340th Bombardment Wing

340th Bombardment Wing
Unit name	340th Bombardment Wing
Dates	1942–1945; 1947–1949; 1952–1960
Country	United States
Branch	United States
Type	Bombardment
Battles	Mediterranean Theater, Korean War
Decorations	Distinguished Unit Citation, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award

340th Bombardment Wing is a designation held by three distinct but related United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force units. Initially activated during World War II, it served as the command and control headquarters for B-25 Mitchell groups in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. The wing was later reactivated in the Air Force Reserve before serving as a Strategic Air Command B-47 Stratojet wing during the Cold War.

History

The wing was first constituted in September 1942 as the 340th Bombardment Group (Medium) and activated at Columbia Army Air Base in South Carolina. Equipped with the North American B-25 Mitchell, the group deployed to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, where it was assigned to the Twelfth Air Force. Its operational squadrons, including the 486th Bombardment Squadron and 487th Bombardment Squadron, conducted extensive tactical bombing missions from bases in Tunisia, Sardinia, and Corsica. The group's targets included enemy airfields, marshalling yards, and bridges across Italy, Southern France, and the Balkans, providing crucial support for campaigns like the Allied invasion of Sicily and the Battle of Monte Cassino. It earned a Distinguished Unit Citation for actions during the Battle of Anzio. Following Victory in Europe Day, the group returned to the United States and was inactivated in December 1945.

The unit was redesignated the 340th Bombardment Wing and allotted to the Air Force Reserve in 1947, activating at Logan Airport in Massachusetts. This reserve wing was inactivated in 1949 during a major reorganization. In 1952, the wing was reactivated under Strategic Air Command at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. Transitioning to jet aircraft, it was equipped with the Boeing B-47 Stratojet and maintained a nuclear deterrent alert posture throughout the 1950s. The wing's mission involved continuous training for global strategic bombardment as part of SAC's war plans against the Soviet Union. It was inactivated in 1960 as the B-47 Stratojet began phasing out of the active inventory.

Lineage and honors

* Constituted as the 340th Bombardment Group (Medium) on 3 September 1942. * Activated on 10 September 1942. * Redesignated 340th Bombardment Group, Medium in 1944. * Inactivated on 29 December 1945. * Redesignated 340th Bombardment Wing, Light and allotted to the Reserve on 26 May 1947. * Activated on 29 June 1947. * Inactivated on 27 June 1949. * Redesignated 340th Bombardment Wing, Medium on 15 November 1952. * Activated on 1 January 1953. * Inactivated on 1 January 1960.

**Campaigns**: Air Combat, EAME Theater; Tunisia; Sicily; Naples-Foggia; Anzio; Rome-Arno; Southern France; North Apennines; Po Valley. **Decorations**: Distinguished Unit Citation for actions at Anzio and Nettuno, 25 February 1944. Air Force Outstanding Unit Award for service from 1 July 1958 to 1 January 1960.

Assignments and stations

* III Bomber Command, September 1942 * Twelfth Air Force, 1943–1945 * First Air Force, 1945 * Fourteenth Air Force (Reserve), 1947–1949 * Second Air Force, 1953 * 816th Air Division, 1953–1960

**Stations**: * Columbia Army Air Base, South Carolina, 10 September 1942 * Walterboro Army Air Field, South Carolina, December 1942 – March 1943 * El Kabrit, Egypt, April 1943 * Medenine Airfield, Tunisia, May 1943 * Sfax Airfield, Tunisia, June 1943 * Hergla Airfield, Tunisia, August 1943 * Elmas Airfield, Sardinia, November 1943 * Alesan Airfield, Corsica, September 1944 * Rimini Airfield, Italy, April 1945 * Pandino Airfield, Italy, July–August 1945 * Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia, September 1945 * Seymour Johnson Field, North Carolina, October–December 1945 * Logan Airport, Massachusetts, 29 June 1947 – 27 June 1949 * Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, 1 January 1953 – 1 January 1960

Aircraft operated

* North American B-25 Mitchell (1942–1945) * Boeing B-47 Stratojet (1953–1960)

Commanders

* Colonel Milton W. Arnold (1942–1943) * Colonel Charles D. Jones (1943–1944) * Colonel Robert L. Delashaw (1944–1945) * Colonel William H. Clark (1945) * Unknown (1947–1949) * Colonel John H. Herrity (1953–1954) * Colonel William E. Eubank, Jr. (1954–1955) * Colonel John S. Hardy (1955–1957) * Colonel William L. Harlow (1957–1960)

Category:United States Air Force wings