| Unit Name: | 42nd Air Division |
| Dates: | 1943–1945; 1951–1958; 1959–1969; 1970–1991 |
| Country: |  United States |
| Role: | Command of strike forces |
| Decorations: | French Croix de Guerre with Palm |
| Identification Symbol Label: | 42nd Air Division emblem (Approved 29 December 1965)[1] |
The 42nd Air Division was a unit of the United States Air Force. It was established as the 42 Bombardment Wing (Dive) on 8 February 1943. The wing first saw combat in September 1943. It was inactivated in 1991.
Activated in 1943 as the 42nd Bombardment Wing and controlled Martin B-26 Marauder groups as part of Twelfth Air Force. "The wing first saw combat in the invasion of Italy, where its units flew close support missions to stop the German counterattack on the beachhead at Salerno during September 1943. As the Allied forces progressed, the 42nd took a leading part in interdicting Axis road and rail transport, and later in 1944, in the attacks against the monastery at Cassino. In August 1944, it supported the Allied landings in southern France. As the war drew to a close the 42nd attacked German positions along the Siegfried Line and, in support of the Allied forces in their sweep across southern Germany, bombed enemy strong points, and communications and supply facilities."[1]
The French Bretagne Bombardment Group was attached in 1943.
Reactivated an intermediate command echelon of Strategic Air Command in March 1951, the 42nd Air Division "equipped and trained its assigned units to conduct strategic air warfare using nuclear or conventional weapons anywhere in the world. It also trained and maintained air refueling assets. Tankers from units assigned to the 42nd supported the Eielson Tanker Task Force and, over the years, occasionally deployed to Spain for Spanish Area Support. The division conducted numerous staff assistance visits and simulated no notice inspections, and participated in exercises such as Buy None and Global Shield."[1]
Aircraft and personnel from units assigned to the division, at various times in the late 1960s and early 1970s, deployed to Southeast Asia and took part in Operation Arc Light and Operation Young Tiger missions. Subordinate units of the 42nd deployed aircraft and personnel in support of the Vietnam War.[1]
The division was inactivated in 1991 as part of the post-Cold War reduction of USAF forces.[1]
Activated on 16 February 1943
Redesignated 42nd Bombardment Wing (Medium) on 31 July 1943
Redesignated 42nd Bombardment Wing, Medium on 23 October 1944
Inactivated on 25 October 1945
Organized on 10 March 1951
Discontinued on 16 June 1952
Inactivated on 8 January 1958
Redesignated 42nd Strategic Aerospace Division on 1 June 1962
Redesignated 42nd Air Division on 1 July 1963
Inactivated on 2 July 1969
Activated on 1 January 1970
Inactivated on 9 July 1991[1]
Wings
Groups
Squadrons
Deployed at Anniston Army Airfield, Alabama, 16–30 June 1943
Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, 1940Martin B-26 Marauder, 1943–1945Lockheed P-38 Lightning, 1943[1]
Convair B-36 Peacemaker, 1951–1957Republic F-84 Thunderjet, 1951–1958Boeing KB-29 Superfortress, 1953–1957McDonnell F-101 Voodoo, 1957–1958Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter, 1957–1958[1]
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, 1963–1969Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, 1963–1969LGM-25C Titan II, 1963–1969Boeing EC-135, 1966–1969[1]
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, 1970, 1973–1988Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, 1972–1988LGM-25C Titan II, 1970, 1973–1982Boeing EC-135, 1970–1973, 1982–1988McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender, 1982–1988Rockwell B-1 Lancer, 1988–1991Minuteman-III (LGM-30G), 1988–1991[1]
This unit earned the following unit decorations:
Per chevron inverted azure and light blue between in chief a fleur de lis or enarched with four mullets of four points above two of same argent, all between two lightning bolts gules fimbriated of the fourth and in base saltirewise a palm and an olive branch of the last, in fess point a cloud formation of the like and over all in pale a winged mace displayed or, all within a diminished border of the last. (Approved 29 December 1965)