390th Strategic Missile Wing The 390th Strategic Missile Wing was a United States Air Force Strategic Air Command organization . Its mission was to maintain and operationally control intercontinental ballistic missile s ( ICBMs ) . During World War II , its predecessor unit , the 390th Bombardment Group ( Heavy ) was an Eighth Air Force B - 17 Flying Fortress unit in England , stationed at RAF Framlingham . The group flew 300 combat missions with 8 , 725 sorties . Its last mission was on 20 April 1945 . Aircraft MIA : 144 . History . World War II . Activated 26 January 1943 at Geiger Field Washington . Formation did not begin until late February 1943 . Training at Geiger until 6 June 1943 when the Group moved to Great Falls AAB , Montana . The aircraft went overseas on 4 July 1943 taking the northern ferry route from Iceland to Prestwick , where the first aircraft arrived on 13 July 1943 . The ground unit left for Camp Shanks , New York on 4 July 1943 and sailed on the USS James Parker on 17 July 1943 , and they arrived in Liverpool on 27 July 1943 . Assigned to Eighth Air Force . The 390th was assigned to the 13th Combat Bombardment Wing , and the group tail code was a " Square - J " . The group operated as part of the Eighth Air Force ' s strategic bombing campaign and operated chiefly against strategic objectives , flying many missions with the aid of pathfinders . The 390th began combat on 12 August 1943 . Five days later , the group attacked the Messerschmitt aircraft complex at Regensburg and received a Distinguished Unit Citation for the mission . The 390th received a 2d DUC for a mission on 14 October 1943 when the group braved unrelenting assaults by enemy fighters to bomb the antifriction - bearing plants at Schweinfurt . Participating in the intensive Allied assault on the German aircraft industry during Big Week , 20 – 25 February 1944 , the organization bombed aircraft factories , instrument plants and air parks . Other strategic missions included attacks on marshalling yards at Frankfurt , bridges at Cologne , oil facilities at Zeitz , factories at Mannheim , naval installations at Bremen and synthetic oil refineries at Merseburg . The group sometimes flew interdictory and support missions . Bombing the coast near Caen fifteen minutes before the landings in Normandy on 6 June 1944 . Attacked enemy artillery in support of ground forces during the breakthrough at Saint - Lô in July . Cut German supply lines during the Battle of the Bulge , December 1944 – January 1945 . Hit airfields in support of the airborne assault across the Rhine in March 1945 . The 390th Bomb Group flew its last combat mission on 20 April 1945 . In over 300 missions , they dropped 19 , 000 tons of bombs . They lost 181 aircraft and seven hundred and fourteen airmen were killed . The group dropped food supplies to the Dutch during the week prior to V - E Day . Redeployed States in June / August 1945 . the aircraft left from Framlingham on the 25 and 26 June 1945 . the ground unit sailed from Greenock on the Queen Elizabeth on 5 August 1945 and arrived in New York on 11 August 1945 . The group was established at Sioux Falls AAFd South Dakota and inactivated there on 28 August 1945 . Cold War . On 20 April 1960 , the Fifteenth Air Force announced selection of the base to support a Titan II missile wing . The 1 January 1962 , activation of the 390th Strategic Missile Wing ( SMW ) marked the first standing up of a Titan II missile wing . Its two component squadrons were the Arizona Sites 570th and the 571st Strategic Missile Squadrons . Launcher locations for the 570th SMS were at Oracle , Three Points , Rillito ( 4 silos ) , and Oracle Junction ( 3 silos ) . The 571st SMS silos were located at Benson ( 2 silos ) , Mescal , Pantano , Continental ( 2 silos ) , Palo Alto , and Three Points . On 31 March 1963 , site 570 - 2 ( Three Points ) was turned over to SAC for operational use . Additional silos joined the SAC inventory until 30 November , when the 18th and final Titan II went on alert . See missile squadron links for list of missile silos and geographic locations . The 390th SMW became the first operational Titan II missile wing in the Air Force . With a requirement to keep all 18 missiles on alert status around the clock , maintenance personnel often put in 80 - to go - hour work weeks . Eventually , response times to act on maintenance problems were loosened to allow crews to react during normal working hours . Maintenance did ease at the end of 1964 , as the Davis - Monthan silos became the first to receive " Project Green Jug " treatment entailing the installation of dehumidifier equipment that eased corrosion problems within the silos . Additional modifications would be made to increase missile reliability , survivability , and reaction time . Also toward the end of 1964 , the 390th SMW underwent the first operational readiness inspection for a Titan II unit . On 25 January 1965 , Vice President Hubert H . Humphrey toured complex 571 - 7 . One month later , the 390th SMW performed the first operational launch test of one of its Titan 11s at Vandenberg AFB , California . Many more successful tests followed . Competing in SAC ' s first ever missile competition called " Project Curtain Raiser " in 1967 , the 390th SMW garnered the first " best crew " trophy . Since 1967 , the Wing earned many additional accolades at these competitions which became known as " Olympic Arena . " In October 1981 , President Ronald Reagan announced that as part of the strategic modernization program , Titan II systems were to be retired by 1 October 1987 . Deactivation began at Davis - Monthan on 1 October 1982 . During the operation , titled " Rivet Cap " , the missiles were removed and shipped to Norton AFB , California for refurbishment and storage . Explosive demolition began at the headworks of missile complex 570 - 7 on 30 November 1983 . During the following May , the last Titan II at Davis - Monthan came off alert status . Two months later , SAC inactivated the 390th Strategic Missile Wing .