16th Airlift Squadron
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16th Airlift Squadron | |
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Air Force Outstanding Unit Award[1] | |
Insignia | |
16th Airlift Squadron emblem (approved 17 December 1980)[1] | |
16th Troop Carrier Squadron emblem (approved 25 June 1951)[2] |
The 16th Airlift Squadron is an active unit of the United States Air Force, assigned to the 437th Airlift Wing, Air Mobility Command. It is based at Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina. The squadron operates Boeing C-17 Globemaster III aircraft supporting the United States Air Force global reach mission worldwide.
Mission
The 16th Airlift Squadron provide combat-ready
missions supporting Department of Defense and National Command Authority directives. They conduct airdrop and air-land operations supporting global contingencies for combatant commanders by projecting and sustaining combat forces directly into theater drop zones and austere airfields.The unit perform emergency nuclear airlift, aeromedical evacuation & humanitarian relief missions in the technologically advanced, C-17A airlift aircraft in all phases of ground and flight activity.
History
World War II
20 Nov 1940, the unit was constituted as 16 Transport Squadron and activated two weeks later on 11 Dec 1940.
Was transferred to
The squadron moved to Sicily, dropping airborne forces onto the island during
In the fall of 1944, moved to France in support of Operation Anvil, the Allied invasion of Southern France, and supported ground forces moving north through the Rhone Valley to link up with Allied forces moving east from Normandy. Returned to Northern Italy in early 1945, supporting the drive into the Po River Valley and the end of combat in Italy during May 1945. The squadron also hauled food, clothing, medicine, gasoline, ordnance equipment, and other supplies to the front lines and evacuated patients to rear zone hospitals.
In late May 1945, after
Tactical airlift in the Cold War
Reactivated briefly in 1947–1948 at
Reactivated during the Korean War at Sewart Air Force Base, Tennessee and equipped with Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcars and other assault transports to be used for airborne combat assault operations. Performed training for combat units, but remained in the United States. Moved to Ardmore Air Force Base, Oklahoma in 1954 and was inactivated in 1955.[1]
Redesignated the 16th Tactical Airlift Training Squadron on 14 August 1969 and reactivated six weeks later flying
On February 16, 1972, Lockheed C-130E Hercules #62-1813, c/n 3775, of the 16th Tactical Airlift Training Squadron, mid-air collision with Cessna T-37 Tweet, 6 kilometers northeast of Little Rock, Arkansas.[4]
Following post-Cold War reorganization, the squadron was redesignated as the 16th Airlift Squadron on 1 December 1991 under the 314th Operations Group.
Strategic airlift
On 1 October 1993 the squadron was reassigned without aircraft or personnel to the 437th Operations Group,
The last C-141 to leave Charleston AFB occurred on or about 7 September 2000 and the squadron was officially inactivated on 29 September 2000. The squadron was reactivated 1 Jul 2002 as the fourth active duty flying squadron operating the C-17 Globemaster III.
Lineage
- Constituted as the 16th Transport Squadron on 20 November 1940
- Activated on 11 December 1940
- Redesignated 16th Troop Carrier Squadron on 4 July 1942
- Inactivated on 31 July 1945
- Activated on 19 May 1947
- Inactivated on 10 September 1948
- Redesignated 16th Troop Carrier Squadron, Assault, Light on 19 September 1950
- Activated on 5 October 1950
- Redesignated 16th Troop Carrier Squadron, Assault, Fixed Wing on 8 November 1954
- Inactivated on 8 July 1955
- Redesignated 16th Tactical Airlift Training Squadron on 14 August 1969
- Activated on 15 October 1969
- Redesignated 16th Airlift Squadron on 1 December 1991
- Inactivated on 29 September 2000
- Activated on 1 July 2002[1]
Assignments
- 64th Transport Group(later 64th Troop Carrier Group), 11 December 1940 – 31 July 1945
- 64th Troop Carrier Group, 19 May 1947 – 10 September 1948
- 316th Troop Carrier Group, 5 October 1950
- 463d Troop Carrier Wing), 14 November 1954 – 8 July 1955
- 4442d Combat Crew Training Wing, 15 October 1969
- 314th Tactical Airlift Wing, 1 August 1971
- 34th Tactical Airlift Training Group, 1 November 1978
- 314th Operations Group, 1 December 1991
- 437th Operations Group, 1 October 1993 – 29 September 2000
- 437th Operations Group, 1 July 2002 – present[1]
Stations
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Aircraft
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Awards and campaigns
- Campaigns. World War II: Algeria-French Morocco; Tunisia; Sicily; Naples-Foggia; Rome-Arno; Southern France; North Apennines; Po Valley; India-Burma; Air Combat, EAME Theater.
- Decorations. Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards: 30 September 1975 – 30 June 1976; 1 June 1985 – 31 May 1986; 1 July 1991 – 30 June 1993; 1 July 1993 – 30 June 1995; 1 July 1995 – 30 June 1997; 1 July 1997 – 30 June 1998; 1 July 1998 – 29 September 2000.
References
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Bailey, Carl E. (6 March 2012). "Factsheet 16 Airlift Squadron (AMC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Archived from the original on 25 November 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
- ^ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 92–93
- ^ a b c "16th Airlift Squadron". Joint Base Charleston. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
- ^ "C-130 Events from 1972". Retrieved 20 April 2021.
- ^ "16th Airlift Squadron".
- ^ Station number in Johnson.
- ^ Station information in Bailey, except as noted.
Bibliography
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- Johnson, 1st Lt. David C. (1988). U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO) D-Day to V-E Day (PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983). Air Force Combat Units of World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. LCCN 61060979.
- Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982). Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. OCLC 72556.
- Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947–1977. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-12-9.