The 62nd Airlift Squadron is part of the 314th Airlift Wing at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas. Originally constituted in 1942 as the 62nd Troop Carrier Squadron, it first deployed to Morocco in 1943, remaining in Europe until its inactivation in 1946. It reactivated three years later and deployed to Japan during the Korean War. In 1967, the unit was redesignated the 62nd Tactical Airlift Squadron, and in 1991 the 62nd Airlift Squadron. It operates Lockheed C-130J Super Hercules aircraft and provides advanced training to pilots, copilots, and loadmasters for combat airlift and airdrop operations.
Activated in late 1942 under I Troop Carrier Command and equipped with Douglas C-47 Skytrains. Trained in various parts of the eastern United States. Deployed to French Morocco in May 1943 and assigned to Twelfth Air Force to support combat operations in the North African Campaign. Remained with Twelfth Air Force, moving to Tunisia and Sicily providing transport and resupply operations as well as casualty evacuation of wounded personnel in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO). Reassigned to IX Troop Carrier Command in England during early 1944 as part of the build-up of Allied forces prior to the D-Day invasion of France.
After the Normandy invasion the squadron ferried supplies in the United Kingdom. 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 dropped paratroops near Nijmegen and towed gliders carrying reinforcements during the airborne attack on the Netherlands. In December, it participated in the Battle of the Bulge by releasing gliders with supplies for the 101st Airborne Division near Bastogne.
Moved to Belgium in early 1945, and participated in the Western Allied invasion of Germany, participating in 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.
Post-waredit
After V-E Day, became part of the United States Air Forces in Europe, at Villacoublay Airfield and was part of the European Air Transport System, supporting the occupation forces in Germany as well as carrying supplies and personnel between various stations in Western Europe. Inactivated in early 1946 while stationed in France.
Deployed to Japan for combat operations in 1950 for the Korean War. Furnished airlift between Japan and Korea and airdropped paratroops and supplies at Sukchon/Sunchon and Munsan-ni. was part of airborne assaults on Sukchon and Munsan-ni.
Return to United Statesedit
Returned to the United States in 1954, was equipped by TAC as one of the first Lockheed C-130 Hercules squadrons when the aircraft came into operational service. The squadron flew airlift from the Philippines into Vietnam, March–May 1965.
Flying trainingedit
It has conducted C-130 Training since 1971.
2020 Coronoavirus epidemicedit
To protect Air Force personnel from infection, in 2020 the squadron took on a new task: flying Air Education and Training Command students to training locations. Normally such students take commercial flights.[4]
Campaigns and decorationsedit
Campaigns. World War II: Sicily; Naples-Foggia; Rome-Arno; Normandy; Northern France; Rhineland; Central Europe. Korea: UN Defensive; UN Offensive; CCF Intervention; First UN Counteroffensive; CCF Spring Offensive; UN Summer-Fall Offensive; Second Korean Winter; Korea Summer-Fall, 1952; Third Korean Winter; Korea, Summer 1953. Vietnam: Vietnam Defensive.
Decorations. Distinguished Unit Citations: Sicily, 11 July 1943; France, [6–7] Jun 1944; Korea, 28 November-10 Dec 1950. Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards: 6 May 1953 – 10 September 1954; 11 January-14 Feb 1955; 1 January 1960 – 31 December 1961; 1 September 1962 – 15 April 1963; 1 December 1965 – 30 June 1967; 1 June 1969 – 31 May 1971; 1 January 1975 – 30 June 1976; 1 June 1985 – 31 May 1986; 1 July 1991 – 30 June 1993; 1 July 1993 – 30 June 1995; 1 July 1995 – 31 March 1997; 1 July 1997 – 30 June 1999; 1 July 1999 – 30 June 2001; 1 July 2001 – 30 June 2003; 1 July 2003 – 30 June 2004; 1 July 2005 – 30 June 2006; 1 July 2006 – 30 June 2007; 1 July 2008 – 30 June 2009. Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, 1 July 1951 – 27 July 1953.
Lineageedit
Constituted as the 62d Troop Carrier Squadron on 27 November 1942
Activated on 5 December 1942
Inactivated on 27 August 1946
Redesignated 62d Troop Carrier Squadron, Medium on 20 September 1949
Activated on 17 October 1949
Redesignated 62d Troop Carrier Squadron on 1 March 1966
Redesignated 62d Tactical Airlift Squadron on 1 May 1967
Redesignated 62d Airlift Squadron on 1 December 1991[1]
Sewart Air Force Base, Tennessee, 15 November 1954 (deployed to Évreux-Fauville Air Base, France, 6 June–August 1961; Clark Air Base, Philippines, 19 May-29 Jul 1962, 5 August–October 1964, March–May 1965; RAF Mildenhall, England, 15 December 1967-c. 28 March 1968, 1 July-2 Oct 1968, and 16 November 1969 – 11 January 1970)
^Ford, Jaden. "Little Rock AFB's 62nd AS protects training pipeline with airlift assistance". Air Education and Training Command. U.S. Air Force. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
^Station information in Robertson, except as noted.
Bibliographyedit
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
Anderson, Capt. Barry (1985). (PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL yes: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 January 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
Johnson, 1st Lt. David C. (1988). (PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2017.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961]. Air Force Combat Units of World War II(PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN0-912799-02-1. LCCN 61060979. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II(PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN0-912799-12-9. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
Watkins, Robert (2008). Battle Colors. Vol. III Insignia and Markings of the Ninth Air Force in World War II. Atglen, PA: Shiffer Publishing Ltd. ISBN978-0-7643-2938-8.
Volume IV, European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations
External linksedit
December 14, 2023
62nd, airlift, squadron, this, article, includes, list, general, references, lacks, sufficient, corresponding, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citations, december, 2012, learn, when, remove, this, template, . This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations December 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message The 62nd Airlift Squadron is part of the 314th Airlift Wing at Little Rock Air Force Base Arkansas Originally constituted in 1942 as the 62nd Troop Carrier Squadron it first deployed to Morocco in 1943 remaining in Europe until its inactivation in 1946 It reactivated three years later and deployed to Japan during the Korean War In 1967 the unit was redesignated the 62nd Tactical Airlift Squadron and in 1991 the 62nd Airlift Squadron It operates Lockheed C 130J Super Hercules aircraft and provides advanced training to pilots copilots and loadmasters for combat airlift and airdrop operations 62nd Airlift SquadronA 314th Airlift Wing C 130 Hercules delivers relief supplies to Wajir Airport KenyaActive1942 1946 1949 presentCountry United StatesBranch United States Air ForceRoleAirlift TrainingPart ofAir Education and Training CommandGarrison HQLittle Rock Air Force BaseNickname s Blue BaronsMotto s Primus in Toto Latin First in Everything WW II 1993 present EngagementsMediterranean Theater of OperationsEuropean Theater of OperationsKorean WarVietnam War 1 DecorationsDistinguished Unit CitationAir Force Outstanding Unit AwardRepublic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation 1 Insignia62nd Airlift Squadron emblem approved 9 December 1994 1 62nd Troop Carrier Squadron emblem approved 26 October 1993 1 62nd Troop Carrier Squadron emblem approved 24 April 1953 2 62nd Troop Carrier Squadron emblem World War II 3 Contents 1 History 1 1 World War II 1 2 Post war 1 3 Tactical Air Command 1 4 Korean War 1 5 Return to United States 1 6 Flying training 1 7 2020 Coronoavirus epidemic 1 8 Campaigns and decorations 2 Lineage 2 1 Assignments 2 2 Stations 2 3 Aircraft 3 References 3 1 Notes 3 2 Bibliography 4 External linksHistory editWorld War II edit Activated in late 1942 under I Troop Carrier Command and equipped with Douglas C 47 Skytrains Trained in various parts of the eastern United States Deployed to French Morocco in May 1943 and assigned to Twelfth Air Force to support combat operations in the North African Campaign Remained with Twelfth Air Force moving to Tunisia and Sicily providing transport and resupply operations as well as casualty evacuation of wounded personnel in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations MTO Reassigned to IX Troop Carrier Command in England during early 1944 as part of the build up of Allied forces prior to the D Day invasion of France Began operations by dropping paratroops into 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 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 dropped paratroops near Nijmegen and towed gliders carrying reinforcements during the airborne attack on the Netherlands In December it participated in the Battle of the Bulge by releasing gliders with supplies for the 101st Airborne Division near Bastogne Moved to Belgium in early 1945 and participated in the Western Allied invasion of Germany participating in 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 Post war edit After V E Day became part of the United States Air Forces in Europe at Villacoublay Airfield and was part of the European Air Transport System supporting the occupation forces in Germany as well as carrying supplies and personnel between various stations in Western Europe Inactivated in early 1946 while stationed in France Tactical Air Command edit Reactivated as part of Tactical Air Command TAC in 1949 with Fairchild C 82 Packets and various gliders as an assault squadron Korean War edit Deployed to Japan for combat operations in 1950 for the Korean War Furnished airlift between Japan and Korea and airdropped paratroops and supplies at Sukchon Sunchon and Munsan ni was part of airborne assaults on Sukchon and Munsan ni Return to United States edit Returned to the United States in 1954 was equipped by TAC as one of the first Lockheed C 130 Hercules squadrons when the aircraft came into operational service The squadron flew airlift from the Philippines into Vietnam March May 1965 Flying training edit It has conducted C 130 Training since 1971 2020 Coronoavirus epidemic edit To protect Air Force personnel from infection in 2020 the squadron took on a new task flying Air Education and Training Command students to training locations Normally such students take commercial flights 4 Campaigns and decorations edit Campaigns World War II Sicily Naples Foggia Rome Arno Normandy Northern France Rhineland Central Europe Korea UN Defensive UN Offensive CCF Intervention First UN Counteroffensive CCF Spring Offensive UN Summer Fall Offensive Second Korean Winter Korea Summer Fall 1952 Third Korean Winter Korea Summer 1953 Vietnam Vietnam Defensive Decorations Distinguished Unit Citations Sicily 11 July 1943 France 6 7 Jun 1944 Korea 28 November 10 Dec 1950 Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards 6 May 1953 10 September 1954 11 January 14 Feb 1955 1 January 1960 31 December 1961 1 September 1962 15 April 1963 1 December 1965 30 June 1967 1 June 1969 31 May 1971 1 January 1975 30 June 1976 1 June 1985 31 May 1986 1 July 1991 30 June 1993 1 July 1993 30 June 1995 1 July 1995 31 March 1997 1 July 1997 30 June 1999 1 July 1999 30 June 2001 1 July 2001 30 June 2003 1 July 2003 30 June 2004 1 July 2005 30 June 2006 1 July 2006 30 June 2007 1 July 2008 30 June 2009 Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation 1 July 1951 27 July 1953 Lineage editConstituted as the 62d Troop Carrier Squadron on 27 November 1942Activated on 5 December 1942 Inactivated on 27 August 1946Redesignated 62d Troop Carrier Squadron Medium on 20 September 1949Activated on 17 October 1949 Redesignated 62d Troop Carrier Squadron on 1 March 1966 Redesignated 62d Tactical Airlift Squadron on 1 May 1967 Redesignated 62d Airlift Squadron on 1 December 1991 1 Assignments edit 315th Troop Carrier Group 5 December 1942 attached to 89th Troop Carrier Group 314th Troop Carrier Group 15 March 1943 Third Air Force Aug 27 August 1946 314th Troop Carrier Group 17 October 1949 314th Troop Carrier Wing 8 October 1957 attached to 322d Air Division 6 June August 1961 Detachment 3 315th Air Division 19 May 29 July 1962 and 5 August October 1964 315th Air Division March May 1965 839th Air Division 1 December 1965 attached to Troop Carrier Wing Provisional 4413 64th Troop Carrier Wing later 64th Tactical Airlift Wing 1 July 1966 attached to 513th Tactical Airlift Wing 15 December 1967 8 April 1968 29 June 2 Oct 1968 16 November 1969 11 January 1970 3 July 30 August 1970 322d Tactical Airlift Wing 10 April 12 Jun 1971 314th Tactical Airlift Wing 31 May 1971 34th Tactical Airlift Training Group 1 November 1978 314th Operations Group 1 December 1991 present 1 Stations edit Sedalia Army Air Field Missouri 5 December 1942 Del Valle Army Air Base Texas 12 December 1942 Pope Field North Carolina 12 January 1943 Lawson Field Georgia 25 February 3 May 1943 Berguent Airfield French Morocco 29 May 1943 Kairouan Airfield Tunisia 24 June 1943 Castelvetrano Airfield Sicily 3 September 1943 15 February 1944 RAF Saltby AAF 538 5 England 24 February 1944 Poix Airfield B 44 6 France Mar 1945 Villacoublay Airfield A 42 6 France 15 October 1945 15 February 1946 Bolling Field District of Columbia 15 February 1946 Greenville Army Air Base South Carolina August 27 August 1946 Smyrna Air Force Base later Sewart Air Force Base Tennessee 17 October 1949 27 August 1950 Ashiya Air Base Japan 4 September 1950 15 November 1954 Sewart Air Force Base Tennessee 15 November 1954 deployed to Evreux Fauville Air Base France 6 June August 1961 Clark Air Base Philippines 19 May 29 Jul 1962 5 August October 1964 March May 1965 RAF Mildenhall England 15 December 1967 c 28 March 1968 1 July 2 Oct 1968 and 16 November 1969 11 January 1970 Little Rock Air Force Base Arkansas 9 March 1970 present deployed to RAF Mildenhall England 3 July 30 August 1970 Rhein Main Air Base Germany 2 April 31 May 1971 7 Coronoavirus EpidemicCoronoavirus Epidemic Aircraft edit Douglas C 47 Skytrain 1943 1946 Fairchild C 82 Packet 1949 1950 Fairchild C 119 Flying Boxcar 1950 1957 Lockheed C 130 Hercules 1956 present 1 References edit nbsp World War II portalNotes edit a b c d e f g Robertson Patsy 15 December 2010 Factsheet 62 Airlift Squadron Air Force Historical Research Agency Retrieved 5 October 2017 Maurer Combat Squadrons pp 240 241 Watkins p 69 Ford Jaden Little Rock AFB s 62nd AS protects training pipeline with airlift assistance Air Education and Training Command U S Air Force Retrieved 25 March 2021 Station number in Anderson a b Station number in Johnson Station information in Robertson except as noted Bibliography edit nbsp This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency Anderson Capt Barry 1985 Army Air Forces Stations A Guide to the Stations Where U S Army Air Forces Personnel Served in the United Kingdom During World War II PDF Maxwell AFB AL yes Research Division USAF Historical Research Center Archived from the original PDF on 23 January 2016 Retrieved 28 June 2017 Johnson 1st Lt David C 1988 U S Army Air Forces Continental Airfields ETO D Day to V E Day PDF Maxwell AFB AL Research Division USAF Historical Research Center Archived from the original PDF on 29 September 2015 Retrieved 26 June 2017 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint numeric names authors list link Maurer Maurer ed 1983 1961 Air Force Combat Units of World War II PDF reprint ed Washington DC Office of Air Force History ISBN 0 912799 02 1 LCCN 61060979 Retrieved 17 December 2016 Maurer Maurer ed 1982 1969 Combat Squadrons of the Air Force World War II PDF reprint ed Washington DC Office of Air Force History ISBN 0 405 12194 6 LCCN 70605402 OCLC 72556 Retrieved 17 December 2016 Ravenstein Charles A 1984 Air Force Combat Wings Lineage amp Honors Histories 1947 1977 Washington DC Office of Air Force History ISBN 0 912799 12 9 Retrieved 17 December 2016 Watkins Robert 2008 Battle Colors Vol III Insignia and Markings of the Ninth Air Force in World War II Atglen PA Shiffer Publishing Ltd ISBN 978 0 7643 2938 8 Volume IV European African Middle Eastern Theater of OperationsExternal links edit314th Operations Group Fact Sheet Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 62nd Airlift Squadron amp oldid 1167741987, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
