| 304th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron | |
|---|---|
 304th EAS C-17 sits on the ice runway at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, Nov. 21, 2011. | |
| Active | 1943-1974, 2007-Present |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
304th Tactical Airlift Squadron - Lockheed C-130A-55-LM Hercules 57-0522 Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base, Missouri, 1974.
The 304th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron is a provisional United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 13th Air Expeditionary Group, based at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii.
Mission[]
The 304th EAS operates the C-17 Globemaster III airlfiter in support of Joint Task Force-Support Forces Antarctica (JTF-SFA). The squadron provides the bulk of the aerial resupply between New Zealand and Antarctica. Inter-continental transport of personnel and cargo to and from the U.S.
The 304th EAS consists of aircraft and personnel deployed forward to New Zealand from the 62d and 446th Airlift Wings, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington.
History[]
Activated in September 1943 under I Troop Carrier Command and equipped with C-47 Skytrains. Trained in various parts of the eastern United States until early 1944. Deployed to England and assigned to IX Troop Carrier Command, Ninth Air Force.
Prepared for the invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe. Began operations by dropping paratroops of the 101st Airborne Division in Normandy on D-Day (6 June 1944) and releasing gliders with reinforcements on the following day. The unit received a Distinguished Unit Citation and a French citation for these missions. After the Normandy invasion the squadron ferried supplies in the United Kingdom.
After moving to France in September, the unit dropped paratroops of the 82nd Airborne Division near Nijmegen and towed gliders carrying reinforcements during the airborne attack on Holland. In December, it participated in the Battle of the Bulge by releasing gliders with supplies for the 101st Airborne Division near Bastogne.
When the Allies made the air assault across the Rhine River in March 1945, each aircraft towed two gliders with troops of the 17th Airborne Division and released them near Wesel. The squadron also hauled food, clothing, medicine, gasoline, ordnance equipment, and other supplies to the front lines and evacuated patients to rear zone hospitals. It converted from C-47s to C-46s and the new aircraft to transport displaced persons from Germany to France and Belgium after V-E Day. Inactivated in Germany in September 1946.
Postwar the squadron was activated in the air force reserve in 1940 at Fairfax Field, Kansas, operating C-46 Commandos for Tactical Air Command Eighteenth Air Force. Inactivated durin the Korean War in 1951, its aircraft and personnel being used as fillers for active duty units, then inactivated. Re-formed in the reserve in 1952, moving to Richard-Gebur AFB in Kansas City in 1955. Conducted routine reserve training operating C-121 Globemaster IIs flying worldwide transport missions beginning in 1961. Activated in 1961 due to the Berlin Wall Crisis, returned to reserve service in the late summer of 1962.
Squadron converted to C-130A Hercules aircraft on 27 October 1971. It was inactivated on 30 June 1974 when personnel and equipment was merged into co-based 303d Tactical Airlift Squadron as a cost-saving measure.
Operations and Decorations[]
- Combat Operations. Participated in airborne assaults on Normandy during Operation NEPTUNE in Jun 1944, in Southern France during Operation ANVIL, over Holland during Operation MARKET in Sep 1944, and into Germany during Operation VARSITY in Mar 1945. Called to active service during the Berlin Crisis, Oct 1961-Aug 1962; routinely flew airlift support missions to the Pacific region and Southeast Asia, 1964-1972.
- Campaigns. World War II: Rome-Arno; Southern France; Normandy; Northern France; Rhineland; Central Europe.
- Decorations. Distinguished Unit Citation: France, [6-7] Jun 1944. Air Force Outstanding Unit Award: 1 Aug 1967-25 Oct 1968. Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm: 1 Apr 1966-19 May 1972.
Lineage[]
- Constituted 304th Troop Carrier Squadron on 25 May 1943
- Activated on 1 Sep 1943
- Inactivated on 30 Sep 1946
- Re-designated 304th Troop Carrier Squadron (Medium) on 10 May 1949
- Activated in the reserve on 27 Jun 1949
- Ordered to active service on 10 Mar 1951
- Inactivated on 12 Mar 1951
- Activated in the reserve on 15 Jun 1952
- Inactivated on 26 Jul 1955
- Activated in the reserve on 16 Nov 1957
- Re-designated 304th Troop Carrier Squadron (Heavy) on 8 May 1961
- Ordered to active service on 1 Oct 1961
- Relieved from active duty on 27 Aug 1962.
- Re-designated: 304th Air Transport Squadron on 1 December 1965
- Re-designated: 304th Military Airlift Squadron on 1 January 1966
- Inactivated on 30 June 1974
- Re-designated 304th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, and converted to provisional status on 27 Mar 2003.
Assignments[]
- 442d Troop Carrier Group, 1 Sep 1943-30 Sep 1946
- 442d Troop Carrier Group, 27 Jun 1949-12 Mar 1951
- 442d Troop Carrier Group, 15 Jun 1952-26 Jul 1955
- 442d Troop Carrier Group, 16 Nov 1957
- 442d Troop Carrier Wing, 14 Apr 1959
- 936th Troop Carrier (later, 936th Air Transport; 936th Military Airlift) Group, 17 Jan 1963-30 June 1974
- Air Mobility Command to activate or inactivate at any time after 27 Mar 2003.
- Attached to: 13th Air Expeditionary Group, 1 October 2007 (TBD)
Stations[]
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Aircraft[]
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References[]
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
- Maurer, Maurer, ed (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556. http://www.airforcehistory.hq.af.mil/Publications/fulltext/combat_sq_of_the_af_wwii.pdf.
- Joint Task Force–Support Forces Antarctica Factsheet
- 13th Air Expeditionary Group adopts new emblem
The original article can be found at 304th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron and the edit history here.