The 4440th Aircraft Delivery Group 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 assignment was to Headquarters, Tactical Air Command, based at

Langley Air Force Base Langley Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Hampton, Virginia, adjacent to Newport News, Virginia, Newport News. It was one of List of airfields of the Training Section of the United States Army Air Service, thirty-two ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. It was inactivated on 15 October 1969.

Mission

The group planned, surveyed and exercised operational control of all aircraft movements; and controlled obligation and liquidation of all funds allocated for expenditure in connection with ferrying missions. Every type and designation of aircraft not assigned to a specific unit was ferried from one unit assignment to another by this organization, 1951-1969.

History

Missions of the unit included the movement of all Jet Fighters from the United States (F-84F, F-84G, F-86F, T-33) over the North Atlantic Transport Route to United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) units and Mutual Defense Assistance Program (MDAP) Recipients in 1953. It also conducted transfers of F-47 Thunderbolt aircraft from Texas to Central and South American countries under MDAP in 1953; B-57 Canberra aircraft to Far East Air Force in Japan, November 4, 1955. From Hq TAC at Langley AFB in Virginia, controllers in the command post of the 4440th Aircraft Delivery Group monitored and directed ferry movements of Air Force aircraft. Intercommand transfer, flights to overhaul, delivery of military aircraft to foreign governments - all were missions of the 4440th. Aircraft delivered were F-100D/F, KB-50J, F-84F, C-130, SA-16, B-66, C-54, C-119C/G, C-47 and B-57. In early 1960s, assumed control of 431st Air Refueling Squadron after inactivation of 4505th ARW with KB-50 Tankers. The squadron was inactivated in March 1965. Primary mission during the 1960s was movement of aircraft to South Vietnam and Thailand bases to support Vietnam War. Delivered F-4 Phantom II, F-100 Super Sabre, F-105 Thunderchief, A-37 Dragonfly and various Forward Air Controller O-2 and OV-10 aircraft. Delivered F-4 Phantom II to NATO as well as F-111 and F-105 aircraft. Flew numerous MDAP aircraft from the United States to Howard AFB, Panama Canal Zone. Unit inactivated in October 1969.

Lineage

* Designated by TAC as the 4440th Aircraft Delivery Group on 1 January 1958 * Organized on 15 January 1958 : Inactivated on 15 October 1969

Assignments

Tactical Air Command Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. It was inactivated on 1 J ...

, 15 Jan 1958 *

Ninth Air Force The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint De ...

, 1 Apr 1958 *

836th Air Division The 836th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Tactical Air Command (TAC) at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, where it was inactivated on 1 May 1992. The division had been activ ...

, 1 Feb 1959 * 4505th Air Refueling Wing, 1 Jul 1961 *

, 8 Oct 1963-15 Oct 1969

Units

* 431st Air Refueling Squadron, 8 Oct 1963-8 Mar 1965 (KB-50s)

Stations

Westover AFB Westover Air Reserve Base is an Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) installation located in the Massachusetts communities of Chicopee and Ludlow, near the city of Springfield, Massachusetts. Established at the outset of World War II, today West ...

, Massachusetts, 16 July 1951 *

Kelly AFB 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. In ...

, Texas, 1 December 1955 *

Langley AFB Langley Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Hampton, Virginia, adjacent to Newport News. It was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the entry of the United States into World War I in April 19 ...

, Virginia, 15 January 1958 – 15 October 1969

References

{{Tactical Air Command Four digit groups of the United States Air Force 4440 Military units and formations established in 1958 1958 establishments in Virginia