464th Tactical Airlift Wing

464th Tactical Airlift Wing

Active 1953–1971
Country United States
Branch United States Air Force
Role Tactical Airlift
Part of Tactical Air Command
Motto Certissimus in Incertis Latin Most Certain in Uncertainties
Decorations Air Force Outstanding Unit Award[note 2]
Insignia
464th Troop Carrier Wing emblem (Approved 15 April 1954)[1]

The 464th Tactical Airlift Wing was a theater airlift unit of the United States Air Force during the Cold War. It served in the United States under Tactical Air Command between 1953 and 1971. Its predecessor was the United States Army Air Forces 464th Bombardment Group of World War II.

History

The wing was constituted as the 464th Troop Carrier Wing and activated at Lawson Air Force Base, Georgia on 1 February 1953 and was assigned to Eighteenth Air Force. The wing replaced the 434th Troop Carrier Wing, a reserve unit that had been called to active duty for the Korean War. It took over the personnel and Curtiss C-46 Commando and Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar aircraft of the 434th.[1]

The unit (redesignated 464th Tactical Airlift Wing on 1 March 1966) provided tactical airlift of troops and cargo, participated in joint airborne training with Army forces, and took part in tactical exercises in the United States and overseas. The wing provided aeromedical airlift and flew humanitarian missions as required.[1]

From 1954 until it was inactivated, the 464th usually had two or more tactical squadrons deployed overseas at any one time, supporting airlift operations in Central America, Europe, the Middle East, the Far East, and Southeast Asia.[1]

At Pope, the 464th received the Mackay Trophy for humanitarian operations in the Congo in 1964. It participated in contingency airlift operations in the Dominican Republic, from April 1965 until September 1966.[1]

During its time at Pope, a major period of facility expansion occurred. The main runway, the taxiways, and the ramp were all expanded to support the 464th’s Fairchild C-119 "Flying Boxcar"s operations. During the 1950s and 1960s, aircraft upgrade was the primary trend at the North Carolina installation. The Fairchild C-123 Provider started replacing the C-119 in 1958, and in 1963, the first C-130 Hercules arrived, appropriately named “The North Carolina.” The 778th Tactical Airlift Squadron was tail coded "PG" and its C-130Es had a green tail stripe.

The Wing was inactivated on 31 August 1971, when it was replaced by the 317th Tactical Airlift Wing.[1]

Lineage

Activated on 1 February 1953
Redesignated as 464th Troop Carrier Wing, Assault on 16 December 1958
Redesignated as 464th Troop Carrier Wing, Medium on 8 January 1964
Redesignated as 464th Troop Carrier Wing on 1 March 1966
Redesignated as 464th Tactical Airlift Wing on 1 May 1967
Inactivated on 31 August 1971[1]

Assignments

Components

Group
Squadrons

Stations

Aircraft

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ The aircraft is Fairchild C-123B serial 56-64367. The photograph is identified as being taken in Vietnam in 1966. However, the wing units' deployments to Vietnam were earlier. By 1966, C-123s in Vietnam were assigned to the 315th Air Commando Wing and were camouflaged.
  2. ↑ The wing is also entitled to display the Distinguished Unit Citation earned by the 464th Bombardment Group during World War II, by temporary bestowal of the group's history and awards.

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Ravenstein, pp. 258-260

Bibliography

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

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