63d Airlift Wing

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name=63d Airlift Wing


caption= Emblem of 63d Airlift Wing
dates= 1940-1994
country=United States
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branch=Air Force
type= Heavy Airlift
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* World War II: American Campaign (1941-1944)
* Vietnam Service (1967-1973)
* Southwest Asia Service (1990-1991)
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battle_honours=The 63d Airlift Wing (63d AW) is an inactive unit of the United States Air Force. Its last assignment was with Air Mobility Command, being stationed at Norton Air Force Base, California. It was inactivated on 1 April 1994.

History

Lineage

* Constituted as 63d Transport Group on 20 Nov 1940: Activated on 1 Dec 1940: Redesignated 63d Troop Carrier Group in Jul 1942: Disbanded on 14 Apr 1944
* Established as 63d Troop Carrier Wing, Medium, on 10 May 1949: 63d Troop Carrier Group assigned as subordinate unit to wing 10 May 1949: Allocated to the reserve 10 May 1949: Activated in the Reserve on 27 Jun 1949: Ordered to active service on 1 May 1951: Inactivated on 9 May 1951
* Redesignated 63d Troop Carrier Wing, Heavy, on 18 Dec 1952: Activated on 8 Jan 1953: Redesignated 63d Military Airlift Wing on 8 Jan 1966: Redesignated 63d Airlift Wing on 1 Jan 1992: Inactivated 1 Apr 1994

Assignments

* Air Service Command (ASC), 1 Dec 1940 - Apr 1942
* Air Transport Command (ATC), Apr 1942 - Jul 1943
* USAAF Training Command, Jul 1943 - 14 Apr 1944
* Continental Air Command: First Air Force, 27 Jun 1949-9 May 1951
* Tactical Air Command: Eighteenth Air Force, 8 Jan 1953
* Military Air Transport Service: Continental Division :: (later, Western Transport Air Force), 1 Jul 1957: Eastern Transport Air Force :: (later, Twenty-First Air Force), 1 Oct 1958
* Military Airlift Command: Twenty-Second Air Force, 1 Apr 1967 — 1 Jun 1992
* Air Mobility Command 1 Jun 1992 - 19 Apr 1994

tations

* Wright Field, Ohio, 1 Dec 1940
* Patterson Field, Ohio, 17 Feb 1941
* Brookley Field, Alabama, 9 Sep 1941
* Camp Williams AAF, Wisconson, 3 May 1942
* Dodd Field, San Antonio, Texas, c. 18 Sep 1942
* Victorville AAF, California, c. 18 Nov. 1942
* Lawson AAF, Georgia, 7 May 1943
* Grenada AAF, Mississippi, c. 3 Jun 1943;
* Sedalia AAF, Missouri, 19 Jan-14 Apr 1944.
* Floyd Bennett NAS, New York, 27 Jun 1949-9 May 1951
* Altus Muni Aprt (later, AFB), Oklaholma, 8 Jan 1953
* Donaldson AFB, South Carolina, 15 Oct 1953
* Hunter AFB, Georgia, 1 Apr 1963
* Norton AFB, California, 1 Apr 1967 — 1 Apr 1994

Aircraft Assigned

* C-47/C-53 Skytrain 1940-1944; 1949-1951
* C-54 Skymaster 1949-1951
* C-119 Flying Boxcar 1953-1954
* C-124 Globemaster II 1953-1967
* C-141 Starlifter 1967-1994

Components

Wings
* 64th Troop Carrier: attached 15 Oct 1953 - 1 Mar 1954
* 445th Military Airlift: attached 1 Jul 1973 — 1 Apr 1994

Groups
* 61st Troop Carrier: : Attached 25 Aug 1954-30 Jun 1957: Assigned 1 Jul 1957-8 Oct 1959 (detached 23 Jul — c. 15 Sep 1958)
* 64th Troop Carrier: attached 15 Oct 1953 - 15 Feb 1954
* 465th Troop Carrier: attached 15 Oct - 30 Nov 1953
* 944th Military Airlift: attached 25 Mar 1968 - 1 Jul 1973

Squadrons
* 3d Transport (later Troop Carrier): 1940-1944; 1949-1951 1953-1957
* 6th Transport: 1940-1942
* 7th Air Transport: 1 Jul 1964-8 Jan 1966.
* 9th Transport (later Troop Carrier): 1940-1943; 1949-1951 ; 1953-1957.
* 14th Troop Carrier (later Military Airlift; later Airlift): 18 Jan 1963 — 1994
* 15th Troop Carrier (later Military Airlift; later Airlift): 25 Aug 1954 — 1994 (not operational, c. Feb-14 Aug 1967)
* 21st Helicopter: attached 9 Jul 1956-30 Jun 1957
* 52d Transport (later Troop Carrier): 1942-1944; 1949-1957; 18 Jan 1963 - 8 Jan 1967 (detached)
* 53d Troop Carrier (later Military Airlift; later Airlift): 18 Jan 1963 - 8 Jul 1966; 8 Jan 1972 — 1994
* 54th Troop Carrier: 1 Jul 1957 - 8 Oct 1959; 18 Jan 1963 - 25 Jun 1965.
* 58th Troop Carrier: 8 Jan - 1 Jul 1966.
* 309th Troop Carrier: attached 8 Oct 1954 - 9 Jul 1956.
* 600th Transport (later Troop Carrier): 1942 - 1944; 1949 - 1951.

Operational History

The 63d Transport Group was activated on 1 Dec 1940 at Wright Field, Ohio as part of Air Service Command. Initially training with some Douglas C-33 (DC-2) transports, the group flew C-47 and C-53 twin-engine transports between the United States and airfields in the Caribbean in the year before the United States' entry into World War II, transporting supplies, materiel, and personnel. In Apr 1942, the group was reassigned to Air Transport Command (later I Troop Carrier Command) at Camp Williams AAF, Wisconsin. In 1943, the group was taken out of operational service and became an operational training unit (OTU) for Army Air Force Training Command first at Lawson AAF, Georgia then at Grenada AAF, Mississippi where it preparing cadres for troop carrier groups, later training replacement crews in Jul 1943. The group was disbanded on 14 Apr 1944.

On 10 May 1949 the group was reconstituted as a Air Force Reserve group as part of Tactical Air Command It was equipped with C-54 Skymasters and assigned to Floyd Bennett Field, New York. It was activated to Federal Service on 1 May 1951, and its personnel and equipment were sent to Japan to be used in the Korean War with the 61st Troop Carrier Group. With its personell and equipment deployed, the group was inactivated on 9 May 1951.

After the Korean War, the unit was redesignated as the 63d Troop Carrier Wing, Heavy and activated at Altus AFB, Oklahoma on 20 Jun 1953, being assigned to Tactical Air Command. It trained on C-124 Globemaster IIs and transported personnel and supplies, and participated in exercises and maneuvers with Army airborne troops. On 15 October 1953 the 63d Troop Carrier Wing was transferred to its permanent home base, Donaldson AFB, South Carolina.

At Donaldson, the unit participated in maneuvers, exercises and the airlift of personnel and cargo to many points throughout the world. Large hangars and expansive ramps were constructed to support these large aircraft, and the base was known as the “Troop Carrier Capitol of the World”. In 1955 the wing transported construction equipment from bases in Canada to points north of the Arctic Circle for use in setting up the Distant Early Warning Line network in the Canadian Arctic; for this operation, accomplished in severe weather and without adequate navigational equipment, the group received an Air Force Outstanding Unit Award.

In 1957 a reorganization of troop carrier forces included the transfer of TAC's heavy-lift C-124 wings to the Military Air Transport Service (MATS) where they retained their troop carrier identity and were remained dedicated to support TAC on troop deployments. Under MATS, the 63d performed global airlift missions, including occasional humanitarian or mercy missions, using C-124s as its primary aircraft in the 1958 Lebanon crisis; the 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis; where the 63d assisted in a complete operational Air Force squadron being airlifted in a single-package operation; the Congo Crisis of 1962 and to Southeast Asia where wing C-124s transported Thai and United States Marines to locations near the Mekong River in Thailand to deter communist aggression in 1962.

With the closing of Donaldson, the wing was reassigned to Hunter Air Force Base, Georgia in January 1963, At Huner the wing coordinated with Army infantry and airborne units at Fort Stewart, and flew many thousands of troops to air bases in South Vietnam in the mid-1960s.

When Hunter AFB was closed and turned over to the Army in April 1967, the wing was again transferred to Norton AFB, California and entered the jet age, being equipped with the new C-141 Starlifter. From Norton, the wing's notable operations were airlifts and airdrops to floating ice islands in support of scientific stations in the Arctic Ocean, airlift and airdrop support in the Antarctic in support of the Navy's Operation Deep Freeze and airlifting of a complete army units on rotation to Europe in support of Reforger Exercises.

During the Vietnam War, 63d MAW C-141s were common sights throughout Japan, the Phillipines and Southeast Asia, flying airlift missions to Asia during the Vietnam War. 63d MAW C-141 66-0177 flew Bob Hope to USO shows in South Vietnam and in March 1973, was used in the final days of the Vietnam War to repatriate American POWs from North Vietnam. Arizona Senator John McCain was one of the POWs who flew home on the aircraft, known as the "Hanoi Taxi". The Hanoi Taxi's name comes from the writing on the flight engineer's panel by the POWs aboard the plane for the freedom flight.

In 1975, C-141s from Norton took part in the airlift of Vietnam refugees from their homeland to the United States (Operation New Life). Beginning in 1977, the 63d's C-141s were modified to the C-141B configuration by adding sections before and after the wings. This lengthened the fuselage and allowed the carriage of 103 litters for wounded, 13 standard pallets, 205 troops, 168 paratroopers, or an equivalent increase in other loads. Also added at this time was a boom receptacle for inflight refueling. The conversion program was completed by 1982. It was estimated that this stretching program was the equivalent of buying 90 new aircraft, in terms of increased capacity.

During Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm, C-141s from the 63d MAW flew American Army and Air Force units and equipment into Saudi Arabia, transporting more than 41,400 passengers and 139,600 tons (125,690 metric tons) of cargo. Shortly after the end of hostilities in Iraq, the wing was redesignated as the 63d Airlift Wing.

With the end of the Cold War and the general drawdown of American military forces, Norton AFB was selected for closure due to environmental wastes, inadequate facilities, and air traffic congestion (due to air traffic from Ontario International Airport, twenty miles (32 km) west, and Los Angeles International Airport, 60 miles (97 km) west) .

The 63d Airlift Wing was inactivated on 1 Apr 1994 along with Norton AFB.

References

* Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0892010924.
* Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947-1977. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0912799129.
* Rogers, Brian (2005). United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978. Hinkley, England: Midland Publications. ISBN 1-85780-197-0.

External links