46th Test Wing

46th Test Wing
F-35 on display during its first visit to Eglin and the 46th Test Wing
Active	1941—1944, 1975-1982, 1992-2012
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Developmental Test and Evaluation
Part of	Air Force Material Command
Motto(s)	Custos Libertate Latin (Guardians of Liberty) 1942-1944 Support 1975-1983 Proof by Trial 1993-2012
Decorations	AFOUA
Insignia
46th Test Wing emblem (approved 9 December 1993)

The 46th Test Wing is an inactive wing of the United States Air Force last based at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The wing's 46th Test Group was a tenant unit at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico.

The wing's history dates from 1941, when the Army Air Forces (AAF) activated the 46th Bombardment Group. The group served in the early period of the United States' involvement in World War II flying antisubmarine missions over the Gulf of Mexico. It then served as a training unit until being disbanded in 1944 in a general reorganization of AAF units.

The 46th Aerospace Defense Wing replaced the 4600th Air Base Wing to provide administrative an logistic support to headquarters elements of Air Defense Command and North American Air Defense Command at Ent Air Force Base, Peterson Air Force Base, and the Cheyenne Mountain Complex. It was inactivated in 1983.

The wing and group were consolidated into a single unit in 1984, but remained inactive until 1992, when the consolidated unit was activated at Eglin as the 46th Test Wing. The wing managed test and development at Eglin and at Holloman until 2012 when its functions were combined with those of the 96th Air Base Wing in a reorganization of Air Force Materiel Command.

The wing executed developmental test and evaluation for Air Force air-delivered weapons, navigation, and guidance systems, command and control systems and Air Force special operations systems.

The wing was activated as the 46th Bombardment Group (Light) and in 1941, equipped with Douglas A-20 Havoc aircraft. Its operational squadrons were the 50th,51st, and 53d Bombardment Squadrons, and the 8th Reconnaissance Squadron. Shortly after activation in 1941, the 8th Reconnaissance Sq mission changed and it became the 87th Bombardment Squadron. The 46th participated in maneuvers, including desert maneuvers, and flew anti-submarine warfare patrol and search missions over the Gulf of Mexico in early 1942. It also served as an operational training unit, which involved the use of an oversized parent unit to provide cadres for "satellite groups." In late 1943 the group mission changed to replacement training of individual pilots and aircrews (RTU). Just before disbanding, the group began to convert to North American B-25 Mitchells. In 1944, the group was disbanded and its personnel, equipment and functions transferred to the 333d AAF Base Unit (Replacement Training Unit, Light Bombardment) at Morris Field in a major reorganization of the Army Air Forces in which RTUs were disbanded and training activities given to base units.