433d Airlift Wing
Encyclopedia
Fourth Air Force
The Fourth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Reserve . It is headquartered at March Air Reserve Base, California....
. It is stationed at Lackland Air Force Base
Lackland Air Force Base
Lackland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located west-southwest of San Antonio, Texas. The base is under the jurisdiction of the 802d Mission Support Group, Air Education and Training Command ....
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. If elevated to active duty, it is operationally gained by Air Mobility Command
Air Mobility Command
Air Mobility Command is a Major Command of the U.S. Air Force. AMC is headquartered at Scott AFB, Illinois, east of St. Louis....
(AMC).
The 433 AW provides managerial, administrative, and operational requirements necessary to operate 16 C-5A Galaxy strategic airlift aircraft and ensures the wartime readiness of Air Force Reserve personnel assigned to 26 units.
Units
- 433d Operations Group433d Operations GroupThe 433d Operations Group is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force Reserve 433d Airlift Wing. It is stationed at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas....
(433 OG)
- 68th Airlift Squadron68th Airlift SquadronThe 68th Airlift Squadron is part of the 433d Airlift Wing at Kelly Field Annex, Texas. It operates C-5 Galaxy aircraft providing global airlfit.-History:...
(68 AS) - 356th Airlift Squadron356th Airlift SquadronThe 356th Airlift Squadron is part of the 433d Airlift Wing at Kelly Field Annex, Texas. It operates C-5 Galaxy aircraft providing global airlfit.-Mission:...
(356 AS) - 733d Training Squadron (733 TRS)
- 433d Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron (433 AES)
- 433d Operations Support Squadron (433 OSS)
- 433d Airlift Control Flight (433 ACF)
- 433d Maintenance Group (433 MXG)
- 433d Maintenance Squadron (433 MXS)
- 433d Aircraft Maintenance Squadron (433 AMXS)
- 433d Maintenance Operations Squadron (433 MOS)
- 433d Mission Support Group (433 MSG)
- 26th Aerial Port Squadron (26 APS)
- 74th Aerial Port Squadron (74 APS)
- 433d Training Squadron (433 TRS)
- 433d Security Forces Squadron (433 SFS)
- 433d Logistics Readiness Squadron (433 LRS)
- 433d Mission Support Squadron (433 MSS)
- 433d Civil Engineer Squadron (433 CES)
- 433d Communications Flight (433 CF)
- 433d Services Flight (433 SVF)
- 433d Airman and Family Readiness Flight (433 AFRF)
- 433d Medical Group (433 MDG)
- 433d Medical Squadron (433 MDS)
- 433d Aerospace Medicine Squadron (433 AMDS)
- 433d Aeromedical Staging Squadron (433 ASTS)
- C-5 Formal Training Unit
- The C-5 Formal Training Unit consists of both a student squadron, the 733d Training Squadron and an instructor squadron, the 356th Airlift Squadron. These squadrons are directly responsible for getting the next generation of Reserve, active-duty and Air National Guard C-5 Galaxy aircrew members fully qualified as pilots, engineers and loadmasters
- Wing Staff Agencies
Lineage
- Established as 433 Troop Carrier Wing, Medium on 10 May 1949
- Activated in the Reserve on 27 June 1949
- Ordered to active service on 15 October 1950
- Inactivated on 14 July 1952
- Activated in the Reserve on 18 May 1955
- Redesignated: 433 Tactical Airlift Wing on 1 July 1967
- Redesignated: 433 Military Airlift Wing on 25 July 1969
- Redesignated: 433 Tactical Airlift Wing on 29 June 1971
- Redesignated: 433 Military Airlift Wing on 1 April 1985
- Redesignated: 433 Airlift Wing on 1 February 1992.
Assignments
- Ninth Air ForceNinth Air ForceThe Ninth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina....
, 27 June 1949 - First Air ForceFirst Air ForceThe First Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida....
, 1 August 1950 - Tactical Air CommandTactical Air CommandTactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 being headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia...
, 16 October 1950 - Eighteenth Air ForceEighteenth Air ForceEighteenth Air Force is a Numbered Air Force component of the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command . It was activated on 1 October 2003 and headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois...
, 1 June 1951
- Attached to: Twelfth Air Force, 5–7 August 1951
- Twelfth Air Force, 8 August 1951-14 July 1952
- Fourteenth Air ForceFourteenth Air ForceThe Fourteenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Space Command . It is headquartered at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California....
, 18 May 1955 - Tenth Air ForceTenth Air ForceThe Tenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Reserve Command . It is headquartered at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas....
, 25 March 1958 - Fourth Air Force Reserve Region, 1 September 1960
- Central Air Force Reserve Region, 31 December 1969
- Fourth Air ForceFourth Air ForceThe Fourth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Reserve . It is headquartered at March Air Reserve Base, California....
, 8 October 1976–present
Components
Groups- 433 Troop Carrier (later, 433 Operations): 27 June 1949-14 July 1952; 18 May 1955-14 April 1959; 1 August 1992–present
- 901: 1 October 1982-1 April 1985
- 908: 1 March 1968-25 April 1969
- 916: 18 March-1 July 1963; 21 April 1971-8 July 1972
- 921: 17 January 1963-26 January 1968; 2 June 1969-1 November 1974
- 922: 17 January 1963-30 June 1974
- 923: 17 January 1963-25 November 1965
- 924: 1 July 1972-1 April 1981
- 926: 1 March 1968-1 October 1969
- 929: 1 January 1964-1 July 1966
- 934: 1 October 1981-1 April 1985
Squadrons
- 67th Troop Carrier Squadron67th Troop Carrier SquadronThe 67th Troop Carrier Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 433d Troop Carrier Group, based at Rhein-Main Air Base, West Germany...
: 14 April 1959-17 January 1963 - 68th Troop Carrier Squadron: 14 April 1959-17 January 1963; 1 November 1974-1 August 1992
- 69th Troop Carrier Squadron: 14 April 1959-17 January 1963
- 705th Tactical Airlift Training Squadron: 1 July 1972-30 Jun 1976.
Stations
- Cleveland Muni AprtCleveland Burke Lakefront AirportCleveland Burke Lakefront Airport is a public airport situated on the shore of Lake Erie, in the northeast part of downtown Cleveland, in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It classified as a general aviation airport and is an FAA designated reliever to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport ,...
, OhioOhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, 27 June 1949 - Greenville (later, Donaldson) AFB, South CarolinaSouth CarolinaSouth Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, 16 October 1950-20 July 1951 - Rhein-Main AB, West GermanyWest GermanyWest Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, 5 August 1951-14 July 1952 - Brooks AFB, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, 18 May 1955 - Kelly AFB, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
1 November 1960 - Lackland AFB, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
1 April 2001–present
Aircraft
- C-53 SkytrooperC-47 SkytrainThe Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...
(1943) - C-47 SkytrainC-47 SkytrainThe Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...
(1943–1945) - B-17 Flying Fortress (1944)
- C-46 CommandoC-46 CommandoThe Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commando was a transport aircraft originally derived from a commercial high-altitude airliner design. It was instead used as a military transport during World War II by the United States Army Air Forces as well as the U.S. Navy/Marine Corps under the designation R5C...
(1944–1945, 1949–1950) - T-6 TexanT-6 TexanThe North American Aviation T-6 Texan was a single-engine advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces, United States Navy, Royal Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and into the 1950s...
(1948–1950) - T-11 (1948–1951)
- T-7 (1949–1950)
- C-119 Flying BoxcarC-119 Flying BoxcarThe Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar was an American military transport aircraft developed from the World War II-era Fairchild C-82 Packet, designed to carry cargo, personnel, litter patients, and mechanized equipment, and to drop cargo and troops by parachute...
(1950–1952, 1957–1971) - T-28 TrojanT-28 TrojanThe North American Aviation T-28 Trojan is a piston-engined military trainer aircraft used by the United States Air Force and United States Navy beginning in the 1950s...
(1955) - C-45 ExpeditorBeechcraft Model 18The Beechcraft Model 18, or "Twin Beech", as it is better known, is a 6-11 seat, twin-engine, low-wing, conventional-gear aircraft that was manufactured by the Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas...
(1955–1956) - C-124 Globemaster IIC-124 Globemaster IIThe Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, nicknamed "Old Shakey", was a heavy-lift cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California....
(1963, 1966–1972) - C-130 HerculesC-130 HerculesThe Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport...
(1971–1985) - C-5 GalaxyC-5 GalaxyThe Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a large military transport aircraft built by Lockheed. It provides the United States Air Force with a heavy intercontinental-range strategic airlift capability, one that can carry outsize and oversize cargos, including all air-certifiable cargo. The Galaxy has many...
(1985 – present)
Operations
The 433d activated as a reserveMilitary reserve force
A military reserve force is a military organization composed of citizens of a country who combine a military role or career with a civilian career. They are not normally kept under arms and their main role is to be available to fight when a nation mobilizes for total war or to defend against invasion...
organization in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
on 6 July 1947. It was ordered to active
Active duty
Active duty refers to a full-time occupation as part of a military force, as opposed to reserve duty.-Pakistan:The Pakistan Armed Forces are one of the largest active service forces in the world with almost 610,000 full time personnel due to the complex and volatile nature of Pakistan's...
service and moved to North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
in October 1950; receiving C-119 Flying Boxcar
C-119 Flying Boxcar
The Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar was an American military transport aircraft developed from the World War II-era Fairchild C-82 Packet, designed to carry cargo, personnel, litter patients, and mechanized equipment, and to drop cargo and troops by parachute...
aircraft the following month. The wing began tactical
Military tactics
Military tactics, the science and art of organizing an army or an air force, are the techniques for using weapons or military units in combination for engaging and defeating an enemy in battle. Changes in philosophy and technology over time have been reflected in changes to military tactics. In...
training in March 1951. It airlift
Airlift
Airlift is the act of transporting people or cargo from point to point using aircraft.Airlift may also refer to:*Airlift , a suction device for moving sand and silt underwater-See also:...
ed personnel and supplies to Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
units in the field. Airdrop
Airdrop
An airdrop is a type of airlift, developed during World War II to resupply otherwise inaccessible troops, who themselves may have been airborne forces. In some cases, it is used to refer to the airborne assault itself. Early airdrops were conducted by dropping or pushing padded bundles from...
ped personnel and equipment during army exercises
Military exercise
A military exercise is the employment of military resources in training for military operations, either exploring the effects of warfare or testing strategies without actual combat...
. The 433d moved to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and participated with U.S., British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
units in field training until inactivated.
After 1955, the wing flew airlift missions and participated in numerous training exercises, sometimes with special forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
, while based at Brooks AFB in San Antonio, Texas. With the closure of Brooks AFB's runways and its transition to a non-flying USAF installation in 1960, the unit transferred across town to Kelly AFB. By the mid-1960s, the wing was flying global airlift missions, as well as conducting the USAF's C-130A model Hercules pilot, navigator, flight engineer and loadmaster school. Between 1971 and 1985, the wing trained for tactical airlift missions, participating in joint training exercises. It provided airlift of Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
personnel, supplies, and equipment worldwide. The 433d assisted the U.S. Forest Service by use of the Modular Airborne FireFighting System
Modular Airborne FireFighting System
The Modular Airborne FireFighting System or MAFFS is a self-contained unit used for aerial firefighting that can be loaded onto a C-130 Hercules, a military cargo transport, which then allows the aircraft to be used as an air tanker against wildfires. This allows the U.S...
(MAFFS). It airlifted other units overseas for deployments and conducted humanitarian
Humanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid is material or logistical assistance provided for humanitarian purposes, typically in response to humanitarian crises including natural disaster and man-made disaster. The primary objective of humanitarian aid is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity...
airlift operations. Between 1977 and 1985, the wing rotated personnel and aircraft periodically to Howard AFB in the Panama Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
. In 1985, it became the first Air Force Reserve wing to fly the C-5A Galaxy, the largest USAF operational aircraft, and changed from tactical to strategic
Military strategy
Military strategy is a set of ideas implemented by military organizations to pursue desired strategic goals. Derived from the Greek strategos, strategy when it appeared in use during the 18th century, was seen in its narrow sense as the "art of the general", 'the art of arrangement' of troops...
airlift missions. It also began training for aerial refueling
Aerial refueling
Aerial refueling, also called air refueling, in-flight refueling , air-to-air refueling or tanking, is the process of transferring fuel from one aircraft to another during flight....
. It tested a C-5A modified to transport space vehicles and in 1989 airlifted the Hubble Space Telescope
Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope is a space telescope that was carried into orbit by a Space Shuttle in 1990 and remains in operation. A 2.4 meter aperture telescope in low Earth orbit, Hubble's four main instruments observe in the near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared...
from California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
to Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy Space Center
The John F. Kennedy Space Center is the NASA installation that has been the launch site for every United States human space flight since 1968. Although such flights are currently on hiatus, KSC continues to manage and operate unmanned rocket launch facilities for America's civilian space program...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. The wing's personnel and aircraft took part in Operation Just Cause in 1989-1990, flying medical supplies, rations, and tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
s to Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
. The wing airlifted men and materiel from the United States to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, 1990-1991. In 1995 the wing transported United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
personnel and equipment to the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
for peacekeeping
Peacekeeping
Peacekeeping is an activity that aims to create the conditions for lasting peace. It is distinguished from both peacebuilding and peacemaking....
operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
. During the 1990s, it flew channel, contingency, and humanitarian airlift operations and trained for such missions. In 2001, it began operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and in 2003 it commenced operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
On 1 July 2007, the wing's 356th Airlift Squadron
356th Airlift Squadron
The 356th Airlift Squadron is part of the 433d Airlift Wing at Kelly Field Annex, Texas. It operates C-5 Galaxy aircraft providing global airlfit.-Mission:...
assumed an Air Education and Training Command
Air Education and Training Command
Air Education and Training Command was established July 1, 1993, with the realignment of Air Training Command and Air University. It is one of the U.S. Air Force's ten major commands and reports to Headquarters, United States Air Force....
(AETC) mission, becoming the Air Force Reserve's only Formal Training Unit (FTU) providing initial and advanced C-5 flight qualification for Air Mobility Command
Air Mobility Command
Air Mobility Command is a Major Command of the U.S. Air Force. AMC is headquartered at Scott AFB, Illinois, east of St. Louis....
, Air National Guard
Air National Guard
The Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...
and Air Force Reserve Command
Air Force Reserve Command
The Air Force Reserve Command is a major command of the U.S. Air Force with its headquarters at Robins AFB, Georgia.It stood up as a major command of the Air Force on 17 February 1997....
aircrews, assuming a training role that had been previously assigned to the Regular Air Force's 97th Air Mobility Wing
97th Air Mobility Wing
The 97th Air Mobility Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Education and Training Command Nineteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma. The wing is also the host unit at Altus...
at Altus AFB, Oklahoma. Over 70 selectively manned aircrew instructors train and produce up to 500 aircrew members in nine different curricula for pilots, loadmasters and flight engineers. Additional training functions and support are provided by the colocated 733d Training Squadron (733 TRS) Both squadrons are assigned to the wing's 433d Operations Group. In addition to being the sole C-5 training organization for the entire US Air Force, the 356 AS also continues to provides airlift support for peacetime, contingency and humanitarian operations.
Conflicts
- World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
- Operation Just Cause
- Operation Desert Shield
- Operation Enduring Freedom
- Operation Iraqi Freedom