73d Airlift Squadron

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73d Airlift Squadron
C-40C DC ANG in flight 2008.jpg
C-40 Clipper as flown by the squadron
Active 9 February 1943 – 31 July 1946
1 August 1947 – 24 March 1954
8 June 1957 – present
Country United States
Branch United States Air Force
Type Distinguished Visitor Airlift
Part of Air Force Reserve Command
4th Air Force
932nd Airlift Wing
932nd Operations Group
Garrison/HQ Scott Air Force Base
Engagements Operation Overlord
Operation Market Garden
Battle of Bastogne
Decorations Distinguished Unit Citation
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
French Croix de Guerre with Palm
French Fourragère
Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm
Commanders
Current
commander		 Lt. Col. Nicholas Vazzana
Insignia
73d Airlift Squadron emblem (approved 14 December 2007) [1] [note 1] 73d Airlift Squadron.jpg
73d Airlift Squadron emblem (31 July 1996) 73 Airlift Sq emblem.png
73d Aeromedical Airlift Squadron emblem 73 Aeromedical Airlift Sq emblem.png

The 73d Airlift Squadron is a United States Air Force Reserve squadron, assigned to the 932d Operations Group, stationed at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois.

Scott Air Force Base United States Air Force base near Belleville, Illinois, USA

Scott Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in St. Clair County, Illinois, near Belleville and O'Fallon, 25 miles East of downtown St. Louis. Scott Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the United States entered World War I in April 1917. It is headquarters of Air Mobility Command (AMC), and is also the headquarters of the U.S. Transportation Command, a Unified Combatant Command that coordinates transportation across all the services.

Contents

Overview

The squadron operates C-40 Clipper aircraft providing executive airlift for distinguished visitors and their staffs.

History

Established in early 1943 as a C-47 Skytrain transport squadron under First Air Force, later trained under I Troop Carrier Command in the eastern United States. Deployed to England in late 1943, being assigned to Ninth Air Force in England, IX Troop Carrier Command to participate in the buildup of forces prior to the Allied landings in France during D-Day in June 1944.

First Air Force Numbered air force of the United States Air Force responsible for the North American region

The First Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. Its primary mission is the air defense of the Contiguous United States (CONUS), United States Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

I Troop Carrier Command

The I Troop Carrier Command is an inactive United States Army Air Forces unit. Its last assignment was with the Continental Air Forces, based at Stout Field, Indiana.

Ninth Air Force Numbered air force of the United States Air Force responsible for tactical air and ground forces

The Ninth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command (ACC). It has been headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, since activation on 5 August 2009. From 1990, units were deployed to the Middle East against Iraq, and from 2001 against threats emanating from Afghanistan. This prior Ninth Air Force is now known as United States Air Forces Central (USAFCENT).

Engaged in combat operations by dropping paratroops into Normandy on D-Day (6 June 1944) and releasing gliders with reinforcements on the following day. The unit received a Distinguished Unit Citation and a French citation for these missions.

A military operation is the coordinated military actions of a state, or a non-state actor, in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state or actor's favor. Operations may be of a combat or non-combat nature and may be referred to by a code name for the purpose of national security. Military operations are often known for their more generally accepted common usage names than their actual operational objectives.

Normandy Administrative region of France

Normandy is one of the 18 regions of France, roughly referring to the historical Duchy of Normandy.

Military glider glider for military use in combat operations

Military gliders have been used by the military of various countries for carrying troops and heavy equipment to a combat zone, mainly during the Second World War. These engineless aircraft were towed into the air and most of the way to their target by military transport planes, e.g., C-47 Skytrain or Dakota, or bombers relegated to secondary activities, e.g., Short Stirling. Most military gliders do not soar, although there were attempts to build military sailplanes as well, such as the DFS 228.

After the Normandy invasion the squadron ferried supplies in the United Kingdom. The squadron also hauled food, clothing, medicine, gasoline, ordnance equipment, and other supplies to the front lines and evacuated patients to rear zone hospitals. It dropped paratroops near Nijmegen and towed gliders carrying reinforcements during the airborne attack on the Netherlands. In December, it participated in the Battle of the Bulge by releasing gliders with supplies for the 101st Airborne Division near Bastogne.

Nijmegen City and municipality in Gelderland, Netherlands

Nijmegen is a city in the Dutch province of Gelderland, on the Waal river close to the German border.

Operation Market Garden Allied military operation during WW2

Operation Market Garden was an unsuccessful World War II military operation fought in the Netherlands from 17 to 25 September 1944, planned and predominantly led by the British Army. Its objective was a series of nine bridges that could have provided an Allied invasion route into Germany. Airborne and land forces succeeded in the liberation of the Dutch cities of Eindhoven and Nijmegen, but at the Battle of Arnhem were defeated in their attempt to secure the last bridge, over the Rhine.

Battle of the Bulge German offensive through the Ardennes forest on the Western Front towards the end of World War II

The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Counteroffensive, took place from 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945, and was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. It was launched through the densely forested Ardennes region of Wallonia in eastern Belgium, northeast France, and Luxembourg, towards the end of the war in Europe. The offensive was intended to stop Allied use of the Belgian port of Antwerp and to split the Allied lines, allowing the Germans to encircle and destroy four Allied armies and force the Western Allies to negotiate a peace treaty in the Axis powers' favor.

Moved to France in early 1945, and participated in the Western Allied invasion of Germany, participating in the air assault across the Rhine River in March 1945, each aircraft towed two gliders with troops of the 17th Airborne Division and released them near Wesel.

17th Airborne Division (United States) airborne unit in the United States Army during World War II

The 17th Airborne Division was an airborne infantry division of the United States Army during World War II, commanded by Major General William M. Miley.

Wesel Place in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Wesel is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel district.

Returned to the United States in August 1945, becoming a domestic troop carrier squadron for Continental Air Forces, inactivated July 1946.

It transported personnel, equipment, and supplies and airdropped airborne troops and equipment from, 1957–1967. The squadron conducted long range movement of troops, cargo, and equipment from 1965 to 1969 and trained for space capsule recovery from, 1961–1969. It augmented the active duty 375th Airlift Wing in operating the aeromedical airlift system from, 1969–2005. Since 2005 the 73d has conducted executive airlift with the 54th Airlift Squadron, an Active-Associate Squadron under TFA (Total Force Association).

Operations and Decorations

Lineage

Activated on 9 February 1943
Inactivated on 31 July 1946
Re-designated 73d Troop Carrier Squadron, Medium on 1 July 1949
Ordered to Active Service on 1 May 1951
Inactivated on 1 February 1953
Inactivated on 24 March 1954
Ordered to Active Service on 28 October 1962
Relieved from Active Duty on 28 November 1962
Redesignated 73d Aeromedical Airlift Squadron (Associate) on 25 July 1969
Redesignated 73d Airlift Squadron on 1 October 1994 [1]

Assignments

Stations

Aircraft

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References

Notes

Explanatory notes
  1. ↑ Originally approved for the 73d Troop Carrier Squadron 30 September 1958. Reinstated in place of 1996 emblem. Robertson, Factsheet 73 Airlift Squadron
Citations
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Robertson, Patsy (February 20, 2015). "Factsheet 73 Airlift Squadron (AFRC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Archived from the original on September 27, 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2017.

Bibliography

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates  public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/ .

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