86th Airlift Wing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| 86th Airlift Wing | |
|---|---|
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| Active | 13 January 1942 — present |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | Air Force |
| Type | Airlift |
| Part of | United States Air Forces in Europe |
| Garrison/HQ | Ramstein Air Base |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Colonel William Bender |
| Notable commanders |
Wilbur L. Creech Robert C. Oaks George B. Simler |
The 86th Airlift Wing (86 AW) is a wing of the United States Air Force based out of Ramstein Air Base, Germany.
Contents |
[edit] Mission
The wing’s primary mission is to conduct airlift, airdrop and aeromedical evacuation operations flying the C-21, C-20H, C-37, C40B and C-130E aircraft. The 86th Airlift Wing commander also serves as the Kaiserslautern Military Community (KMC) commander, leading the largest American community outside the United States..
[edit] Units
The 86th Airlift Wing is composed of four groups, 14 squadrons and one detachment. These are:
86th Operations Group (86 OG)
- 37th Airlift Squadron (37 AS)
- 76th Airlift Squadron (76 AS)
- 309th Airlift Squadron (309 AS) (Chièvres Air Base, Belgian)
- 86th Operations Support Squadron (86 OSS)
- 496th Air Base Squadron (496 ABS)
86th Maintenance Group (86 MXG)
- 86 Aircraft Maintenance Squadron (86 AMXS)
- 86 Maintenance Squadron (86 MXS)
- 86 Maintenance Operations Squadron (86 MOS)
86th Mission Support Group (86 MSG)
86th Medical Group (86 MDG)
1st Combat Communications Squadron
The 779th Expeditionary Airlift Flight was activated in January 2008 to administer a rotational deployment of two C-17 Globemaster IIIs to be based at Ramstein AB.[1] The exact reporting chain for the 779th EAF is not known.
[edit] History
[edit] Lineage
- Constituted as 86th Bombardment Group (Light) on 13 Jan 1942
- Activated on 10 Feb 1942
- Redesignated: 86th Bombardment Group (Dive) in Sep 1942
- Redesignated: 86th Fighter-Bomber Group in Aug 1943
- Redesignated: 86th Fighter Group in May 1944
- Redesignated: 86th Composite Group in May 1947
- Redesignated: 86th Fighter Group in Jan 1948
- Established as 86th Fighter Wing, and activated, on 1 Jul 1948
- Redesignated: 86th Fighter-Bomber Wing on 20 Jan 1950
- Redesignated: 86th Fighter-Interceptor Wing on 9 Aug 1954
- Redesignated: 86th Air Division (Defense) on 18 Nov 1960
- Inactivated on 14 Nov 1968.
- Redesignated: 86th Fighter-Interceptor Wing on 14 Nov 1968
- Redesignated: 86th Tactical Fighter Wing on 13 Oct 1969.
- Activated on 1 Nov 1969
- Redesignated: 86th Fighter Wing on 1 May 1991
- Redesignated: 86th Wing on 1 Jun 1992
- Redesignated: 86th Airlift Wing on 1 Oct 1994.
[edit] Bases assigned
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United States Army Air Forces
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United States Air Force
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[edit] Aircraft operated
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 F-47D's of the 526th Fighter Squadron, 1949 |
 Republic F-84E-5-RE Thunderjet Serial 49-2133 of the 527th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 1953 |
 North American F-86F-25-NH Sabre Serial 51-13194 of the 527th Fighter-Bomber Squadron - 1954 |
 North American F-86D-45-NA Sabres of the 514th Fighter-Inteceptor Squadron - 1958. In front is Serial 52-4133 |
 Convair TF-102A-20-CO Delta Dagger Serial 54-1366 of the 526th FIS, 1962. |
 McDonnell Douglas F-4E-55-MC Phantom 68-0517 and General Dynamics F-16C Block 25E Fighting Falcon 84-296 of the 526th TFS, flying in formation, 1985. |
 Lockheed C-130E Hercules of the 37th AS |
 The new C-130J model aircraft (99-1431) taxies down the flightline after landing Nov. 8, 2007 |
[edit] Operational history
[edit] World War II
The 86th conducted flight training at Key Field, Mississippi from August 1942-March 1943. The group sailed to North Africa in April and May 1943. It entered combat in early July, flying A-36s against German positions in Tunisia. Later that month, the group moved to Sicily, where it attacked German forces retreating across the island and evacuating to the southern coast of the Italian mainland. The 86th provided air support for Allied landings at Salerno in September 1943 and later that month moved from Sicily to the beachhead area. During the winter of 1943-1944, the group supported advancing Allied forces in Italy by attacking enemy lines of communication, troop concentrations, and supply areas. It also attacked rail and road targets and strafed German troop and supply columns during late spring, earning a Distinguished Unit Citation (DCU) for outstanding action against the enemy on 25 May. In July, the group moved to the island of Corsica, from which it attacked enemy-held road and rail networks in northern Italy. It supported the Allied invasion of southern France in August, escorting bombers attacking coastal defenses. In September, moved back to Italy and began attacking transportation lines in the Po Valley. In February 1945, the group moved to France and began attacking enemy targets such as rail lines, roads, supply dumps, and airdromes in southern Germany. The group again moved, this time to Germany, in April. It earned a second DUC for concentrated attacks on enemy transportation targets on 20 April. By 8 May, the group had flown a total of 3,645 combat missions.
Just after the war, the group performed occupation duty in Germany. It moved without personnel or equipment to Bolling Field in Washington, DC, in February, 1946, where it inactivated at the end of March.
[edit] Cold War
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For more details on this topic, see Ramstein Air Base.
It was activated again in Germany later that year for occupation duty. The 86th provided air defense, primarily in West Germany, July 1948–November 1968, initially as a wing but later as an air division. During its eight years as an air division, the organization supervised the improvement of a manual radar system to a semi-automatic air weapons control system. From November 1969 to June 1971, it was charged only with tactical reconnaissance, but added tactical fighter operations later in 1971. Between September 1975 and June 1985, the wing trained and provided tactical air capability in Europe for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). After activation again in Germany in May 1991, deployed to Turkey and flew fighter missions to enforce no-fly zones in northern Iraq and Bosnia-Herzegovina, twice attacking Iraqi surface-to-air missile (SAM) sites in northern Iraq.
[edit] Post Cold-War
The 86th gained some airlift capability in 1992 and became strictly an airlift unit in 1994, trading its F-16 fighters for C-130 transports. During the 1990s, the wing supported peacekeeping and humanitarian aid airlift operations in the Balkans, Africa, and Southwest Asia.
[edit] Operations
- World War II
- Operation Iraqi Freedom
- Operation Enduring Freedom
- Operation Northern Watch
- Operation Support Hope
- Operation Unified Assistance
[edit] Assignments
[edit] Major command
- Tactical Air Command (1945 – 1946)
- Strategic Air Command (1946)
- United States Air Forces in Europe (1948 – Present)
[edit] Numbered Air Force
- 2nd Air Force (1942)
- 12th Air Force (1942 – 1959)
- 17th Air Force (1959 – 1996)
- 3rd Air Force (1996 – Present)
[edit] Unit shields
 86 OG |
 37 AS |
 76 AS |
[edit] References
- Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0892010924.
- Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947-1977. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0912799129.
- USAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF Aircraft Serial Numbers--1908 to present
[edit] External links
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