9th Airlift Squadron
Encyclopedia
The 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.
capability. The "Proud Pelicans" provide worldwide airlift to meet Department of Defense
, Department of State
and Presidential mobility requirements. The unit supports global engagement through direct delivery of time-critical theater deployment assets and ensures combat readiness of Air Mobility Command
(AMC) active duty
C-5 Galaxy
airlift crews. The 9 AS mission capability includes clandestine
delivery, extraction and airdrop
of special operations forces
and equipment.
during World War II.
It has provided worldwide airlift since 1953. The 9th resupplied scientific camps in Antarctica from 1959–1961, and 1965–1968. It also flew missions to Southeast Asia
from 1965–1968, and 1972–1973 and participated in the evacuation of refugees
from Southeast Asia in April 1975. The squadron supported operations in Grenada
, 24 October 1983 – 11 December 1983; Panama
, 19 December 1989 – 14 January 1990; and Southwest Asia
, August 1990–July 1991.
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...
based at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware and flying the C-5 Galaxy.
Mission
The 9th Airlift Squadron (9 AS) provides global reach with unique outsized and oversized airliftAirlift
Airlift is the act of transporting people or cargo from point to point using aircraft.Airlift may also refer to:*Airlift , a suction device for moving sand and silt underwater-See also:...
capability. The "Proud Pelicans" provide worldwide airlift to meet Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
, Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
and Presidential mobility requirements. The unit supports global engagement through direct delivery of time-critical theater deployment assets and ensures combat readiness of Air Mobility Command
Air Mobility Command
Air Mobility Command is a Major Command of the U.S. Air Force. AMC is headquartered at Scott AFB, Illinois, east of St. Louis....
(AMC) active duty
Active duty
Active duty refers to a full-time occupation as part of a military force, as opposed to reserve duty.-Pakistan:The Pakistan Armed Forces are one of the largest active service forces in the world with almost 610,000 full time personnel due to the complex and volatile nature of Pakistan's...
C-5 Galaxy
C-5 Galaxy
The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a large military transport aircraft built by Lockheed. It provides the United States Air Force with a heavy intercontinental-range strategic airlift capability, one that can carry outsize and oversize cargos, including all air-certifiable cargo. The Galaxy has many...
airlift crews. The 9 AS mission capability includes clandestine
Clandestine operation
A clandestine operation is an intelligence or military operation carried out in such a way that the operation goes unnoticed.The United States Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms defines "clandestine operation" as "An operation sponsored or conducted by governmental...
delivery, extraction and airdrop
Airdrop
An airdrop is a type of airlift, developed during World War II to resupply otherwise inaccessible troops, who themselves may have been airborne forces. In some cases, it is used to refer to the airborne assault itself. Early airdrops were conducted by dropping or pushing padded bundles from...
of special operations forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
and equipment.
History
The 9th conducted replacement training through 1943, and subsequently aerial transportation in the Pacific TheaterPacific Ocean theater of World War II
The Pacific Ocean theatre was one of four major naval theatres of war of World War II, which pitted the forces of Japan against those of the United States, the British Commonwealth, the Netherlands and France....
during World War II.
It has provided worldwide airlift since 1953. The 9th resupplied scientific camps in Antarctica from 1959–1961, and 1965–1968. It also flew missions to Southeast Asia
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
from 1965–1968, and 1972–1973 and participated in the evacuation of refugees
Operation Frequent Wind
Operation Frequent Wind was the evacuation by helicopter of American civilians and 'at-risk' Vietnamese from Saigon, South Vietnam, on 29–30 April 1975 during the last days of the Vietnam War...
from Southeast Asia in April 1975. The squadron supported operations in Grenada
Invasion of Grenada
The Invasion of Grenada, codenamed Operation Urgent Fury, was a 1983 United States-led invasion of Grenada, a Caribbean island nation with a population of about 100,000 located north of Venezuela. Triggered by a military coup which had ousted a four-year revolutionary government, the invasion...
, 24 October 1983 – 11 December 1983; Panama
United States invasion of Panama
The United States Invasion of Panama, code-named Operation Just Cause, was the invasion of Panama by the United States in December 1989. It occurred during the administration of U.S. President George H. W...
, 19 December 1989 – 14 January 1990; and Southwest Asia
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
, August 1990–July 1991.
Lineage
- Constituted 9th Transport Squadron on 1 Jan 1938
- Activated on 1 Dec 1940
- Redesignated 9th Troop Carrier Squadron on 4 Jul 1942
- Inactivated on 15 Oct 1946
- Redesignated 9th Troop Carrier Squadron, Medium, on 10 May 1949
- Activated in the Reserve on 27 Jun 1949
- Ordered to active service on 1 May 1951
- Inactivated on 9 May 1951
- Redesignated 9th Troop Carrier Squadron, Heavy, on 19 Mar 1953
- Activated on 20 Jun 1953
- Discontinued, and inactivated, on 18 Jan 1963
- Activated on 13 Nov 1964
- Organized on 1 Jan 1965
- Redesignated 9th Military Airlift Squadron on 8 Jan 1966
- Discontinued, and inactivated, on 8 Sep 1968
- Activated on 1 Apr 1971
- Redesignated 9th Airlift Squadron on 1 Dec 1991
Assignments
- 63d Transport (later, 63d Troop Carrier) Group63d 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:...
, 1 Dec 1940 - Seventh Air ForceSeventh Air ForceThe Seventh Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea....
, 3 Feb 1944 - VI Air Service Area Command, 25 Jul 1945
- Army Air Forces, Middle Pacific, 15 Dec 1945
- Pacific Air Command, 1 Jan 1946
- Far East Air Service Command, 9 Jan 1946
- 54th Troop Carrier Wing, 15 Jan 1946
- 374th Troop Carrier Group, c. Feb 1946
- 54th Troop Carrier Wing, 15 May 1946
- 403d Troop Carrier Group, 31 May-15 Oct 1946
- 63d Troop Carrier Group63d 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:...
, 27 Jun 1949 – 9 May 1951; 20 Jun 1953-18 Jan 1963 - Military Air Transport ServiceMilitary Air Transport ServiceThe 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...
, 13 Nov 1964 - 1607th Air Transport Wing, 1 Jan 1965
- 436th Military Airlift Wing, 8 Jan 1966 – 8 Sep 1968; 1 Apr 1971
- 436th Operations Group436th Operations GroupThe 436th Operations Group is an active United States Air Force unit. It is the flying component of the Eighteenth Air Force 436th Airlift Wing, stationed at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware....
, 1 Dec 1991–Present
Stations
- Patterson Field, Ohio, 1 Dec 1940
- Brookley Field, Alabama, 18 Sep 1941
- Camp Williams, Wisconsin, 24 May 1942
- Dodd Army AirfieldDodd Army AirfieldDodd Army Airfield was an airfield located within the current boundaries of Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. Dodd Field includes the area bounded on the north by Rittiman Road, on the west by Harry Wurzbach Memorial Highway, on the south by Winans Road and on the east by the Fort Sam...
, Texas, c. 18 Sep 1942 - Stuttgart AAFStuttgart Municipal AirportStuttgart Municipal Airport is a public-use airport located in Prairie County, Arkansas, United States. It is seven nautical miles north of the central business district of Stuttgart, which owns the airport and is the county seat of Arkansas County...
, Arkansas, 11 Nov 1942 - Victorville Army Airfield, California, 18 Dec 1942
- Ft Sumner AAFFort SumnerFort Sumner was a military fort in De Baca County in southeastern New Mexico charged with the internment of Navajo and Mescalero Apache populations from 1863-1868 at nearby Bosque Redondo.-History:...
, New Mexico, 4 Mar 1943 - Lawson Field, Georgia, 7 May 1943
- Grenada Army Airfield, Mississippi, c. 3 Jun 1943 – 17 Jan 1944
- Hickam Field, Hawaii, 21 Feb 1944
- Abemama IslandAbemama Atoll AirportAbemama Atoll Airport , often abbreviated Abemama Airport, is the airport serving Abemama, Kiribati. It is located on the north of the atoll, 200 meters northeast of the village of Tabiang....
, 27 Mar 1944 - East FieldEast Field (Saipan)East Field is a former World War II airfield on Saipan in the Mariana Islands.-History:Saipan had been occupied by the Japanese since World War I, and by mid-1944, the Americans had advanced inside the Japanese ring of defense in the Pacific Theater...
, SaipanSaipanSaipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
, Mariana IslandsMariana IslandsThe Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...
, 4 Aug 1944 - Agana Airfield, GuamGuamGuam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, Marianas Islands, Jul-15 Oct 1946 - Floyd Bennett NASFloyd 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 Jun 1949 – 9 May 1951 - Altus AFB, Oklahoma, 20 Jun 1953
- Donaldson AFB, South Carolina, 15 Oct 1953 – 18 Jan 1963
- Dover AFB, Delaware, 1 Jan 1965 – 8 Sep 1968; 1 Apr 1971–Present
Aircraft
- C-33Douglas DC-2The Douglas DC-2 was a 14-seat, twin-engine airliner produced by the American company Douglas Aircraft Corporation starting in 1934. It competed with the Boeing 247...
(1940–1941) - C-34Douglas DC-2The Douglas DC-2 was a 14-seat, twin-engine airliner produced by the American company Douglas Aircraft Corporation starting in 1934. It competed with the Boeing 247...
(1940–1941) - C-39Douglas DC-2The Douglas DC-2 was a 14-seat, twin-engine airliner produced by the American company Douglas Aircraft Corporation starting in 1934. It competed with the Boeing 247...
(1940–1941) - C-50 (1942)
- C-53 SkytrooperC-47 SkytrainThe Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...
(1942–1943) - C-47 SkytrainC-47 SkytrainThe Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...
(1942–1946, 1949–1951)
- C-46 CommandoC-46 CommandoThe Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commando was a transport aircraft originally derived from a commercial high-altitude airliner design. It was instead used as a military transport during World War II by the United States Army Air Forces as well as the U.S. Navy/Marine Corps under the designation R5C...
(1945–1946) - 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...
(1946) - 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....
(1953–1963, 1965-1966) - C-141 StarlifterC-141 StarlifterThe Lockheed C-141 Starlifter was a military strategic airlifter in service with the Air Mobility Command of the United States Air Force...
(1966–1968) - C-5A/B Galaxy (1971 – Present)
- C-5M Super Galaxy (2009 – Present)
Operations
- World War II
- Operation Deep FreezeOperation Deep FreezeOperation Deep Freeze is the codename for a series of United States missions to Antarctica, beginning with "Operation Deep Freeze I" in 1955–56, followed by "Operation Deep Freeze II", "Operation Deep Freeze III", and so on...
- Operation Urgent FuryInvasion of GrenadaThe Invasion of Grenada, codenamed Operation Urgent Fury, was a 1983 United States-led invasion of Grenada, a Caribbean island nation with a population of about 100,000 located north of Venezuela. Triggered by a military coup which had ousted a four-year revolutionary government, the invasion...
- Operation Just CauseUnited States invasion of PanamaThe United States Invasion of Panama, code-named Operation Just Cause, was the invasion of Panama by the United States in December 1989. It occurred during the administration of U.S. President George H. W...
- Operation Desert StormGulf WarThe Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...