Description

321st Strategic Missile Wing Patch

Missileers! Enjoy this beautifully embroidered patch of the 321s Strategic Missile Wing Patch.  You’ll be able to wear this patch proudly.

• 3.5 inch
• Embroidered/ Hook and Loop
• US Veteran-Owned Business

The 321st Strategic Missile Wing was the sixth, and last United States Air Force LGM-30 Minuteman ICBM wing. In 1962, the Air Force announced that the Grand Forks AFB would be first to deploy the new LGM-30F Minuteman II missile (The previous deployments were all Minuteman I). Sylvania won the contract to build all the Launch Control centers and the launcher sites. Flooding during the winter and spring of 1964 and 1965 proved to be a serious issue with the missile silos under construction, as many flooded components, such as diesel generators, had to be returned to the factory for rehabilitation. The Launch Control Centers were built by Sylvania, rather than Boeing which constructed the facilities at the other Minuteman bases and were much larger and had a different underground design. Also, the site designation system at Grand Forks was different with each Flight LCC or MAF ending in zero rather than one as in the other 5 Minuteman Wings. In addition, the Grand Forks launch facilities had a hardened Launcher Equipment Building as opposed to the earlier five Minuteman wings that had softer Launcher Support Buildings. The Sylvania Minuteman system of the 321st Missile Wing at Grand Forks AFB as well as the Odd Squad 564th Strategic Missile Squadron at Malmstrom AFB utilized a double or redundant Deuce communication system with the Hardened Intersite Cable System or HICS backed up with radio capability for command and control of the missiles.

On 1 November 1964, the 321st SMW was activated by Strategic Air Command. As personnel began to report to the 321st, the wing trained for the day when the Minuteman II missile would be placed on alert status. In August 1965, the 321st received its first Minuteman II missile, shipped by train from assembly plant 77 at Hill AFB, Utah. During the following March, the base received the first Minuteman II to be shipped via aircraft, an Air Force first. On 26 April 1966, the 447th Strategic Missile Squadron and its 50 Minuteman II missiles were declared operational. Additional flights came on line throughout 1966. On 7 December the 321st Strategic Missile Wing, with its component 446th, 447th, and 448th Strategic Missile Squadrons, became fully operational.

From December 1971 to March 1973, the 321st converted to LGM-30G Minuteman III missiles. These missiles represented a significant technological advancement, having multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs).

With the restructuring of the Air Force after the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s the 321st first came under Air Combat Command and then Air Force Space Command jurisdiction. In March 1995, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) selected the 321st Missile Wing for inactivation. Initially downgraded to a Group in July 1994, the 321st was inactivated, with its three component missile squadrons on 30 September 1998. The 446th Strategic Missile Squadron completed its mission of mission transfer first in late November 1996, followed by the 448th Strategic Missile Squadron in September 1997 and lastly the 447th Strategic Missile Squadron in June 1998.