459th Airlift Squadron
Encyclopedia
The 459th Airlift Squadron (459 AS) is part of the 374th Airlift Wing
at Yokota Air Base
, Japan
. It operates UH-1 Iroquois
and C-12J Huron
aircraft providing aeromedical evacuation
and search and rescue
missions.
as a B-17 Flying Fortress Replacement Training Unit (RTU). Operated until March 1944 with the end of Heavy Bomber training.
Redgesignated as a B-29 Superfortress
very heavy bombardment Squadron under Second Air Force
. Deployed to the Pacific Theater of Operations
(PTO), assigned to North Field, Guam under XXI Bomber Command
. Flew very long range strategic bombardment missions over the Japanese Home Islands, attacking military, industrial and transportation targets. Switched to night incendiary raids attacking major Japanese cities in the spring of 1945, causing massive destruction of urbanized areas. Continued strategic bombing raids and incendiary attacks until Japanese Capitulation in August 1945.
Squadron remained in Western Pacific, although largely demobilized in the fall of 1945. Some aircraft scrapped on Tinian
; others flown to storage depots in the United States. Inactivated in December 1945.
Reactivated as a reserve B-29 squadron at March AFB, California in 1949. Squadron personnel were activated for Korean War service on 1 May 1951 and reassigned to active duty units and deployed to Far East Air Forces. Inactivated as a paper unit in June 1951. Reactivated as a C-46 Commando
Troop Carrier Squadron in June 1952, but unclear whether manned or equipped. Inactivated in July 1952.
Reactivated during the Vietnam War
at Cam Rahn Air Base, South Vietnam in 1966. Provided intratheater airlift in Vietnam
, including airland and airdrop
assault missions from, 1966–1970, being inactivated as part of the drawdown of United States forces.
The squadron conducted airlift of key Department of Defense
personnel from, April 1975-March 1978, aeromedical airlift from, March 1978-November 1991, and operational support airlift since December 1991.
374th Airlift Wing
The 374th Airlift Wing is a unit of the United States Air Force assigned to Fifth Air Force. It is stationed at Yokota Air Base, Japan. It is part of Pacific Air Forces ....
at Yokota Air Base
Yokota Air Base
, is a United States Air Force base in the city of Fussa, one of 26 cities in the Tama Area, or Western Tokyo.The base houses 14,000 personnel. The base occupies a total area of and has a runway...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. It operates UH-1 Iroquois
UH-1 Iroquois
The Bell UH-1 Iroquois is a military helicopter powered by a single, turboshaft engine, with a two-bladed main rotor and tail rotor. The helicopter was developed by Bell Helicopter to meet the United States Army's requirement for a medical evacuation and utility helicopter in 1952, and first flew...
and C-12J Huron
C-12 Huron
The C-12 Huron is the military designation for a series of twin-engine turboprop aircraft based on the Beechcraft Super King Air and Beechcraft 1900. C-12 variants are used by the United States Air Force, United States Army, United States Navy and United States Marine Corps...
aircraft providing aeromedical evacuation
Aeromedical evacuation
Aeromedical Evacuation usually refers to specialized medical transportation units in the United States Air Force. Within the U.S. Air Force, AE is coordinated by Air Mobility Command located at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois...
and search and rescue
Search and rescue
Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
missions.
History
Established in mid-1942 under II Bomber CommandII Bomber Command
The II Bomber Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Second Air Force, based at Fort George Wright, Washington. It was inactivated on 6 October 1943....
as a B-17 Flying Fortress Replacement Training Unit (RTU). Operated until March 1944 with the end of Heavy Bomber training.
Redgesignated as a B-29 Superfortress
B-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
very heavy bombardment Squadron under Second Air Force
Second Air Force
The Second Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command . It is headquartered at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi....
. Deployed to the Pacific Theater of Operations
Pacific Theater of Operations
The Pacific Theater of Operations was the World War II area of military activity in the Pacific Ocean and the countries bordering it, a geographic scope that reflected the operational and administrative command structures of the American forces during that period...
(PTO), assigned to North Field, Guam under XXI Bomber Command
XXI Bomber Command
The XXI Bomber Command was a unit of the Twentieth Air Force in Guam for strategic bombing during World War II.- Lineage:* Constituted as XXI Bomber Command on 1 Mar 1944, and activated the same day.-Assignments:...
. Flew very long range strategic bombardment missions over the Japanese Home Islands, attacking military, industrial and transportation targets. Switched to night incendiary raids attacking major Japanese cities in the spring of 1945, causing massive destruction of urbanized areas. Continued strategic bombing raids and incendiary attacks until Japanese Capitulation in August 1945.
Squadron remained in Western Pacific, although largely demobilized in the fall of 1945. Some aircraft scrapped on Tinian
Tinian
Tinian is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.-Geography:Tinian is about 5 miles southwest of its sister island, Saipan, from which it is separated by the Saipan Channel. It has a land area of 39 sq.mi....
; others flown to storage depots in the United States. Inactivated in December 1945.
Reactivated as a reserve B-29 squadron at March AFB, California in 1949. Squadron personnel were activated for Korean War service on 1 May 1951 and reassigned to active duty units and deployed to Far East Air Forces. Inactivated as a paper unit in June 1951. Reactivated as a C-46 Commando
C-46 Commando
The 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...
Troop Carrier Squadron in June 1952, but unclear whether manned or equipped. Inactivated in July 1952.
Reactivated during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
at Cam Rahn Air Base, South Vietnam in 1966. Provided intratheater airlift in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, including airland and 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...
assault missions from, 1966–1970, being inactivated as part of the drawdown of United States forces.
The squadron conducted airlift of key Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
personnel from, April 1975-March 1978, aeromedical airlift from, March 1978-November 1991, and operational support airlift since December 1991.
Lineage
- Constituted as 459 Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 1 Jul 1942
- Activated on 6 Jul 1942
- Inactivated on 1 Apr 1944
- Redesignated 459 Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy, and activated on 1 Apr 1944
- Inactivated on 21 Dec 1945
- Redesignated 459 Troop Carrier Squadron, Medium, on 26 May 1952
- Activated in the Reserve on 14 Jun 1952
- Inactivated on 14 Jul 1952
- Redesignated 459 Troop Carrier Squadron, and activated, on 12 Oct 1966
- Organized on 1 Jan 1967
- Redesignated 459 Tactical Airlift Squadron on 1 Aug 1967
- Inactivated on 1 Jun 1970
- Consolidated (1 Dec 1991) with the 1400 Military Airlift Squadron, which was designated, and activated, on 1 Apr 1975.
- Redesignated 459 Airlift Squadron on 1 Dec 1991
- Inactivated on 1 Oct 1993
- Activated on 1 Oct 1993.
Assignments
- 330th Bombardment Group330th Bombardment GroupThe 330th Bombardment Group was a bomber group of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It constituted on 1 July 1942 at Salt Lake City Army Air Base, Utah. The unit fought in the Pacific Theater...
, 6 Jul 1952-1 Apr 1944; 1 Apr 1944-27 Dec 1945; 27 Jun 1949-16 Jun 1951 - 330th Troop Carrier Group, 14 Jun-14 Jul 1952
- Pacific Air Forces, 12 Oct 1966
- 483rd Troop Carrier (later Tactical Airlift, later Composite) Wing483d Composite WingThe 483d Composite Wing was a tactical airlift and composite wing assigned to Pacific Air Forces during the Vietnam War. It was the host organization at Cam Ranh Bay Air Base South Vietnam from 1970–1972....
, 1 Jan 1967-1 Mar 1972 - 89th Military Airlift Wing, 1 Apr 1975
- 375th Aeromedical (later 375th Military Airlift) Wing, 15 Mar 1978
- 375th Operations Group375th Operations GroupThe 375th Operations Group is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force 375th Air Mobility Wing. It is stationed at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois....
, 1 Dec 1991 - 22d Operations Group, 1 Apr-1 Oct 1993
- 374th Operations Group374th Operations GroupThe 374th Operations Group is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force 374th Airlift Wing. It is stationed at Yokota Air Base, Japan....
, 1 Oct 1993-Present
Bases stationed
- Salt Lake City Army Air Base, UtahUtahUtah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, 6 Jul 1942 - Alamogordo Army Air Field, New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, 1 Aug 1942 - Biggs Field, 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...
, 2 Sep 1942 - Alamogordo Army Air Field, New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, 29 Nov 1942 - Biggs Field, 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...
, 5 Apr 1943-1 Apr 1944 - Walker Army AirfieldWalker Army Airfield (Kansas)Walker Army Airfield is an abandoned airfield located north of Interstate 70 in Ellis County, 4 miles northeast of Victoria, Kansas....
, KansasKansasKansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, 1 Apr 1944 - Dalhart Army Air Field, 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...
, 25 May 1944 - Walker Army AirfieldWalker Army Airfield (Kansas)Walker Army Airfield is an abandoned airfield located north of Interstate 70 in Ellis County, 4 miles northeast of Victoria, Kansas....
, KansasKansasKansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, 1 Aug 1944-7 Jan 1945
- North Field, GuamGuamGuam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, Northern Mariana IslandsNorthern Mariana IslandsThe Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , is a commonwealth in political union with the United States, occupying a strategic region of the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines...
, 18 Feb-19 Nov 1945 - Camp Anza, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia 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...
, c. 18-27 Dec 1945 - March AFB, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia 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...
, 27 Jun 1949-16 Jun 1951 - Greater Pittsburgh Airport, PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, 14 Jun-14 Jul 1952 - Cam Ranh Air BaseCam Ranh Air BaseCam Ranh Air Base is located on Cam Ranh Bay in the province of Khanh Hoa, Vietnam. It was one of several South Vietnamese Air Force air bases built and used by the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War...
, South VietnamSouth VietnamSouth Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
, 1 Jan 1966-30 Apr 1972
- Detachment at Don Muang Airport, ThailandThailandThailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
- Andrews AFB, MD 1975-78
- Scott AFB, IL 1978-91
- Yokota Air BaseYokota Air Base, is a United States Air Force base in the city of Fussa, one of 26 cities in the Tama Area, or Western Tokyo.The base houses 14,000 personnel. The base occupies a total area of and has a runway...
, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, 1 Oct 1993-Present
Aircraft operated
- B-17 Flying Fortress (1942, 1944)
- B-24 LiberatorB-24 LiberatorThe Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
(1942–1944) - B-29 SuperfortressB-29 SuperfortressThe B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
(1944–1945) - C-7 CaribouDe Havilland Canada DHC-4 CaribouThe de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou is a Canadian-designed and produced specialized cargo aircraft with short takeoff and landing capability...
(1967–1970)
- T-39 Sabreliner (1975–1984)
- C-12 HuronC-12 HuronThe C-12 Huron is the military designation for a series of twin-engine turboprop aircraft based on the Beechcraft Super King Air and Beechcraft 1900. C-12 variants are used by the United States Air Force, United States Army, United States Navy and United States Marine Corps...
(1984–1992) - C-21 (1985–2007)
- C-12 HuronC-12 HuronThe C-12 Huron is the military designation for a series of twin-engine turboprop aircraft based on the Beechcraft Super King Air and Beechcraft 1900. C-12 variants are used by the United States Air Force, United States Army, United States Navy and United States Marine Corps...
(2007–Present) - UH-1 IroquoisUH-1 IroquoisThe Bell UH-1 Iroquois is a military helicopter powered by a single, turboshaft engine, with a two-bladed main rotor and tail rotor. The helicopter was developed by Bell Helicopter to meet the United States Army's requirement for a medical evacuation and utility helicopter in 1952, and first flew...
( – Present)