774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron

774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron

Army 101st Airborne Division Soldiers make their way to a 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron Lockheed C-130H Hercules 93-7313 cargo plane at Forward Operating Base Salerno, Khost province, Afghanistan, Sept. 23, 2013. The 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron consists of members of the Wyoming Air National Guard 187th Airlift Squadron
Active 1943--present
Country  United States
Branch  United States Air Force
Type Airlift
Engagements

  • World War II - EAME Theater

  • Vietnam War

  • Afghanistan Campaign
Decorations

  • Distinguished Unit Citation (2x)

  • Air Force Outstanding Unit Award (3x)
Insignia
Emblem of the 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron

The 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron is a provisional United States Air Force unit, assigned to the 455th Expeditionary Operations Group, stationed at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan.

During World War II, the 774th Bombardment Squadron was a B-17 Flying Fortress squadron, assigned to the 463d Bombardment Group, Fifteenth Air Force. It earned Two Distinguished Unit Citations.

Mission

The squadron provides airlift to forces engaged in the Global War on Terrorism.

History

Established in mid-1943 as a B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombardment squadron; assigned to Second Air Force for training. Attached in late 1943 and early 1944 to Air University Army Air Force School of Applied Tactics. Deployed to Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) in February 1944, squadron taking the South Atlantic Transport Route though the Caribbean and South America; transiting the Atlantic Ocean via Brazil and Dakar, French West Africa, being assigned to Fifteenth Air Force in March 1944 at several airfields in Southern Italy.

B-17G 42-31684 "Joker" flew with the 774th Bombardment Squadron from 9 May 1944 until it was downed by an enemy fighter over Blechhammer, attacking the chemical plants there on 7 July.

Engaged in long-range strategic bombardment of enemy military, industrial and transport targets, including oil refineries and production oilfields in Italy; France; Southern Germany; Austria and the Balkans. Continued strategic bombardment until German capitulation in May 1945. Demobilized in place in Italy during the summer of 1945; inactivated in September 1945.

Reactivated as a Tactical Air Command Troop Carrier squadron in June 1953, assigned C-119 Flying Boxcars. Engaged in transport of equipment and supplies; including support of Army Airborne parachute units throughout the 1950s and early 1960s. Equipped with new C-130A Hercules in 1956, the squadron also operated a TAC-sponsored flight demonstration team during the late 1950s and early 1960s known as "The Four Horsemen," utilizing four C-130A aircraft.[1]

Deployed to Pacific Air Forces in 1966, being stationed in the Philippines. Engaged in airlift missions between the Philippines and South Vietnam, airlifting supplies and equipment to airfields in the combat areas; evacuating wounded personnel to hospitals at Clark Air Base. Remained in the Western Pacific until 1971 when inactivated as part of the drawdown of United States forces in the region.

Reactivated at Dyess AFB, Texas as a theater airlift squadron in June 1972, initially under Tactical Air Command, later Military Airlift Command and lastly Air Mobility Command. Deployed frequently to Europe or the Pacific, performing intra-theater airlift missions with C-130s. Inactivated in October 1993 as part of the drawdown of the USAF after the end of the Cold War.

Reactivated as a provisional expeditionary airlift squadron in 2001 as a result of the 9/11 attacks and subsequent Global War on Terrorism.

Lineage

Emblem of the 774th Troop Carrier Squadron
Emblem of the World War II 774th Bombardment Squadron
Activated on 1 August 1943
Redesignated 774th Bombardment Squadron, Heavy c. 29 September 1944
Inactivated on 25 September 1945
Activated on 16 January 1953
Redesignated: 774th Troop Carrier Squadron, Assault on 18 December 1961
Redesignated: 774th Troop Carrier Squadron, Medium on 15 May 1965
Redesignated: 774th Troop Carrier Squadron on 1 January 1967
Redesignated: 774th Tactical Airlift Squadron on 1 August 1967
Inactivated on 15 June 1971. Activated on 1 June 1972
Inactivated on 1 October 1993

Assignments

Attached to: 513th Tactical Airlift Wing, 5 September – 15 November 1974
Attached to: 322d Tactical Airlift Wing, 12 October – 15 December 1973
Attached to: 455th Expeditionary Operations Group, Undetermined-Present

Stations

Air echelon operated from Hunter Field, Georgia, 6–10 February 1944
Then staged through bases in South America and North Africa, 15 February – 13 March 1944
Air echelon operated from Amendola Airfield, Italy, 14–27 March 1944, then joined ground echelon at Celone Airfield, Italy, 28 March 1944

Deployed at: RAF Mildenhall, England, 5 September – 15 November 1974
Deployed at: Rhein Main AB, West Germany, 12 October – 15 December 1973
Deployed at: RAF Sculthorpe, England, 4 August – 13 October 1988

Aircraft

See also

References

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

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, April 20, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.