The 39th Military 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 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, ...

Military Airlift Command The Military Airlift Command (MAC) is an inactive United States Air Force major command (MAJCOM) that was headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. Established on 1 January 1966, MAC was the primary strategic airlift organization of the ...

, stationed at

Dover Air Force Base Dover Air Force Base or Dover AFB is a United States Air Force base under the operational control of the Air Mobility Command (AMC), located southeast of the city of Dover, Delaware. 436th AW is the host wing and runs the busiest and largest a ...

, Delaware. It was inactivated on 31 March 1971.

History

Activated in 1942 to ferry newly manufactured combat aircraft to combat units deployed overseas. Primarily flew B-25 and B-26 medium bombers to

Southwest Pacific Area South West Pacific Area (SWPA) was the name given to the Allied supreme military command in the South West Pacific Theatre of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands in the Pacific War. SWPA included the Philippines, Borneo, the D ...

, however also ferried aircraft to Africa for units assigned to the North African Campaign and

European Theater of Operations The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It commanded Army Ground For ...

. Inactivated in October 1943 during realignment of Ferrying Command to

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 1954 under

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 ...

, operated Douglas C-54 Skymaster aircraft on a worldwide scale from

, Delaware. Upgraded to

Douglas C-133 Cargomaster The Douglas C-133 Cargomaster is an American large turboprop cargo aircraft built between 1956 and 1961 by the Douglas Aircraft Company for use with the United States Air Force. The C-133 was the USAF's only production turboprop-powered stra ...

heavy-lift strategic transports in 1957, and continued global strategic airlift operations. Reassigned to

(MAC) in 1966 after inactivation of MATS, continued operations until retirement of C-133s in 1971 then inactivated.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 39th Air Corps Ferrying Squadron on 9 July 1942 : Activated on 28 July 1942 : Redesignated 39th Transport Squadron on 24 March 1943 : Disbanded on 18 October 1943 * Reconstituted and redesignated 39th Air Transport Squadron, Medium on 4 November 1953 : Activated on 16 February 1954 : Redesignated 39th Air Transport Squadron, Heavy on 8 September 1957 : Redesignated 39th Military Airlift Squadron on 8 January 1966 : Inactivated on 31 March 1971

Assignments

11th Ferrying Group 11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables. Name "Eleven" derives from the Old English ', which is first attested i ...

, 28 July 1942 * 19th Ferrying Group, 1 November 1942 – 18 October 1943 * 1607th Air Transport Group, 16 February 1954 *

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 ...

, 18 January 1963 *

, 6 January 1966 – 31 March 1971

Stations

* Hamilton Field, California, 28 July 1942 * Hickam Field, Hawaii, 25 January 1943 – 18 October 1943 * Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, 16 February 1954 – 31 March 1971Mueller, p. 114

Aircraft

* Primarily ferrying

B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...

and

B-26 Marauder The Martin B-26 Marauder is an American twin-engined medium bomber that saw extensive service during World War II. The B-26 was built at two locations: Baltimore, Maryland, and Omaha, Nebraska, by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in t ...

, 1942–1943. * Douglas C-54 Skymaster, 1954–1957 * Douglas C-133 Cargomaster, 1957–1971

References

Notes

; Explanatory notes ; Citations

Bibliography

* * * * {{cite web , url= http://www.usafpatches.com/pubs/AFP900-2Vol2.pdf , title=AF Pamphlet 900-2, Unit Decorations, Awards and Campaign Participation Credits, Vol II , date=30 September 1976, publisher= Department of the Air Force, location= Washington, DC, access-date=August 11, 2016
Remembering an Unsung Giant The Douglas C-133 Cargomaster and Its People

AFHRA document search

039 39 may refer to: * 39 (number), the natural number following 38 and preceding 40 * one of the years: ** 39 BC ** AD 39 ** 1939 ** 2039 * ''39'' (album), a 2000 studio album by Mikuni Shimokawa * "'39", a 1975 song by Queen * "Thirty Nine", a song ...

Military units and formations in Delaware Military units and formations disestablished in 1971