375th Airlift Wing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| 375th Airlift Wing | |
|---|---|
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| Active | 12 November 1942 – Present |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | Air Force |
| Type | Airlift |
| Part of | Air Mobility Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Scott Air Force Base |
| Decorations | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Philippine Presidential Unit Citation |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Colonel Alan Hunt Jr. |
The 375th Airlift Wing (375 AW) is a wing of the United States Air Force based out of Scott Air Force Base, Illinois.
Contents |
[edit] Mission
The wing has four primary missions. It supports aeromedical evacuation within the United States. It provides operational support airlift for government officials. It offers direct security for our community and nation. And it provides support for our host units -- making possible the command and control of the United States' entire military transportation effort.
[edit] History
Initially the 375th trained for overseas duty and moved to the Pacific theater, June-July 1943. The group operated from New Guinea and Biak from July 1943-February 1945, transporting troops, supplies, and equipment to forward bases on New Guinea, New Britain, the Solomon Islands, and the Admiralty Islands. The group also flew armed B-17's for the more hazardous missions that involved landing on fields that were under enemy attack. It took part in the first airborne operation in the Southwest Pacific, seizing enemy bases and cutting supply lines at Nadzab, New Guinea, on 5 September 1943. The group moved to the Philippines in February 1945, and during the next few months most of its missions were supply flights to ground forces on Luzon and neighboring islands. The 375th also transported cargo to forces in the Ryukyu Islands from June-July 1945.
After the war, the 375th transferred troops from Luzon to the Ryukyus for staging to Japan. It also ferried liberated prisoners of war from Okinawa to Luzon. The group moved to Japan in September 1945, and flew supply missions and courier flights until being inactivated in 1946.
The 375th Troop Carrier Group was reactivated in Pennsylvania and trained in the Reserve from August 1947 until it was called to active duty in October 1950. After a period of intensive training, now as a wing, it participated in troop carrier and airlift operations, paratroop drops, and other exercises, Oct 1950-July 1952.
The wing was again allotted to the Reserve for training from July 1952-November 1957. It conducted domestic aeromedical airlift and evacuation operations in the continental United States, Alaska, and off-shore areas of the North Atlantic and the Caribbean from January 1966 for the Air Force, other Department of Defense (DoD) agencies, the U.S. Public Health Service, and the Veterans Administration (VA), augmented by aircraft of the Air National Guard and other Military Airlift Command units.
Between January 1966 and April 1975 the wing maintained and scheduled support aircraft at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, generally using aircrews provided by other Scott-based units to provide scheduled air shuttle and courier service to the east and west coasts. From January 1966 to September 1968 and since June 1973, the wing operated and maintained Scott AFB.
It airlifted more than 700 VA hospital patients from Biloxi and Gulfport, Mississippi, to safety during Hurricane Camille in August 1969; during Project Homecoming in early 1973 the wing flew 119 sorties to airlift some 350 U.S. prisoners of war to 26 hospitals in the United States. In October 1973, it served as an aeromedical evacuation center established under wing control at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, assumed the functions previously handled by smaller centers at Scott, McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey, and Travis Air Force Base, California. In April 1975, when the aeromedical evacuation support units in Germany and the Far East came under 375th control, the wing became the single-point manager for worldwide DoD aeromedical evacuation services. It evacuated wounded during the invasion of Grenada, 24 October-9 November 1983. It transported 350 wounded Afghan citizens to hospitals in the United States, May-December 1987. It controlled a Facility Checking Squadron from October 1987-September 1991, which inspected DoD navigation aids and radar facilities worldwide. The wing operated and maintained an aeromedical evacuation system on a rotational basis in Southwest Asia, September 1990-April 1991. It deployed an aeromedical evacuation element to support Operation Allied Force in 1999.
[edit] Operations
[edit] Previous designations
- 375th Troop Carrier Group (1942 – 1949)
- 375th Troop Carrier Wing (1949 – 1965)
- 375th Aeromedical Airlift Wing (1965 – 1990)
- 375th Military Airlift Wing (1990 – 1991)
- 375th Airlift Wing (1991 – Present)
[edit] Assignments
[edit] Major command
- Continental Air Command (1948 – 1950)
- Tactical Air Command (1950 – 1957)
- Military Airlift Command (1965 – 1991)
- Air Mobility Command (1991 – Present)
[edit] Numbered Air Force
- 11th Air Force (1947 – 1948)
- 1st Air Force (1948 – 1949, 1950 – 1951, 1954 – 1957)
- 9th Air Force (1949 – 1950)
- 18th Air Force (1951 – 1952, 2003 – Present)
- 23rd Air Force (1984 – 1990)
- 22nd Air Force (1990 – 1993)
- 15th Air Force (1993 – 2003)
[edit] Subordinate organizations
375th Operations Group (375 OG)
- 54th Airlift Squadron (54 AS) (Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio)
- 311th Airlift Squadron (311 AS) (Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado)
- 457th Airlift Squadron (457 AS) (Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland)
- 458th Airlift Squadron (458 AS)
- 375th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron (375 AES)
- 375th Operations Support Squadron (375 OSS)
375th Communications Group (375 CG)
- 375th Communications Squadron (375 CS)
- 375th Communications Support Squadron (375 CSPTS)
375th Mission Support Group (375 MSG)
- 375th Civil Engineer Squadron (375 CES)
- 375th Contracting Squadron (375 CONS)
- 375th Logistics Readiness Squadron (375 LRS)
- 375th Mission Support Squadron (375 MSS)
- 375th Services Squadron (375 SVS)
- 375th Security Forces Squadron (375 SFS)
375th Medical Group (375 MDG)
- 375th Aerospace Medicine Squadron (375 AMDS)
- 375th Dental Squadron (375 DS)
- 375th Medical Operations Squadron (375 MDOS)
- 375th Surgical Operations Squadron (375 SOS)
- 375th Medical Support Squadron (375 MDSS)
[edit] Bases stationed
- Bowman Field, Kentucky (1942 – 1943)
- Sedalia Army Airfield, Missouri (1943)
- Laurinburg-Maxton Army Airfield, North Carolina (1943)
- Baer Field, Indiana (1943)
- Brisbane, Australia (1943)
- Port Moresby, New Guinea (1943 – 1944)
- Nadzad, New Guinea (1944)
- Biak (1944 – 1945)
- San Jose, Occidental Mindoro (1945)
- Porac, Luzon (1945)
- Okinawa (1945)
- Tachikawa, Japan (1945 – 1946)
- Greater Pittsburgh Airport, Pennsylvania (1947 – 1950)
- Donaldson Air Force Base, South Carolina (1950 – 1952)
- Greater Pittsburgh Airport, Pennsylvania (1952 – 1957)
- Scott Air Force Base, Illinois (1966 – Present)
[edit] Aircraft operated
- C-40 Clipper (2007-Present)
- C-47 Skytrain (1942 – 1946)
- B-17 Flying Fortress (1944)
- C-46 Commando (1944 – 1946, 1948 – 1950, 1952 – 1955)
- T-6 Texan (1947 – 1950)
- T-11 (1948 – 1951)
- T-7 (1949 – 1951)
- C-82 Packet (1950 – 1952)
- C-45 Expeditor (1951)
- C-119 Flying Boxcar (1954 – 1957)
- C-118 Liftmaster (1966 – 1969)
- C-131 Samaritan (1966 – 1969)
- C-121 Constellation (1968)
- C-9 Nightingale (1968 – 2003)
- CT-39 Sabreliner (1978 – 1985)
- C-12 Huron (1984 – 1994)
- C-21 (1984 – Present)
- C-140 (1987 – 1990)
- C-29 (1990 – 1991)
[edit] Unit shields
[edit] External links
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