The 31st Airlift Squadron is an inactive

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 ...

unit. Its last was assigned to the

436th Operations Group The 436th Operations Group is an active United States Air Force unit. It is the flying component of the Eighteenth Air Force 436th Airlift Wing, stationed at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. The unit's World War II predecessor unit, the 436t ...

Air Mobility Command Air Mobility Command (AMC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the U.S. Air Force. It is headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, east of St. Louis, Missouri. Air Mobility Command was established on 1 June 1992, and was formed from elements ...

, stationed at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. It was inactivated on 14 January 1994.

History

First activated as a ferrying unit during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Served on the North Atlantic Ferrying Route until disbanded in 1943 and replaced by Station 19, North Atlantic Wing, Air Transport Command in a general reorganization of

Air Transport Command Air Transport Command (ATC) was a United States Air Force unit that was created during World War II as the strategic airlift component of the United States Army Air Forces. It had two main missions, the first being the delivery of supplies and ...

. Reactivated in 1952 as a C-124 Globemaster II heavy airlift squadron. Flew worldwide very long range strategic airlift missions for

Military Air Transport Service The Military Air Transport Service (MATS) is an inactive Department of Defense Unified Command. Activated on 1 June 1948, MATS was a consolidation of the United States Navy's Naval Air Transport Service (NATS) and the United States Air Force's ...

(Later Military Airlift Command) on a global scale, inactivated in 1969 with the retirement of the C-124. Reactivated in 1989 as a C-5 Galaxy strategic airlift squadron when the C-5B began production. Flew global transport missions of equipment and personnel until being inactivated after the end of the Cold War.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 31st Ferrying Squadron c. 9 July 1942 : Activated on 25 July 1942 : Redesignated 31st Transport Squadron c. 24 March 1943 * Disbanded on 1 September 1943 * Reconstituted as the 31st Air Transport Squadron, Heavy on 20 June 1952 : Activated on 20 July 1952 : Redesignated 31st Troop Carrier Squadron, Heavy on 1 June 1965 : Redesignated 31st Military Airlift Squadron on 8 January 1966 : Inactivated on 8 April 1969 : Reactivated on 1 October 1989 : Redesignated as: 31st Airlift Squadron on 1 December 1991 : Inactivated on 14 January 1994

Assignments

* 8th Ferrying Group (later 8th Transport Group), 25 July 1942 – 1 September 1943 * 1600th Air Transport Group, 20 July 1952 *

1607th Air Transport Wing The 1607th Air Transport Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the Eastern Transport Air Force, Military Air Transport Service, stationed at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. It was inactivated on 8 January ...

, 1 July 1955 *

436th Military Airlift Wing The 436th Airlift Wing is an active United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to Air Mobility Command's Eighteenth Air Force, and is based at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. Known as the "Eagle Wing", the 436th consists of the operations, ...

, 8 January 1966 – 1 April 1969 * 436th Military Airlift Wing, 1 October 1989 *

, 1 December 1991 – 14 January 1994

Stations

Presque Isle Army Air Field ''Beautiful Minds'' (french: Presque) is a 2021 French-Swiss comedy-drama film directed by Bernard Campan and Alexandre Jollien. Cast * Bernard Campan - Louis Caretti * Alexandre Jollien - Igor * Marie Benati - la prostituée * Marilyne Canto ...

, Maine, 25 July 1942 *

Meeks Field Naval Air Station Keflavik (NASKEF) was a United States Navy station at Keflavík International Airport, Iceland, located on the Reykjanes peninsula on the south-west portion of the island. NASKEF was closed on 8 September 2006, and its facilitie ...

, Iceland, August 1942 – 1 September 1943 * Westover Air Force Base, Massachusetts, 20 July 1952 * Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, 19 June 1955 – 1 April 1969Mueller, p. 114 * Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, 1 October 1989 – 14 January 1994

Aircraft

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 ...

, 1952–1966, 1966–1969 * C-5 Galaxy, 1989–1994

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * {{cite book, last=Ulanoff, first=Stanley M., title=MATS: The Story of the Military Air Transport Service, year=1964, publisher=Franklin Watts, Inc., location=New York, NY, isbn=978-1-19908-768-3 031 031