7th Special Operations Squadron
The 7th Special Operations Squadron is an active flying unit of the United States Air Force. It is a component of the 752d Special Operations Group (752 SOG), United States Special Operations Command, and is currently based at Royal Air Force Station Mildenhall in Suffolk, UK. From their base at RAF Mildenhall, the 7th Special Operations Squadron is able to deploy or extract troops from hostile, sensitive, or otherwise undesirable locations. The squadron flies the CV-22 Osprey. Their mission is to provide long-range infiltration, exfiltration and resupply of non-conventional special operation forces. The CV-22 is fitted with advanced electronic warfare systems, terrain following and avoidance radars, and navigation systems allowing them to operate under almost any adverse weather or time condition, to maximum efficiency. World War II As the 27th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, the unit was assigned to Third Air Force (Jul 1942 – Nov 1943) in the southeastern United State ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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CV-22 Osprey
The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-mission, tiltrotor military aircraft with both vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities. It is designed to combine the functionality of a conventional helicopter with the long-range, high-speed cruise performance of a turboprop aircraft. In 1980, the failure of Operation Eagle Claw (during the Iran hostage crisis) underscored that there were military roles for which neither conventional helicopters nor fixed-wing transport aircraft were well-suited. The United States Department of Defense (DoD) initiated a program to develop an innovative transport aircraft with long-range, high-speed, and vertical-takeoff capabilities, and the Joint-service Vertical take-off/landing Experimental (JVX) program officially commenced in 1981. A partnership between Bell Helicopter and Boeing Helicopters was awarded a development contract in 1983 for the V-22 tiltrotor aircraft. The Bell Boeing team joint ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey
The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-mission, tiltrotor military aircraft with both vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities. It is designed to combine the functionality of a conventional helicopter with the long-range, high-speed cruise performance of a turboprop aircraft. In 1980, the failure of Operation Eagle Claw (during the Iran hostage crisis) underscored that there were military roles for which neither conventional helicopters nor fixed-wing transport aircraft were well-suited. The United States Department of Defense (DoD) initiated a program to develop an innovative transport aircraft with long-range, high-speed, and vertical-takeoff capabilities, and the Joint-service Vertical take-off/landing Experimental (JVX) program officially commenced in 1981. A partnership between Bell Helicopter and Boeing Helicopters was awarded a development contract in 1983 for the V-22 tiltrotor aircraft. The Bell Boeing team joint ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 October 1990. During the Cold War, the western portion of Germany and the associated territory of West Berlin were parts of the Western Bloc. West Germany was formed as a political entity during the Allied occupation of Germany after World War II, established from eleven states formed in the three Allied zones of occupation held by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. The FRG's provisional capital was the city of Bonn, and the Cold War era country is retrospectively designated as the Bonn Republic. At the onset of the Cold War, Europe was divided between the Western and Eastern blocs. Germany was divided into the two countries. Initially, West Germany claimed an exclusive mandate for all of Germany, representing itself as t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ramstein Air Base
Ramstein Air Base or Ramstein AB is a United States Air Force base in Rhineland-Palatinate, a state in southwestern Germany. It serves as headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) and also for NATO Allied Air Command (AIRCOM). Ramstein is located near the town of Ramstein-Miesenbach, which stands outside the base's west gate, in the rural district of Kaiserslautern. The east gate of Ramstein Air Base is approximately from Kaiserslautern (locally referred to by Americans as "K-Town"). Other nearby civilian communities include Landstuhl, some from the west gate. Overview The host unit is the 86th Airlift Wing (86AW), commanded by Brigadier General Otis C. Jones. The 86th Airlift Wing is composed of six groups, 30 squadrons and four bases in Germany, Spain, the Azores, and Belgium. Its mission is the operation and maintenance of airlift assets consisting of C-130Js, C-21s, and C-37A Gulfstream aircraft throughout ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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MC-130
The Lockheed MC-130 is the basic designation for a family of special mission aircraft operated by the United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), a wing of the Air Education and Training Command, and an AFSOC-gained wing of the Air Force Reserve Command. Based on the Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport, the MC-130s' missions are the infiltration, exfiltration, and resupply of special operations forces, and the air refueling of (primarily) special operations helicopter and tilt-rotor aircraft. The first of the variants, the MC-130E, was developed to support clandestine special operations missions during the Vietnam War. Eighteen were created by modifying C-130E transports, and four lost through attrition, but the remainder served more than four decades after their initial modification. An update, the MC-130H Combat Talon II, was developed in the 1980s from the C-130H and went into service in the 1990s. Four of the original 24 H-series aircraft have been lost in op ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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17th Air Force
The Seventeenth Expeditionary Air Force (17 EAF) was a numbered air force of the United States Air Force located at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The command served the United States Air Forces in Europe during (1953–1996) and AFAFRICA, United States Air Forces Africa during 2008–2012. Upon reactivation on 1 October 2008, it became the air and space component of United States Africa Command. In this capacity, Seventeenth Air Force was referred to as U.S. Air Forces Africa (AFAFRICA). 17 AF was reformed in April 2012 to become the 17th Expeditionary Air Force, sharing a commander and headquarters with the Third Air Force. As of March 2022, the Third Air Force is United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa, USAFE-AFAFRICA's sole numbered air force, with the 17 EAF having been inactivated in July 2018. Seventeenth Air Force housed the traditional Continental Staff System, A-staff and special staff functions which are responsible for developing strategy and plans to exe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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C-130E
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medevac, and cargo transport aircraft. The versatile airframe has found uses in other roles, including as a gunship (AC-130), for airborne assault, search and rescue, scientific research support, weather reconnaissance, aerial refueling, maritime patrol, and aerial firefighting. It is now the main tactical airlifter for many military forces worldwide. More than 40 variants of the Hercules, including civilian versions marketed as the Lockheed L-100, operate in more than 60 nations. The C-130 entered service with the U.S. in 1956, followed by Australia and many other nations. During its years of service, the Hercules has participated in numerous military, civilian and humanitarian aid operations. In 2007, the C-130 became the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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C-47
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (Royal Air Force, RAF, Royal Australian Air Force, RAAF, Royal Canadian Air Force, RCAF, Royal New Zealand Air Force, RNZAF, and South African Air Force, SAAF designation) is a airlift, military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies of World War II, Allies during World War II and remained in front-line service with various military operators for many years.Parker 2013, pp. 13, 35, 37, 39, 45-47. Design and development The C-47 differed from the civilian DC-3 by way of numerous modifications, including being fitted with a cargo door, hoist attachment and strengthened floor - along with a shortened tail cone for Military glider, glider-towing shackles, and an Astrodome (aeronautics), astrodome in the cabin roof.Wilson, Stewart. ''Aircraft of WWII''. Fyshwick, ACT, Australia: Aerospace Publications Pty Ltd., 1998. . During World War II, the armed forces of many countries used ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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C-123
The Fairchild C-123 Provider is an American military transport aircraft designed by Chase Aircraft and then built by Fairchild Aircraft for the U.S. Air Force. In addition to its USAF service, which included later service with the Air Force Reserve and the Air National Guard, it also went on to serve most notably with the U.S. Coast Guard and various air forces in Southeast Asia. During the War in Vietnam, the C-123 was used to deliver supplies, to evacuate the wounded, and also used to spray Agent Orange. Design and development The C-123 Provider was designed originally as an assault military glider, glider aircraft for the United States Air Force (USAF) by Chase Aircraft as the Chase XCG-20, XCG-20 (Chase designation MS-8 Avitruc)Gunston 1980a, p. 170. Two powered variants of the XCG-20 were developed during the early 1950s, as the XC-123 and Chase XC-123A, XC-123A. The only difference between the two was the type of engines used. The XC-123 used two Pratt & Whitney R-2800-2 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1st Air Commando Wing
The 1st Special Operations Wing (1 SOW) at Hurlburt Field, Florida is one of three United States Air Force active duty Special Operations wings and falls under the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). The 1st Special Operations Wing is a successor organization of the 16th Pursuit Group, one of the 15 original combat air groups formed by the Army before World War II. Heraldry The unit's current emblem was approved on 6 June 1963. The 16th Pursuit Group's emblem was approved in 1934. It has four lightning bolts—representing the four assigned squadrons—depicting destruction from the sky. History 16th Pursuit Group The beginnings of the 1st Special Operations Wing can be traced to the authorization by the Army Air Service of the 16th Pursuit Group on 24 March 1923 as part of the United States Army Panama Department at Albrook Field, Canal Zone. The unit, however, was not activated until 1 December 1932. The 16th Pursuit Group spent its entire existence in the de ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hurlburt Field
Hurlburt Field is a United States Air Force installation located in Okaloosa County, Florida, immediately west of the town of Mary Esther. It is part of the greater Eglin Air Force Base reservation and is home to Headquarters Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), the 1st Special Operations Wing (1 SOW), the USAF Special Operations School (USAFSOS) and the Air Combat Command's (ACC) 505th Command and Control Wing. It was named for First Lieutenant Donald Wilson Hurlburt, who died in a crash at Eglin. The installation is nearly and employs nearly 8,000 military personnel. This facility is assigned a three-letter location identifier of HRT by the Federal Aviation Administration, but it does not have an International Air Transport Association (IATA) airport code (the IATA assigned HRT to RAF Linton-on-Ouse in England)., effective November 10, 2016. History Hurlburt began as a small training field for the much larger Eglin Field. It was initially designat ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |