The 820th Air Division was activated By Strategic Air Command (SAC) at Plattsburgh Air Force Base, New York in January 1956 as the command headquarters for Plattsburgh in anticipation of the movement of a second Boeing B-47 Stratojet wing to Plattsburgh. In June, its 820th Air Base Group became the host organization for Plattsburgh, taking over from the 380th Air Base Group, which had acted in that capacity since 1955. The 380th Bombardment Wing, which had activated at Plattsburgh in the summer of 1955, was the first combat wing assigned to the division. While awaiting the completion of facilities at Plattsburgh, the 380th Wing had been training with B-47s at Pinecastle Air Force Base, Florida. In late June 1956, the wing's initial training was complete and its operational units returned to Plattsburgh Full B-47 operations began the following month. However, the arrival of the second B-47 wing was delayed, and the 380th remained the division's only wing until 1959. From October through November 1956, the wing was placed on a higher state of readiness because of the Suez Crisis and the Hungarian revolution.