46th Test Wing

The wing was activated as the 46th Bombardment Group (Light) and in 1941, equipped with Douglas A-20 Havoc aircraft.[3] Its operational squadrons were the 50th,[5] 51st,[6] and 53d Bombardment Squadrons,[7] and the 8th Reconnaissance Squadron.[8] Shortly after activation in 1941, the 8th Reconnaissance Sq mission changed and it became the 87th Bombardment Squadron.[8] The 46th participated in maneuvers, including desert maneuvers,[9] and flew anti-submarine warfare patrol and search missions over the Gulf of Mexico in early 1942.[3] It also served as an operational training unit,[3] which involved the use of an oversized parent unit to provide cadres for "satellite groups."[10] In late 1943 the group mission changed to replacement training of individual pilots and aircrews (RTU).[3][10] Just before disbanding, the group began to convert to North American B-25 Mitchells.[5][6][7][8] In 1944, the group was disbanded and its personnel, equipment and functions transferred to the 333d AAF Base Unit (Replacement Training Unit, Light Bombardment)[11] at Morris Field in a major reorganization of the Army Air Forces in which RTUs were disbanded and training activities given to base units.[12]

In March 1975, 46th Aerospace Defense Wing was activated to replace the 4600th Air Base Wing at Peterson Field, where it took over the personnel, equipment, and of the 4600th and its mission of administering facilities of North American Air Defense Command (NORAD), Aerospace Defense Command (ADC), and Army Air Defense Command (ARADCOM) located on Ent Air Force Base, Peterson Air Force Base, and the Cheyenne Mountain Complex, plus various other nearby off-base facilities,[13] which the 4600th wing had been performing from Ent Air Force Base, then from Peterson Field since April 1958.[14] Despite its name, the wing was a "disguised" air base wing.[15] Although the provision of administrative and logistics support was the wing's primary mission, its flying training squadron served NORAD and ADC mission requirements and provided flying training for cadets at the United States Air Force Academy until 1 October 1979,[13] when ADC was inactivated and the wing transferred to the 4th Air Division of Strategic Air Command.[1] In April 1983, the 46th was inactivated and replaced by the 1st Space Wing.[16]

The 46th was redesignated as the 46th Test Wing and replaced the 3246th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida in October 1992.[1] It designed and performed flight and ground developmental tests with uniquely modified aircraft and facilities for conventional weapons and electronic combat systems.[1] The wing also supported other Department of Defense components and numerous allied nations during test and exercises and managed the largest test range in the free world.[1] Weapons systems recently tested by the wing include the Small Diameter Bomb, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System, Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, Target Void Sensing Fuze, Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM), and the Trident Intercontinental Ballistic Missile.[17] The wing worked closely with the 53d Wing of Air Combat Command, which performed operational testing of many of the same weapons systems.[17]

In February 2012, the wing relocated its UH-1N helicopters from Eglin to Duke Field in anticipation of a 250 percent increase in helicopter developmental test programs.[18] The wing mission transferred to the 96th Air Base Wing, which was redesignated as the 96th Test Wing on 18 July 2012.[19] The 46th Test Wing was subsequently inactivated on 1 October 2012.

• Air Force Combat Command, 15 January 1941[1]
• V Air Support Command (later, Ninth Air Force), 1 September 1941[1]
• Third Air Force, 18 April 1942[1]
• XII Bomber Command, 2 May 1942[1]
• III Bomber Command, 8 May 1942[1]
• Second Air Force, ca. 8 July 1942[1]
• I Ground Air Support Command, c. 10 November 1942[1]
• III Air Support Command, 25 January 1943[1]
• III Bomber Command, 6 August 1943 – 1 May 1944[1]
• Aerospace Defense Command, 15 March 1975[13]
• 4th Air Division, 1 October 1979 – 1 April 1983[1]
• Air Force Development Test Center (later, Air Armament Center), 1 October 1992 – 1 October 2012 (attached to Air Force Test Center after 18 July 2012)[1]

Groups

• 46th Logistics Group (later 46th Maintenance Group): ca. 8 September 1993 – 1 October 2012 (attached to 96th Test Wing after 18 July 2012)
• 46th Operations Group: 8 September 1993 – 1 October 2012 (attached to 96th Test Wing after 18 July 2012)[20]
• 46th Range Group 11 May 2006 – 1 October 2012 (attached to 96th Test Wing after 18 July 2012)
• 46th Test Group: 1 October 1992 – 1 October 2012 (attached to 96th Test Wing after 18 July 2012)[21]

Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico

• Army Air Base, Savannah, Georgia, 15 January 1941[3]
• Bowman Field, Kentucky, 20 May 1941[3]
• Barksdale Field, Louisiana, 2 February 1942[3]
• Galveston Municipal Airport, Texas, 1 April 1942[3]
• Blythe Army Air Base, California, 23 May 1942[3][24]
• Will Rogers Field, Oklahoma, 10 November 1942[3]
• Drew Field, Florida, 9 October 1943[3]
• Morris Field, North Carolina, 6 November 1943 – 1 May 1944[3]
• Peterson Field (later, Air Force Base), Colorado, 15 March 1975 – 1 April 1983
• Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, 1 October 1992 – 18 July 2012

Explanatory notes

Citations

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

• Craven, Wesley F; Cate, James L, eds. (1955). The Army Air Forces in World War II. VI, Men & Planes. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press. LCCN 48003657.
• Endicott, Judy G. (1998). Active Air Force Wings as of 1 October 1995 and USAF Active Flying, Space, and Missile Squadrons as of 1 October 1995 (PDF). Air Force History and Museums Program. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ASIN B000113MB2. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961]. Air Force Combat Units of World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-02-1.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6.
• Mueller, Robert (1989). Air Force Bases, Vol. I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982 (PDF). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-53-6.
• Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947–1977. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-12-9.
• Wilson, Art (2008). Runways in the Sand. Blythe, California: Art Wilson. ISBN 978-0-615-21889-2. OCLC 316309702. LCC D769.85.C21 B598 2008