Army Air Force Base Units

In 1944, The Army Air Forces (AAF) faced a problem with its units in the United States. At the time, most AAF units were involved with training and preparing individuals and units for deployment to combat theaters or with meeting the logistics requirements of overseas units. Standard military units, based on relatively inflexible tables of organization, were proving to be poorly adapted to this mission. Accordingly, the AAF adopted a more functional system in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit.^[1] Under this system, each command reporting to the AAF was given a bulk allotment of manpower and then received the flexibility to form units to carry out its mission by "customizing" the units on each station. AAF commands then organized their manpower into numbered "AAF Base Units." To prevent duplication, commands were allotted blocks of numbers to use when organizing their units,^[2] ranging from 100-199 for First Air Force to 4000-4999 for Air Technical Service Command. When the United States Air Force (USAF) became a separate service, the AAF Base Units became AF Base Units.

Wing Base Organization

In August 1947, the AAF began a service test of the wing base organization model.^[3] This test was limited to combat wings, and unified the combat group and all support elements on a base under a single wing, which carried the same number as the combat group.^[4] The test proved the wing base plan to the satisfaction of the new USAF and was implemented in all combat commands in the summer of 1948.^[3] The success of the plan also led to its implementation in support commands and the support units of combat commands as well. Beginning in the late spring of 1948 AF Base Units were replaced by wings, groups, and squadrons.^[5] By July 1948 Headquarters, USAF began to allot blocks of numbers to its major subordinate formations, the Major Commands (MAJCOMs), in the same way that it had allotted blocks for AF Base Units. Because the new units controlled by MAJCOMs would be wings, groups, and squadrons, just like those controlled by Headquarters, USAF, the allotted blocks began at 1100, and numbers below 1000 were reserved for USAF use. Numbers originally ranged from 1100-1199 for Bolling Field Command to 4900-4999^{[6][lower-alpha 1]} for Special Weapons Command. Eventually, the numbers were expanded as high as 9999 for Continental Air Command reserve units.^{[6][lower-alpha 2]}

FEAF Tactical Support Wings

In July 1950, USAF planners did not foresee that the Korean War would be of long duration. Consequently, when it came time for Far East Air Forces to deploy tactical units to Korea, it retained its permanent wings in Japan since they were heavily committed to the air defense of Japan.^[16] However, by the following month, it became apparent that the Air Base Squadrons originally deployed to Korea to support tactical units did not have sufficient personnel and equipment. Therefore, five Tactical Support Wings were organized for operational control of the tactical groups in Korea.^[16] This proved a temporary expedient, and at the start of December 1950 the permanent wings were deployed to Korea to control their tactical groups already located there, replacing the existing Tactical Support Wings.^[16]

SAC Strategic and Air Refueling Wings

When the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress dispersal program began in the late 1950s,^[17] the new SAC units created to support this program were MAJCON Strategic Wings and given four-digit designations. Although these wings were MAJCON units, typically each included a Bombardment Squadron, an Air Refueling Squadron, and a Munitions Maintenance Squadron, all of which were AFCON units. Some also included an AFCON Strategic Missile Squadron.^{[lower-alpha 6]} SAC also used the strategic wing concept for the command of forward-deployed (Operation Reflex) Boeing B-47 Stratojet and Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter units. SAC also had several MAJCON air refueling wings whose flying squadrons were AFCON units.

The reorganization process, which took place between January and September 1963, applied to 22 B-52 Strategic Wings, three Air Refueling Wings, and the 4321st Strategic Wing at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, which had a strategic missile squadron assigned. "These units were discontinued and two and three-digit AFCON units were activated. In most cases, the bombardment squadron[s] that had been assigned to the strategic wings were inactivated and bombardment squadrons that had previously been assigned to the newly-activated wings were activated. While these actions were almost tantamount to redesignation, they were not official redesignations."^[13] Overseas strategic wings, which had AFCON units attached for operational control, but not assigned, did not convert to AFCON wings until 1966.^{[lower-alpha 7]}

MATS Air Transport Wings

When the MAJCON system was established in 1948 strategic airlift and tactical airlift were treated differently. Tactical airlift (called troop carrier) units operated within a theater of operations and were considered AFCON combat units. Strategic airlift (called air transport) units operated mostly outside theaters of operations and were considered support units. As support units, they were MAJCON units. All air transport wings were assigned to Military Air Transport Service (MATS) and numbered within the block of 1250 to 1750. In 1952, however, MATS MAJCON air transport squadrons were replaced by AFCON Squadrons.^{[lower-alpha 8]} By being MAJCON wings with AFCON squadrons assigned, MATS air transport wings resembled SAC strategic wings. In January 1966, MATS was replaced by Military Airlift Command and its seven existing MAJCON Air Transport Wings were replaced by AFCON Military Airlift Wings.^{[lower-alpha 9]}

Flying Training Wings

The Air Force considered all training units support units. Although they were assigned the mission of advanced training, combat crew training wings operated the same kinds of aircraft as combat wings and retained a capability to augment combat forces.^[18][19] SAC's 93d Bombardment Wing and MAC's 443d Military Airlift Wing were AFCON units conducting the same crew training mission for bombardment, air refueling, and airlift.^[18][19] In October 1969, Tactical Air Command (TAC) joined them and replaced its MAJCON combat crew training wings for fighter and reconnaissance aircraft with AFCON fighter training wings.^{[20][lower-alpha 10]}

The final conversion of MAJCON to AFCON wings occurred between 1972 and 1973. The remaining MAJCON flying training units in the Air Force were assigned to Air Training Command (ATC). ATC followed TAC's example and replaced its MAJCON pilot training wings and navigator training wing with AFCON flying training wings.^[21]