The wing traces its roots back to the 43rd Bombardment Group (Heavy), which was constituted 20 November 1940, and activated 15 January 1941, at Langley Field, VA.

It operated primarily in the Southwest Pacific Theater as a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, and later a Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy-bomber unit assigned to Fifth Air Force.

The 43rd Operations Group carries the lineage and history of its highly decorated World War II predecessor unit.

Replaced the propeller-driven B-29s and B-50s with new B-47E Stratojet swept-wing medium bombers in 1954, capable of flying at high subsonic speeds, primarily designed for penetrating the airspace of the Soviet Union.

The 43rd Bombardment Wing moved to Carswell Air Force Base without personnel or equipment on 15 April 1960.

Aircraft number 59-2436, the first fully operational Hustler equipped with all tactical systems, was delivered to the 43rd on 15 March.

[6] On 29 May 1961, a wing B-58 flew from New York to Paris in 3 hours, 14 minutes, and 45 seconds, establishing a new transatlantic speed record of 1,089.36 mph, earning the crew the MacKay Trophy.

By the end of 1962, USAF crews had made over 10,500 flights and logged 53,000 hours (1150 of them supersonic, including 375 at Mach 2).

Once their B-58s were in storage, the 43rd BW was temporarily inactivated, but was immediately reactivated with the assets of the 3960th Strategic Wing (SW) at Andersen Air Force Base on Guam.

In July, it also assumed resources and mission of the Bombardment Wing, Provisional, 4133rd,[11] which had operational control over B-52s striking targets in Southeast Asia.

During 1975 the wing provided logistical and medical support to thousands of Vietnamese refugees evacuated from their homeland and located temporarily at Guam awaiting resettlement in the United States.

The wing trained to remain proficient in long-range nuclear bombing and conventional warfare capabilities.

However in July 1986 the 65th Strategic Squadron was activated to control the Temporary Duty (TDY) air refueling aircraft.

Crews and aircraft deployed to Europe and Southwest Asia for expeditionary rotations and contingency operations such as the enforcement of no-fly zones over Iraq.

It also took part in humanitarian airlift operations and training exercises, often with U.S. Army airborne organizations stationed at nearby Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

After terrorist attacks on the United States on 11 September 2001, elements deployed in support of the Global War on Terror.

The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission mandated the distribution of the assigned 43rd Airlift Wing C-130s and the 23rd Fighter Group A-10s to meet Air Force requirements at other locations; established a Reserve/Active Duty 16 C-130H organization; established a Medical Squadron; established an Air Force Group to provide mission execution, planning, and management of efficient load-out of Fort Bragg assets; and transferred Real Property accountability to the Army at Fort Bragg.

64-0499 (Jun'00); 64-0517 (Jun'00); 64-0525 (Jun'00); 70-1270 (Jun'00); 70-1273 (Jun'00); 70-1275 (Jun'00); 70-1276 (Jun'00) This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency