1.
Douglas C-124 Globemaster II
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The Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, nicknamed Old Shaky, was a heavy-lift cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California. The C-124 was the primary transport for United States Air Force Military Air Transport Service during the 1950s and early 1960s. It served in MATS-gained, later Military Airlift Command -gained, units of the Air Force Reserve, Douglas Aircraft developed the C-124 from 1947 to 1949, from a prototype they created from a World War II–design Douglas C-74 Globemaster, and based on lessons learned during the Berlin Airlift. The aircraft was powered by four large Pratt & Whitney R-4360 piston engines producing 3,800 hp each, the C-124s design featured two large clamshell doors and a hydraulically actuated ramp in the nose as well as a cargo elevator under the aft fuselage. The C-124 was capable of carrying 68,500 lb of cargo, and it was the only aircraft of its time capable of transporting heavy equipment such as tanks and bulldozers without disassembly. The C-124 first flew on 27 November 1949, with the C-124A being delivered from May 1950, the C-124C was next, featuring more powerful engines, and an APS-42 weather radar fitted in a thimble-like structure on the nose. Wingtip-mounted combustion heaters were added to heat the cabin, and enable wing, the C-124As were later equipped with these improvements. One C-124C, 52-1069, c/n 43978, was used as a JC-124C, for testing the 15,000 shp Pratt & Whitney XT57 turboprop, first deliveries of the 448 production aircraft began in May 1950 and continued until 1955. The C-124 was operational during the Korean War, and was used to assist supply operations for Operation Deep Freeze in Antarctica. They performed heavy lift cargo operations for the US military worldwide, including flights to Southeast Asia, Africa, from 1959 to 1961 they transported Thor missiles across the Atlantic to England. The C-124 was also used extensively during the Vietnam War transporting materiel from the U. S. to Vietnam, until the C-5A became operational, the C-124, and its sister C-133 Cargomaster were the only aircraft available that could transport very large loads. The United States Air Forces Strategic Air Command was the operator of the C-124 Globemaster. Four squadrons operated the type, consisting of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and their primary duty was to transport nuclear weapons between air bases and to provide airlift of SAC personnel and equipment during exercises and overseas deployments. The Military Air Transport Service was the operator until January 1966. The first ANG unit to receive the C-124C, the 165th Tactical Airlift Group of the Georgia Air National Guard, was the last Air Force unit to retire their aircraft in September 1974. YC-124 Prototype rebuilt from a C-74 with a new fuselage and powered by four 3,500 hp R-4360-39 engines, YC-124A Prototype YC-124 re-engined with four 3,800 hp R-4360-35A engines. C-124A Douglas Model 1129A, production version with four 3,500 hp R-4360-20WA engines,204 built, most retrofitted later with nose-radar and combustion heaters in wingtip fairings. C-124C Douglas Model 1317, same as C-124A but with four 3,800 hp R-4360-63A engines, nose radar, wingtip combustion heaters and they began jettisoning the crates and announced they were ditching
2.
United States Air Force
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The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a branch of the military on 18 September 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947. It is the most recent branch of the U. S. military to be formed, the U. S. Air Force is a military service organized within the Department of the Air Force, one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense. The Air Force is headed by the civilian Secretary of the Air Force, who reports to the Secretary of Defense, the U. S. Air Force provides air support for surface forces and aids in the recovery of troops in the field. As of 2015, the service more than 5,137 military aircraft,406 ICBMs and 63 military satellites. It has a $161 billion budget with 313,242 active duty personnel,141,197 civilian employees,69,200 Air Force Reserve personnel, and 105,500 Air National Guard personnel. According to the National Security Act of 1947, which created the USAF and it shall be organized, trained, and equipped primarily for prompt and sustained offensive and defensive air operations. The stated mission of the USAF today is to fly, fight, and win in air, space and we will provide compelling air, space, and cyber capabilities for use by the combatant commanders. We will excel as stewards of all Air Force resources in service to the American people, while providing precise and reliable Global Vigilance, Reach and it should be emphasized that the core functions, by themselves, are not doctrinal constructs. The purpose of Nuclear Deterrence Operations is to operate, maintain, in the event deterrence fails, the US should be able to appropriately respond with nuclear options. Dissuading others from acquiring or proliferating WMD, and the means to deliver them, moreover, different deterrence strategies are required to deter various adversaries, whether they are a nation state, or non-state/transnational actor. Nuclear strike is the ability of forces to rapidly and accurately strike targets which the enemy holds dear in a devastating manner. Should deterrence fail, the President may authorize a precise, tailored response to terminate the conflict at the lowest possible level, post-conflict, regeneration of a credible nuclear deterrent capability will deter further aggression. Finally, the Air Force regularly exercises and evaluates all aspects of operations to ensure high levels of performance. Nuclear surety ensures the safety, security and effectiveness of nuclear operations, the Air Force, in conjunction with other entities within the Departments of Defense or Energy, achieves a high standard of protection through a stringent nuclear surety program. The Air Force continues to pursue safe, secure and effective nuclear weapons consistent with operational requirements, adversaries, allies, and the American people must be highly confident of the Air Forces ability to secure nuclear weapons from accidents, theft, loss, and accidental or unauthorized use. This day-to-day commitment to precise and reliable nuclear operations is the cornerstone of the credibility of the NDO mission, positive nuclear command, control, communications, effective nuclear weapons security, and robust combat support are essential to the overall NDO function. OCA is the method of countering air and missile threats, since it attempts to defeat the enemy closer to its source
3.
Airlift
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An airlift is the organized delivery of military supplies or military personnel primarily via military transport aircraft. Airlifting consists of two types, strategic and tactical airlifting. Typically, strategic airlifting involves moving material long distances, whereas a tactical airlift focuses on deploying resources, depending on the situation, airlifted supplies can be delivered by a variety of means. When the destination and surrounding airspace is considered secure, the aircraft land at an appropriate airport or airbase to have its cargo unloaded on the ground. However, when the area is too small for this method, as with a base, and/or is too dangerous to land in. Serbian Air Force, made first transport of wounded soldiers from Serbia through Albania to Corfu and that was the first Medevac operation in air history. April 1923 aircraft of the RAFs Iraq Command flew 280 Sikh troops from Kingarban to Kirkuk in the first British air trooping operation, the worlds first long-range combat airlift took place in July 1936. Luftwaffe Ju 52 and Italian Air Force Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 were used by the Spanish Nationalists to transport troops from Spanish Morocco to Spain at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. Airlifts became practical during World War II as aircraft became large and this joint effort is estimated to have saved more than a million lives in Biafra. Most airplanes departed from the Portuguese colony of Sao Tome and Principe to the landing strip of Uli, the only operational airport in Biafra. Flights were made flying at night all lights off and under near-total radio silence to avoid Nigerian MIG aircraft. All the airplanes, crews and logistics were paid, set up, JCA and their crews and aircraft kept flying into Biafra at the cost of many crews lives. Strategic airlift is the use of transport aircraft to transport materiel, weaponry. Typically, this involves airlifting the required items between two airbases which are not in the same vicinity and this allows commanders to bring items into a combat theater from a point on the other side of the planet, if necessary. Aircraft which perform this role are considered strategic airlifters and this contrasts with tactical airlifters, such as the C-130 Hercules and Transall C-160, which can normally only move supplies within a given theater of operations. This difficulty has prompted investment in lighter armoured fighting vehicles, as well as some research into alternative airlift technologies such as ground effect vehicles. Civilian aircraft are commonly used for transportation. For some civilian airlines, such as Miami Air International and Volga-Dnepr Airlines, tactical airlift is a military term for the airborne transportation of supplies and equipment within a theatre of operations
4.
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
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The Air Force Outstanding Unit Award is one of the unit awards of the United States Air Force. It was established in 1954 and was the first independent Air Force decoration created, the Air Force Longevity Service Award would follow in 1957 with most of the standard Air Force awards established in the early to mid 1960s. The Outstanding Unit Award is awarded to any unit of the U. S, multiple awards of the Outstanding Unit Award are denoted by oak leaf clusters on the ribbon. Until 2004, the Outstanding Unit Award was the senior most unit award in the U. S. Air Force and it is awarded to personnel who were assigned or attached to the unit receiving the award during the period it was awarded for. Non-USAF personnel personnel assigned to USAF units awarded the Outstanding Unit Award are also eligible to wear the ribbon on their uniforms, however, the ribbon does not come in the larger size of unit awards common to the U. S. Army
5.
Eastern Transport Air Force
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The 21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force was one of two EMTFs assigned to the Air Force’s Air Mobility Command. It was headquartered at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, the 21 EMTF was a redesignation of Twenty-First Air Force, effective 1 October 2003. The 21st EMTF reported to Headquarters, Eighteenth Air Force at Scott Air Force Base and it was inactivated on 19 March 2012. The 21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force provided a rapid, tailored, worldwide, reporting through Eighteenth Air Force, the EMTF extended existing AMC infrastructure, through both en route employment and rapid forward deployment capabilities. Its mission was to command and assess the readiness of assigned air mobility forces over the Atlantic half of the globe in support of Global Reach. These forces were at more than 55 locations in eight countries,21 EMTFs major units included six active duty wings, two operational flying groups, and two mobility operations/support groups. Additionally, the 21 EMTF was liaison to 40 Air Reserve Component Wings,21 EMTFs strategic airlift force included the C-5 Galaxy, C-17 Globemaster III and the C-130 Hercules, aircraft, used to move cargo and passengers worldwide. The tanker force included KC-10 Extenders and KC-135 Stratotankers used for inflight refueling to provide increased global mobility, created as a wing of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, it gradually evolved into the 21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force. Initially, it ferried aircraft, but by 1942, its mission had changed to airlifting personnel, 21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force units provided airlift in support of national policy under the most difficult circumstances. When MATS became Military Airlift Command, EASTAF was redesignated Twenty-First Air Force, in addition to Dover AFB, other major 21st AF bases were Charleston AFB, South Carolina and McGuire AFB, NJ. Operating as Twenty-First Air Force, in Operation Just Cause, Twenty-first Air Force units conducted the largest night airdrop since World War II, Twenty-first Air Force controlled the largest airlift in history during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, ensuring the success of our response to Iraqi aggression. Twenty-First Air Force was involved in operations in Bosnia and Southwest Asia, the command also supported peaceful, humanitarian missions. Twenty-first Air Force units flew relief missions after Hurricane Hugo and Andrew, earthquakes in Armenia and San Francisco, the command could operate in remote, often austere locations throughout Europe, Africa, and South America. This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http, //www. afhra. af. mil/
6.
Military Air Transport Service
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The Military Air Transport Service is an inactive Department of Defense Unified Command. Activated on 1 June 1948, MATS was a consolidation of the United States Navy Naval Air Transport Service and it was inactivated and discontinued on 8 January 1966 when the Air Force and Navy set up separate strategic airlift commands. In 1982, the World War II Air Transport Command and the Military Air Transport Service were consolidated with Military Airlift Command, the Military Air Transport Service was activated under United States Air Force Major General Laurence S. Kuter, in order to harness interservice efforts more efficiently. It was an amalgamation of Navy and Army air transport commands, MATS was the first Joint-Service command and Naval aircrews participated in every major MATS airlift operation. During the Berlin Airlift, Naval aviators flew transport aircraft from the United States to European supply depots, in the Korean War, in its original organization, a Rear Admiral commanded the MATS Pacific Division and another rear admiral served as MATS vice-commander. During the 1958 reorganization, senior Naval officers were on the staffs of the commanders of both EASTAF and WESTAF, and at MATS Headquarters. In 1965 conflicting views of the Air Force and Navy triggered by the demands of the Vietnam War led to the returning to separate airlift commands. In turn, MATS was disbanded and superseded in the Air Force by the Military Airlift Command, with the end of World War II, the United States Army Air Forces Air Transport Command found itself in limbo. Senior ATC officers, on the hand, thought that ATC should be developed into a national government operated airline. While the war had firmly established the necessity of a troop carrier mission, when the United States Air Force was established as a separate service in 1947, the Air Transport Command was not established as one of its major commands. The ATC commander and his staff took it upon themselves to convince the new leadership of the newly created Department of Defense that ATC had a mission. Williams had been pressing for the development of a troop carrier airplane when he made his statement. Also, as a measure, MATS would combine the resources of Air Transport Command with those of the Naval Air Transport Service. This way the command would be sanctioned by the Department of Defense, although MATS was under the operational control of the United States Air Force, the United States Navy was a full partner in the command and operational components of the organization. Major naval components of MATS were naval air transport squadrons, vR-3 and VR-6 were assigned to McGuire AFB and VR-22 was assigned to the Naval Air Transport Station at Naval Station Norfolk/Chambers Field, Virginia. Together they constituted MATS EASTAFs Naval Air Transport Wing, Atlantic, on the Pacific Coast, Naval Air Transport Wing, Pacific, consisted of Air Transport Squadron VR-7 and Maintenance Squadron VR-8, both at Naval Air Station Moffett Field, California. A detachment of VR-7 was also stationed at Tachikawa Air Base, Naval aviators flew scheduled MATS routes to Newfoundland, Iceland, Scotland, West Germany, Italy, Puerto Rico and Africa. In the Pacific, MATS naval aviators flew to all MATS stations from Hawaii to Japan to South Vietnam, Bangkok, India, Air Force pilots flew Navy MATS planes, just as naval aviators could be found piloting Air Force MATS transport aircraft
7.
Charleston Air Force Base
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Charleston Air Force Base is a United States military facility located in the City of North Charleston, South Carolina. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Forces 628th Air Base Wing and it is part of Joint Base Charleston, which combined Charleston Air Force Base with Naval Support Activity Charleston. The 437th Airlift Wing of the Air Mobility Command and the 315th Airlift Wing of the Air Force Reserve Command operate the C-17A Globemaster III from the base. The installation has also in the past maintained an alert site for rotational Air Combat Command, Charleston Air Force Base is home to the 628th Air Base Wing, the host wing for installation support. Additionally, they also provide expeditionary Airmen to combatant commanders in support of joint, the air base has four operational groups consisting of 21 squadrons and two wing staff directorates. It is augmented by a parallel, collocated Air Force Reserve Command associate wing, the 315th Airlift Wing, which shares the same C-17 aircraft with the 437 AW. In addition, the USAF Auxiliary / Civil Air Patrols Coastal Charleston Composite Squadron is also assigned to Charleston Field, utilizing the Charleston AFB Aero Club facility near the control tower. The history of Charleston Air Force Base began in 1919 when U. S. Army Colonel Herbert A. Dargue, then Chief of the Air Service, visited the area looking for a suitable landing field for aeroplanes. But it was Charles Lindberghs nonstop solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in 1927 that heightened city officials interest to air operations in Charleston. In 1928, the City of Charleston rented land and began operating a simple airfield about twelve miles north of city limits, foreseeing a commercial future in air travel, the city formed the Charleston Aircraft Corporation to acquire the land for a municipal airport. In May 1931, the corporation purchased 432 acres for $25,000 from the South Carolina Mining and Manufacturing Company, later in the year, the city acquired the airport facility for $60,000 and immediately began improvements. During the 1930s, airport operations expanded to keep pace with advances in general and commercial aviation being experienced throughout the country, despite the Great Depression, the Federal Government stepped in to assist the city with modernizing the airport. In 1935, the Works Progress Administration literally poured $313,000 into the airport, workers paved one 3, 500-foot-long runway and constructed a second 3, 000-foot one. The project also improved upon the existing lighting system with up-to-date field lighting, given the continuing growth in passenger aviation, Pan American Airways selected Charleston Airport as its western terminus for trans-Atlantic flights. Although this plan never came to fruition, it contributed to a increase in traffic for the airport. As a result, the city purchased 300 more acres of surrounding the airport for $300,000 in 1937 to accommodate additional service buildings. In 1939, with world tensions heightening, the United States Army Air Corps began a buildup of troops, bases. As a result, Charleston acquired more land in 1940 for additional improvements that included construction of a hangar
8.
437th Airlift Wing
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The 437th Airlift Wing is an active unit of the United States Air Force, assigned to 18th Air Force, Air Mobility Command. It is the wing at Charleston Air Force Base, Joint Base Charleston, in the City of North Charleston. The 437 AW is responsible for flying and maintaining the C-17 Globemaster III jet cargo aircraft, on 15 August 1950, the main contingent of the 437th Troop Carrier Wing was called up for active service in the Korean War. Moved to Shaw AFB, South Carolina, At that time 1,441 men were assigned to the 437th Troop Carrier Wing, on 15 October, the day before the 437th left Shaw, it got up to its full wartime strength of 1,569. Most of the men came from the Regular Air Force, including 60 from Sewart AFB, Tennessee. The Wing had a total of forty-eight C-46s, obtained from various units, augmented by a few maintenance personnel, the command and operations elements of the wing deployed their C-46s to Japan. They arrived at Brady AB, Kyushu, Japan, at sundown on 8 November, just as the body of the wing. The maintenance force quickly removed the fuel tanks which had been installed for the overwater flight. The 437th Troop Carrier Wing conducted operations for Combat Cargo Command, during the last 52 days of 1950, the wing flew almost 3,500 hours, conducting more than 1,500 effective combat sorties carrying passengers, cargo, or patients. When the 437th arrived in the theater, United Nations forces were driving north, as the Chinese Communist forces struck south, however, the 437th helped evacuate these bases. Soon 437th aircrews were helping move everything out of the airstrips near Pyongyang, in December 1950, the 437th acquired the responsibility for conducting Combat Cargo Conmand’s scheduled courier operation, connecting all the major Japanese and Korean air bases and strips. As the U. N. forces pressed their attack in the months of 1951. On 24 February the 437th conducted the first of many missions to resupply frontline U. S, the wing participated in its first combat personnel airborne drop on March 23,1951, at Munsan-ni. The unit and the C-119 Flying Boxcar-equipped 314th Troop Carrier Wing conducted an intensive training preparing to drop the 187th Regimental Combat Team at Chunchon. Then on 21 March, forty-eight hours before it was to go, the 187th was now to be dropped at Munsan-ni instead of Chunchon, and that, on the morning of the 23d, not the 21st. In addition to 55 C-46s, the 437th provided several members who had recently transitioned into C-119s to augment the 314ths crews. The wing’s planes dropped 1,446 troops and 15 1/2 tons of ammunition, food, enemy interference was meager, and the wing suffered no injuries to personnel nor damage to aircraft. On 25 January 1951, Far East Air Forces discontinued Combat Cargo Command, like its predecessor, the 315th was directly subordinated to Far East Air Forces
9.
Military Airlift Command
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The Military Airlift Command is an inactive United States Air Force major command that was headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. In 1982, the heritage of the World War II Air Transport Command, mACs emblem reflected its predecessors history by incorporating the emblem of MATS into its shield. Under the USAF lineage system, they did not possess a permanent lineage or history and were discontinued upon inactivation, AFCON units were activated under MAC, to which USAF personnel and equipment formerly assigned to MATS MAJCOM units were reassigned effective 8 January 1966. No formal lineage or history between former MATS MAJCOM units and MAC AFCON units was ever made, with the establishment of MAC by the USAF, plans were also made to discontinue the role of the United States Navy within the new command. At first, MAC transports to Vietnam landed regularly only at Tan Son Nhut AB, New air bases opened at Da Nang AB and Cam Ranh AB in January 1966, and later at Pleiku, Bien Hoa and Phu Cat Air Bases, reducing the need for redistribution. Major unit movements by MAC aircraft from the United States usually required further airlifts to operating areas by in-country transports, eventually, however, C-5s could unload at Tan Son Nhut and elsewhere. Primarily, MAC transports carried high-value cargo such as aircraft and equipment parts, while MAC civilian-contract flights transported passengers to and from the combat zone. In the winter of 1965-66, MAC conducted Operation Blue Light, generally, patients requiring hospitalization for thirty days or more were moved to offshore hospitals, others were sometimes evacuated to keep an empty-bed reserve of fifty percent in Vietnam. Military Airlift Command transports carried the more serious cases from Clark AB to the United States, on 30 March 1972, North Vietnam launched an all-out invasion of South Vietnam, which came to be known as the Easter Offensive. The Vietnamization policy of the United States had resulted in the vast majority of US ground combat forces been withdrawn from South Vietnam with PACAFs tactical air units also being reduced. Military Airlift Commands C-141 force, accustomed to operating in and out of Vietnam from offshore were utilized for movement of large amounts of men and materiel to oppose the invasion. Beginning on 21 April, MAC C-141s began shuttling passengers and cargo between Tan Son Nhut AB and the other main bases, principally Da Nang AB, Bien Hoa AB. Planes and crews were based for one or more nights at Tan Son Nhut and this C-141 effort permitted the VNAF and PACAF C-130s to concentrate on drops, unit hauls, and deliveries to forward locations. The rapid American response to the invasion allowed the South Vietnamese forces to defeat the invaders for the moment, by the terms of the 1973 Paris Peace Accords, the cease-fire was to become effective in Vietnam the morning of 28 January 1973, Saigon time. American prisoners in North Vietnam were to be released and the last 23,700 American troops withdrawn from Vietnam within sixty days, planning for Operation Homecoming, the return of the Americans held by North Vietnam, was given to the Military Airlift Command. C-141s of the 63d Military Airlift Wing, stationed at Norton AFB, a second C-130 left Tan Son Nhut AB carrying members of the international commission to Hanoi oversee the repatriations. This C-130 arrived at Gia Lam Airport about one hour before the C-130 from CCK arrived, on the ground at Gia Lam the C-130 crew met the airport manager, and went indoors for tea offered by the North Vietnamese. The first of three C-141s flown in from Clark landed soon after and repatriation began, as the first returnee moved from the release desk, one of the C-130 flight engineers quickly moved to clear the way, leading the former prisoner by the arm
10.
Wing (military aviation unit)
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In military aviation, a wing is a unit of command. In most military services, a wing is a relatively large formation of planes. In Commonwealth countries a wing usually comprises three squadrons, with several wings forming a group, each squadron will contain around 20 planes. On its establishment in 1912, the British Royal Flying Corps was intended to be an inter-service, combined force of the British Army and Royal Navy. Given the rivalry existed between the army and navy, new terminology was used, in order to avoid marking the corps out as having an army or navy ethos. While the term wing had been used in the cavalry, its general use predominated. Accordingly, the wing, with its allusion of flight, was chosen as the term of subdivision and the corps was split into a Military Wing. Each wing consisted of a number of squadrons, by 1914, the naval wing had become the Royal Naval Air Service, and gained its independence from the Royal Flying Corps. The Royal Flying Corps was amalgamated with the Royal Naval Air Service in 1918, the RFC usage of wing was maintained in the new service. In most Commonwealth air forces, as well as some others, in these air forces a wing is inferior to a group. Originally all wings were commanded by a wing commander. From World War II onwards, operational flying wings have usually been commanded by group captains, a wing may also be used for non-flying units, such as the infantry forces of the RAF Regiment. Additionally, RAF stations are divided into wings. In 2006, expeditionary air wings were established at the RAFs main operating bases and these expeditionary air wings consist of the deployable elements of the main operating base and other supplementary forces. Expeditionary air wings may be subordinated to an air group. In the British Air Training Corps, a wing consists of a number of squadrons within a geographical area. In this context, a wing is inferior to a region which is made up of six wings, in all, there are 36 Air Training Corps wings in six regions within the United Kingdom, each of which is commanded by a RAFVR wing commander. The size of a wing follows US usage, it varies greatly, in the 1990s, the Canadian Forces Air Command altered the structure of those bases under its control, declaring them to be Wings under the overall control of 1 Canadian Air Division in Winnipeg
United States Air Force
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.