page_title: 28th Bomb Wing
section_title: Cold War
hierarchical_section_title: 28th Bomb Wing / History / Cold War
caption_attribution_description: English: Emblem of the 28th Bombardment Wing (SAC)
context_page_description: The 28th Bomb Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Eighth Air Force of the Air Force Global Strike Command and is stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota. The wing is also the "host unit" at Ellsworth AFB.
  The wing is one of only two B-1B Lancer strategic bomber wings in the United States Air Force, the other being the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas.
  Active for over 60 years, the 28th was a component wing of Strategic Air Command's deterrent force throughout the Cold War.
  The 28th Bomb Wing has been commanded by Colonel David Doss since July 2019. The previous commander was Colonel Gentry Boswell from 2015–2017 and Col Edwards from 2017-2019; its Command Chief Master Sergeant is CMSgt Adam Vizi.
context_section_description: Established as the 28th Bombardment Wing, Very Heavy on 28 July 1947, the wing maintained proficiency in heavy bombardment from 1947 to 1948 and maintained proficiency in global bombardment, deploying tactical components or segments thereof as needed from 1948 to 1950.
  In March 1953, an RB-36 and its entire crew of 23 crashed in Newfoundland while returning from a routine exercise in Europe. On 13 June 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower made a personal visit to dedicate the base in memory of Brig Gen Richard E. Ellsworth, commander of the 28th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, who lost his life in that mishap.
  Although the wing's aerial reconnaissance capability lasted until September 1958, by April 1955 the Air Force had already changed the wing back to its former status as the 28th Bombardment Wing, Heavy, under the 15th Air Force (later attached to the 3rd Air Division), which specialized almost exclusively in nuclear ordnance delivery. Headquarters Strategic Air Command (SAC) reassigned the 28 BMW from 8th Air Force back to 15th Air Force in October 1955.  The wing also completed a deployment to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, from April 1955 to July 1955.
  Approximately one year later, SAC set plans in motion to replace the 28th's Convair B-36 Peacemakers with the new all-jet B-52 Stratofortress. The last B-36 left Ellsworth on 29 May 1957 and the first B-52 arrived sixteen days later. In 1958, all base units came under the command of the 821st Strategic Aerospace Division, headquartered at Ellsworth.
  On 26 September 1958, two B-52Ds from the wing set world speed records for heavy aircraft.  One flew a 5,000 km closed course at an average speed of 597.695 mph, while the other flew a 10,000 km closed course at a speed of 560.705 mph.
  The wing added aerial refueling to its mission in 1959 with the addition of the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker and also began operating post-attack command and control system for Fifteenth Air Force in January 1965, maintaining this capability through a rear echelon during the absences of the remainder of the wing.
  The wing also temporarily controlled the 850th Strategic Missile Squadron, a non-equipped Titan I missile squadron from December 1960 to December 1961 pending the later establishment of the 44th Strategic Missile Wing at Ellsworth.
  In April 1966, B-52Ds of the wing, together with D series bombers of the 484th Bombardment Wing deployed to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, replacing the B-52Fs that SAC had been deploying to Andersen for the Vietnam War since the previous year.  The 28th's planes and other B-52Ds had been modified under a program called Big Belly, which increased the bombload of wing aircraft to 84 500 lb bombs or 42 750 lb bombs, from the 27 it could previously carry.  From this point, the Big Belly B-52D became the SAC workhorse in Southeast Asia.
  Except for a small rear echelon left at Ellsworth, the wing's headquarters staff, aircraft and crews, and most support personnel were integrated into Operation Arc Light forces for combat in Southeast Asia, c. 9 March – c. 21 September 1966, c. 15 January – c. 19 July 1968, and c. 9 September 1969 – c. 18 March 1970. From April 1972 to October 1973 the wing also had most of its tactical aircraft and crews on loan to SAC organizations involved in combat operations, and the wing continued supporting Pacific forces with planes and crews into 1975.
  In 1971, the wing converted from the B-52D to the B-52G, and converted again from B-52G to B-52H models in 1977. The B-52H mission expanded in 1984 to include sea reconnaissance, surveillance, and conventional operations from forward bases overseas, to include employment of the AGM-84 Harpoon missile.  The wing also upgraded its tanker force to KC-135R variant in 1985 and 1986.
  From 1 April 1970 to 30 September 1992, the 4th Airborne Command and Control Squadron (ACCS), part of the 28th BMW, provided airborne command post responsibilities with specially modified Boeing EC-135 airborne command post aircraft for Strategic Air Command as part of the Post Attack Command and Control System. T
caption: Cold War Emblem of the 28th Bombardment Wing
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