| abstract | - The 456th Bombardment Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 14th Air Division iof Strategic Air Command at Beale Air Force Base, California. It was inactivated on 30 September 1975. The wing's predecessor unit, the 456th Bombardment Group was a World War II United States Army Air Forces combat organization. The highly-decorated unit flew 249 bombing missions from Italy while assigned to the Fifteenth Air Force. It earned two Distinguished Unit Citations for valor in combat and participated extensively in the strategic bombing campaign against oil production targets including Ploieşti, Romania, that resulted in high bomber losses. The group also served as a troop carrier unit in the Air Force Reserve from 1947 to 1949. The wing was activated as the 456th Troop Carrier Wing, Medium, operating Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar transports during the 1950s. Toward the end of its active period the wing supported reconnaissance operations from deployed locations in the Pacific. In November 1962 the wing was redesignated the 456th Strategic Aerospace Wing and was stationed at Beale Air Force Base, California, flying Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bombers and Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker air refueling aircraft, and also operating a HGM-25A Titan I squadron until 1965. In July 1972 the wing was redesignated the 456th Bombardment Wing, Heavy and continued to fly the B-52 and KC-135. The wing was inactivated in September 1975 and its personnel, equipment, and mission transferred to the 17th Bombardment Wing, which moved to Beale on paper from Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
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