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| - The 47th was inactivated at Barksdale October 2, 1949 as a result of budgetary reductions. However the 84th and 85th Squadrons continued with the B-45's and moved to Langley AFB, Virginia where they were attached to the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing. On March 12, 1951, the 47th Bombardment Wing was reactivated at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, with tactical squadrons the 84th and 85th. The Wing was the only Jet-Medium Bomber Wing in the Air Force. The new Wing was assigned to Tactical Air Command.
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| abstract
| - The 47th was inactivated at Barksdale October 2, 1949 as a result of budgetary reductions. However the 84th and 85th Squadrons continued with the B-45's and moved to Langley AFB, Virginia where they were attached to the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing. On March 12, 1951, the 47th Bombardment Wing was reactivated at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, with tactical squadrons the 84th and 85th. The Wing was the only Jet-Medium Bomber Wing in the Air Force. The new Wing was assigned to Tactical Air Command. After becoming proficient in the handling and use of nuclear weapons, moved to RAF Sculthorpe, United Kingdom where it began operations there on June 1, 1952. Operational squadrons of the wing were:
* 84th Bombardment Squadron (B-45A, B-66B) (November 17, 1952 – June 22, 1962) (red tail stripe)
* 85th Bombardment Squadron (B-45A, B-66B) (November 17, 1952 – June 22, 1962) (yellow tail stripe)
* 86th Bombardment Squadron (B-45A, B-66B) (March 23, 1954 – June 22, 1962) (blue tail stripe) For nearly three years, the 47th Wing provided an in-place Atomic Air Strike Force to back up NATO Ground Forces in Europe. In England, the wing was attached to the USAFE Third Air Force 49th Air Division, but remained assigned to Tactical Air Command. The wing provided combat crew training and operated USAF Air Crew School (Light Bombardment and Tactical Reconnaissance). Operational missions of the wing were training for tactical bombardment training operations, including participation in exercises and firepower demonstrations in support of NATO. Owing to the size of Sculthorpe, the wing operated two B-45A jet bomber squadrons (84th and 85th) from Sculthorpe. In March 1954, a third B-45A jet bomber squadron (86th) was assigned to the wing, but operated from RAF Alconbury in order to accommodate the additional aircraft. From May 1954 to December 1958, the 19th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was attached to the 47th Bomb Wing from the 363d TRW. The 19th TRS flew out of RAF Alconbury and flew the reconnaissance version of the B-45 known as the RB-45C. The RB-45s carried the same markings as the B-45, except for an added marking on the wingtip fuel tanks. This marking consisted of two stripes coming back off the top and bottom of the circular Squadron Badge in the appropriate Squadron color near the outside front center of the tank. In 1958, the 19th began to re-equip with Douglas RB-66 Destroyers and its RB-45’s were transferred back to the United States. The RB-66B carried flash bombs in its bomb bay for night photography missions and was equipped with a battery of reconnaissance cameras. The RB-66B could also be fitted with a removable inflight refuelling probe attached to the right side of the forward fuse. In October 1955, air-to-air refueling versions of the Boeing B-29 bomber known as the KB-29Pwere added to the wing with the addition of the 420th Air Refueling Squadron from Alexandria AFB, Louisiana, which operated out of Sculthorpe. In 1958 the KB-29s were upgraded to the jet-assisted KB-50Js which were specially equipped with two General Electric J47 turbojet engines that enabled the tankers to match the speed of the faster jet fighters during refueling By 1957, carrying 10,000 personnel the 47th Bombardment Wing was the largest USAF organization in Europe with three bomber squadrons, one recon squadron and one air refueling squadron. In May 1958, the re-equipment of the 47th Bombardment Wing began with Douglas B-66B Destroyers replacing the B-45As. With this equipment change, the 47th's squadrons was redesignated Bombardment Squadron (Tactical). The wing rapidly converted to the B-66, and by July 1958, the B-45s in the United Kingdom had all been transferred to other bases in Europe and North Africa. Most were junked there and sold for scrap. On January 10, 1959, the 19th TRS was reassigned to the 10th TRW at Spangdahlem AB, West Germany. On July 1, 1961, the 47th Bomb Wing was reassigned from Tactical Air Command to the United States Air Forces in Europe.
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![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)