5th Air Division The 5th Air Division ( 5th AD ) is an inactive United States Air Force unit . Its last assignment was with Strategic Air Command , based at Sidi Slimane Air Base , Morocco . It was inactivated on 15 July 1958 . The unit ' s origins begin with its predecessor , the World War II 5th Bombardment Wing ( 5 BW ) . This unit was initially part of Twelfth Air Force before being reassigned in November 1943 to the Fifteenth Air Force . The 5th BW engaged in heavy bombardment B - 17 Flying Fortress operations against Germany . During the Cold War , the 5th AD was an intermediate command echelon of Strategic Air Command , absorbed the resources and responsibilities of the USAF Mission to Morocco as part of Sixteenth Air Force in 1951 . Inactivated in end of 1957 when the USAF drew down its forces from Morocco at the request of the Moroccan government . It was replaced by the SAC 4310th Air Division which absorbed the mission and personnel of the 5th AD . History . Components . Operational history . World War II . The 5th Air Division ( 5th AD ) originated on 19 October 1940 at McChord Field , Washington . Its initial mission was air defense of the northwest United States with three bombardment groups ( 12th , 17th and 39th ) flying early B - 17 Flying Fortress es ( B - 17C / D ) , as well as the B - 18 Bolo and its B - 23 Dragon variant . With the United States ' entry into World War II , the mission of the 5th Bomb Wing was changed to that of a strategic heavy bomber wing , in July 1942 being initially assigned to the new Eighth Air Force . However , the 5th Bomb Wing was reassigned to the Twelfth Air Force in October 1942 , to support the Western Task Force being assembled for the Operation Torch landings , planned for November . The 5th moved to North Africa in November , and its subordinate units began flying missions from French Morocco in late 1942 . The 97th and 301st Bomb groups , both being transferred from Eighth Air Force , were the pioneer heavy bomb groups in North Africa . Three weeks prior to the invasion saw a number of secret missions flown by the 97th BG . The first of these occurred on 18 October 1942 when General Mark Clark , commander of ground forces in the Western Task Force , flew to Gibraltar , along with a box containing $ 100 , 000 in gold 20 Franc coins , which were going to be paid to corrupt Vichy France officials in North Africa in order to secure their cooperation during the coming invasion . However after Clark landed in Gibraltar , the coins were lost overboard when they were on the final leg of their journey . Also , on 5 November General Dwight Eisenhower and British General Kenneth Anderson was flown on a 97th BG B - 17 were flown from Britain to Gibraltar . The following day , General James Doolittle , the newly named commander of Twelfth Air Force was flown to Gibraltar . Doolittle ' s B - 17 was intercepted by four Ju - 88s over the Bay of Biscay , forcing the pilot to dive sharply and make a run for it just above the ocean ' s surface . The co - pilot of the aircraft was injured by a strafing run of one of the German aircraft , and Doolittle reached for the first aid kit and attended to the wounded man . Afterward , Doolittle sat in the co - pilot ' s seat and helped fly the aircraft to Gibraltar . Shortly after the invasion , the 97th and 301st moved from their bases in England to an airfield at Tafraoui , Algeria . The conditions in Algeria were sparse compared to that in England , but by 24 November the two groups attacked the docks at Bizerte , Tunisia . As the American forces moved eastward , the 5th ' s units flew from Algeria beginning in January 1943 , attacking coastal targets in Tunisia , and also concentrations of Rommel ' s Afrika Corps . The 5th BW moved to Tunisia in August . Targets included airdromes , marshalling yards , bridges , and troop concentrations . In February 1943 , the 5th , in direct support of ground operations , bombed enemy troop concentrations in the Kasserine Pass . From its airfields in Tunisia , its subordinate units bombed Pantelleria , Sicily , and marshaling yards and airdromes on the Italian mainland . By October , the 5th Bomb Wing consisted of the two B - 17 groups as well as two P - 38 equipped fighter groups ( 1st , 325th FG ) . On 1 November 1943 , Fifteenth Air Force was established as a second American strategic air force in the European Theater . It was hoped that the 15th AF stationed in the Mediterranean would be able to operate when the Eighth Air Force in England was socked in by bad English weather . Twelfth Air Force would continue to operate , however it would be realigned as a tactical air force . The 97th and 301st were joined with three additional B - 17 groups ( 2d , 98th 99th BG ) with its reassignment to Fifteenth Air Force . Missions were flown from Tunisia in November against a Messerschmidt assembly plant in Austria , and against some Italian targets , however the wing and its groups were in the process of moving to new airfields captured around Foggia in Italy in late September . Advanced echelons moved initially , working with engineering units to prepare the airfields and extend runways to accommodate the B - 17 . The 2d Bomb Group moved to Amendola airfield , while the 97th moved to the Foggia airfield , as its base at San Giovanni was still not ready . The 301st flew into Cerignola and the 99th into Tortorella . Once settled into their new bases bases around Foggia the 5th began a series of raids , attacking enemy targets in Germany , Austria , Hungary , Yugoslavia , Greece , and Bulgaria . In June 1944 , its groups began " shuttle bombing " and landing on airfields behind the Russian front . On these missions , American aircraft took off from airdromes in Italy , made a bombing attack , and landed on airdromes in the Soviet Union . Then they reversed the process . In August 1944 , the 5th wing supported the invasion of Southern France . The 5th Bomb Wing continued strategic bombing missions until the Germans surrendered in May 1945 . It was inactivated in Italy on 2 November 1945 . Cold War . The 5th was reactivated and redesignated as the United States Air Force 5th Air Division on 14 January 1951 , being assigned to Strategic Air Command . The USAF inherited several bases in Morocco after World War II , and the 5th Air Division absorbed the resources and responsibilities of the USAF Mission to Morocco as part of Sixteenth Air Force . Early in the 1950s , SAC developed a series of bases , known as " Reflex bases " by which B - 47 Stratojet wings would deploy overseas for extended duty as part of a dispersal program . Another reason for establishing Reflex bases was the relatively short range of the B - 47 , unlike the intercontinental range of the Convair B - 36 Peacemaker and Boeing B - 52 Stratofortress which could remain based permanently in the United States . Also , in this way SAC could spread out its potential as a Soviet target by placing its aircraft , weapons , and personnel on many more bases , with each bombardment wing having two additional installations to which it could disperse . From its headquarters at Sidi Slimane Air Base , the 5th supported , manned , trained , and equipped assigned units and prepared installations at Ben Guerir , Boulhaut and Nouasseur in support of Reflex operations until the end of 1957 when the USAF withdrew from Morocco at the request of the Moroccan government . The unit was inactivated on 15 January 1958 , effectively being redesignated ( though not in formal USAF lineage terms ) the 4310th Air Division .