403rd Operations Group

403rd Operations Group
403rd Operations Group
	A C-130J Super Hercules assigned to the 815th Airlift Squadron over Alaska
Active	1942–1946; 1949–1953; 1953–1959; 1992–present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Airlift & Weather Reconnaissance
Part of	Air Force Reserve Command Twenty-Second Air Force 403rd Wing ; ;
Garrison/HQ	Keesler Air Force Base

Last updated February 10, 2024

The 403rd Operations Group (403 OG) is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force Reserve 403rd Wing. It is stationed at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi.

Units

The 403rd Operations Group performs missions including airlift of personnel, equipment and supplies. Additionally, the group is the only unit in the Department of Defense tasked to organize, equip, train and perform all hurricane weather reconnaissance in support of the Department of Commerce.

403rd Operations Support Squadron
53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron "Hurricane Hunters"
815th Airlift Squadron "Flying Jennies"
5th Operational Weather Flight
36th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron

History

Trained for overseas troop carrier operations from late 1942 to the summer of 1943, when it moved to the South Pacific.

Transported men and supplies to forward areas in the Solomon Islands and flew passenger and cargo routes to New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, and New Caledonia. From August 1943 to July 1944 it was attached to the South Pacific Combat Air Transport Command (SCAT), earning a Navy Unit Commendation.^[1] The group also moved personnel of Thirteenth Air Force units to the Southwest Pacific theater. Supported campaigns in New Guinea and the Philippines by transporting men and cargo to combat areas, evacuating casualties, and landing or dropping supplies for guerrilla forces. On 23 February 1945, dropped paratroops at Laguna de Bay, Luzon, to free civilian internees held by the Japanese.

Earned a Distinguished Unit Citation for transporting ammunition, food, and other supplies to Eighth Army forces in Mindanao and for landing on jungle airstrips to evacuate wounded personnel from Apr to Jun. From the Philippines, ferried occupation troops to Japan, evacuated liberated prisoners, and flew cargo and passenger routes to Japan and Australia.

From June 1949 until 1 April 1951, when it was called the active duty, the group trained as a reserve troop carrier unit in Oregon.

In Mar and April 1952, moved to Japan for operations against communist forces in Korea. Using C-119s, the group dropped paratroops and supplies, transported personnel and equipment, and evacuated casualties. On 1 January 1953, relieved from active duty and inactivated in Japan.

It activated again as a reserve unit, training for airlift, air evacuation, and aeromedical evacuation missions until inactivation in 1959. From 1992, the group flew Air Force Reserve airlift and weather reconnaissance missions, including Hurricane Hunter missions.

Lineage

Established as 403rd Troop Carrier Group on 7 December 1942

Activated on 12 December 1942

Inactivated on 15 October 1946

Redesignated 403rd Troop Carrier Group, Medium on 10 May 1949

Activated in the Reserve on 27 June 1949

Ordered to active service on 1 April 1951

Inactivated on 1 January 1953

Activated in the Reserve on 1 January 1953

Inactivated on 14 April 1959

Redesignated: 403rd Military Airlift Group on 31 July 1985 (Remained inactive)

Redesignated: 403rd Operations Group on 1 August 1992

Activated in the Reserve on 1 August 1992.

Assignments

I Troop Carrier Command, 12 December 1942
50th Troop Carrier Wing, 1 May 1943
XIII Air Force Service Command, September 1943
Far East Air Service Command, 13 December 1945

322d Troop Carrier Wing, 1 January 1946
54th Troop Carrier Wing, 26 January – 15 October 1946
403rd Troop Carrier Wing, 27 June 1949 – 1 January 1953; 1 January 1953 – 14 April 1959
403rd Airlift Wing (later, 403 Wing), 1 August 1992–present

Components

6th Troop Carrier Squadron: 15 May – 15 October 1946
9th Troop Carrier Squadron: 31 May – 15 October 1946
13th Troop Carrier Squadron: 22 August 1943 – 15 October 1946
19th Troop Carrier Squadron: 31 May – 15 October 1946
53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron: 1 November 1993–present
63rd Troop Carrier Squadron: 12 December 1942 May-15 May 1946 (detached 10 October 1943 – 3 July 1944); 27 June 1949 – 1 January 1953; 1 January 1953 – 14 April 1959
64th Troop Carrier Squadron: 12 December 1942 May-15 May 1946; 27 June 1949 – 1 January 1953; 1 January 1953 – 14 April 1959
65th Troop Carrier Squadron: 12 December 1942 – 26 July 1943; 20 February 1945 – 27 January 1946; 27 June 1949 – 1 January 1953; 1 January 1953 – 16 November 1957
66th Troop Carrier Squadron: 12 December 1942 – 21 July 1943; 20 February 1945 – 15 January 1946; 27 June 1949 – 17 April 1951
815th Airlift Squadron: 1 August 1992–present.

Stations

Bowman Field, Kentucky, 12 December 1942
Alliance Army Air Field, Nebraska, 18 December 1942
Pope Field, North Carolina, 3 May 1943
Baer Field, Indiana, 20 June 1943
Camp Stoneman, California, 18 July – 24 August 1943
Pekoa Airfield, Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, 15 September 1943
Momote Airfield, Los Negros, Admiralty Islands, 30 August 1944
Mokmer Airfield, Biak, Netherlands East Indies, 4 October 1944

Undeterined Location, Leyte, Philippines, 25 June 1945
Clark Field, Luzon, Philippines, 1 February 1946
Manila Airport, Luzon, Philippines, c. June-15 October 1946
Portland Municipal Airport, Oregon, 27 June 1949 – 29 March 1952
Ashiya AB, Japan, 14 April 1952 – 1 January 1953
Portland International Airport, Oregon, 1 January 1953
Selfridge AFB, Michigan, 16 November 1957 – 14 April 1959
Keesler AFB, Mississippi, 1 August 1992–present

Aircraft

C-47, 1942–1946; C/VC-47, 1952; TC-47, 1957–1959
C-46, 1945–1946; C/TC-46, 1949–1952
C-54, 1952
C-119, 1952, 1957–1959
C-46, 1953–1957
C-130, 1992–present; WC-130, 1992–present

Related Research Articles

The 403rd Wing is a unit of the United States Air Force assigned to the Air Force Reserve Command. It is located at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi and employs a military manning authorization of more than 1,400 reservists, including some 250 full-time air reserve technicians. The 403rd Wing is a subordinate unit of the 22nd Air Force at Dobbins Air Reserve Base.

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The 53d Airlift Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit, last part of the 19th Airlift Wing at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas. It operated Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft for airlift and airdrop operations.

The 58th Airlift Squadron is part of the 97th Air Mobility Wing at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma. It operates C-17 Globemaster III aircraft training pilots and loadmasters for airlift and airdrop operations.

The 65th Airlift Squadron is part of the 15th Wing at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, Hawaii. It operates C-37 aircraft providing executive airlift in the Pacific theater.

The 73rd Airlift Squadron, sometimes written as 73d Airlift Squadron, is a United States Air Force Reserve squadron, assigned to the 932nd Operations Group, stationed at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. Originally constituted as the 73rd Troop Carrier Squadron, the unit received a Distinguished Unit Citation and a French Croix de Guerre with Palm for its D-Day missions in Normandy in 1944. It was one of the units trained for space capsule recovery in the 1960s. The squadron was redesignated the 73rd Military Airlift Squadron in 1967, the 73rd Aeromedical Airlift Squadron in 1969, and finally the 73rd Airlift Squadron in 1994. It currently operates C-40C Clipper aircraft providing executive airlift for distinguished visitors and their staffs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">815th Airlift Squadron</span> United States Air Force air transport squadron

The 815th Airlift Squadron is a flying unit of the United States Air Force assigned to the Air Force Reserve Command and part of the 403d Wing at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi. It operates Lockheed C-130J Hercules aircraft providing global airlift.

The 63rd Air Refueling Squadron, sometimes written as 63d Air Refueling Squadron, is a United States Air Force Reserve squadron, assigned to the 927th Operations Group at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. It is a reserve associate of the active duty 91st Air Refueling Squadron. The squadron operates the KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft conducting air refueling missions.

The 64th Air Refueling Squadron is a United States Air Force air-refueling squadron assigned to the 22d Operations Group at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas. As part of the Air Force's Total Force Initiative, the 64th is stationed at Pease Air National Guard Base, New Hampshire, where it is operationally controlled by the 157th Air Refueling Wing of the New Hampshire Air National Guard. The 64th is equipped with the KC-46 Pegasus.

The 314th Air Refueling Squadron is an active United States Air Force unit within the Air Force Reserve Command. It is currently assigned to the 940th Air Refueling Wing, based at Beale Air Force Base, California. It was inactivated on 1 July 2009 and reactivated on 1 June 2016.

The 313th Expeditionary Operations Group is a Provisional United States Air Force unit, assigned to United States Air Forces in Europe to activate or inactivate as needed. It was last active at Moron Air Base, Spain, supporting Operations Odyssey Dawn and Unified Protector to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya. It was inactivated on 31 October 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">60th Operations Group</span> Unit of the US Air Force, part of the 60th Air Mobility Wing

The 60th Operations Group is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the 60th Air Mobility Wing. It is stationed at Travis Air Force Base, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">349th Operations Group</span> Military unit

The 349th Operations Group is a United States Air Force Reserve unit assigned to the 349th Air Mobility Wing. The unit is stationed at Travis Air Force Base, California.

The 440th Operations Group is an active United States Air Force Reserve unit. It is the flying component of the Twenty-Second Air Force 440th Airlift Wing, stationed at Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">439th Operations Group</span> Military unit

The 439th Operations Group is an active United States Air Force Reserve unit. It is the flying component of the Twenty-Second Air Force 439th Airlift Wing, stationed at Westover Air Reserve Base, Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">434th Operations Group</span> United States Air Force Reserve unit

The 434th Operations Group is an active United States Air Force Reserve unit. It is the flying component of the Fourth Air Force 434th Air Refueling Wing, stationed at Grissom Air Reserve Base, Indiana.

The 433rd Operations Group is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force Reserve 433rd Airlift Wing. It is stationed at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.

The 375th Operations Group is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force 375th Air Mobility Wing. It is stationed at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">374th Operations Group</span> Military unit

The 374th Operations Group is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force 374th Airlift Wing. It is stationed at Yokota Air Base, Japan.

The 345th Airlift Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force squadron most recently assigned to the 19th Operations Group at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, where it was inactivated in June 2014. The squadron was activated in the summer of 2010 as an "active duty associate" squadron, jointly operating the Lockheed C-130J Hercules aircraft of the 815th Airlift Squadron.

References

This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

↑ Armstrong, William. (2017). Marine Air Group 25 and SCAT (Images of Aviation). Arcadia. ISBN 1467127434.

403d Operations Group Factsheet
Armstrong, William. (2017). Marine Air Group 25 and SCAT (Images of Aviation). Arcadia. ISBN 1467127434

External links

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[1] Armstrong, William. (2017). Marine Air Group 25 and SCAT (Images of Aviation). Arcadia. ISBN 1467127434.

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