in the battle area. The group and its squadrons received a Distinguished Unit Citation for the effectiveness of its bombing in the Ardennes, 23–25 December 1944, when the group made numerous attacks on enemy lines of communications. It flew several night missions in February 1945, using B-26s as flare planes, an A-26 for target marking, and A-20s to bomb the objectives. Continued to fly support and interdictory missions, aiding the drive across the Rhine and into Germany, February— April 1945. The group converted to Douglas A-26 Invader aircraft, but the war ended before the group was ready to fly them in combat. The group returned to the US, June— August 1945, where it was inactivated on 7 November 1945. 4042d Strategic Wing The precursor to the 410th Air Expeditionary Wing can be traced to 1 August 1958, when Strategic Air Command established the 4042d Strategic Wing at K. I. Sawyer AFB, Michigan as part of SAC's plan to disperse its B-52 Stratofortress heavy bombers over a larger number of bases, thus making it more difficult for the Soviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike. The wing remained a headquarters only until 1 May 1960 when the 923d Air Refueling Squadron, flying Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers and a nuclear weapons (known as "special weapons") security squadron were activated and assigned to the wing. The wing had been assigned to the 40th Air Division since 1 July 1959. The 69th Munitions Maintenance Squadron, responsible for overseeing the wing's nuclear weapons, was activated in March 1961 and the 923d was discontinued in April and its personnel, equipment, and mission were transferred to the newly activated 46th Air Refueling Squadron The wing became fully operational in June, when the 526th Bombardment Squadron (BS), consisting of 15 B-52Hs, moved from Homestead AFB, Florida, where it had been one of the three squadrons of the 379th Bombardment Wing. and three maintenance squadrons were organized. Starting in 1960, one third of the wing's aircraft were maintained on fifteen-minute alert, fully fueled and ready for combat to reduce vulnerability to a Soviet missile strike. This was increased to half the wing's aircraft in 1962. The 4042d (and later the 410th) continued this alert commitment through the Cold War. In 1962, the wing's bombers began to be equipped with the GAM-77 Hound Dog and the GAM-72 Quail air-launched cruise missiles, The 4042d Airborne Missile