63d Troop Carrier Group
Encyclopedia
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
unit. Its last was assigned to the 63d Troop Carrier Wing, Eastern Transport Air Force (MATS), stationed at Hunter Air Force Base, Georgia. It was inactivated on 18 January 1963.
History
- For additional history and lineage, see 63d Airlift Wing63d Airlift WingThe 63d Airlift Wing is an inactive unit of the United States Air Force. Its last assignment was with Air Mobility Command, being stationed at Norton Air Force Base, California. It was inactivated on April 1, 1994.-Origins:...
Activated in 1940 as a training organization for transport crews. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
continued training mission for troop carrier aircraft, being associated with I Troop Carrier Command
I Troop Carrier Command
The I Troop Carrier Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the First Air Force, based at Stout Army Air Field, Indiana.Its primary mission was theater troop and logistics transport training...
. Inactivated in April 1944.
On 10 May 1949 the group was reconstituted as a Air Force Reserve group as part of Tactical Air Command
Tactical Air Command
Tactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 being headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia...
It was equipped with C-54 Skymaster
C-54 Skymaster
The Douglas C-54 Skymaster was a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces and British forces in World War II and the Korean War. Besides transport of cargo, it also carried presidents, British heads of government, and military staff...
s and assigned to Floyd Bennett Field
Floyd Bennett Field
Floyd Bennett Field is New York City's first municipal airport. While no longer used as an operational commercial, military or general aviation airfield, the New York Police Department still flies its helicopters from its heliport base there...
, New York. It was activated to Federal Service on 1 May 1951, and its personnel and equipment were sent to Japan to be used in the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
with the 61st Troop Carrier Group
61st Air Base Wing
The 61st Air Base Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force stationed at Los Angeles Air Force Base, El Segundo, California....
. With its personnel and equipment deployed, the group was inactivated on 9 May 1951.
Reactivated in 1953 under Eighteenth Air Force
Eighteenth Air Force
Eighteenth Air Force is a Numbered Air Force component of the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command . It was activated on 1 October 2003 and headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois...
, Tactical Air Command
Tactical Air Command
Tactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 being headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia...
flying C-119 Flying Boxcar
C-119 Flying Boxcar
The Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar was an American military transport aircraft developed from the World War II-era Fairchild C-82 Packet, designed to carry cargo, personnel, litter patients, and mechanized equipment, and to drop cargo and troops by parachute...
s. Transported personnel and supplies, and participated in exercises and maneuvers with Army airborne troops. Upgraded to C-124 Globemaster II
C-124 Globemaster II
The Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, nicknamed "Old Shakey", was a heavy-lift cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California....
heavy strategic transports in 1954 and participated in maneuvers, exercises and the airlift of personnel and cargo to many points throughout the world.
Parent 63d Troop Carrier Wing became part of Military Air Transport Service
Military Air Transport Service
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 the United States Air Force Air Transport Command into a single, joint, unified command...
on 1 July 1957 however retained troop carrier identity and were remained dedicated to support TAC on troop deployments. Under MATS, performed global airlift missions, including occasional humanitarian or mercy missions, using C-124s as its primary aircraft in the 1958 Lebanon crisis; the 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis when group assisted intercontinental transport of a complete operational Air Force squadron being airlifted in a single-package operation; the Congo Crisis of 1962 and to Southeast Asia where C-124s transported Thai and United States Marines to locations near the Mekong River in Thailand to deter communist aggression in 1962.
Inactivated in 1963 when parent wing moved to Hunter AFB and squadrons were assigned directly to the wing under the Tri-Deputate organization.
Lineage
- Constituted as 63d Transport Group on 20 November 1940
- Activated on 1 December 1940
- Redesignated 63d Troop Carrier Group in Jul 1942
- Disbanded on 14 April 1944
- Reconstituted, allotted to the reserve, and redesignated 63d Troop Carrier Group (Medium), on 10 May 1949
- Activated on 27 June 1949
- Activated to Federal Service on 1 May 1951
- Inactivated on 9 May 1951.
- Redesignated 63d Troop Carrier Group (Heavy) on 1 June 1953
- Activated on 20 June 1953
- Inactivated on 18 January 1963
Assignments
- Air Service Command (ASC), 1 December 1940 – April 1942
- 53rd Troop Carrier Wing, April 1942 – July 1943
- Army Air Forces Training CommandArmy Air Forces Training CommandArmy Air Forces Training Command was a command of the United States Army Air Forces. It was redesignated Air Training Command on 1 July 1946 as part of the reorganization of the Army Air Forces after World War II....
, July 1943 – 14 April 1944 - First Air ForceFirst Air ForceThe First Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida....
, 27 June 1949 – 9 May 1951 - 63d Troop Carrier Wing, 20 June 1953 – 18 January 1963
Components
- 3rd Transport (later Troop Carrier) Squadron: 1 December 1940 – 14 April 1944; 27 June 1949 – 9 May 1951; 20 June 1953 – 18 January 1963
- 6th Transport (later Troop Carrier) Squadron6th Airlift SquadronThe 6th Airlift Squadron is part of the 305th Air Mobility Wing at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey. It operates the C-17 Globemaster III supporting the United States Air Force global reach mission world wide...
: 1 December 1940 – 12 November 1942 - 9th Transport (later Troop Carrier) Squadron9th Airlift SquadronThe 9th Airlift Squadron is a unit of the United States Air Force based at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware and flying the C-5 Galaxy.-Mission:...
: 1 December 1940 – 3 February 1944; 27 June 1949 – 9 May 1951; 20 June 1953 – 18 January 1963 - 52nd Troop Carrier Squadron52nd Airlift SquadronThe 52d Airlift Squadron is a Regular Component United States Air Force unit. Its currently assigned to the 19th Airlift Wing at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas, but is based at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado...
: 15 June 1942 – 14 April 1944; 27 June 1949 – 9 May 1951; 20 June 1953 – 18 January 1963 - 60th Troop Carrier Squadron: 26 October 1942 – 14 April 1944; 27 June 1949 – 9 May 1951
Stations
- Wright FieldWright FieldWright Field was an airfield of the United States Army Air Corps and Air Forces near Riverside, Ohio. From 1927 to 1947 it was the research and development center for the Air Corps, and during World War II a flight test center....
, Ohio, 1 December 1940 - Patterson Field, Ohio, 17 February 1941
- Brookley Field, Alabama, 9 September 1941
- Camp Williams, Wisconsin, 3 May 1942
- Dodd Field, Texas, c. 18 September 1942
- Victorville Army Airfield, California, c. 18 November 1942
- Lawson Army AirfieldLawson Army AirfieldLawson Army Airfield is a military airport located at Fort Benning in Chattahoochee County, Georgia, south of the city of Columbus, Georgia. It is Fort Benning's primary Force Projection Platform.- Facilities :Lawson Army Airfield has one runway:...
, Georgia, 7 May 1943 - Grenada Army Airfield, Mississippi, c. 3 June 1943
- Sedalia Army Air Field, Missouri, 19 January – 14 April 1944.
- Floyd Bennett FieldFloyd Bennett FieldFloyd Bennett Field is New York City's first municipal airport. While no longer used as an operational commercial, military or general aviation airfield, the New York Police Department still flies its helicopters from its heliport base there...
, New York, 27 June 1949 – 9 May 1951 - Altus AFB, Oklahoma, 20 June 1953
- Donaldson AFB, South Carolina, 15 October 1953 – 18 January 1963
Aircraft
- Used C-33, C-34, and C-50 aircraft; later equipped with C-47’s and C-53’s for training, 1940–1944
- C-54 SkymasterC-54 SkymasterThe Douglas C-54 Skymaster was a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces and British forces in World War II and the Korean War. Besides transport of cargo, it also carried presidents, British heads of government, and military staff...
, 1949–1951 - C-119 Flying BoxcarC-119 Flying BoxcarThe Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar was an American military transport aircraft developed from the World War II-era Fairchild C-82 Packet, designed to carry cargo, personnel, litter patients, and mechanized equipment, and to drop cargo and troops by parachute...
, 1953–1954 - C-124 Globemaster IIC-124 Globemaster IIThe Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, nicknamed "Old Shakey", was a heavy-lift cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California....
, 1954–1963