29th Tactical Airlift Squadron

29th Tactical Airlift Squadron

Emblem of the 29th Tactical Airlift Squadron
Active 1942–1971
Country United States
Branch United States Air Force
Type Transport
Engagements World War II
Emblem of the 29th Troop Carrier Squadron (TAC)
World War II squadron emblem

The 29th Tactical Airlift Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 316th Tactical Airlift Wing stationed at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. It was inactivated on 15 November 1971.

History

Activated in early 1942 under Air Transport (Later I Troop Carrier) Command as a C-47 transport squadron; trained in the southeastern United States. Deployed to North Africa as part of the Operation Torch landings; being assigned to Oujda Airfield; French Morocco. Performed troop carrier and transport airlift of supplies to ground forces advancing though Algeria into Tunisia under Twelfth Air Force. Also evacuated wounded personnel to rear areas. Carried airborne paratroopers and performed airborne assault missions over Sicily and Italy as part of the invasion forces.

Reassigned to IX Troop Carrier Command in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) in February 1944 as part of the pre-invasion buildup of forces in England. Performed combat airborne assault missions as part of D-Day; Operation Market-Garden and Operation Varsity 1944–1945. Also performed supply and evacuation missions in France and the Low Countries; participated in the Western Allied invasion of Germany; 1945. Continued combat airlift and supply missions until the German capitulation in May 1945.

Squadron continued to operate from Achiet, France during 1945, performing transportation of personnel and supplies within Europe; demobilized in place during August, and inactivated as a paper unit in September 1945.

Reactivated as part of the United States Air Forces in Europe, 1946. Assigned to transport duties as part of the European Air Transport Service, 1946–1947 as part of the army of occupation. Inactivated in Austria in June 1947. Immediately reactivated as a Tactical Air Command troop carrier squadron in 1947; being assigned to Texas and equipped with C-46s. Deployed to Germany in 1948 to support Berlin Airlift; operated from British Zone of Occupation, with C-54s. Inactivated in West Germany in September 1949.

Reactivated under Eighteenth Air Force in 1953 as a Tactical Air Command C-119 Flying Boxcar troop carrier squadron. Performed routine airlift of supplies and personnel; including Army Airborne parachute drops until being inactivated due to funding restrictions in 1955; Reactivated as a C-130 Hercules Troop Carrier (later Tactical Airlift) squadron under TAC in 1964. Deployed to Pacific Air Forces in 1966 to join the 463rd Troop Carrier Wing to perform theater airlift in Southeast Asia as part of 315th Air Division; provided aircraft and crews for combat airlift operations in South Vietnam. From 1966 to early 1969, the 29th supported the C-130 operating location at Tan Son Nhut outside Saigon. In May 1969, after the 463rd TAW assumed the COMMANDO VAULT bombing mission, the wing and squadron supported Detachment 2, 834th Air Division at Cam Ranh Bay. The squadron inactivated in 1970 during the drawdown of U.S. forces in the Pacific and its aircraft and crews were distributed among the 463rd's other three squadrons. A squadron at Langley AFB, Virginia was given the 29th designation. Performed theater airlift at Langley AFB, Virginia 1971 and inactivated. The 29th's lineage was bestowed on the 29th Weapons Squadron at Little Rock AFB, Arkansas.

Lineage

Activated on 2 March 1942
Redesignated as 29th Troop Carrier Squadron on 4 July 1942
Inactivated on 22 September 1945
Redesignated as 29th Troop Carrier Squadron (Heavy) on 30 July 1948
Redesignated as 29th Troop Carrier Squadron (Special) on 1 February 1949
Inactivated on 18 September 1949
Activated on 1 February 1953
Inactivated on 8 June 1955
Redesignated as 29th Tactical Airlift Squadron on 1 August 1967
Inactivated on 15 November 1971

Assignments

Stations

Aircraft

References

  1. "Factsheet 315 Air Division". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Archived from the original on October 30, 2012. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
  2. 1 2 Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977 (PDF). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. pp. 256–257. ISBN 0-912799-12-9.

Bibliography

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

External links

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