for the B-47s. "Pride of the Adirondacks" was commanded by Maj. Charles W. Patrick with Capt. John V. Wilcox for co-pilot, Maj. Robert A. Wickland as navigator and Ssgt. John F. Navroth as Crew Chief. The crew won 'Best B-47 Crew, Bombing', 'Best B-47 Crew, Combined' and 'Best B-47 Unit'. Within three weeks of that triumph, the first B-47 departed for storage at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona as part of an accelerated phase-out of the type. On 14 December, a ceremony was held as the final three B-47s departed Plattsburgh for the Arizona's storage facility. "Pride of the Adirondacks" was preserved and put on display at the entrance of the base on 8 February 1966. Atlas missiles During 1961 and 1962, construction began on 12 SM-65 Atlas missile sites. The sites were built within a radius of the base and were completed in 1963. The squadron was equipped with 13 missiles, allowing each silo to have its Atlas missile with one left for spare. When one missile in a silo was scheduled for maintenance, the spare missile was sent to replace it. This allowed the 380th to maintain 12 ready to launch missiles seven days a week. All sites were in New York state except for two located on the other side of Lake Champlain in Vermont. The 556th Strategic Missile Squadron became completely operational on 15 September 1964. This was the last Atlas squadron to be accepted and the only Intercontinental ballistic missile base east of the Mississippi River. The 556th's last operational day was 30 April 1965 with the squadron's inactivation on 25 June 1965. B-52 era To replace the B-47s, the Wing was assigned the Boeing B-52G Stratofortress bomber and received its first aircraft christened "Champlain Lady" on 19 June 1966. After the arrival of the new type, another new unit was assigned to the Wing on 25 January 1967, the 310th Air Refueling Squadron. On 21 January 1968, tragedy struck the wing again when B-52G 58-188, crashed near Thule Air Base in Greenland while on a Chrome Dome mission. The aircraft was flown by a crew from the 528th Squadron and was carrying four hydrogen bombs when it crashed into an ice covered bay at the western tip of Greenland. The crew of seven was composed of Capt. John Baug (commander), Capt. Leonard Svitenko (co-pilot), Maj. Frank Hopkins (radar navigator), Capt. Curtis Criss (navigator), Capt.