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USAFWing Force Structure Warnock

The document discusses a database that tracks the number and functions of USAF wings from 1939 to 1999. It shows trends in force structure after major wars and conflicts, including large reductions after WWII, Vietnam, and the Cold War. The largest buildups occurred during the Cold War and under Reagan, growing from 90 to 235 wings from 1948 to 1956 and 158 to 182 wings from 1981 to 1990 respectively.

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21 views

USAFWing Force Structure Warnock

The document discusses a database that tracks the number and functions of USAF wings from 1939 to 1999. It shows trends in force structure after major wars and conflicts, including large reductions after WWII, Vietnam, and the Cold War. The largest buildups occurred during the Cold War and under Reagan, growing from 90 to 235 wings from 1948 to 1956 and 158 to 182 wings from 1981 to 1990 respectively.

Uploaded by

AC16
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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USAF 

Wing Force Structure 

The newest addition to the Air Force Historical Research Agencyʹs homepage, the USAF Wing 
Force Structure database measures the number and functions of wings and wing equivalents from 
1939 through 1999. We use wings and wing equivalents because the number of operations wings is 
the traditional measure of USAF annual force strength. From the end of World War I through 
World War II, the combat group (predecessor of present day operations wing) was the measure of 
force strength for the Army Air Service; its successor from 1926, the Army Air Corps; and, in World 
War II, the Army Air Forces. Through the 1920s, the total offensive capability of the Air Service 
rested in one pursuit (fighter air‐to‐air), one bombardment, and one attack (fighter air‐to‐ground) 
group. At the beginning of World War II, plans called for 54 combat groups. At peak strength 
during the war, the Army Air Forces had almost 400 flying groups. These included liaison, 
composite, air commando, air transport, combat cargo, troop carrier, fighter, reconnaissance, 
bombardment, and pilot training groups. With the establishment in 1947 of the United States Air 
Force as a separate military service, the force structure began to move from combat groups to 
operations wings and by the Korean War, the Air Force was describing its force structure to 
Congress in terms of operations wings. 

The primary value of the database rests in the trends shown by the overall figures. These trends 
include draw‐downs after World War II, Vietnam, and the Cold War. From 395 groups in 1943, the 
Army Air Forces dropped to 66 in 1946, after World War II. From 171 wings in 1970, the Air Force 
dropped to 139 in 1977 in the post‐Vietnam War draw‐down. From 182 wings in 1990, the Air Force 
reduced to 115 following the end of the Cold War. Although numbers and percentages were less in 
draw‐downs after Vietnam and the Cold War than after World War II, the effects were 
proportionate. In the later years, each aircraft had greater capabilities than did the World War II 
aircraft, manpower losses of more skilled personnel were systemic, and the Cold War draw‐down 
saw greatly reduced infrastructure as numerous foreign and domestic bases were closed. 

The most obvious build‐ups occurred during the Cold War and the Reagan Era. The Air Force 
went from 90 wings in 1948 to a peak of 235 wings in 1956, and most of this increase was in 
strategic bombardment and fighter‐interceptor wings. During the Reagan Administration, the Air 
Force grew from 158 wings in 1981 to 182 in 1990. 

In addition to the overall trends, one may find functional changes as well. For example, Special 
Operations wings reached six at the height of the Vietnam War in the late 1960s, dropped to one in 
1974, then gradually increased to five in 1999, the latter increase reflecting the establishment of the 
Air Force Special Operations Command. The growing significance of non‐aircraft missions can be 
seen in the count of Space and Missile wings from the 1950s through the 1980s, reaching 10% of 
total wings in 1983. On the other hand, inactivation of strategic missile wings in the post‐Cold War 
period reduced Space and Missile wings from 18 in 1985 to eight in 1999. 

Dr. A. Timothy Warnock 

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