301st Airlift Squadron

301st Airlift Squadron
301st Airlift Squadron
	Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm
Insignia
301st Airlift Squadron emblem (Approved 1973)

The 301st Airlift Squadron is a

associate unit of the active duty 21st Airlift Squadron of the 60th Air Mobility Wing

.

The squadron was activated as the 301st Troop Carrier Squadron in 1943. After training in the United States, it deployed to the

V-E Day, it served until spring 1946 as part of the occupation forces

, then returned to the United States for inactivation.

The squadron was activated in the reserve in 1949 and was mobilized for the Korean War, but its personnel were used as fillers for other units and it was inactivated. It was activated again as the 301st Military Airlift Squadron, a reserve associate airlift squadron and has served in that role to the present.

Mission

The mission of the 301st Airlift Squadron is to train and provide qualified

McDonnell Douglas C-17 Globemaster III

aircrews to fly worldwide airlift missions and augment the active duty forces under readiness conditions up to and including full mobilization.

History

World War II

The squadron was first activated as the 301st Troop Carrier Squadron in August 1943 at

Baer Field, Indiana for final equipping with aircraft and personnel. The 301st deployed to Ninth Air Force in England, and was assigned to IX Troop Carrier Command

in March 1944 during the build-up prior to the invasion of France.

The squadron participated in the

D-Day operation, dropping 101st Airborne Division paratroops near Cherbourg – Maupertus Airport

, then carried out re-supply and glider delivery missions the following day.

The squadron's aircraft flew supplies into

Grosseto Airfield in Italy to prepare for operations connected with Operation Dragoon

, the invasion of southern France, returning to England on 24 August.

The squadron moved to France in September 1944 and for the balance of the

Northern France Campaign and the Western Allied invasion of Germany, it was engaged in combat resupply of ground forces, operating from advanced landing grounds

in northern France. It delivered supplies to rough resupply and evacuation airfields near the front lines, returning combat casualties to field hospitals in rear areas.

After V-E Day, the squadron was based in the

Tempelhof Airdrome on 4 July 1945.^[1]

The squadron returned to the United States in March 1946 and was inactivated at

Bolling Field, District of Columbia.^[1]

Air Force reserve

The 301st was reactivated as a

Air Force Reserve in 1949. It was called to active duty as part of the Korean War

mobilization in 1951. Unit personnel and aircraft were assigned as fillers to active-duty units and the squadron was quickly inactivated.

Since 1969 the 301st has trained in the Air Force Reserve to fly global strategic airlift missions, performing routine channel flights, contingency and humanitarian relief operations, and joint training exercises.

Operations and decorations

Combat Operations. The squadron dropped paratroopers in preparation for Normandy invasion on 6 June 1944. It transported cargo and mail in France and England and evacuated wounded troops from the continent. It took part in airborne attacks in Netherlands in September 1944. It dropped supplies to the
Noble Eagle
after 11 September 2001 terrorist attack on the United States.
Campaigns. World War II: Normandy; Northern France; Rhineland; Ardennes-Alsace; Central Europe; Panama, 1989–1990.
Decorations.
Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm
: 25 Jul 1969 – 28 Jan 1973.

Lineage

Constituted as the 301st Troop Carrier Squadron on 25 May 1943

Activated on 1 August 1943

Inactivated on 27 May 1946

Redesignated 301st Troop Carrier Squadron, Medium on 10 May 1949

Activated in the Reserve on 27 June 1949

Ordered to active service on 10 March 1951

Inactivated on 14 March 1951

Redesignated 301st Military Airlift Squadron (Associate) on 18 March 1969

Activated on 25 July 1969

Redesignated 301st Airlift Squadron (Associate) on 1 February 1992

Redesignated 301st Airlift Squadron on 1 October 1994^[1]

Assignments

442d Troop Carrier Group
after 18 May 1945)
442d Troop Carrier Group, 16 July 1945
302d Transport Wing
, 8 August 1945
441st Troop Carrier Group, 8 August 1945 (attached to 473d Air Service Group after 18 September 1945)
Continental Air Forces (later Strategic Air Command), 15 February 1946
Bolling Field Command
, 21 March 1946 – 27 May 1946
441st Troop Carrier Group, 27 June 1949 – 14 March 1951
938th Military Airlift Group, 25 July 1969
349th Military Airlift Wing
(later 349th Airlift Wing), 1 July 1973
349th Operations Group, 1 August 1992 – present^[1]

Stations

Sedalia Army Air Field, Missouri, 1 August 1943
Camp Mackall North Carolina, 18 January 1944
Baer Field, Indiana, 22 February 1944 – 29 February 1944
RAF Langar (AAF-490), England, 17 March 1944
RAF Merryfield (AAF-464), England, 25 April 1944

Operated from RAF Ramsbury (AAF-469), England, 7 August 1944 – 24 August 1944

Villeneuve-Vertus Airfield (A-63), France, 8 September 1944
Saint Marceau Airfield (A-43), France, 1 October 1944
Dreux/Vernouillet Airfield
(A-41), France, 3 November 1944

Saint-André-de-l'Eure Airport
(B-24), France, 20 May 1945
AAF Station Halle
, Germany, 28 June 1945
Tempelhof Airdrome (later Tempelhof US Air Force Station), Germany, 4 July 1945
Bolling Field, DC, 15 February 1946 – 27 May 1946
Chicago-Orchard Airport (later O'Hare International Airport
, Illinois, 27 June 1949 – 14 March 1951

Travis Air Force Base, California, 25 July 1969 – present [1]

Aircraft

Aeronca L-3 Grasshopper
(1943–1944)
Douglas C-53 Skytrooper (1943–1944)
Douglas C-47 Skytrain (1943–1946)
Waco CG-4 (1944–1945)
Curtiss C-46 Commando (1949–1951)

North American T-6 Texan (1949–1951)
Beechcraft T-7 Navigator
(1949–1951)
Beechcraft T-11 Kansan (1949–1951)
Lockheed C-141 Starlifter (1969–1973)
Lockheed C-5 Galaxy (1973–2006)
McDonnell Douglas C-17 Globemaster III (2006–present)^[1]

References

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Robertson, Patsy (25 January 2011). "Factsheet 301 Airlift Squadron (AFRC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 12 August 2017.

Bibliography

This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.
OCLC 72556
.

External links

[301ASfacts-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Robertson, Patsy (25 January 2011). "Factsheet 301 Airlift Squadron (AFRC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 12 August 2017.

[1]