1.
Lockheed C-141 Starlifter
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Introduced to replace slower propeller driven cargo planes such as the C-124 Globemaster II and C-133 Cargomaster, the C-141 was designed to requirements set in 1960 and first flew in 1963. Production deliveries of an eventual 285 planes began in 1965,284 for the Air Force, the aircraft remained in service for over 40 years until the USAF withdrew the last C-141s from service in 2006, after replacing the airlifter with the C-17 Globemaster III. In the early 1960s, the United States Air Forces Military Air Transport Service relied on a number of propeller-driven aircraft for strategic airlift. As these aircraft were mostly obsolescent designs and the Air Force needed the benefits of jet power, the C-135 was a useful stop-gap, but only had side-loading doors and most bulky and oversize equipment would not fit, especially that employed by the U. S. Army. In the spring of 1960 the Air Force released Specific Operational Requirement 182, the strategic role demanded that the aircraft be capable of missions with a radius of at least 3,500 nautical miles with a 60,000 pounds load. The tactical role required it to be able to perform low-altitude air drops of supplies, as well as carry, several companies responded to SOR182, including Boeing, Lockheed, and General Dynamics. Lockheed responded to the requirement with a design, the Lockheed Model 300. The Model 300 had a swept high-mounted wing with four 21,000 pounds-force thrust TF33 turbofan engines pod-mounted below the wings, an important aspect was the cabins floor height of only 50 inches above the ground, allowing easy access to the cabin through the rear doors. The two rear doors were designed to allow the aircraft to drop paratroops. The rear cargo doors could be opened in flight for airborne cargo drops, the high-mounted wings gave internal clearance in the cargo compartment of 10 feet wide,9 ft high and 70 ft long. The size enabled the Starlifter to carry, for example, a complete LGM-30 Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile in its container. The aircraft was capable of carrying a maximum of 70,847 pounds over short distances, and up to 92,000 pounds in the version configured to carry the Minuteman, the aircraft could also carry up to 154 troops,123 paratroops or 80 litter patients. One unusual aspect of the aircraft was that it was designed to both military and civil airworthiness standards. The prototype C-141A serial number 61-2775 was manufactured and assembled in record time, the prototype was rolled out of the Lockheed factory at Marietta, Georgia on 22 August 1963 and first flew on 17 December, the 60th anniversary of the Wright brothers first flight. The company and the Air Force then started a testing program. An effort to sell the aircraft on the market resulted in provisional orders from Flying Tiger Line. These were to be a version,37 feet longer than the C-141A. Other changes were incorporated to make it more commercial, including a different yoke
2.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
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.
60th Operations Group
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The 60th Operations Group is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the 60th Air Mobility Wing. It is stationed at Travis Air Force Base, California, established prior to World War II, its predecessor unit, the 60th Transport Group engaged in combat operations, first with the Eighth Air Force and primarily with Twelfth Air Force during the war. It received a Distinguished Unit Citation for its actions in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations,28 March-15 September 1944. While attempting to organize effective fighting forces in Yugoslavia, Greece, and Albania, the Allies tasked the 60th for an immediate, substantial, the group lost 10 aircraft and 34 members of the 60th were either killed or listed as missing. The 60th Operations Group is the component of the Air Mobility Command 60th Air Mobility Wing. The 60 OG is the largest Operations Group in Air Mobility Command and it operates and maintains C-5 Galaxy, C-17 Globemaster III transports and KC-10 Extender air refueling aircraft supporting global engagement of troops, supplies, and equipment. After a brief stay at Westover Field, Massachusetts, the 60th moved to Chelveston, England, the group was redesignated as the 60th Troop Carrier Group on 1 July 1942. The units next moved to Tafaraoui Airfield, Algeria, and was assigned to Twelfth Air Force, during the war in Europe, the 60 TCG also served from bases in Tunisia, Sicily, and Italy before moving to Waller Field, Trinidad, in June 1945. When not engaged in operations, the group transported troops and supplies. In October 1943, for instance, the 60th dropped supplies to men who had escaped from prisoner-of-war camps, received a DUC for supporting partisans in the Balkans, March–September 1944, making unarmed night missions to provisional airfields in Yugoslavia, Albania, and Greece. On return flights evacuated wounded partisans and escaped Allied personnel, in June 1945, the 60 TCG moved to Trinidad and came under the command of the Air Transport Command. The group inactivated on 31 July 1945, after just 15 months on the inactive list, the 60th activated again on 30 September 1946, this time at Munich, Germany. Shortly after moving to Kaufbeuren Air Base, Germany, on 14 May 1948, during the Berlin Airlift, the 60th Troop Carrier Wing, Medium, activated at Kaufbeuren AB on 1 July 1948. At that time the 60 TCG became a unit assigned to the new wing. Through its subordinate operations group—the 60th Troop Carrier Group, Heavy—the 60 TCW managed three flying squadrons, the 10th, 11th, and 12th Troop Carrier Squadrons, the 60th became operational at Wiesbaden on 1 October 1949. On 2 June 1951, the replaced the 61 TCW at Rhein-Main AB. At this time, the group resumed a role and assumed responsibility for controlling all U. S. tactical airlift resources in Europe. The 60 TCG provided logistic services to U. S
5.
Seventh Air Force
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United States Air Forces Korea and USAFK redirect here. The Seventh Air Force is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Pacific Air Forces and it is headquartered at Osan Air Base, South Korea. The commands mission is to plan and direct air component operations in the Republic of Korea and in the Northwest Pacific. It was assigned units engaging enemy forces in the Gilbert Islands, Marshall Islands, Caroline Islands, Mariana Islands, and in the last major battle of the Pacific War, the Battle of Okinawa. Returning to its role in Hawaii after the war,7 AF became the primary USAF command. 7 AF is commanded by Lt. Gen. Thomas W. Bergeson, the Vice Commander is Brig Gen Kyle W. Robinson Command Chief Master Sergeant is Anthony W. Johnson. Since then, both as U. S. Air Forces Korea, under the joint U. S and it develops the total air campaign and reinforcement plans for ROK defense and sustains mission readiness of 117 operational units and 8,300 U. S. Air Force personnel. It operates in conjunction with United States Pacific Command, United Nations Command, U. S. Forces, Korea/Combined Forces Command and United States Forces Korea. Airplanes assigned to the 6th Aero Squadron consisted of three Curtiss N-9 seaplanes which were single-engine biplanes carrying a crew of two and capable of a top speed of 70 miles an hour. The first inter-island flight occurred in February 1919 and by 1920 inter-island flights were used for training purposes. Early in 1920 the 4th Observation Squadron arrived at Ford Island, known by then as Luke Field, also by this time, Luke Field was used jointly by the aerial forces of the Army and Navy. The year 1920 marked an advance in aviation in the Islands. The first night flight over Oahu took place on 30 June 1920, also air power began to take its place in the Hawaiian Departments military maneuvers. The first detachment of twenty men started clearing land south of Schofield Barracks for Wheeler Field in February 1922 and this Field was named for Major Sheldon H. Wheeler, who had assumed command of Luke Field in 1920 and was killed in an air accident in 1921. By June 1923, Wheeler boasted six 112x200 foot hangars, three used for housing shops and three others for planes, plus four hangars used as warehouses, and oil tanks holding 50,000 gallons. Tents and huts housed the men, the First commander of Wheeler Field was Major George E. Stratemeyer, who by 1941 was a brigadier general and Acting Chief of the Army Air Corps. The first known reforesting by plane was accomplished for the Department of Agriculture by a plane from Wheeler in 1926, the first non-stop Hawaiian flight from Oakland, California to Wheeler Field was made in June 1927 by L. J. Maitland and A. F. Hegenberger. The famous Dole flight also took place in 1927, with Art Goebel and Lt. W. V. Davis, USN, during the period from 1917 to 1931, the military air component in Hawaii grew to seven tactical squadrons and two service squadrons
6.
315th Operations Group
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The 315th Operations Group is a United States Air Force Reserve unit assigned to the 315th Airlift Wing. The unit is stationed at Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina, the 315th Group controls all operational McDonnell Douglas C-17 Globemaster III flying squadrons of the 315th Airlift Wing. It was activated in 1992, when Air Force Reserve Command implemented the Objective Wing organization, the unit was first activated during World War II as the 315th Troop Carrier Group, a Douglas C-47 Skytrain transport unit assigned to IX Troop Carrier Command in Western Europe. It was inactivated three years later, when US flying operations at Brady Air Base ended, the group again was activated in 1962, when it replaced the Combat Cargo Group, Provisional 6492d in managing airlift operations during the Vietnam War. After being redesignated the 315th Air Commando Group in 1965, the group was inactivated and replaced by the larger 315th Air Commando Wing in 1966, the 315th Operations Group includes the following units. Its original elements were the 33d, 34th and 35th Transport Squadrons, one month later, the 6th Transport Squadron at Camp Williams, Wisconsin was added to the group. In April, the became part of I Troop Carrier Command and began training with Douglas C-47 Skytrain. In June, the 315th moved to Bowman Field, Kentucky, the move to Bowman was accompanied by a shuffling of assigned units. The 6th Squadron in Wisconsin was reassigned, as was the 35th and their place was taken by the 43d Transport Squadron, which was activated at Bowman and the 54th Transport Squadron, which moved to Bowman a few days after its activation at Hamilton Field. The group and its squadrons became Troop Carrier units in July, the 54th Squadron was moved to reinforce Eleventh Air Force in Alaska, and only the 34th and 43d Squadrons moved with the group to Europe. While flying the North Atlantic ferry route, the air echelon encountered bad winter weather, while there it searched for missing aircraft and dropped supplies to downed crews. The ground echelon arrived in England in November 1942 for service with Eighth Air Force, after the air and ground echelons were united in December, the group began ferrying cargo in the British Isles and training with airborne troops and gliders. Although the group did not participate in the phase of the invasions. In March 1944 the detachment returned to England and rejoined the group, on 7 February 1944, the group moved to RAF Spanhoe. It became part of the 52d Troop Carrier Wing of IX Troop Carrier Command, the group prepared for the invasion of the Continent. In April the group formation flying training and a month later began paratroop-dropping exercises. The group continued training until 26 May, the group earned a Distinguished Unit Citation for its actions. The group also dropped 82d Airborne Division commander Matthew Ridgway and his staff, during the drop, the group did not lose any planes as German anti-aircraft fire was sporadic and ineffectual
7.
374th Airlift Wing
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The 374th Airlift Wing is a unit of the United States Air Force assigned to Fifth Air Force. It is stationed at Yokota Air Base, Japan and it is part of Pacific Air Forces. The 374th Airlift Wing is the only wing in PACAF. It also provides transport for people and equipment throughout the Kantō Plain, the Wing participates in operations involving air, land and airdrop of troops, equipment, supplies, and support or augment special operations forces, when appropriate. It fields a provisional airlift wing or group headquarters to command airlift resources as units in support of contingencies or exercises and it also supports assigned, attached, and associate units on Yokota Air Base and satellite installations according to higher headquarters direction. The 374th Airlift Wing has never been stationed in the United States and it operated Harmon Field, Guam, until March 1949, and provided troop carrier operations in the Pacific and Far East. It moved to Japan in March 1949, and assumed control over Tachikawa Air Base, when the Korean War broke out in June 1950, the 374th was the only air transport group in the Far East. During the war, the components of the unit were, 1st Troop Carrier Group. 21st Troop Carrier Squadron, attached 29 June 1951 –28 March 1952, 47th Troop Carrier Squadron, Provisional, attached 10–26 January 1951. 6142d Air Transport Unit, attached 1 August –1 October 1950, 6143d Air Transport Unit, attached 26 July –1 October 1950. 6144th Air Transport Unit, attached 26 July –1 October 1950, the Wing performed routine transport operations. With assigned and attached components, the wing performed combat airlift, airdrops, for its work between 27 June and 15 September 1950, transporting vital cargo, personnel and evacuating wounded men, the 374th earned its fourth DUC. It also flew courier flights throughout the Pacific area, in April 1953, the 347th transported the first of several groups of repatriated prisoners of war from Korea to Japan, and subsequently transported United Nations prisoners of war from North Korea. Following hostilities, the wing resumed its normal troop carrier and airlift operations in the Far East and Pacific area, including participation in tactical exercises, beginning in January 1954, the 374th airlifted wounded French troops from Indochina to Japan, en route to France. Principal operations from 1955 until 1958 consisted of numerous mobility exercises, routine theater airlift and it trained C-46 pilots of the Japanese Air Self Defense Force, from November 1954 through May 1955. In addition, the wing supported Army Special Forces training, participated in tactical exercises, the wing controlled four troop carrier squadrons, the 21st, 35th, 41st and 817th. The 21st included a flight which supplied aircraft for CIA operations. The Wing also supported special missions, including psy-ops, flare support, HALO and other missions
8.
Hickam Air Force Base
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Hickam Field is a United States Air Force installation, named in honor of aviation pioneer Lieutenant Colonel Horace Meek Hickam. The base merged with the Naval Base Pearl Harbor to become part of the Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, the base neighbors Honolulu International Airport and currently shares runways with the airport for its activities and purposes. Hickam is home to the 15th Wing and 67 partner units including Headquarters of Pacific Air Forces, Hawaii Air National Guard, the Air Mobility Commands 515th Air Mobility Operations Wing provides tactical and strategic airlift within the Pacific region. In addition, Hickam supports 140 tenant and associate units, the 15th Wing is composed of four groups each with specific functions. The 15th Operations Group controls all flying and airfield operations, the 15th Maintenance Group performs aircraft and aircraft ground equipment maintenance. The 15th Medical Group provides medical and dental care and these units are structured according to the Total Force Integration concept, and as such have both an active duty Commander and a Guard Commander. They share missions as well as equipment.78 and it was the largest peacetime military construction project in the United States to that date and continued through 1941. The Quartermaster Corps was assigned the job of constructing a modern airdrome from tangled algaroba brush, planning, design, and supervision of construction were all conducted by Capt. Howard B. Construction was still in progress when the first contingent of 12 men, Hickam Field was completed and officially activated on September 15,1938. In early 1939 construction began on the barracks, a single three-story nine-winged structure to house 3,200 men at a cost of $1,039,000. Personnel began moving into the barracks in January 1940, and by its completion on 30 September 1940, it was fully occupied, Hickam was the principal army airfield in Hawaii and the only one large enough to accommodate the B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. In connection with plans for the Pacific, aircraft were brought to Hawaii throughout 1941 to prepare for potential hostilities. The first mass flight of bombers from Hamilton Field, California arrived at Hickam on 14 May 1941, Hickam suffered extensive damage and aircraft losses, with 189 people killed and 303 wounded. During World War II, the became a major center for training pilots. Hickam is home to the 65th Airlift Squadron which transports theater senior military leaders throughout the world in the C-37B and C-40 Clipper aircraft. In mid-2003, the 15th Air Base Wing was converted to the 15th Airlift Wing as it prepared to beddown and fly the Air Forces newest transport aircraft, the first Hickam-based C-17 arrived in February 2006, with seven more to follow during the year. The C-17s will be flown by the 535th Airlift Squadron, on September 16,1985, the Secretary of the Interior designated Hickam Field a National Historic Landmark, recognizing its key role in the World War II Pacific campaign. A bronze plaque reflecting Hickams national significance in commemorating the history of the United States of America took its place among other memorials surrounding the base flagpole, dominating the area is a large bronze tablet engraved with the names of those who died as a result of the 1941 attack
9.
Daniel K. Inouye International Airport
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Honolulu International Airport is the principal aviation gateway of the City & County of Honolulu on Oahu in the State of Hawaii. It is identified as one of the busiest airports in the United States, with traffic now exceeding 21 million passengers a year and it is located in the Honolulu census-designated place three miles northwest of Honolulus central business district. Main roads leading to the airport are Nimitz Highway and the Queen Liliuokalani Freeway of Interstate H-1, Honolulu International Airport serves as the principal hub of Hawaiian Airlines, the largest Hawaii-based airline. It is host to major United States and international airlines, with flights to North American, Asian. It is also the base for Aloha Air Cargo, which offered both passenger and cargo services under the name Aloha Airlines. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021, HNL opened in March 1927 as John Rodgers Airport, named after World War I naval officer John Rodgers. From 1939 to 1943, the adjacent Keehi Lagoon was dredged for use by seaplanes, the U. S. military grounded all civil aircraft and took over all civil airports after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and Rodgers Field was designated Naval Air Station Honolulu. The Navy built a tower and terminal building, and some commercial traffic was allowed during daylight hours. Rodgers Field was returned to the Territory of Hawaii in 1946, at the time, at 4,019 acres, it was one of the largest airports in the United States, with four paved land runways and three seaplane runways. John Rodgers Airport was renamed Honolulu Airport in 1947, International was added to the name in 1951, being near the center of the Pacific Ocean it was a stop for many transpacific flights. By 1950 it was the third-busiest airport in the United States in terms of aircraft operations, in summer 1959 Qantas began the first jet service to Honolulu on its flights between Australia and California. Aeronautical engineer and airline consultant, Frank Der Yuen, advised in the design of the original building and founded its aerospace museum. The original terminal building on the southeast side of runways 4 was replaced by the John Rodgers Terminal, by the mid-1970s Pan Am offered nonstop service from Honolulu to Japan, Guam, Australia, New Zealand and Fiji, as well as to cities on the West Coast. Continental Airlines used Honolulu as a point for charter service to Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War era. American Airlines also operated flights to Australia and the South Pacific through Honolulu from 1970 to 1975, many foreign carriers used Honolulu as a transpacific stopover point, including Air New Zealand, China Airlines, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Philippine Airlines, Qantas and Singapore Airlines. On March 24,2006 Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle unveiled a $2.3 billion modernization program for Hawaii airports over a 12-year period, the plan involves implementing short-term projects within the first five years to improve passenger service and increase security and operational efficiencies. Current projects include an international arrivals corridor with moving sidewalks built atop the breezeway leading to the Ewa Concourse, the first phase of the project was completed in October 2009, while the remainder of the two phase project was completed in 2010. This renovation project was funded by Hawaiian Airlines and not a part of the modernization program
10.
Bergstrom Air Force Base
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It was activated during World War II as a troop carrier training airfield, and was a front-line Strategic Air Command base during the Cold War. In its later years, it was transferred to the Tactical Air Command, at the time of its closure, it was assigned to the Air Combat Command. The airfield was converted for civilian use, with Austin-Bergstrom International Airport beginning passenger flights in 1999. Del Valle Airfield was activated on 19 September 1942 on 3,000 acres leased from the City of Austin, the lease agreement stipulated that the land would revert to the city if the government abandoned it. He was the first Austinite killed in World War II, the base was again renamed Bergstrom Field on 11 November 1943. With the establishment of the United States Air Force in September 1947, generally, aircrews were formed at other airfields and received their primary training there. Once that was completed, they received advanced training at Bergstrom before moving on to their operational units overseas, the airfield support groups at Bergstrom provided all the support functions necessary for the administration and operation of the airfield. After leaving Bergstrom it transferred to the Mediterranean theater, being assigned to Ninth Air Force, the group transported supplies and evacuated casualties in support of the Allied drive across North Africa. It provided transition training for pilots, using DC-3s and later C-47s, began training replacement crews in March 1944. The unit was disbanded on 14 April 1944 and its mission was to train Nationalist Chinese crews to operate the C-46 Commando transport aircraft. It was inactivated on 7 September 1946, once training was completed, it transferred to McChord Field, Washington in August 1947. At Bergstrom,15 July 1947 –22 October 1948 Flew, C-82 Squadrons, once training was completed, it transferred to the RAF base at Fassberg Germany, arriving on 9 November 1948 to take part in the airlift. With the end of World War II, and the creation of the U. S. Air Force in 1947, with the departure of the 347th TCG in 1948, the runways were extended to accommodate the new generation of jet aircraft. The first SAC unit to use Bergstrom was the 447th Bombardment Group equipped with the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, operational squadrons were, 708th Bombardment Squadron 709th Bombardment Squadron The 447th was a former Eighth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortress unit that was allocated to the Reserves in 1945. It was activated at Bergstrom on 12 August 1947 with two squadrons of B-29s and returned to operational flying training missions. On 26 June 1949, the unit was transferred to Castle AFB, on 16 March 1949, the 27th Fighter Wing was transferred to Bergstom AFB from Kearney AFB, Nebraska under the 8th Air Force. The F-82F/G models operated as night fighters equipped with radar and they were painted black and had flame-dampened exhausts. The 27th SFW transitioned to jet aircraft with Republic Aviation F-84E Thunderjet in 1950, and was redesignated the 27th Fighter-Escort Wing on 1 February
United States
United States Air Force
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
