The 13th Strategic Missile Division is an inactive

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

unit. Its last assignment was with

Fifteenth Air Force The Fifteenth Air Force (15 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base. It was reactivated on 20 August 2020, merging the previous units of the Ninth Air Forc ...

, based at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming. It was inactivated on 2 July 1966. Initially formed in 1940 as an air defense formation in the Caribbean, it later commanded

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...

groups of

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces S ...

in the United Kingdom. Its units carried out strategic bombardment missions over Occupied Europe and Nazi Germany. During the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, the division controlling early ICBM wings of Strategic Air Command in the Midwest.

History

The unit was initially organized at Langley Field, Virginia, as the 13th Composite Wing in October 1940.Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 382–383 It was assigned to the new Caribbean Air Force as a command organization for units in the Caribbean.Hagedorn, Assigned to Borinquen Field, Puerto Rico, its mission was to provide an air strike force for the defense of

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

and the

U.S. Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands, officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and a territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located ...

. During the period 1940 to 1942, the wing controlled 21

Douglas B-18 Bolo The Douglas B-18 Bolo is an American twin-engined medium bomber which served with the United States Army Air Corps and the Royal Canadian Air Force (as the Digby) during the late 1930s and early 1940s. The Bolo was developed by the Douglas Airc ...

medium bombers and 92 assorted fighters in about a dozen groups and squadrons. On 17 April 1942, the wing was inactivated, and its mission was taken over by the VI Interceptor Command, Antilles Air Task Force. The organization was reactivated as the 13th Bombardment Wing in October 1942 at MacDill Field, Florida under

Third Air Force The Third Air Force (Air Forces Europe) (3 AF) is a Numbered Air Force, numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA). Its headquarters is Ramstein Air Base, Germany. It is responsible for all U ...

. It was one of three bombardment wing headquarters ( 12th, 13th, 14th) which were formed at MacDill for deployment to

in England. The 13th deployed in June 1943. There, it controlled the 95th, 100th and 390th Bombardment Groups under the 3d Bombardment Division, flying

es. Controlling the combat operations of the groups, it carried out strategic bombing of enemy aircraft, petroleum, and ball bearing industries as well as German airfields. Later, organizational units took part in the famous raid against the ball bearing industry at Schweinfurt in October 1943 and followed with missions against shipyards and shipbuilding installations at

Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...

and

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

. With the end of the war in Europe, it returned to the United States and was inactivated on 17 October 1945. The wing was redesignated as the 13th Air Division and then activated under

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile compon ...

(SAC) in July 1959. The 13th was one of SAC's first strategic missile command organizations, initially being assigned the 703d and 706th Strategic Missile Wings at Lowry AFB, Colorado with the new SM-68 Titan I ICBM. However, these wings never became operational; instead the division became an

SM-65 Atlas The SM-65 Atlas was the first operational intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) developed by the United States and the first member of the Atlas rocket family. It was built for the U.S. Air Force by the Convair Division of General ...

organization, controlling the 389th and

451st Strategic Missile Wing 451st may refer to: * 451st Air Expeditionary Wing, a provisional United States Air Force Air Combat Command unit, currently in Afghanistan * 451st Expeditionary Sustainment Command (ESC) is a subordinate command of 79th Sustainment Support Command ...

s. In 1963, it assumed command of the 90th Strategic Missile Wing with the new LGM-30A Minuteman I. In 1965, the first-generation Atlas

intercontinental ballistic missile An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range (aeronautics), range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more Thermonuclear weapon, thermonuclear warheads). Conven ...

was taken off alert and its subordinate wings were inactivated.Walker & Powell, It was briefly assigned some KC-135A Tankers and EC-135 electronic intelligence aircraft after the 98th Bombardment Wing was inactivated at

Lincoln Air Force Base Lincoln Airport (; formerly Lincoln Municipal Airport) is a joint public/military airport northwest of downtown Lincoln, Nebraska, Lincoln, the state capital, in Lancaster County, Nebraska, Lancaster County, Nebraska, United States. It is owne ...

, Nebraska afterwards, however the 13th Strategic Missile Division was itself inactivated in July 1966, its mission being taken over by the 821st Strategic Aerospace Division in a SAC reorganization.

Lineage

* Established as the 13th Composite Wing on 2 October 1940 : Activated on 10 October 1940 : Inactivated on 17 April 1942 * Redesignated: 13th Bombardment Wing on 23 August 1942 : Activated on 1 October 1942 : Redesignated 13th Bombardment Wing (Heavy) on 1 February 1943 : Redesignated 13th Combat Bombardment Wing (Heavy) on 30 August 1943 : Redesignated 13th Combat Bombardment Wing, Heavy on 24 August 1944 : Redesignated 13th Bombardment Wing, Heavy on 18 June 1945 : Redesignated 13th Bombardment Wing, Very Heavy on 17 August 1945 : Inactivated on 17 October 1945 * Redesignated 13th Air Division on 20 May 1959 : Activated on 1 July 1959 : Redesignated 13th Strategic Missile Division on 1 January 1963 : Discontinued and inactivated, on 2 July 1966

Assignments

* Unknown, 10 October 1940 * Panama Canal Air Force (later Caribbean Air Force), c. 1 November 1940 – 25 October 1941 *

, 1 October 1942 * Eighth Air Force, c. 1 June 1943 * VIII Bomber Command, 4 June 1943 * 3d Air Division, 16 July 1945 *

Second Air Force The Second Air Force (2 AF; ''2d Air Force'' in 1942) is a USAF numbered air force responsible for conducting basic military and technical training for Air Force enlisted members and non-flying officers. In World War II the CONUS unit defended ...

, c. 15 August 1945 – 17 October 1945 *

, 1 July 1959 * Eighth Air Force, 1 July 1963 *

, 1 July 1965 – 2 July 1966

Components

Wings ;; HGM-25A Titan I ICBM * 703d Strategic Missile Wing: 1 July 1959 – 1 July 1961 * 706th Strategic Missile Wing: 1 July 1959 – 1 July 1961 ;; SM-65A Atlas ICBM * 389th Strategic Missile Wing: 1 July 1961 – 25 March 1965 * 451st Strategic Missile Wing: 1 July 1961 – 25 June 1965 ;; LGM-30A Minuteman I ICBM * 90th Strategic Missile Wing: 1 July 1963 – 2 July 1966 Squadron * 34th Air Refueling Squadron: 1 July 1965 – 25 June 1966. Groups * 25th Bombardment Group: 1 November 1940 – c. 6 January 1941 * 36th Pursuit Group: January-3 June 1941 * 40th Bombardment Group: 1 May – 25 October 1941 * 95th Bombardment Group: September 1943 – c. 19 June 1945 * 100th Bombardment Group: c. September 1943 – c. December 1945 * 390th Bombardment Group: 13 September 1943 – c. 4 August 1945 * 490th Bombardment Group: c. March – August 1945 * 493d Bombardment Group: c. March – August 1945

Stations

* Langley Field, Virginia, 10 – 26 October 1940 * Borinquen Field, Puerto Rico, 1 November 1940 *

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

, c. 6 January 1941 * Borinquen Field, Puerto Rico, c. 1 May – 25 October 1941 * MacDill Field, Florida, 1 October 1942 – c. 10 May 1943 * Marks Hall, England, c. 2 June 1943 * Camp Blainey, England, c. 13 June 1943 * RAF Horham, England, 13 September 1943 – c. 6 August 1945 * Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota, c. 15 August 1945 * Peterson Field, Colorado, 17 August – 17 October 1945 * Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming, 1 July 1959 – 2 July 1966

Aircraft and missiles

* Douglas B-18 Bolo, 1940–1941 * Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, 1941, 1943–1945 *

Martin B-26 Marauder The Martin B-26 Marauder is an American twin-engined medium bomber that saw extensive service during World War II. The B-26 was built at two locations: Baltimore, Maryland, and Omaha, Nebraska, by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in ...

, 1941 * Bell P-39 Airacobra, 1941 *

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter-bomber that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry ...

, 1941 * SM-65 Atlas, 1960–1965 * SM-68A Titan I, 1962–1965 * LGM-30 Minuteman I, 1964–1966 *

Boeing EC-135 The Boeing EC-135 is a retired family of command and control aircraft derived from the Boeing C-135 Stratolifter. During the Cold War, the EC-135 was best known for being modified to perform the Operation Looking Glass, Looking Glass mission whe ...

, 1965–1966 *

Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling tanker aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It has a narrower fuselage and is shorter than the 707. Boeing gave ...

, 1965–1966

Heraldry

Light blue, issuant from base a sphere light green with land areas vert, grid lined azure, the sinister quarter of the last with grid lines of the field, above the sphere in chief an olive branch arched fesswise or, overall an aircraft and a missile bendwise each trailing speedlines of the like and all within a diminished border of the last.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * Hagedorn, Dan (1995). ''Alae Supra Canalem: Wings Over the Canal''. New York, NY: Turner Publishing Co. . * * * Walker, Chuck & Powell, Joel (2005). ''Atlas The Ultimate Weapon''. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Apogee Books. . {{USAAF 6th Air Force World War II Military units and formations established in 1940 013th 1940 establishments in Virginia 1966 disestablishments in Wyoming