The 6th Bombardment Wing (Medium) was activated Walker Air Force Base, New Mexico on 2 January 1951, where it was assigned to Strategic Air Command (SAC)'s Eighth Air Force. The 24th, 39th and 40th Bombardment Squadrons were simultaneously activated. The squadrons were nominally assigned to the wing's 6th Bombardment Group, but the group was not operational and the squadrons were attached directly to the wing's headquarters until the group was inactivated in June 1952. The wing was equipped with Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers. In August, the 307th Air Refueling Squadron, operating KB-29P Superfortress tankers to refuel the wing's bombers, moved to Walker from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, and was also attached to the Wing.