USAF Patch Bomb Vietnam d 4133 Bomb Wing Provisional Black Knights B 52F

USAF Patch SAC 4133 Bomb Wing Provisional Black Knights Of The Mekong Patch B 52F Anderson AFB Vietnam Missions 1965 B 52 Buffs Japanese Made embroidered on twill cut edge 99mm by 104mm three and seven eighth inches by four and one sixteenth inches.

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History

Operation Arc Light was the deployment of B 52D and B 52F Stratofortress bombers as conventional bombers from the US to Guam for operations in Vietnam and became the code name for the use of B 52s for close air support CAS for ground tactical combat operations assisted by ground control radar detachments of the 1 Combat Evaluation Group 1CEVG in Operation Combat SkySpot.

The first Strategic Air Command Arc Light B 52 combat mission took place on 18 June 1965 with twenty seven B 52F aircraft from 7 and 320 Bombardment Wings based at Andersen AFB Guam using 750 and 1000 pound bombs to attack a Viet Cong stronghold and targets in South Vietnam. During 1965 the B 52D and B 52F Arc Light task force at Andersen AFB operated unofficially as the 4133 Bombardment Wing Provisional an unapproved designation applied to cover the personnel and aircraft in the area. Strategic Air Command officially activated 4133 Bomb Wing Provisional at Anderson AFB on 1 February 1966 assigned to 3 Air Division to host rotational combat TDY US based SAC B 52 Bomb Wings and Air Refuelling Squadrons at the base. B 52s began striking targets in North Vietnam on 11 Apr 1966 with the initial attack against the Mu Gia Pass being the largest single bomber raid since World War II. Later targets in Laos and Cambodia against the Ho Chi Min Trail were also bombed in secret.

Missions took place in all types of weather night and day and were commonly flown in three plane formations known as cells with inflight refueling provided by the Wings Air Refueling Squadron. Over 5000 B 52 combat sorties were flown in 1966. SAC crews who ordinarily would have been assigned to the B 52G or H model strategic bombers were sent through an intensive two week course in the delivery of conventional munitions with the B 52D making them eligible for duty in Southeast Asia.

The Bomb Wings on each rotational tour jointly devised an emblem and a name for their deployment as 4133 Bombardment Wing Provisional. 7 and 320 BWs deployed June to December 1965 were the Black Knights Of The Mekong 454 and 320 BW deployed 1 December 1965 to 1 April 1966 were the Iron Dukes. 28 and 484 BW deployed 1 April 1966 to 1 October 1966 were the Black Barons. The Black Eagles deployed 1
October 1966 to 31 March 1967. 13 B-52D wings were rotated to combat duty in Southeast Asia and in addition to the above included 7 BW 22 BW 70 BW 91 BW 92 SAW 96 SAW 99 BW 306 BW 461 BW and 509 BW.

4133 Bomb Wing Provisional continued bombing operations until it was inactivated on 1 July 1970. 

This patch dates from 1965.