In 1965 and 1966 most of the operational squadrons of the wing were transferred to Pacific Air Forces and moved to Japan or the Republic of Vietnam.

[8] The ground echelon moved to Geiger Field, Washington in May 1943 and to Great Falls AAB, Montana in July.

After staging at Camp Shanks, New York they embarked on the RMS Queen Mary and sailed on 27 October disembarking at Greenock on the Firth of Clyde on 3 November 1943.

[12] The 401st BG operated chiefly against strategic targets, bombing industries, submarine facilities, shipyards, missile sites, marshalling yards, and airfields.

[3] On 11 January 1944 the group led the 1st Bombardment Division in an attack against aircraft manufacturing facilities at Ochsersleben, Germany.

Although the bombers were able to attack, poor weather conditions prevented the division from receiving effective fighter cover.

[3][13] A little over a month later, on 20 February, the group earned its second DUC for an attack on the Erla Maschinenwerke aircraft manufacturing facilities in Leipzig, Germany.

[3] In addition to strategic missions, group operations included attacks on transportation, airfields, and fortifications prior to the Normandy invasion.

[3] The group's worst accident occurred in December 1943 when a Fortress which failed to get off the ground careened over farmland and came to rest after crashing into a cottage on the edge of the village of Deenethorpe.

[19] After V-E Day, the group flew missions to Linz, Austria to evacuate British and French prisoners of war.

It also flew Trolley sightseeing missions at low level, flying ground support personnel over the Ruhr and Frankfurt am Main to see the damage that had been done as a result of their efforts.

[21] Upon arrival in the US, personnel were granted thirty days leave, reassembling at Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota, but plans had changed and personnel were either transferred to Boeing B-29 Superfortress units or processed for discharge and the group was inactivated.

[22] During the early years of the Cold War the unit was redesignated as the 401st Bombardment Group, Very Heavy and was allotted to the Air Force Reserve.

It was activated on 26 June 1947 by Air Defense Command at Brooks Field, Texas,[3] but there is no indication the group was fully manned or equipped.

In 1955, the group converted to Republic F-84F Thunderstreaks, performing its training mission until 25 September 1957 when it was inactivated and its component squadrons were assigned directly to newly activated 401st Fighter-Bomber Wing.

With the exception of its elements deployed overseas, the wing operated from Homestead AFB, Florida during the Cuban Missile Crisis from October to December 1962.

[1] From February 1964 to November 1965, wing's squadron deployments shifted to the Far East and Southeast Asia in support of operations in that area.

The 90th Tactical Fighter Squadron was attached to the wing[1] while it equipped with F-100s before moving to Bien Hoa Air Base, Republic of Viet Nam.

[1] Prior to 1965, Torrejon AB hosted deployed squadrons of Boeing B-47 Stratojet aircraft rotating from CONUS Strategic Air Command (SAC) bases.

The agreement essentially met conditions demanded by Spain that the USAF withdraw from a permanent presence on the base.

Implementation of this agreement was delayed by the 1990/91 crisis in Southwest Asia, when the 401st TFW was one of the first American fighter wings to respond.

The tenure of the 401st at Aviano AB was brief, as a result of Hurricane Andrew destroying Homestead AFB, Florida in August 1992.