page_title: 416th Air Expeditionary Wing
section_title: World War II
hierarchical_section_title: 416th Air Expeditionary Wing / History / World War II
caption_attribution_description: English: 416th Bombardment Group Douglas A-26 Invader, Laon/Athies Airfield (A-69), France, 1945
context_page_description: The 416th Air Expeditionary Wing is a provisional unit assigned to the Air Combat Command of the United States Air Force to activate or inactivate as needed.
  The wing began life in World War II as the 416th Bombardment Group. The group was a Douglas A-20 Havoc light bomb group assigned to Ninth Air Force in Western Europe. It was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for its actions in France when, in spite of intense resistance, the group bombed bridges, railways, rolling stock, and a radar station to disrupt the German retreat through the Falaise-Argentan gap. It converted to Douglas A-26 Invaders while engaged in combat and continued to support ground forces through the end of the war.
  The group's heritage was continued by the 416th Bombardment Wing, a Strategic Air Command B-52 Stratofortress wing that conducted strategic bombardment training and air refueling operations on a global scale based at Griffiss Air Force Base in New York. 416th BW crews and aircraft deployed to the Pacific during the Vietnam War era to support SAC operations during the conflict. In 1984, the wing and group were consolidated and became a single unit.
context_section_description: Media related to 416th Bombardment Group at Wikimedia Commons
caption: 416th Bombardment Group Douglas A-26 Invader, Laon/Athies Airfield (A-69), France, 1945
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