Crews and
aircraft of the 327th Bombardment Squadron arrived
from Fairchild AFB, Washington on 13 July 1960. The
first B-52D to arrive was christened "Larson's
Lucky Lady". The 43rd Air Refueling Squadron and
its KC-135's moved from Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona to
Larson AFB on 15 November 1960, thus completing one
of the most advanced air weapon systems in the
Strategic Air Command.
Construction
work on Larson's Titan I missile facilities was
completed on 16 March 1962 when the Army Corps of
Engineers turned the complexes over to the Site
Activation Task Force. Larson's Titan I missiles
arrived from Denver, Colorado on 23 Jan 1962. On 16
July 1962 the first complex was declared operational.
On 1
February 1963 the 4170th Strategic Wing was
re-designated the 462d Strategic Aerospace Wing in
honor of the 462d Bomb Group of World War II. The
327th Bomb Squadron was redesignated the 768th Bomb
Squadron after on of the 462d units.
The 462d
Bomb Group was activated at Smoky Hill Army Air
Field, Kansas on 1 July 1943. The
"Hellbirds" were re-designated as
"Very Heavy" while preparing for combat in
B-29s at Walker AFB, New Mexico. The Group moved to
the China-Burma-India theater via Africa in mid-1944
and was assigned to the Twentieth Air Force.
First
duty of the 462d was carrying over the
"hump" to China. They entered combat with
an attack on railroads at Bangkok, Thailand on 5 June
1944. In June the 462d took part in the first strike
of Japanese home islands since the Doolittle raid in
1942.
In the
spring of 1945 the 462d moved to Tinian. From West
Field the "Hellbirds" bombed strategic
targets, took part in mining operations and made
incendiary raids on Japan. The unit returned to the
United States in late 1945, and was assigned to the
Strategic Air Command on 21 March 1946 and was
inactivated on 31 March.
The 462d
received Distinguished Unit Citations for attacks on
Yawata, Japan on 20 August 1944, on Tokyo and
Yokohoma on May 23, 24, 25, and 29 of 1945 and on
Tarazuka on 24 July 1945.
The 43rd
Air Refueling Squadron was assigned to Larson AFB, in
November 1960. The mission of the 43rd ARS was to
insure the global strike capability of SAC bombers by
providing high speed aerial refueling support with
modern jet taker aircraft, the KC-135. Known as the
"First Global Refuelers", the squadron had a
lengthy record of achievements including the
Distinguished Unit Citation with two clusters and the
USAF Outstanding Unit Award.
The 568th
Strategic Missile Squadron was officially activated
on 1 April 1961 as a 4170th Strategic Wing unit.
There were three missile complexes consisting of
three Titan I's each. The complexes, one located at
Royal City, Washington, one at Warden, Washington and
another at Odessa, Washington, were deactivated
officially on 25 March 1965. The missiles were moved
and shipped to Norton AFB, California for
disposition. Most of the aerospace ground equipment
including the diesel generators used for power
underground during the operational period of the
complexes has been removed. The missile sites have
been turned over to the General Services
Administration for disposal on the open market.
