6th Ferrying Group

Last updated

6th Ferrying Group
(later 546th Tactical Airlift Group)
C-47 in flight ca. 1943.jpg
C-47 Skytrain, manufactured at Long Beach
Active1942-1944
CountryFlag of the United States.svg USA
BranchFlag of the United States Air Force.svg  United States Air Force
RoleAircraft ferrying

The 6th Ferrying Group was a World War II unit of the United States Army Air Forces (AAF). It was activated in February 1942 as the California Sector, Ferrying Command in February 1942, but soon changed its name. It ferried aircraft manufactured in California until March 1944, when it was disbanded in a general reorganization of AAF units in the United States. It was replaced by the 556th Army Air Forces Base Unit, which continued its mission until late in 1946.

Contents

The group was reconstituted in 1985 as the 546th Tactical Airlift Group, but has not been active since.

History

World War II

The group's origins can be traced to 3 January 1942, when Air Corps Ferrying Command, in the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor divided its Domestic Division into six sectors. The California Sector was established at Long Beach Municipal Airport, California and was responsible for ferrying aircraft from Consolidated Aircraft, Douglas Aircraft Company, Lockheed Aircraft Company, North American Aviation, Ryan Aeronautical Company, Northrop Corporation and Vega Aircraft Corporation factories in California. [1] The sector's personnel was drawn from the Ferry Command's Western Division. [2] The bulk of this work consisted in flying new planes from the plant to modification centers in the US. On 18 February, this office was formally organized as a unit, the California Sector, Ferrying Command and Ferrying Command's Domestic Division became the Domestic Wing, Air Corps Ferrying Command. [1]

In April 1942, the group was assigned its first operational units, the 1st, 9th and 14th Air Corps Ferry Squadrons. [3] Ferrying Command requested the AAF to reorganize its sectors as groups, with assigned squadrons. Accordingly, the sector became the 6th Ferrying Group on 26 May 1942. The group expanded with the addition of the 52nd Ferrying Squadron in late August. In September 1942, the 28th Ferrying Squadron moved from Hamilton Field, California and was assigned to the group. In January 1943, the 14th Squadron moved to Palm Springs Airport, California, where its personnel were used to form the cadre of the 21st Ferrying Group and it the returned to Long Beach on paper. [4] On 15 February 1943, the first members of the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) arrived at Long each to augment the group. [5] Nancy Love transferred to head the WAFS detachment, and, in March, became the first WAFS to ferry a large multiengine plane, flying a Douglas C-47 Skytrain to Memphis Municipal Airport in March. [6]

By 1944, the Army Air Forces (AAF) was finding that standard military units like the 6th Group, whose manning was based on relatively inflexible tables of organization were not well adapted to support missions. Accordingly, the AAF adopted a more functional system in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit. [7] As part of this reorganization the group was disbanded on 31 March 1944 along with its subordinate units [8] and its resources were absorbed by the 556th Army Air Forces Base Unit (6th Ferrying Group) which was designated and organized on the same day. The base unit was redescribed as the 556th AAF Base Unit (Ferrying Group) then discontinued after the end of World War II on 1 December 1946.

The 6th Ferrying Group was reconstituted and redesignated the 546th Tactical Airlift Group on 31 July 1985, but remained inactive. [9]

Lineage

Activated on 18 February 1942 [10]
Redesignated California Sector, Domestic Wing, Ferrying Command on 25 April 1942
Redesignated 6th Ferrying Group, Domestic Wing, Ferrying Command on 26 May 1942
Redesignated 6th Ferrying Group on 20 May 1943
Disbanded on 31 March 1944

Assignments

Components

Stations

Campaign

Campaign StreamerCampaignDatesNotes
Streamer AC.PNG American Theater without inscription18 February 1942 – 31 March 1944California Sector, air Corps Ferrying Command (later 6th Ferrying Group)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twenty-Second Air Force</span> United States Air Force numbered unit

Twenty-Second Air Force is a Numbered Air Force component of Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). It was activated on 1 July 1993 and is headquartered at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia.

The Army Air Forces Tactical Center was a major command and military training organization of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It trained cadres from newly formed units in combat operations under simulated field conditions around which new combat groups would be formed. It was established as the Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics (AAFSAT) in 1942 and redesignated the following year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">50th Troop Carrier Wing</span> Military unit

The 50th Troop Carrier Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. The wing was formed in 1941 as the 50th Transport Wing, a headquarters for air transport organizations of the Air Corps. In 1942, it became a training organization for troop carrier units deploying overseas. In 1943, it moved overseas, where its units participated in combat in the Mediterranean and European Theaters of Operations. Following V-E Day it remained in Europe until the fall of 1945. Its last assignment was with Third Air Force at Pope Field, North Carolina, where it was inactivated on 31 July 1946. It was redesignated the 50th Air Division in 1959, but was not activated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">478th Aeronautical Systems Wing</span> Military unit

The 478th Aeronautical Systems Wing is an inactive wing of the United States Air Force which was last based at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, where it was inactivated in 2009. The wing was first organized as the 478th Fighter Group, which briefly served as a Fourth Air Force Replacement Training Unit in 1944. The unit was disbanded when the Army Air Forces reorganized its training units into AAF Base Units to reduce manpower requirements in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4th Special Operations Squadron</span> Military unit

The 4th Special Operations Squadron is part of the 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, Florida. It operates Lockheed AC-130J aircraft providing special operations capabilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1st Airborne Command Control Squadron</span> US Air Force unit

The 1st Airborne Command Control Squadron is part of the 595th Command and Control Group at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. It operates the Boeing E-4 aircraft conducting airborne command and control missions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">11th Airlift Squadron</span> Military unit

The 11th Airlift Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was most recently part of the 375th Airlift Wing as Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. It operated McDonnell Douglas C-9 Nightingale aircraft conducting medical evacuation missions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">44th Reconnaissance Squadron</span> Military unit

The 44th Reconnaissance Squadron is a unit of the United States Air Force's 432nd Wing, Air Combat Command stationed at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada, where it operates unmanned aerial vehicles. The squadron is assigned to the 432nd Operations Group, and has been reported to operate the Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Army Air Forces Training Command</span> Former command of the U.S. Army Air Forces (1942-1946)

The United States Army Air Forces during World War II had major subordinate Commands below the Air Staff level. These Commands were organized along functional missions. One such Command was the Flying Training Command (FTC). It began as Air Corps Flying Training Command on 23 January 1942, was redesignated Army Air Forces Flying Training Command (AAFTC) on 15 March 1942, and merged with Army Air Forces Technical Training Command to become Army Air Forces Training Command on 31 July 1943. Continuing service after the war, it was redesignated Air Training Command on 1 July 1946. During the consolidation of Air Force Major Commands in the retrenchment of the 1990s, Air Training Command assumed control of Air University and became Air Education and Training Command on 1 July 1993—today's Air Education and Training Command (AETC), which celebrated its 75th anniversary 23 January 2017. see the Lineage and honors statement for AETC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">54th Fighter Group</span> Unit of the United States Air Force

The 54th Fighter Group is an active unit of the United States Air Force stationed at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico and assigned to the 49th Wing of Air Education and Training Command. The group was reactivated in March 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">28th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron</span> Military unit

The 28th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron is a provisional United States Air Force unit. It was last known to be assigned to the 40th Air Expeditionary Group. Diego Garcia Air Base, British Indian Ocean Territory. Its current status is at Al Udeid Air Base under the 379th Expeditionary Operations Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bolling Air Force Base</span> Air Force base in Washington, D.C., United States

Bolling Air Force Base or Bolling AFB is a United States Air Force base in Washington, D.C. In 2010, it was merged with Naval Support Facility Anacostia to form Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling. From its beginning, the installation has hosted elements of the Army Air Corps and Navy aviation and support elements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">10th Airborne Command and Control Squadron</span> Military unit

The 10th Airborne Command and Control Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit that flew airborne command post aircraft from RAF Mildenhall, England from January 1970 to December 1991. Through a unit consolidation in September 1985, the squadron has roots in units that participated in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Atlantic Wing, Air Transport Command</span> Former US Army Air Forces unit

The South Atlantic Wing, Air Transport Command is a former United States Army Air Forces unit. It was organized in 1942 to ferry aircraft and transport personnel and equipment from the Caribbean to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, European Theater of Operations, China-Burma-India Theater and for delivery of lend lease aircraft to the Soviet Union. It also transported critical material from South America. The wing commander also served as the United States Army theater commander for South America. After V-E Day, the wing became responsible for the return of aircraft and personnel to the United States. It was inactivated in 1946 as operations in the South Atlantic decreased.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">12th Aeromedical Airlift Squadron</span> Military unit

The 12th Aeromedical Airlift Squadron in an inactive United States Air Force unit. From 1956 through 1969, it flew aeromedical evacuation missions from McGuire Air Force Base. In 1985, the squadron was consolidated with two World War II units, but remained inactive. The consolidated squadrons were the 12th Ferrying Squadron, which ferried aircraft to Europe and from factories to flying units from 1942 and 1944; and the 162d Liaison Squadron, which tested equipment and developed tactics for liaison units between 1944 and 1946.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">517th Training Group</span> Military unit

The 517th Training Group is a group of the United States Air Force. It conducts language training and is assigned to the 17th Training Wing at Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas. It is stationed at the Presidio of Monterey, California. It was activated in its present form on 14 May 2009. During World War II, the group was the 7th Ferrying Group, ferrying combat aircraft from factories in the United States to Alaska for onward transfer to the Soviet Union via the ALSIB air route.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2nd Aircraft Delivery Group</span> Military unit

The 2nd Aircraft Delivery Group is an inactive group of the United States Air Force (USAF). While it was established in 1969—as a continuation of USAF's ferrying mission dating back to 1948—it also constituted the reactivation of a unit first established as the Northeast Sector, Air Corps Ferrying Command in February 1942. As the 2nd Ferrying Group, it was the first regular U.S. Army unit to employ the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron pilots, who flew all models of aircraft until that group was disbanded in 1944. Its role was to deliver aircraft to combat units. It was made inactivate in June 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3rd Ferrying Group</span> Military unit

The 3rd Ferrying Group was a World War II unit of the United States Army Air Forces (AAF). It was activated in February 1942 as the Detroit Sector, Ferrying Command in February 1942, but soon changed its name. It ferried aircraft manufactured in the midwest until March 1944, when it was disbanded in a general reorganization of AAF units in the United States. It was replaced by the 553rd Army Air Forces Base Unit, which continued its mission until spring 1947.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4th Ferrying Group</span> Military unit

The 4th Ferrying Group was a World War II unit of the United States Army Air Forces (AAF). It was activated in February 1942 as the Nashville Sector, Ferrying Command, but soon changed its name. It ferried aircraft manufactured in the midwest and south until March 1944, when it was disbanded in a general reorganization of AAF units in the United States. It was replaced by the 554th Army Air Forces Base Unit, which continued its mission until spring 1947.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">545th Test Group</span> Military unit

The 545th Test Group is an inactive group of the United States Air Force. It was organized at Hill Air Force Base, Utah as the 6545th Test Group in January 1979 to manage the Utah Test and Training Range and the development of unmanned aerial vehicles. In 1994, it transferred its flight testing mission to Ogden Air Logistics Center, and in 1996 the 388th Fighter Wing assumed its range management, and the group was inactivated.

References

Notes

Explanatory notes
    Citations
    1. 1 2 Administrative History, pp. 64-66
    2. 1 2 1944 Yearbook, p. 33
    3. "Abstract, History 560 AAF Base Unit, Apr 1942-Jun 1944". Air Force History Index. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
    4. 1944 Yearbook, p. 31
    5. 1944 Yearbook, p. 34
    6. England & Reither, p. 37
    7. Goss, p. 75
    8. 1 2 Kane, Robert B. (12 April 2010). "Factsheet Twenty-Second Air Force (AFRC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
    9. 1 2 Department of the Air Force/MPM Letter 648q, 31 July 1985, Subject: Reconstitution, Redesignation, and Consolidation of Selected Air Force Organizations
    10. Administrative History, p. 68.
    11. 1944 Yearbook, p. 77
    12. 1944 Yearbook, p. 86
    13. 1944 Yearbook, p. 100
    14. 1944 Yearbook, p. 104
    15. 1944 Yearbook, p. 116
    16. 1944 Yearbook, p. 67
    17. 1944 Yearbook, p. 128
    18. 1944 Yearbook, p. 61
    19. 1944 Yearbook

    Bibliography

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