485th Air Expeditionary Wing The 485th Air Expeditionary Wing ( 485 AEW ) is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Combat Command . As a provisional unit , the 485 AEW may be inactivated or activated at any time by Air Combat Command . The wing was last known to be active during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 at Tabuk Regional Airport , Saudi Arabia , in 2003 . The wing was first activated as the 485th Bombardment Group , a Consolidated B - 24 Liberator heavy bombardment group that served with Fifteenth Air Force during World War II . The group was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation for its action in a mission to Vienna , Austria in 1944 . The 485th returned to the United States in May 1945 , where it converted to Boeing B - 29 Superfortress s , training with Second Air Force . When the war ended in August 1945 , the group remained at its training base and became one of the original ten bombardment groups assigned to Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) . The group was inactivated in 1946 and its aircraft , personnel and equipment were transferred to the 97th Bombardment Group . The second forerunner of the wing was the 585th Tactical Missile Group , which was stationed at Bitburg Air Base , Germany from 1956 to 1962 . The 585th operated forward deployed TM - 61 Matador cruise missiles from its home station . Later these missiles were replaced by TM - 76 Mace ( later MGM - 13 ) missiles . It was inactivated in 1962 and its operational squadron transferred to the 38th Tactical Missile Wing . In 1983 , the two groups were consolidated as the 485th Tactical Missile Wing , a Ground Launched Cruise Missile ( GLCM ) wing stationed at Florennes Air Base , Belgium . The wing was inactivated as a result of the Intermediate - Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 1989 . In 2003 the wing was converted to provisional status as the 485th Air Expeditionary Wing and allotted to Air Combat Command . Overview . When activated in 2003 , the 485 AEW was a composite wing of 24 McDonnell Douglas F - 15C Eagle fighter aircraft and 46 Lockheed C - 130H Hercules airlift aircraft and more than 3500 personnel from 82 different locations . The C - 130s represented one of the largest combat groupings of this aircraft ever . The wing was activated for Operation Iraqi Freedom and was composed of aircraft and regular Air Force personnel from Langley AFB , Virginia and Eglin AFB , Florida . It also included aircraft and guardsmen from the West Virginia , Tennessee , Missouri , Kentucky , Oklahoma , and Delaware Air National Guard s , and reservists from Air Force Reserve Command . By 3 May 2003 , the C - 130 portion of the wing had flown 1199 missions , 3354 sorties , 7451 hours , hauled 9382 tons of cargo and 8800 passengers , and boasted a mission capable rate greater than 90 percent . When the F - 15s completed flight operations 17 April they had compiled 581 sorties , flown more than 4000 hours and maintained a mission capable rate greater than 83 percent . The wing was inactivated in early May 2003 with the last members returning to the United States in September of that year . History . World War II . The wing was originally constituted as the 485th Bombardment Group ( Heavy ) and activated on 20 September 1943 . Its original squadrons were the newly activated 828th , 829th , and 830th Bombardment Squadron s , which were joined a few days later by the 831st Bombardment Squadron at Gowen Field , Idaho . The 831st was an experienced Consolidated B - 24 Liberator squadron that had been performing anti - submarine warfare missions as the 11th Antisubmarine Squadron . The group deployed to Gowen , where it derived its initial cadre from the 29th Bombardment Group and was assigned to Second Air Force for training with B - 24s at Gowen and at Fairmont Army Air Field , Nebraska . The group deployed to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations ( MTO ) in March and April 1944 . Although the ground echelon had deployed to Southern Italy by April 1944 , the air echelon was detained in Tunisia for further training . The group entered combat with Fifteenth Air Force in May 1944 . The 485th engaged in very long range strategic bombing missions to enemy military , industrial and transportation targets in Italy , France , Germany , Austria , Hungary , Romania , and Yugoslavia , bombing marshalling yard s , oil refineries , airfields , heavy industry , and other strategic objectives . The group received a Distinguished Unit Citation for combating intense fighter opposition and attacking an oil refinery at Vienna on 26 June 1944 . The 485th also carried out some support and interdiction operations . It struck bridges , harbors , and troop concentrations in August 1944 to aid Operation Dragoon , the invasion of southern France , It hit lines of communications and other targets during March and April 1945 to support the advance of British Eighth Army in northern Italy . It flew its 187th and last combat mission against Linz , Austria before preparing to return to the United Statesd and re - equip . The 485th returned to the United States in May 1945 and was programmed for deployment to the Pacific Theater of Operations ( PTO ) as a Boeing B - 29 Superfortress very heavy bombardment group . Many combat veterans of MTO demobilized upon arrival in the United States , and a small cadre of personnel reformed at Sioux Falls Army Airfield , South Dakota at the end of May . The group was reassigned to Second Air Force for training in Iowa . Because B - 29 groups had only three combat squadrons , the 831st Bombardment Squadron was inactivated in August . The group then moved on paper to Smoky Hill Army Air Field , Kansas in September . The group remained on active duty after the Japanese surrender . In March 1946 Continental Air Forces became Strategic Air Command and Second Air Force was replaced by Fifteenth Air Force as the group ' s intermediate headquarters . Simultaneously , the 506th Bombardment Squadron was assigned to the group from the 44th Bombardment Group . In August 1946 the personnel and equipment of the 485th were reassigned to the 97th Bombardment Group and the 485th was inactivated . Matador and Mace era . In 1954 USAF began deploying TM - 61 Matador cruise missiles to Germany . By 1956 , three squadrons were in place and USAFE organized the 701st Tactical Missile Wing with a subordinate group at each of the main bases where Matadors were stationed . The 585th Tactical Missile Group was activated at Bitburg Air Base , Germany in September 1956 to command the 1st Tactical Missile Squadron and two support squadrons . Shortly after activation the group began upgrading its TM - 61A missiles to TM - 61Cs . The TM - 61C was equipped with the Shannicle guidance system which generated a grid the missile could use to navigate , replacing the ground to air steering systems of the TM - 61A . The group participated in periodic test launches of Matadors at Wheelus AB , Libya . In 1958 , USAFE replaced the 701st wing with the 38th Tactical Missile Wing in an admistrative move to keep on active duty units whose roots could be traced to World War II . Simultaneously , the 1st squadron was replaced by the 71st Tactical Missile Squadron , one of the historical elements of the WW II 38th Bombardment Group . The Matador was growing obsolescent and the last Matador was taken off Victor ( nuclear ) Alert on 30 June 1962 . The group replaced its Matadors with TM - 76 Mace ( later MGM - 13 ) missiles . These missiles did not rely on ground signals for guidance , but used an onboard radar to match the terrain with a map stored on board the missile . In 1962 the 585th and its companion groups in Germany were inactivated and the missile squadrons assigned directly to the 38th Wing . On the same day , the last Matador at Bitburg was decommissioned . Ground Launched Cruise Missile era . The 485th Tactical Missile Wing was activated at Florennes Air Base , Belgium in August 1984 . The first Gryphon missile arrived on 28 August and the wing began operating the Gryphon from 1985 until the implementation of the Intermediate - Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 1988 . The wing and its base were the target of periodic peace movement protests near the main gate . In August 1988 a ten - man Soviet Inspection Team visited Florennes to insure treaty compliance . The wing was inactivated in 1989 with the withdrawal of American forces from Florennes . Lineage . 485th Bombardment Group 585th Tactical Missile Group 485th Air Expeditionary Wing Components . Squadrons . Tactical Squadrons Support Squadrons References . Bibliography . Further Reading