The 15th Airlift Squadron is part of the 437th Airlift Wing at

Charleston Air Force Base Charleston Air Force Base is a United States military facility located in the City of North Charleston, South Carolina. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force's 628th Air Base Wing (628 ABW), a subordinate element ...

, South Carolina. It operates

Boeing C-17 Globemaster III The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft that was developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 carries forward the name of two ...

aircraft supporting the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

global reach mission worldwide.

Mission

The 15th Airlift Squadron, "Global Eagles", provides combat-ready C-17 aircrews for strategic airlift missions worldwide. The squadron is tasks include emergency nuclear airlift, Presidential support and humanitarian relief efforts.

History

World War II

Constituted 15th Transport Squadron on 20 Nov 1940. Activated on 4 Dec 1940 at Duncan Field, TX, and was assigned to the 61st Transport (later, 61st Troop Carrier) Group. The squadron flew the C-33 and then C-39 between 1941 and 1942. Converted to

Douglas C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in ...

s in early 1942, trained under

I Troop Carrier Command The I Troop Carrier Command is a disbanded United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Continental Air Forces, at Stout Field, Indiana, where it was disbanded in November 1945, and its resources transferred to IX Troop Carrier Com ...

for combat operations. Redesignated 15th Troop Carrier Squadron on 4 Jul 1942.

Post WW2

Reactivated on 30 Sep 1946. Redesignated: 15th Troop Carrier Squadron, Medium, Eschborn AB, Germany. Then, relocated to Rhein-Main AB, Germany, on 9 February 1947, it was redesignated as the 15th Troop Carrier Squadron, Medium, on 1 July 1948. The 15th moved to

McChord AFB McChord Field is a United States Air Force base in the northwest United States, in Pierce County, Washington. South of Tacoma, McChord Field is the home of the 62d Airlift Wing, Air Mobility Command, the field's primary mission being worldwi ...

, WA, on 26 July 1950, before relocating to

Ashiya AB is a military airdrome of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force . It is located north of Ashiya in the Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. History Ashiya Airfield was established as a Japanese Army Air Force facility in 1944, and was used primarily as a d ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

on 13 December 1950. During the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

it provided aerial transportation from the US to Japan, from August–December 1950, and between Japan and Korea, from 13 December 1950-November 1952. The squadron relocated from

Tachikawa AB is an airfield in the city of Tachikawa, the western part of Tokyo, Japan. Currently under the administration of the Ministry of Defense, it has also served as the civil aviation with Japan's first scheduled air service. History Origins Tach ...

, relocating there on 26 March 1952, to Larson AFB, WA, on 21 November 1952. During 1952 also saw the 15th transition to the C-124 aircraft, and the following year, the squadron was tasked was tasked with providing worldwide airlift. The squadron moved to

Donaldson AFB Donaldson Air Force Base is a former facility of the United States Air Force located south of Greenville, South Carolina. It was founded in 1942 as Greenville Army Air Base; it was deactivated in 1963 and converted into a civilian airport. It ...

, SC on 25 August 1954, before being reassigned to the 63rd Troop Carrier Group on 8 October 1959, and to the 63rd Troop Carrier (later, 63rd Military Airlift) Wing, on 18 January 1963. The unit relocated to

Hunter AFB Hunter Army Airfield , located in Savannah, Georgia, United States, is a military airfield and subordinate installation to Fort Stewart located in Hinesville, Georgia. Hunter features a runway that is 11,375 feet (3,468 m) long and an airc ...

, GA, on 1 April 1963. The squadron was redesignated as the 15th Military Airlift Squadron on 8 January 1966.

Global airlift

The 15th relocated to Norton AFB, CA, on 1 April 1967. That same year, it transitioned to the C-141. The squadron was reassigned to the 63rd Military Airlift Group, on 1 October 1978; and to the 63rd Military Airlift Wing, on 1 July 1980. The squadron provided airlift to Southeast Asia, 1966–1973; and to Grenada,

Operation Urgent Fury The United States invasion of Grenada began at dawn on 25 October 1983. The United States and a coalition of six Caribbean nations invaded the island nation of Grenada, north of Venezuela. Codenamed Operation Urgent Fury by the U.S. military, ...

, from October–November 1983; to Panama,

Operation Just Cause Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

, from 18 December 1989 – 8 January 1990; and to Southwest Asia, from August 1990-January 1991. Redesignated as the 15th Airlift Squadron on 1 January 1992 under the 63rd Operations Group, the 15th inactivated on 26 July 1993. The squadron reactivated on 1 October 1993 at

Joint Base Charleston Joint Base Charleston is a United States military facility located partly in the City of North Charleston, South Carolina and partly in the City of Goose Creek, South Carolina. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Forc ...

, SC, and was assigned to the 437th Operations Group. The 15th received its first C-17 in June 1993.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 15th Transport Squadron on 20 November 1940 : Activated on 4 December 1940 : Redesignated 15th Troop Carrier Squadron on 4 July 1942 : Inactivated on 31 July 1945 * Activated on 30 September 1946 : Redesignated 15th Troop Carrier Squadron, Medium on 1 July 1948 : Redesignated 15th Troop Carrier Squadron, Heavy on 15 August 1948 : Redesignated 15th Military Airlift Squadron on 8 January 1966 : Redesignated 15th Airlift Squadron on 1 January 1992 : Inactivated on 26 July 1993 * Activated on 1 October 1993

Assignments

* 61st Transport Group (later 61st Troop Carrier Group), 4 December 1940 – 31 July 1945 * 61st Troop Carrier Group, 30 September 1946 * 63d Troop Carrier Group, 8 October 1959 * 63d Troop Carrier Wing (later 63d Military Airlift Wing), 18 January 1963 * 63d Military Airlift Group, 1 October 1978 * 63d Military Airlift Wing, 1 July 1980 * 63d Operations Group, 1 January 1992 – 26 July 1993 * 437th Operations Group, 1 October 1993 – present

Stations

Duncan Field Kelly Field (formerly Kelly Air Force Base) is a Joint-Use facility located in San Antonio, Texas. It was originally named after George E. M. Kelly, the first member of the U.S. military killed in the crash of an airplane he was piloting. I ...

, Texas, 4 December 1940 * Augusta Airport, Georgia, 12 July 1941 *

Pope Field Pope Field is a U.S. military facility located 12 miles (19 km) northwest of the central business district of Fayetteville, in Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States.. Federal Aviation Administration. effective 15 November 2012 ...

, North Carolina, 24 May 1942 *

Lubbock Army Air Field Reese Technology Center is a research and business park located on the grounds of former Reese Air Force Base in western Lubbock, Texas, Lubbock at the unincorporated community of Reese Center, Texas, Reese Center. History Reese Technology Cente ...

, Texas, 15 November 1942 * Pope Field, North Carolina, 26 February–30 April 1943 *

Lourmel Airfield Lourmel Airfield is an abandoned military airfield in Algeria, located in the El Amria area. During World War II it was a civil airport seized by the United States Army during the Operation Torch landings in November 1942. After its capture fr ...

, Algeria, 15 May 1943 *

Kairouan Airfield Kairouan Airfield is an abandoned military airfield in Tunisia, which is located approximately 11 km south-southeast of Kairouan, 126 km south of Tunis. It was a major Troop Carrier unit base of the United States Army Air Force Twel ...

, Tunisia, 21 June 1943 *

Licata Airfield Licata Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield in Italy, located in the vicinity of Licata, Sicily. It was a temporary fighter airfield constructed in the immediate aftermath of Operation Husky by U.S. Army Engineers using pierc ...

, Sicily, 3 September 1943 * Sciacca Airfield, Sicily, 6 October 1943 – 12 February 1944 *

RAF Barkston Heath Royal Air Force Barkston Heath or RAF Barkston Heath is a Royal Air Force station near Grantham, Lincolnshire, England. RAF Barkston Heath has the Naval Element of No. 3 Flying Training School RAF (No. 3 FTS) which, for a period between appr ...

(AAF-483), England, 18 February 1944 * Abbeville/Drucat Airfield (B-92), France, 13 March–19 May 1945 * Waller Field, Trinidad, 19 May–31 July 1945 * AAF Station Eschborn, Germany, 30 September 1946 *

AAF Station Frankfurt Rhein-Main Air Base (located at ) was a United States Air Force air base near the city of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was a Military Airlift Command (MAC) and United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) installation, occupying the south side of ...

, Germany, 9 February 1947 – 21 July 1950 *

McChord Air Force Base McChord Field is a United States Air Force base in the northwest United States, in Pierce County, Washington. South of Tacoma, McChord Field is the home of the 62d Airlift Wing, Air Mobility Command, the field's primary mission being world ...

, Washington, 26 July–4 December 1950 * Ashiya Air Base, Japan, 13 December 1950 *

Tachikawa Air Base is an airfield in the city of Tachikawa, the western part of Tokyo, Japan. Currently under the administration of the Ministry of Defense, it has also served as the civil aviation with Japan's first scheduled air service. History Origins Tach ...

, Japan, 26 March–18 November 1952 *

Larson Air Force Base Larson Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base located five miles (8 km) northwest of the central business district (CBD) of Moses Lake, in Grant County, Washington. After its closure in 1966, the airport facility became G ...

, Washington, 21 November 1952 *

Donaldson Air Force Base Donaldson Air Force Base is a former facility of the United States Air Force located south of Greenville, South Carolina. It was founded in 1942 as Greenville Army Air Base; it was deactivated in 1963 and converted into a civilian airport. It ...

, South Carolina, 25 August 1954 *

Hunter Air Force Base Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/ antler, ...

, Georgia, 1 April 1963 *

Norton Air Force Base Norton Air Force Base (1942–1994) was a United States Air Force facility east of downtown San Bernardino in San Bernardino County, California. Overview For the majority of its operational lifetime, Norton was a logistics depot and heavy-li ...

, California, 1 April 1967 – 26 July 1993 *

, South Carolina, 1 October 1993 – presentStation information in AFHRA Factsheet, 15 Airlift Squadron, except as noted.

Aircraft

* Douglas C-33 (1941) * Douglas C-39 (1941–1942) * Douglas C-47 Skytrain (1942–1945, 1946–1948) *

Douglas C-54 Skymaster The Douglas C-54 Skymaster is a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and the Korean War. Like the Douglas C-47 Skytrain derived from the DC-3, the C-54 Skymaster was derived from a civilian a ...

(1948–1952) *

Douglas C-124 Globemaster II The Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, nicknamed "Old Shaky", is an American heavy-lift cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California. The C-124 was the primary heavy-lift transport for United States Air Force (USAF ...

(1952–1967) *

Lockheed C-141 Starlifter The Lockheed C-141 Starlifter is a retired military strategic airlifter that served with the Military Air Transport Service (MATS), its successor organization the Military Airlift Command (MAC), and finally the Air Mobility Command (AMC) of the ...

(1967–1997) *

(1997–present)

Awards and campaigns

* Campaigns. World War II: Sicily; Naples-Foggia; Normandy; Northern France; Rhineland; Central Europe. Korea: CCF Intervention; First UN Counteroffensive; CCF Spring Offensive; UN Summer-Fall Offensive; Second Korean Winter; Korean Summer-Fall, 1952. * Decorations.

Distinguished Unit Citation The Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the uniformed services of the United States, and those of allied countries, for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enem ...

s: Sicily, 11 July 1943; France, –7Jun 1944; Korea, 13 December 1950 – 21 April 1951.

Air Force Outstanding Unit Award The Air and Space Outstanding Unit Award (ASOUA) is one of the Awards and decorations of the United States Department of the Air Force, unit awards of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. It was established in 1954 as the A ...

s: 1 July 1957 – 10 December 1962; 1 July 1968 – 30 June 1969; 1 July 1970 – 30 June 1971; 1 June 1978 – 31 May 1980; 1 Jan-31 Dec 1983; 1 Jan-31 Dec 1987; 1 January 1990 – 30 April 1991.

Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation The Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation () is a military unit award of the government of South Korea that may be presented to South Korean military units, and foreign military units for outstanding performance in defense of the Republic o ...

: 1 Jul 1951– 8 Nov 1952 Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm: 1 April 1966 – 8 January 1973.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

15th Airlift Squadron Home Page
{{USAAF 12th Air Force World War II 0015 Military units and formations in South Carolina