454th Bombardment Wing The 454th Bombardment Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit . It was last assigned to the 42d Air Division of Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) at Columbus Air Force Base , Mississippi . It was inactivated on 25 July 1968 . The wing ' s predecessor was the 454th Bombardment Group , activated in 1943 as the as a United States Army Air Forces combat organization . It served primarily in the Mediterranean Theater during World War II . While in combat the group earned two Distinguished Unit Citation s . The group served as a bombardment unit in the reserves after World War II . The Wing was established during the Korean War as the 454th Troop Carrier Wing , a reserve organization at Portland International Airport , Oregon . It was discontinued six months later , when the 403d Troop Carrier Wing was released from active duty and assumed its mission , personnel and equipment . In 1962 , the unit was redesignated as the 454th Bombardment Wing , ( BW ) and became part of Strategic Air Command . Flying B - 52 Stratofortress bombers , the 454th BW were integrated into SAC ' s combat forces in the Pacific and Southeast Asia . The 454th Bombardment Wing completed more than 100 missions to South Vietnam without losing a single bomber to enemy aircraft fire . The wing was inactivated in 1969 with the end of SAC operations from Columbus AFB , Mississippi . History . Korean War . Continental Air Command established the 454th Troop Carrier Wing at Portland International Airport , Oregon in June 1952 to replace the 922d Reserve Training Wing , which had taken over reserve activities at Portland following the mobilization of the 403d Troop Carrier Wing . It was equipped with Curtiss C - 46 Commando s . Its activation as a reserve transport unit was short , as it was inactivated and its mission , personnel and equipment transferred to the 403d Troop Carrier Wing when the 403d was released from active duty in January 1953 . Strategic Air Command . 4228th Strategic Wing The origins of the assumption of the bombardment mission by the 454th began in 1955 when Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) took over Columbus Air Force Base , Mississippi , establishing the 4228th Air Base Squadron as a caretaker organization to prepare the base for use by strategic bombardment and air refueling units . On 1 July 1958 the squadron expanded to a group and the 4228th Strategic Wing ( SW ) was organized and assigned to the 4th Air Division to control the group and three maintenance squadrons . The wing ' s first operational squadron , the 901st Air Refueling Squadron , flying Boeing KC - 135 Stratotanker s , was activated a month later . In March 1959 , the 52d Aviation Depot Squadron was activated to oversee the wing ' s special weapons . The 4228th became fully organized on 15 June 1959 when the 492d Bombardment Squadron ( BS ) , consisting of 15 Boeing B - 52 Stratofortress es moved to Columbus from Carswell AFB , Texas where it had been one of the three squadrons of the 7th Bombardment Wing . Half of the wing ' s aircraft were maintained on fifteen minute alert , fully fueled , armed , and ready for combat . The 4228th ( and later the 454th ) continued to maintain an alert commitment until the 454th was inactivated except for periods when the wing ' s aircraft were deployed to support operation s in Southeast Asia . In 1962 , the wing ' s bomber s began to be equipped with the GAM - 77 Hound Dog and the GAM - 72 Quail air - launched cruise missiles , The 4228th Airborne Missile Maintenance Squadron was activated in November to maintain these missiles In 1962 , in order to perpetuate the lineage of many currently inactive bombardment units with illustrious World War II records , Headquarters SAC received authority from Headquarters USAF to discontinue its Major Command controlled ( MAJCON ) strategic wings that were equipped with combat aircraft and to activate Air Force controlled ( AFCON ) units , most of which were inactive at the time which could carry a lineage and history . 454th Bombardment Wing As a result the 4228th SW was replaced by the 454th Bombardment Wing , Heavy ( 454th BW ) , which assumed its mission , personnel , and equipment on 1 February 1963 . In the same way the 736th Bombardment Squadron , one of the unit ' s World War II historical bomb squadrons , replaced the 492d BS . The 858th Medical Group , 52d Munitions Maintenance Squadron and the 901st Air Refueling Squadron were reassigned to the 454th . Component support units were replaced by units with numerical designation of the newly established wing . Under the Dual Deputate organization , all flying and maintenance squadrons were directly assigned to the wing , so no operational group element was activated . Each of the new units assumed the personnel , equipment , and mission of the units being discontinued . The 454th Bomb Wing conducted air refueling operations and trained in bombardment operations . It converted to the B - 52D in 1965 for Vietnam operations . Once operationally ready with the B - 52D , the 454th wing headquarters , staff , tactical aircraft and crews and maintenance personnel were integrated into SAC ' s combat forces in the Pacific and Southeast Asia . Elements of the 454th Bombardment Wing completed more than 100 missions to South Vietnam without losing a single bomber to enemy aircraft fire . In May 1967 General Edward O . Martin assumed command of the 454th Bombardment Wing at Columbus , and one month later he led the wing on its second deployment to the Western Pacific area in support of Southeast Asia operations and returned to Columbus in December 1967 . In May 1968 the 454th Wing made its third deployment to the Western Pacific area , its second under the command of General Martin . Some upgraded B - 52Cs were also transferred from the 99th Bombardment Wing during 1968 and 1969 and were operated as crew trainers . By 1969 as the demand for pilots to support the war in Southeast Asia increased , the number of B - 52s based stateside fell because they were needed overseas . At the same time , Minuteman and Polaris missiles were taking their places in strategic deterrence , replacing much of the bomber alert force . In addition , funds were also needed to cover the costs of combat operations . The 454th Bombardment Wing was inactivated on 2 July 1969 and its aircraft were reassigned to other SAC units . As part of the inactivation , Columbus AFB was transferred to Air Training Command and resumed a pilot training mission . Lineage . 454th Bombardment Wing Components . Groups Operational Squadrons Maintenance Squadrons