Along with the wing's activation, the 528th, 529th and 530th Bombardment Squadrons were also activated. During July and August, the personnel assigned to the Wing arrived at Plattsburgh. In December 1955, the first Boeing B-47 Stratojet medium bomber was assigned to the Wing but instead of being flown to Plattsburgh, was delivered to Pinecastle Air Force Base, Florida, as Detachment 1of the wing because of the delays in completing the base facilities at Plattsburgh. Major Harold L. Neal piloted the first flight of a B-47 by a 380th's crew on 27 January 1956 at Pinecastle. For the next several months, training continued while additional B-47s were assigned to the Wing. By the end of January 1956, 16 B-47s were assigned to the wing and increased to 30 by the end of April. The first B-47E arrived on 21 March 1956 piloted by Brigadier General Kenneth O. Sanborn, first commander of the 820th Air Division, also headquartered at Plattsburgh AFB, but temporarily assigned to Pinecastle. The aircraft was christened "City of Plattsburgh" the next day. By June 1956, the runway and essential facilities were completed at Plattsburgh and the wing and Air Division moved its aircraft and headquarters to the newly constructed base from Florida. In September 1956, the 380th Air Refueling Squadron, flying the Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter, was transferred to Plattsburgh from Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas. The wing was declared combat ready on 1 October 1956. In April 1957, the 380th deployed to RAF Brize Norton, England for a three-month period as part of an Operation Reflex deployment. During this deployment, Wing's B-47 inaugurated the "Three Capitals" air race. The occasion was the Paris Air Show held at Paris - Le Bourget Airport in Paris, France. On 28 May 1957, three B-47s from the 380th BW took off from Brize Norton and flew over Le Bourget to start the race. The objective of the race was to fly from Paris to Madrid to Rome and back to Paris, and the prize was the General Electric Trophy. A B-47E from the 529th Squadron won the race in 4 hours 12 minutes and 7 seconds, with an average speed of . The aircraft, commanded by Capt. Robert E. Sheridan was piloted by 1stLt. J.L. Mombrea with Capt. Frank R. Beadle as Observer. On 18 July 1957, the Wing suffered its first peacetime major accident. A KC-97G from the 380th Air Refueling