The 333d Special Operations Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was active from July 1968 through March 1970 at Pleiku Air Base, South Vietnam. In 1985, the wing was consolidated with the 333d Bombardment Group as the 333d Special Operations Wing.

History

World War II

Heavy bomber training unit

The 333d Bombardment Group, a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Operational Training Unit (OTU) assigned to Second Air Force, was established at

Topeka Army Air Base Topeka Regional Airport , formerly known as Forbes Field, is a joint civil-military public airport owned by the Metropolitan Topeka Airport Authority in Shawnee County, Kansas, seven miles south of downtown Topeka, the capital city of Kansas. The ...

, Kansas in July 1942. The 333d's original components were the 466th, 467th, 468th and 469th Bombardment Squadrons.Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 213-214Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', 572-575 The squadrons were all initially formed at Salt Lake City Army Air Base, and did not join group

headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

at Topeka until late August. The OTU program involved the use of an oversized parent unit to provide cadres to "satellite groups". In February 1943 it moved to Dalhart Army Air Field, Texas, and shifted its mission to become a Replacement Training Unit (RTU). RTUs were also oversized units, but trained individual

pilots An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

aircrew Aircrew, also called flight crew, are personnel who operate an aircraft while in flight. The composition of a flight's crew depends on the type of aircraft, plus the flight's duration and purpose. Commercial aviation Flight deck positions ...

s for shipment to theaters of operation. However, the

Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

found that standard military units like the 333d, based on relatively inflexible tables of organization, were not proving well adapted to the training mission. Accordingly a more functional system was adopted in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit. As a result, the group was inactivated and training activities at Dalhart were assumed by the 232d (bomber) and 268th (fighter) AAF Base Units.

Very heavy bomber operations

Dalhart became a center for organizing

Boeing B-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Fl ...

very heavy bombardment groups and the 333d was again activated there in July 1944. However, its original squadrons were not activated along with it. Instead, the 435th, 460th, and

507th Bombardment Squadron The 507th Bombardment Squadron is a former unit of the United States Army Air Forces. It was briefly activated in the spring of 1944, then activated again in the summer as a Boeing B-29 Superfortress unit. It trained for active service during ...

s were assigned. These three squadrons had previously been the "fourth" (highest numbered) squadrons in groups that also flew B-29s. The three squadrons had been inactivated in May 1944, when B-29 groups were reorganized to have three, rather than four squadrons. The 435th had seen combat in the Southwest Pacific Theater early in the war. In January 1945 the group moved to Great Bend Army Air Field, Kansas, where it continued its training until June 1945. The group deployed to Okinawa as part of

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Force ...

in the Pacific Theater. It arrived in Okinawa, but the end of the war with the

defeat of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Nav ...

led to a drawdown of Eighth Air Force and the group never engaged in combat. The group helped evacuate prisoners of war from Japan to airfields in the Philippines. The unit was inactivated on Okinawa on 28 May 1946.

Vietnam War

The 633d Combat Support Group had provided support for Air Force units at Pleiku Air Base, South Vietnam since the spring of 1966. In February 1968, the

6th Air Commando Squadron The 6th Special Operations Squadron is part of the 27th Special Operations Wing (27 SOW) at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico. The squadron operates MC-130J Commando II aircraft in support of special operations. The 6th SOS specializes in the u ...

, flying Douglas A-1 Skyraiders, moved to Pleiku from England Air Force Base, Louisiana and was assigned to the 14th Air Commando Wing, which was located at Nha Trang Air Base. The 633d Special Operations Wing was activated in July 1968 to act as the headquarters for both units stationed at Pleiku. The wing engaged in special operations combat, including

close air support In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and moveme ...

, air escort, day and night interdiction, and visual and photographic reconnaissance from its activation until November 1969. In November 1969 its only operational squadron was inactivated in Operation Keystone Cardinal, the first reduction in

United States Air Forces The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, 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 ...

combat forces as ceilings on forces in South Vietnam were reduced and the United States began to withdraw. Its Douglas A-1 Skyraiders were transferred to the 56th Special Operations Wing in Thailand. The wing managed the reduction of United States forces at Pleiku until March 1970, when it was inactivated and transferred its remaining equipment and personnel to the 6254th Air Base Squadron.

Consolidation and redesignation

In July 1985, the wing was consolidated with the 333d Bombardment Group, a World War II unit that also served in the Pacific area. The consolidated unit was designated the 333d Special Operations Wing, but has never been active under that designation.Department of the Air Force/MPM Letter 648q, 31 July 1985, Subject: Reconstitution, Redesignation, and Consolidation of Selected Air Force Organizations

Lineage

; 333d Bombardment Group * Constituted as the 333d Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 9 July 1942 : Activated on 15 July 1942 : Inactivated on 1 April 1944 * Redesignated 333d Bombardment Group, Very Heavy : Activated on 7 July 1944 : Inactivated on 28 May 1946 * Consolidated with the 633d Special Operations Wing as the 333d Special Operations Wing on 31 July 1985 ; 333d Special Operations Wing * Established as the 633d Special Operations Wing and activated on 9 July 1968 (not organized) : Organized on 15 July 1968 : Inactivated on 15 March 1970 : Consolidated with the 333d Bombardment Group as the 333d Special Operations Wing on 31 July 1985

Assignments

21st Bombardment Wing 021 is: * in Brazil, the telephone area code for the city of Rio de Janeiro and surrounding cities (Greater Rio de Janeiro) * in China, the telephone area code for the city of Shanghai. * in Indonesia, the area code for the city of Jakarta and su ...

, 15 Jul 1942 * Probably II Bomber Command, 21 February 1943 – 1 April 1944 * Probably II Bomber Command, 7 July 1944 * 316th Bombardment Wing (later 316th Composite Wing), by 31 August 1945 – 28 May 1946 * Pacific Air Forces, 9 July 1968 (not organized) * Seventh Air Force, 15 July 1968 – 15 March 1970

Components

; Group * 633d Combat Support Group, 15 July 1968- 15 March 1970 ; Squadrons * 6th Air Commando Squadron (later 6th Special Operations Squadron), 15 July 1968 – 15 November 1969 * 466th Bombardment Squadron, 15 July 1942—1 April 1944 * 467th Bombardment Squadron, 15 July 1942—1 April 1944 * 468th Bombardment Squadron, 15 July 1942—1 April 1944 * 469th Bombardment Squadron, 15 July 1942—1 April 1944 * 435th Bombardment Squadron, 7 July 1944 – 28 May 1946 * 460th Bombardment Squadron, 7 July 1944 – 28 May 1946 * 507th Bombardment Squadron, 7 July 1944 – 28 May 1946 * 633d Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, 15 July 1968 – 15 March 1970 ; Other * 31st Photo Laboratory, c. 7 July 1944 – c. 28 May 1946 * 633d USAF infirmary, 15 July 1968 – 15 March 1970

Stations

, Kansas, 15 July 1942 * Dalhart Army Air Field, Texas, 22 February 1943 – 1 April 1944 * Dalhart Army Air Field, Texas, 7 July 1944 * Great Bend Army Air Field, Kansas, 13 January – 18 June 1945 * Kadena Air Base, Okinawa 5 August 1945 – 28 May 1946Station information through 1946 in Maurer, pp. 213-214 * Pleiku Air Base, South Vietnam, 9 July 1968 – 15 March 1970

Aircraft

* Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, 1942-1944 * Boeing B-29 Superfortress, 1944-1946 * Douglas A-1 Skyraider, 1968-1969

Campaigns and awards

References

; Notes

Bibliography

* *: * * * * {{USAAF 2d Air Force World War II Pleiku Military units and formations established in 1968 Special operations wings of the United States Air Force