th was assigned to Twentieth Air Force on 7 March 1945 and was deployed to Northwest Field, Guam as part of the 315th Bombardment Wing. Its B-29s were marked with a Diamond-B tail code. The group entered combat on 16 June 1945 with a bombing raid against an airfield on Moen. Flew first mission against the Japanese home islands on 26 June 1945 and afterwards operated principally against the enemy's petroleum industry.

Flying unescorted in the face of severe enemy attack, the 16th bombed the Maruzen Oil Refinery at Shimotsu on the night of 2 July; the Mitsubishi refinery and Kawasaki oil installations at Kawasaki on the night of 12–13 July, and the coal liquefication plants at Ube on 22–23 July 1945. The unit was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for the missions.

There were several missions flown during the month of August and each resulted in the virtual destruction of an important Japanese petroleum refinery. The tactics of radar bombing from individual aircraft were used during attacks on the Mitsubishi-Hayama Petroleum Complex on the night of 1–2 August; the Nippon Oil Refinery and Tank Farm at Amagasaki on 9–10 August, and the final target of the war for the 16th Group was the Nippon Oil Refinery at Tsuchizaki on 15 August 1945.

After the war the group dropped food and supplies to Allied prisoners gf war in Japan, Manchuria, and Korea, and participated in several show-of-force missions over Japan. The problem of dropping supplies to Prisoners of War was difficult. In the first place, most of the camps were small and hard to locate. Even more important was the great distance that had to be flown on some of the missions. Accurate information was lacking on several of the camps, especially those located in Manchuria and Korea. The Japanese had apparently shifted many of the prisoners around and closed down some of the concentration centers. Most of the supplies were dropped with the aid of a parachute but certain types of packages were permitted to fall free. The bombardier on each B-29 had quite a problem in determining the exact moment of release.

On 2 September, the 16th Group participated in the "Show of Force" mission over Tokyo which took place while the surrender terms were being signed on the battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay. The mission was carefully planned as it represented the first attempt at formation flying that the organization had made since its arrival overseas. The aircraft flew over Tokyo Bay just as the surrender terms were signed and the men could watch the Missouri at the same time that they heard the broadcast of the ceremony over the radio. The B-29s flew at approximately 3,000 feet (910 m) and could see clearly through a scattered undercast.[3]

The 16th Bombardment Group was inactivated on Guam on 15 April 1946.

From 1999 [edit]

The 16th Expeditionary Air Base Group was a redesignation of the 31st Air Base Squadron, assigned to Aviano Air Base, Italy in February 1999. Its initial mission was a component of Operation Allied Force (OAF), which was the NATO response to Serbian aggression against ethnic Albanian in Kosovo.

In June 2003 the 401st Air Expeditionary Wing was reactivated at Aviano Air Base, Italy, replacing the 16th AEW, deactivating so as to eliminate an overlap in heraldry with the 16th SOW at Hurlburt Field, Florida.[4]

The 16th AEW may have operated over Kosovo and elsewhere in southern Europe until 2005–2006.

Lineage [edit]

  • Designated as: 16th Air Expeditionary Wing in February 1999 and converted to provisional status
Activated 1999 (Date TBD)
Inactivated 2006 (Date TBD)

Assignments [edit]

Attached to 17th Bombardment Operational Training Wing (Very Heavy), c. 15 August 1944 – 7 March 1945
Attached to: Sixteenth Air Force, February 1999 – 2006 (TBD)

Components [edit]

Stations [edit]

References [edit]

Portal icon United States Air Force portal
Portal icon Military of the United States portal
Portal icon World War II portal

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

  1. ^ Butler, William M. (2004). Fifty Years on Nato's Southern Flank: a History of Sixteenth Air Force 1954-2004. Sixteenth Air Force Office of History. 
  2. ^ Airman Magazine Jan 2001
  3. ^ Official History of the 16th Bomb Group, transcribed from AFHRA microfilm B0082
  4. ^ Aviano AEW gets new designation, new commander

External links [edit]
Leadership
Structure
Commands
Direct Reporting Units
Personnel and
training
Uniforms and
equipment
History and
traditions
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