315th Airlift Wing

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 315th Airlift Wing


caption=
dates= 2 February 1942 — present
country=United States
allegiance=
branch=Air Force
type=Airlift
role=
size=
command_structure=Air Force Reserve Command
current_commander=Colonel [http://www.315aw.afrc.af.mil/library/biographies/bio.asp?id=8924 Timothy Wrighton]
garrison=Charleston Air Force Base
ceremonial_chief=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
nickname=
patron=
motto=Advenium – I Will Come
colors=
identification_symbol=
march=
mascot=
battles=


* World War II: European Campaign (1943-1945)
* Korean Service (1952-1953)
* Vietnam Service (1966-1972)
notable_commanders=
anniversaries=
decorations=
battle_honours=

The 315th Airlift Wing (315 AW) is a wing of the United States Air Force based out of Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina.

Mission

Prepare, equip, and train personnel to be a source of augmentation for our active duty counterparts.

History

After training in the U.S. the 315th moved to England in October and November 1942, for service with Eighth Air Force. Encountering bad weather while flying the North Atlantic route, the air echelon remained for about a month in Greenland, where it searched for missing aircraft and dropped supplies to downed crews. After the air and ground echelons were united in England in December, the group began ferrying cargo in the British Isles and training with airborne troops and gliders. In May 1943 a "detachment" comprising almost all the group aircraft, aircrews, and most support personnel, deployed to North Africa to support Twelfth Air Force and other Mediterranean Theater of Operations organizations by transporting supplies during the invasions of Sicily and Italy. In March 1944 the detachment returned to England and rejoined the group, which had been reassigned to Ninth Air Force in October 1943. The 315th prepared for the invasion of the continent and dropped paratroops near Cherbourg early on 6 June 1944, earning a Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for its action in the Normandy invasion. It dropped paratroops of the 82d Airborne Division on 17 September when the Allies launched the air attack on Holland; flew reinforcement missions on succeeding days, landing at Grave on 26 September to unload paratroops and supplies. The group airlifted gasoline and other critical supplies to Antwerp and Liège during the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944-January 1945. It released British paratroops near Wesel during the airborne assault across the Rhine in March. Following each airborne operation, the group resumed transport activities, hauling cargo and evacuating wounded personnel. It moved to France in April where the group continued to transport cargo and evacuate allied former prisoners of war until after V-E Day.

The 315th moved to Trinidad in May 1945 and transported troops returning to the U.S. until inactivation on 31 July 1945. The group was never manned or equipped when activated 1947-1948.

During the Korean War, the wing flew troop and cargo airlift and airdrop, leaflet drops, spray missions, air evacuation, search and rescue, and other aerial missions in theater as part of Far East Air Forces 315th Air Division. It remained in the Far East after the war to fly transport missions and paratroop training flights in Japan, Korea, French Indo-China, and other points until December 1954, after which it was again deactivated. The wing performed tactical airlift operations within South Vietnam from, 1966-1972. In 1971, it trained South Vietnamese C-123 aircrews.

Since 1973, the 315th has been stationed with and used airframes of the 437th Airlift Wing at Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina. It has since trained Air Force Reserve aircrews for strategic airlift, including channel, special assignment, and combat airlift missions. In 1980s and 1990s, personnel participated in contingency and humanitarian airlift operations and exercises worldwide. In 1994, the wing conducted the first C-17 flight with an all-Air Force Reserve crew. It also took part in the first joint U.S. – Russian exercise that year.

Operations

*World War II
*Korean War
*Vietnam War
*Operation Urgent Fury
*Operation Just Cause

Previous designations

*315th Transport Group (1942)
*315th Troop Carrier Group (1942 – 1952)
*315th Troop Carrier Wing (1952 – 1966)
*315th Air Commando Wing (1966 – 1968)
*315th Special Operations Wing (1968 – 1970)
*315th Tactical Airlift Wing (1970 – 1973)
*315th Military Airlift Wing (1973 – 1992)
*315th Airlift Wing (1992 – Present)

Assignments

Major command

*Air Transport Command (1945)
*Tactical Air Command (1947 – 1948)
*Pacific Air Forces (1966 – 1972)
*Air Force Reserve Command (1973 – Present)

Numbered Air Force

*8th Air Force (1942 – 1943)
*9th Air Force (1943 – 1945)
*7th Air Force (1966 – 1972)
*14th Air Force (1976 – 1993)
*22nd Air Force (1993 – Present)

ubordinate organizations

315th Operations Group (315 OG)
*300th Airlift Squadron (300 AS)
*317th Airlift Squadron (317 AS)
*701st Airlift Squadron (701 AS)
*315th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron (315 AES)
*315th Airlift Control Flight (315 ACF)

315th Maintenance Group (315 MXG)
*315th Maintenance Squadron (315 MXS)
*315th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron (315 AMXS)
*315th Maintenance Operations Squadron (315 MOS)

315th Mission Support Group (315 MSG)
*38th Aerial Port Squadron (38 APS)
*53d Aerial Port Squadron (53 APS)
*81st Aerial Port Squadron (81 APS)
*84th Aerial Port Squadron (84 APS)
*315th Civil Engineering Squadron (315 CES)
*315th Mission Support Squadron (315 MSS)
*315th Security Forces Squadron (315 SFS)
*315th Services Flight (315 SVF)
*315th Logistics Readiness Flight (315 LRF)

Bases stationed

*Olmsted Field, Pennsylvania (1942)
*Bowman Field, Kentucky (1942)
*Florence, South Carolina (1942)
*RAF Alderaston, England (1942 – 1943)
*RAF Welford, England (1943 – 1944)
*RAF Spanhoe, England (1944 – 1945)
*Ameins, France (1945)
*Waller Field, Trinidad (1945)
*Langley Air Force Base, Virginia (1947 – 1948)
*Brady Air Base, Japan (1952 – 1955)
*Tan Son Nhut Air Base, South Vietnam (1966 – 1967)
*Phan Rang Air Base, South Vietnam (1967 – 1972)
*Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina (1973 – Present)

Aircraft operated

*C-47 Skytrain (1942 – 1945, 1971 – 1972)
*C-53 (1942, 1944 – 1945)
*C-60 (1942)
*C-46 Commando (1945, 1952 – 1955)
*CV-2 Caribou (1949 – 1952)
*UC-123 (1966 – 1971)
*C-123 Provider (1966 – 1972)
*C-130 Hercules (1966)
*A-37 Dragonfly (1971 – 1972)
*O-2 Skymaster (1971 – 1972)
*C-5 Galaxy (1973)
*C-141 Starlifter (1973 – 2001)
*C-17 Globemaster III (1993 – Present)

Unit shields

See Also

* 315th Air Division
* Ninth Air Force
* Sixth Air Force
* Twelfth Air Force
* United States Air Force In South Korea

References

External links

* [http://www.315aw.afrc.af.mil/ 315 AW Home Page]