458th Airlift Squadron

Last updated

458th Airlift Squadron
Air Mobility Command.svg
Gates Learjet C-21A (35A), USA - Air Force AN0685674.jpg
Gates Learjet C-21A as flown by the squadron
Active1942–1945; 1952; 1966–1972; 1975–present
CountryFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States
BranchFlag of the United States Air Force.svg  United States Air Force
Role Airlift
Part of Air Mobility Command
Garrison/HQ Scott Air Force Base
Engagements Pacific Ocean Theater
Vietnam War [1]
Decorations Distinguished Unit Citation
Presidential Unit Citation
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Combat "V" Device
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm
Insignia
458th Airlift Squadron emblem [lower-alpha 1] [1] 458th Airlift Squadron.jpg
458 Tactical Airlift Squadron emblem [2] [lower-alpha 2] [3] 458 Tactical Airlift Sq emblem.png
458th Bombardment Squadron [lower-alpha 3] [4] 458 Bombardment Sq emblem.png

The 458th Airlift Squadron is part of the 375th Airlift Wing at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. It operates C-21 aircraft, providing executive airlift and aeromedical evacuation. It has performed its current mission since activating in 1975 as the 1401st Military Airlift Squadron. The 1401st Squadron was consolidated with the 458th in 1991.

Contents

The squadron was first activated during World War II as the 458th Bombardment Squadron. It was a replacement training unit for heavy bomber crews until being inactivated in the spring of 1944 when the Army Air Forces reorganized its training and support units in the United States. It was reactivated the same day as a Boeing B-29 Superfortress unit. The unit deployed to the Pacific Ocean Theater in early 1945 and participated in the strategic bombing campaign against Japan until V-J Day, earning two Distinguished Unit Citations for its actions. The squadron returned to the United States in December 1945 and was inactivated.

The squadron was redesignated the 458th Troop Carrier Squadron and activated in the reserve in 1952, but was quickly inactivated as reserve units that had been mobilized for the Korean War were released from active duty. As the Air Force assumed the light airlift mission from the Army, the squadron was again activated on New Year's Day 1967. It served in combat in Vietnam until March 1972, earning an additional Presidential Unit Citation and three Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards with Combat "V" Device before inactivating in theater.

Mission

The squadron's mission is to provide air mobility operations through its fleet of 14 C-21 Learjet operational support aircraft. It delivers rapid, responsive and safe airlift, including aeromedical evacuation in increasingly congested airspace. [5] It also acts as the Formal Training Unit for the C-21. [6]

History

World War II

Bombardment training unit

B-24 Liberator 42-52161 from Alamogordo Army Airfield Alamogordo Army Airfield - B-24 Liberator 42-52161 over New Mexico.jpg
B-24 Liberator 42-52161 from Alamogordo Army Airfield

The squadron was first activated at Salt Lake City Army Air Base, Utah on 6 July 1942 as one of the original four squadrons of the 330th Bombardment Group. [1] [7] [8] Although equipped early on with some Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses, it became a Consolidated B-24 Liberator Operational Training Unit (OTU), moving to Biggs Field, Texas by early September. [1] The OTU program was patterned after the unit training system of the Royal Air Force and involved the use of an oversized parent unit to provide cadres to "satellite groups" [9] It then assumed responsibility for their training and oversaw their expansion with graduates of Army Air Forces Training Command schools to become effective combat units. [10] [11] Phase I training concentrated on individual training in crewmember specialties. Phase II training emphasized the coordination for the crew to act as a team. The final phase concentrated on operation as a unit. [12]

By early 1944 most units had been activated and almost three quarters of them had deployed overseas. With the exception of special programs, like forming Boeing B-29 Superfortress units, training “fillers” for existing units became more important than unit training. [13] The squadron then became a Replacement Training Unit (RTU). [1] RTUs were also oversized unit, but their mission was to train individual pilots or aircrews. [9]

However, the Army Air Forces was finding that standard military units like the 458th, whose manning was based on relatively inflexible tables of organization were proving not well adapted to the training mission, even more so to the replacement mission. Accordingly, the Army Air Forces adopted a more functional system in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit. [14] As a result, the 330th Bombardment Group and its components, including the 458th, along with all supporting units at Biggs were inactivated or disbanded on 1 April 1944 [1] [7] and replaced by the 235th AAF Base Unit (Combat Crew Training School, Bombardment, Very Heavy). [15]

B-29 Superfortress operations against Japan

Squadron B-29 Superfortress Boeing B-29 Superfortress, USA - Air Force AN1612036.jpg
Squadron B-29 Superfortress

The squadron was activated the same day at Walker Army Air Field, Kansas as a Boeing B-29 unit. While waiting for new B-29s to come off the production line, it again flew B-17 Flying Fortresses for a short time. It trained at Walker and at Dalhart Army Air Field, Texas until January 1945, when it deployed to the Pacific. [1]

The squadron arrived at its combat station, North Field, Guam in the Mariana Islands in early February 1945. [1] Because the results of high altitude B-29 raids on Japan were disappointing. XXI Bomber Command switched to low altitude night area attacks with incendiaries beginning in March 1945. [16] It flew its first combat mission, an attack on the Hodogaya chemical plant in Koriyama, Japan on 12 April 1945. [7]

During April and May 1945, the squadron was diverted from the strategic campaign against Japan to support Operation Iceberg, the invasion of Okinawa. [7] It struck air bases from which kamikaze attacks were being launched. Many of these bases were located on Kyushu, only 300 miles from Okinawa. The attacks directly impacted kamikaze launches, but also forced the Japanese military to retain fighter aircraft to defend the Japanese Special Attack Units that otherwise might have been used to challenge air superiority over Okinawa. [17] [lower-alpha 6]

The squadron resumed attacking urban industrial areas until the end of the war in August 1945. It was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for incendiary raids on the industrial sections of Tokushima and Gifu and a strike against the hydroelectrical power center at Kofu in July 1945. It received a second DUC for a mission attacking the Nakajima aircraft engine plant at Musashino near Tokyo in August. [7]

Following V-J Day the squadron dropped food and supplies to Allied prisoners of war and participated in several show of force missions over Japan. It departed the theater in November and was inactivated at Camp Anza, the Port of Embarkation in December 1945. [1] [7]

Air Force reserve

The reserve mobilization for the Korean War had left the reserve without aircraft. In September 1951, Continental Air Command (ConAC) formed the 917th Reserve Training Wing to train reservists at Greater Pittsburgh Airport, Pennsylvania. [18] Anticipating the return of mission aircraft to reserve units, ConAC replaced the 917th Wing with the 330th Troop Carrier Wing on 14 June 1952. [19] The squadron was redesignated the 458th Troop Carrier Squadron and activated the same day. [1] It is not clear whether the squadron possessed its own aircraft or flew the Curtiss C-46 Commandos of the 2253rd Air Force Reserve Training Center, which was responsible for its training. [19] However, this activation was short lived, as the 330th was replaced by the 375th Troop Carrier Wing, which was released from active duty on 14 July 1952, and which had been mobilized at Greater Pittsburgh in 1951. [19] [20] The 458th was inactivated and transferred its personnel to the 56th Troop Carrier Squadron, which was simultaneously activated. [1] [21]

Vietnam War

A 458th TAS C-7B in Vietnam, 13 September 1970. C-7B 458th TAS in Vietnam 1970.JPEG
A 458th TAS C-7B in Vietnam, 13 September 1970.

In August 1966, the Air Force and the Army began implementing Project Red Leaf, which would transfer responsibility for the de Havilland Canada C-7 Caribou from the Army to the Air Force following the Johnson-McConnell agreement of 1966. AAt Dong Ba Thin Airfield, South Vietnam, Air Force personnel began being assigned to the 135th Aviation Company. The Department of Defense had ordered that the 483d Tactical Airlift Wing's new squadrons be located on Air Force installations, not on Army posts, and the cadre of the wing at Cam Ranh Bay Air Base began planning to move squadron level operations from the small Army camps they were operating from to permanent sites when the Air Force units were activated. [22] In December, the company began moving to Cam Ranh Bay Air Base, and on 1 January 1967, the 458th Squadron was organized and took over Caribou operations from the 135th Company. [1] [23]

The squadron provided intratheater airlift to support United States military civic actions, combat support and civic assistance throughout the Republic of Vietnam. [24] This included airland and airdrop assault missions. It also maintained a detachment at Nha Trang Air Base. [23] In the summer of 1967, the 458th and its sister Caribou squadron at Cam Ranh Bay, the 457th Tactical Airlift Squadron took over Caribou operations at Pleiku Air Base, formerly operated by the 459th Tactical Airlift Squadron. [25] However, a Viet Cong mortar attack on Can Tho Airfield on 21 December 1967 that damaged two C-7s, forced a reevaluation of dispersal arrangements and Caribous were withdrawn from Nha Trang. [25]

Most missions by the Caribou were airlift flights, with fewer than 2% being airdrops. The squadron experienced an exception to this during the attempt by the North Vietnamese Army to overrun Duc Lap Camp, near the Cambodian border. The camp was manned by half strength Civilian Irregular Defense Group companies, assisted by American special forces. Duc Lap's landing strip was outside its defensive perimeter, and once Communist forces had surrounded the camp and occupied parts of it, airlanding resupplies was out of the question. Airdrops were particularly difficult, as only about 75 square yards remained in friendly force possession. The squadron's pilots approached the camp from random directions, flying at treetop level using strong evasive action due to heavy enemy fire, popping up and leveling off at the minimum altitude for parachutes to open only seconds before the drop was made. Squadron efforts included what is believed to have been the first operational night airdrop by a Caribou, flown by Major George Finck, which encountered heavy fire approaching a drop zone marked only by flares. Major Finck was awarded the Air Force Cross for this mission. [26] Major Hunter Hackney also received an Air Force Cross for missions flown on 25 August. On that afternoon, he flew an air drop mission on which he received "hundreds" of hits by enemy antiaircraft fire. Despite his plane being rendered unflyable, he flew another sortie with a different plane, incurring yet more battle sameagem, but completing the mission. [27] Between 24 and 26 August, C-7s delivered 26 tons of supplies to the besieged camp. After the 26th, reinforcements expanded the area under friendly control and the brunt of further supply was borne by Army Boeing CH-47 Chinook heavy lift helicopters. [28] For his heroism in making airdrops, Major Hunter Hackney was awarded the Air Force Cross. [29]

In April 1970, the squadron helped break the siege of Dak Seang Special Forces Camp. [30] North Vietnamese forces had surrounded the camp, and learning from the success of air resupply during their 1969 attack on the Ben Het Camp, also established anti-aircraft artillery positions along likely air resupply corridors. On the first day of the siege, two C-7s were diverted from their scheduled missions and staged out of Pleiku to make the first airdrops to the camp. Resupply of the camp was so urgent that all drop-qualified crews of the 483rd Tactical Airlift Wing were ordered to Pleiku to support the operation and eleven sorties were flown that day with cover from Douglas A-1 Skyraiders. Crews approached the camp from the north or south to use terrain to mask their approaches from enemy flak. Loss of the third Caribou in five days, including one from the 458th, prompted a move to resupply the camp with night drops, with cover and illumination provided by Fairchild AC-119 Stinger gunships. All 483rd Wing squadrons participated in the operation. [31] It earned a second Presidential Unit Citation for this action, evacuation of over 2000 refugees from Cambodia, and transportation of the Presidential Southeast Asia Investigation Team to various remote locations in South Vietnam. The squadron flew its last combat mission the day it was inactivated. [32]

The squadron transferred most of its equipment to the Republic of Viet Nam Air Force and was inactivated in March 1972 as Cam Ranh Bay prepared for closure with the withdrawal of the United States military from Viet Nam. [1] [24]

Administrative airlift

The second predecessor of the squadron was activated at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois on 1 April 1975 as the 1401st Military Airlift Squadron and assigned to the 89th Military Airlift Wing. [1] The 1401st was one of the squadrons formed when the Air Force decided to consolidate its administrative airlift fleet under Military Airlift Command. [33] The Air Force also decided the administrative airlift fleet would become all jet, using North American T-39 Sabreliners, although the 458th also flew turboprop powered Beechcraft C-12 Hurons. In 1978, the squadron transferred to the 375th Aeromedical Airlift Wing, and until 1990 also flew aeromedical evacuation missions. In 1984, it converted from the Sabreliner to the Learjet C-21. From August 1990 to May 1991, it conducted airlift in Southwest Asia. In December 1991, the two squadrons were consolidated as the 458th Airlift Squadron. [1]

From 1997 until 2005, the squadron was assigned airlift flights at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska; Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado; and Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. These flights had been formed in 1993, or replaced flights formed in 1993, when the Air Force decentralized administrative airlift, but were assigned to the squadron when control of administrative airlift was returned to Air Mobility Command. [34] [35] [36]

In 2011, the squadron assumed responsibility for training C-21 pilots and instructors for the Air Force. This mission had been performed at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi since 1990. [37]

Lineage

458th Airlift Squadron
Activated on 6 July 1942
Inactivated on 1 April 1944
Inactivated on 27 December 1945
Activated in the reserve on 14 June 1952
Inactivated on 14 July 1952
Organized on 1 January 1967
Redesignated 458th Tactical Airlift Squadron on 1 August 1967
Inactivated on 1 March 1972
1401st Military Airlift Squadron

Assignments

Components

Stations

Aircraft

  • Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress (1942, 1944)
  • Consolidated B-24 Liberator (1942–1944)
  • Boeing B-29 Superfortress (1944–1945)
  • de Havilland Canada C-7 Caribou (1967–1972)
  • North American T-39 Sabreliner (1975–1984)
  • Beechcraft C-12 Huron (1976–1977, 1984 – unknown)
  • Learjet C-21 (1984 – present) [1]

Awards and campaigns

Award streamerAwardDatesNotes
Streamer PUC Army.PNG Distinguished Unit Citation 3–9 July 1945Japan, 458th Bombardment Squadron [1]
Streamer PUC Army.PNG Distinguished Unit Citation8 August 1945Tokyo, 458th Bombardment Squadron [1]
Streamer PUC Army.PNG Presidential Unit Citation21 January – 12 May 1968Southeast Asia, 458th Tactical Airlift Squadron [1]
Streamer PUC Army.PNG Presidential Unit Citation1 April – 30 June 1970Southeast Asia, 458th Tactical Airlift Squadron [1]
AFOUA with Valor.jpg Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Combat "V" Device 1 January – 30 April 1967458th Troop Carrier Squadron [1]
AFOUA with Valor.jpg Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Combat "V" Device1 May 1967 – 30 April 1968458th Troop Carrier Squadron (later 458th Tactical Airlift Squadron) [1]
AFOUA with Valor.jpg Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Combat "V" Device1 July 1970 – 31 December 1971458th Tactical Airlift Squadron [1]
AFOUA Streamer.JPG Air Force Outstanding Unit Award1 July – 31 December 19751401st Military Airlift Squadron [1]
AFOUA Streamer.JPG Air Force Outstanding Unit Award1 January 1976 – 31 January 19771401st Military Airlift Squadron [1]
AFOUA Streamer.JPG Air Force Outstanding Unit Award1 July 1981 – 30 une 19831401st Military Airlift Squadron [1]
AFOUA Streamer.JPG Air Force Outstanding Unit Award1 July 1986 – 31 July 19881401st Military Airlift Squadron [1]
AFOUA Streamer.JPG Air Force Outstanding Unit Award1 June 1994 – 30 June 1996458th Airlift Squadron [40]
AFOUA Streamer.JPG Air Force Outstanding Unit Award1 June 1998 – 31 May 2000458th Airlift Squadron [40]
AFOUA Streamer.JPG Air Force Outstanding Unit Award1 June 2003 – 31 May 2005458th Airlift Squadron [40]
AFOUA Streamer.JPG Air Force Outstanding Unit Award1 June 2006 – 31 May 2008458th Airlift Squadron [40]
AFOUA Streamer.JPG Air Force Outstanding Unit Award1 Oct 2019 – 31 August 2021458th Airlift Squadron [40]
VGCP Streamer.jpg Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm 1 January 1967 – 30 April 1972 [lower-alpha 7] 458th Troop Carrier Squadron (later 458th Tactical Airlift Squadron) [1]


Campaign StreamerCampaignDatesNotes
Streamer AC.PNG American Theater without inscription6 July 1942–1 April 1944, 1 April 1944–7 January 1945458th Bombardment Squadron [1]
Streamer APC.PNG Air Offensive, Japan18 February 1945–2 September 1945458th Bombardment Squadron [1]
Streamer APC.PNG Western Pacific17 April 1945–2 September 1945458th Bombardment Squadron [1]
Streamer VS.PNG Vietnam Air Offensive1 January 1966–8 March 1967458th Troop Carrier Squadron [1]
Streamer VS.PNG Vietnam Air Offensive, Phase II9 March 1967–31 March 1968458th Troop Carrier Squadron (later 458th Tactical Airlift Squadron) [1]
Streamer VS.PNG Vietnam Air/Ground 196822 January 1968–7 July 1968458th Tactical Airlift Squadron [1]
Streamer VS.PNG Vietnam Air Offensive, Phase III1 April 1968–31 October 1968458th Tactical Airlift Squadron [1]
Streamer VS.PNG Vietnam Air Offensive, Phase IV1 November 1968–22 February 1969458th Tactical Airlift Squadron [1]
Streamer VS.PNG Tet 1969/Counteroffensive23 February 1969–8 June 1969458th Tactical Airlift Squadron [1]
Streamer VS.PNG Vietnam Summer-Fall 19699 June 1969–31 October 1969458th Tactical Airlift Squadron [1]
Streamer VS.PNG Vietnam Winter-Spring 19703 November 1969–30 April 1970458th Tactical Airlift Squadron [1]
Streamer VS.PNG Sanctuary Counteroffensive1 May 1970–30 June 1970458th Tactical Airlift Squadron [1]
Streamer VS.PNG Southwest Monsoon1 July 1970–30 November 1970458th Tactical Airlift Squadron [1]
Streamer VS.PNG Commando Hunt V1 December 1970–14 May 1971458th Tactical Airlift Squadron [1]
Streamer VS.PNG Commando Hunt VI15 May 1971–31 July 1971458th Tactical Airlift Squadron [1]
Streamer VS.PNG Commando Hunt VII1 November 1971–29 March 1972458th Tactical Airlift Squadron [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donaldson Air Force Base</span> US base in Greenville County, South Carolina

Donaldson Air Force Base is a former facility of the United States Air Force located south of Greenville, South Carolina. It was founded in 1942 as Greenville Army Air Base; it was deactivated in 1963 and converted into a civilian airport. It is currently an active airfield known as Donaldson Center Airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">309th Maintenance Wing</span> Military unit

The 309th Maintenance Wing is an inactive wing of the United States Air Force last based at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. On July 12, 2012 it was inactivated and its function became part of the Ogden Air Logistics Complex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">728th Airlift Squadron</span> Military unit

The 728th Airlift Squadron is a United States Air Force Reserve squadron, assigned to the 446th Operations Group, stationed at McChord Field, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. It is an associate unit of the active duty 8th Airlift Squadron of the 62d Airlift Wing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">483rd Tactical Airlift Wing</span> Military unit

The 483rd Tactical Airlift Wing was a tactical airlift and composite wing assigned to Pacific Air Forces during the Vietnam War. It was the host organization at Cam Ranh Bay Air Base South Vietnam from 1970 to 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">56th Air Refueling Squadron</span> US Air Force unit part of Air Education and Training Command

The 56th Air Refueling Squadron is an active unit of the United States Air Force. It is part of the 97th Operations Group at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma. It operates Boeing KC-46 Pegasus aircraft, conducting initial and advanced aircrew training for air refueling operations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">535th Airlift Squadron</span> Military unit

The 535th Airlift Squadron is part of the 15th Wing at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, Hawaii. It operates C-17 Globemaster III aircraft providing airlift in the Pacific theater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">311th Airlift Squadron</span> Military unit

The 311th Airlift Squadron is part of the 375th Airlift Wing at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. It operated Learjet C-21 aircraft providing executive airlift for Combatant Commanders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">357th Airlift Squadron</span> Military unit

The 357th Airlift Squadron is a Tactical Airlift unit of the United States Air Force assigned to the Air Force Reserve Command and part of the 908th Airlift Wing at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. It operates Lockheed C-130H Hercules aircraft providing global airlift. The 357th AS operates (8) C-130H2 aircraft that were built in the 1990s, which utilize Flight Engineers and Navigators, along with the crew complement of Pilots and Loadmasters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">457th Airlift Squadron</span> Military unit

The 457th Airlift Squadron was an executive airlift unit stationed at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. It, and its predecessor, the 1402nd Military Airlift Squadron, operated a number of executive aircraft starting in 1975. From the mid-1990s, the squadron operated only Learjet C-21 aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">459th Airlift Squadron</span> Military unit

The 459th Airlift Squadron is an active United States Air Force unit assigned to the 374th Airlift Wing at Yokota Air Base, Japan. It has been stationed at Yokota since 1993. It has performed its current mission since activating in 1975 as the 1400th Military Airlift Squadron. The 1400th Squadron was consolidated with the 459th in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">700th Airlift Squadron</span> Military unit

The 700th Airlift Squadron is part of the 94th Airlift Wing at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia. It operates Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft providing global airlift.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">729th Airlift Squadron</span> Military unit

The 729th Airlift Squadron is a United States Air Force Reserve squadron, assigned to the 452d Operations Group, stationed at March Air Reserve Base, California. It operates Boeing C-17 Globemaster III aircraft providing global airlift any time, any place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">336th Air Refueling Squadron</span> Military unit

The 336th Air Refueling Squadron is a United States Air Force Reserve squadron, assigned to the 452d Operations Group, stationed at March Joint Air Reserve Base, California. The squadron shares its aircraft and facility with the 912th Air Refueling Squadron, a USAF Associate Unit assigned to the 92d Air Refueling Wing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">94th Operations Group</span> Military unit

The 94th Operations Group is the flying component of the 94th Airlift Wing, assigned to the United States Air Force Reserve. The group is stationed at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">332d Airlift Flight</span> Military unit

The 332d Airlift Flight is an inactive United States Air Force unit. it was first organized in India in 1944 as the 11th Combat Cargo Squadron. As the 332d Troop Carrier Squadron it remained in China through 1947. The squadron was activated again for the Berlin Airlift from 1948 to 1949.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">464th Troop Carrier Group</span> Military unit

The 464th Troop Carrier Group was a theater airlift unit of the United States Air Force during the Cold War. It served in the United States under Tactical Air Command between 1953 and 1957. The group operated Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar and Fairchild C-123 Provider aircraft as the flying element of the 464th Troop Carrier Wing until being inactivated when the wing was reorganized.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">362d Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron</span> Military unit

The 362d Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 6498th Air Base Wing at Da Nang Air Base, Republic of Vietnam, where it was inactivated on 28 February 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">537th Airlift Squadron</span> Military unit

The 537th Airlift Squadron is an inactive squadron of the United States Air Force. The unit was last active at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson Alaska, where it was inactivated on 13 September 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">536th Tactical Airlift Squadron</span> Military unit

The 536th Tactical Airlift Squadron is an inactive squadron of the United States Air Force. The unit was last active at Cam Ranh Bay Air Base Viet Nam, where it was inactivated on 15 October 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">330th Aircraft Sustainment Group</span> Military unit

The 330th Aircraft Sustainment Group was a group of the United States Air Force stationed at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It was last active in June 2010

References

Notes

Explanatory notes
  1. Approved 18 May 1983. Description: "On a Blue disc edged with a narrow Yellow border, in chief a sword palewise with the point up White detailed Blue and issuing from the edges of the sword eight Yellow rays rising from the base a red trapezoid terminating below the silhouette of a white aircraft bendwise all between four White five-pointed stars two each in pale at dexter and sinister"
  2. Approved 27 March 1968.
  3. Approved 27 June 1945. Description: "Over and through a light blue disc, a gray fortress in a large white cloud formation, having three, jagged, yellow lightning flashes striking toward base, over the top segment of an ultramarine blue globe, marked with white lines of longitude and latitude"
  4. Aircraft is Ford Motors built Consolidated B-24H-10-FO Liberator, serial 42-52161. It later deployed to Europe and was shot down on 22 February 1944. Missing Aircrew Report 2832.
  5. Aircraft is Boeing B-29-75-BW Superfortress, serial 44-70016, Sentimental Journey, Quaker City. After the war this aircraft served as a TB-29 radar evaluation plane, Dopey. Transferred to storage in June 1959, this plane is now on display at the Pima Air Museum on loan from the National Museum of the United States Air Force. Baugher, Joe (9 October 2023). "1944 USAF Serial Numbers". Joe Baugher. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  6. 75% of Twentieth Air Force's missions in April and May 1945 were flown to support Operation Iceberg. Cate & Olson p. 631.
  7. Per AFHRA Factsheet. The AF Personnel Center lists two awards of the Gallantry Cross.
Citations
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 No byline (8 April 2008). "Factsheet 458 Airlift Squadron". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Archived from the original on 3 March 2024. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  2. "458th Airlift Squadron" (PDF). USAFunithistory.com. 25 October 2013. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  3. Endicott, p. 821
  4. Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 564
  5. Garcia, SRA Daniel (31 January 2019). "C-21 community celebrates 'Year of the Lear' with consolidation, avionics upgrades". 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  6. No byline (25 February 2019). "Scott trains C-21 pilots". AF Energy, Installations and Environment. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Maurer, Combat Units, pp. 210-11
  8. Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 563-67
  9. 1 2 Craven & Cate, Introduction, p. xxxvi
  10. Goss, p. 74
  11. Greer, p. 601
  12. Greer.p. 606
  13. Goss, pp. 74-75
  14. Goss, p. 75
  15. SeeNo byline (1 September 1944). "Abstract, Vol. 1 History 235 AAF Base Unit". Air Force History Index. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  16. Cate & Olson, pp. 612-614
  17. Cate & Olson pp. 641
  18. Cantwell, p. 139
  19. 1 2 3 Ravenstein, p. 178
  20. Ravenstein, p. 199
  21. Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 227-28
  22. Bowers, pp. 353-355
  23. 1 2 "458th Tactical Airlift Squadron". C-7A Caribou Association. 13 January 2009. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  24. 1 2 Ravenstein, pp. 268-70
  25. 1 2 Bowers, p. 364
  26. Bowers, p. 376
  27. Bowers, pp. 374, 377
  28. Bowers, pp. 373-74
  29. Bowers, p. 375
  30. No byline. "Abstract, History 483d Tactical Airlift Wing, Apr–Jun 1970". Air Force History Index. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
  31. Bowers, pp. 527-32
  32. SeeRobertson, Patsy (12 April 2014). "Factsheet 535 Airlift Squadron (PACAF)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Archived from the original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  33. Manning, et al., p. 202
  34. 1 2 Haulman, Daniel (16 April 2007). "Factsheet 84 Airlift Flight (AFSPC/AMC o/a 16 April 1997)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  35. 1 2 Bailey, Carl E. (10 December 2007). "Factsheet 311 Airlift Squadron (AMC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  36. 1 2 "332 Airlift Flight" (PDF). USAF Unit History Index. 22 March 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  37. Clark, Bekah (8 April 2011). "Kingdom Lear". Air & Space Forces Magazine. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  38. Research Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, June 2005, Maxwell AFB, AL
  39. Research Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, September 2004, Maxwell AFB, AL
  40. 1 2 3 4 5 "Air Force Personnel Services: Unit Awards". Air Force Personnel Center. Retrieved 1 August 2024. (search)

Bibliography

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

  • Cate, James L.; Olson, James C. (1953). "Strategic Bombardment from Pacific Bases, Chapter 17, Precision Bombardment Campaign". In Craven, Wesley F.; Cate, James L. (eds.). The Army Air Forces in World War II (PDF). Vol. V, The Pacific: Matterhorn to Nagasaki. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. LCCN   48003657. OCLC   704158 . Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  • Goss, William A. (1955). "The Organization and its Responsibilities, Chapter 2 The AAF". In Craven, Wesley F.; Cate, James L. (eds.). The Army Air Forces in World War II (PDF). Vol. VI, Men & Planes. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. LCCN   48003657. OCLC   704158 . Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  • Greer, Thomas H. (1955). "Recruitment and Training, Chapter 18 Combat Crew and Unit Training". In Craven, Wesley F.; Cate, James L. (eds.). The Army Air Forces in World War II (PDF). Vol. VI, Men & Planes. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. LCCN   48003657. OCLC   704158 . Retrieved 17 December 2016.