The 512th Airlift Wing, an associate
Air Force Reserve Command unit is located 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. The
wing
A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is e ...
helps maintain, repair and fly the same aircraft as its active-duty counterparts. Members of the 512th work side-by-side with members of the
436th 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, ...
in fulfilling the mission, maintaining and flying the
Lockheed C-5M Galaxy and
Boeing C-17 Globemaster III working together to form the "Dover Team".
As one of only two
reserve
Reserve or reserves may refer to:
Places
* Reserve, Kansas, a US city
* Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish
* Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County
* Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...
associate units flying the Galaxy, the 512 AW has a unique role in the Air Force. The first C-5 all-reserve aircrew flew out of Dover in November 1973.
Mission
Recruit, train, equip and retain a qualified force to augment major commands with people and units to support strategic aircraft during peace and war.
Units
The 512th Airlift Wing consists of the following major units:
;
512th Operations Group
*
709th Airlift Squadron
The 709th Airlift Squadron is part of the 512th Airlift Wing at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware.
The squadron was first activated during World War II as the 709th Bombardment Squadron. After training in the United States, it deployed to the Eur ...
– C-5M Super Galaxy
*
326th Airlift Squadron
The 326th Airlift Squadron is part of the 512th Airlift Wing at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. It operates Boeing C-17 Globemaster III aircraft supporting the United States Air Force global reach mission worldwide.
The squadron was first act ...
– C-17A Globemaster III
* 512th Maintenance Group
* 512th Mission Support Group
* 512th Aerospace Medicine Squadron
History
Activation and mobilization for the Korean War
The wing was first organized at
Reading Municipal Airport on 2 September 1949 as the 512th Troop Carrier Wing, when it absorbed the personnel and equipment of the
319th Bombardment Wing, which was inactivated. A few months later, in April 1950, reserve operations at Reading ended when the wing transferred to
New Castle County Airport
Wilmington Airport (formerly known as New Castle Airport, New Castle County Airport, sometimes referred to as Wilmington-New Castle Airport, or to a lesser extent Wilmington/Philadelphia Regional Airport and Greater Wilmington Airport) is an a ...
, Delaware.
[ The wing was manned at 25% of normal strength but was authorized four flying squadrons rather than the three of active duty units.
In March of the following year the wing, along with all reserve combat units, was mobilized for the first time for 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 ...
. Its personnel were assigned to other units as fillers, as were its aircraft, and the wing was inactivated two weeks later.[
]
Troop carrier operations
In June 1952, the 512th Troop Carrier Wing was again activated in the reserve at New Castle County Airport, replacing the 916th Reserve Training Wing and taking over the 916th's personnel. The reserve mobilization for the Korean War, however, had left the Reserve without aircraft, and the unit did not receive aircraft until July 1952. 512th aircrews flew Curtiss C-46 Commandos throughout the periods of reserve and active status.
In the summer of 1956, the wing participated in Operation Sixteen Ton during its two weeks of active duty training. Sixteen Ton was performed entirely by reserve troop carrier units and moved United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...
equipment From Floyd Bennett Naval Air Station
Floyd Bennett Field is an airfield in the Marine Park neighborhood of southeast Brooklyn in New York City, along the shore of Jamaica Bay. The airport originally hosted commercial and general aviation traffic before being used as a naval air ...
to Isla Grande Airport
Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport , also commonly known as Isla Grande Airport, is an airport in Isla Grande, a district in the municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is owned by the Puerto Rico Ports Authority and is adjacent to the Pu ...
in Puerto Rico and San Salvador in the Bahamas. After the success of this operation, the squadron/group/wing began to use inactive duty training periods for Operation Swift Lift, transporting high priority cargo for the air force and Operation Ready Swap, transporting aircraft engines, between Air Materiel Command
Air Materiel Command (AMC) was a United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force command. Its headquarters was located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. In 1961, the command was redesignated the Air Force Logistics Command wi ...
's depots.
Cuts in the budget in 1957 led to a reduction in the number of reserve squadrons from 55 to 45. In November, the wing's 328th Troop Carrier Squadron
3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...
moved on paper to Paine Air Force Base
Paine Field , also known as Snohomish County Airport, is a commercial and general aviation airport serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located in unincorporated Snohomish County, Washington, between th ...
, Washington, where it assumed the facilities that the 65th Troop Carrier Squadron had vacated there. The 328th Squadron's stay on the West Coast was brief, for it replaced the 64th Troop Carrier Squadron at Niagara Falls Municipal Airport
Niagara Falls International Airport is located east of downtown Niagara Falls, in the Town of Niagara in Niagara County, New York, United States. Owned and operated by the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, the airport is a joint civ ...
the following March. The moves of the 328th Squadron were not only due to budget cuts, they were part of a reserve program called the Detached Squadron Concept. The Air Force believed that the location of separate squadrons in smaller population centers would facilitate recruiting and manning. In time, the detached squadron program proved successful in attracting additional participants
Also in 1957, the wing converted to Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar
The Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar (Navy and Marine Corps designation R4Q) was an American military transport aircraft developed from the World War II-era Fairchild C-82 Packet, designed to carry cargo, personnel, litter patients, and mechani ...
s. After that transition, the wing transferred to Willow Grove Air Reserve Station, Pennsylvania in July 1958. In April 1959, the 512th Troop Carrier Group inactivated as the wing reorganized under the Dual Deputy system, and the wing's three troop carrier squadrons were reassigned directly to the wing.[
]
Activation of groups under the wing
Although the dispersal of flying units was not a problem when the entire wing was called to active service, mobilizing a single flying squadron and elements to support it proved difficult. This weakness was demonstrated in the partial mobilization of reserve units during the Berlin Crisis of 1961. To resolve this, at the start of 1962, Continental Air Command
Continental Air Command (ConAC) (1948–1968) was a Major Command of the United States Air Force (USAF) responsible primarily for administering the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve.
During the Korean War, ConAC provided the necessary augm ...
determined to reorganize its reserve wings by establishing groups
A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together.
Groups of people
* Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity
* Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...
with support elements for each of its troop carrier squadrons. This reorganization would facilitate mobilization of elements of wings in various combinations when needed. However, as this plan was entering its implementation phase, another partial mobilization, which included the 512th Wing, occurred for the Cuban Missile Crisis, with the units being released on 22 November 1962. The formation of troop carrier groups was delayed until February 1963 for wings that had been mobilized. 912th and 913th Troop Carrier Groups at Willow Grove and the 914th Troop Carrier Group at Niagara Falls were assigned to the wing on 11 February.[
The 512th Troop Carrier Wing, Medium was redesignated the 512th Troop Carrier Wing, Heavy in January 1965. That same month the wing was transferred without personnel or equipment to ]Carswell Air Force Base
Carswell Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force (USAF) base, located northwest of Fort Worth, Texas. For most of its operational lifetime, the base's mission was to train and support heavy strategic bombing groups and wings.
Carswe ...
, Texas. Aircrews conducted training and airlift operations in Douglas C-124 Globemaster IIs. While stationed at Carswell, two more name changes occurred: 1 December 1965, the Wing was redesignated the 512th Air Transport Wing, Heavy and on 1 January 1966, was redesignated the 512th Military Airlift Wing. On 29 June 1971, the Wing was inactivated for a second time.[
On 29 January 1973 the wing was redesignated the 512th Military Airlift Wing (Associate) and activated in the Reserve on 1 July 1973 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 flying the Lockheed C-5A Galaxy aircraft. Upon activation at Dover, the 512th absorbed the personnel of the 912th Military Airlift Group (Associate) stationed at Dover. The 912th Military Airlift Group (Associate) previously assigned to the 514th Military Airlift Wing, McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey, for administrative support, but stationed at Willow Grove moved from Willow Grove to Dover in September 1968. Equipped with 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 ...
aircraft, the 912th became the third associate group in the Air Force Reserve to fly the C-141. The wing was redesignated the 512th Airlift Wing on 1 October 1994.[
Many missions have been flown by the citizen airman of the 512th Airlift Wing. Over 1,300 members of the 512th were recalled to active duty during Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm. Fliers, Maintenance Specialists, Aerial Porters, Medical Personnel, and Security Police were deployed around the world as well as stateside for more than a year. In 2007, the wing began a new era in airlift when the 326th Airlift Squadron began flying the ]McDonnell Douglas 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 when it received their first C-17 on 31 May 2007.
On 26 April 2015, the wing and its associated 436th 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, ...
dispatched the first USAF aircraft, a C-17, carrying cargo and personnel for humanitarian aid following the earthquake in Nepal. The plane carried a United States Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 b ...
Disaster Assistance Response Team, the Fairfax County
Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria, Virginia, Alexandria and ...
, Virginia Urban Search and Rescue Team and 45 tons of cargo.
Lineage
* Established as the 512th Troop Carrier Wing, Medium on 4 August 1949
: Activated in the reserve on 2 September 1949
: Ordered to active service on 15 March 1951
: Inactivated on 1 April 1951
: Activated in the reserve on 14 June 1952
: Ordered to active service on 28 October 1962
: Relieved from active duty on 28 November 1962
: Redesignated 512th Troop Carrier Wing, Heavy on 8 January 1965
: Redesignated 512th Air Transport Wing, Heavy on 1 December 1965
: Redesignated 512th Military Airlift Wing on 1 January 1966
: Inactivated on 29 June 1971
* Redesignated 512th Military Airlift Wing (Associate) on 29 January 1973
: Activated in the Reserve on 1 July 1973
: Redesignated 512th Airlift Wing (Associate) on 1 February 1992
: Redesignated 512th Airlift Wing on 1 October 1994[
]
Assignments
* 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 ...
, 2 September 1949
* First Air Force, 1 August 1950 – 1 April 1951
* 1 Air Reserve District, 14 June 1952
* First Air Force, 14 January 1954
* Fourteenth Air Force, 25 March 1958
* Second Air Force Reserve Region, 15 August 1960
* Ninth Air Force, 28 October 1962
* Second Air Force Reserve Region, 28 November 1962
* Fourth Air Force Reserve Region, 8 January 1965
* Central Air Force Reserve Region, 31 December 1969 – 29 June 1971
* Eastern Air Force Reserve Region, 1 July 1973
* Fourteenth Air Force, 8 October 1976
* Twenty-Second Air Force
Twenty-Second Air Force (22 AF) is a Numbered Air Force component of Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). It was activated on 1 July 1993 and is headquartered at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia.
In the event of mobilization, some of the Twenty ...
, 1 July 1993 – present[
]
Components
Groups
* 512th Troop Carrier Group 51 may refer to:
* 51 (number)
* The year
** 51 BC
** AD 51
** 1951
** 2051
* ''51'' (film), a 2011 American horror film directed by Jason Connery
* "Fifty-One
"Fifty-One" is the fourth episode of the fifth season of the American television crim ...
(later 512 Operations Group): 2 September 1949 – 1 April 1951; 14 June 1952 – 14 April 1959; 1 August 1992 – present
* 912th Troop Carrier Group: 11 February 1963 – 8 January 1965
* 913th Troop Carrier Group: 11 February 1963 – 8 January 1965
* 914th Troop Carrier Group: 11 February 1963 – 1 January 1964
* 916th Military Airlift Group: 8 January 1965 – 21 April 1971 (detached after 1 April 1971)
* 917th Military Airlift Group: 5 February 1965 – 21 April 1971 (detached after 1 April 1971)
* 937th Military Airlift Group: 5 February 1965 – 21 April 1971 (detached after 1 April 1971)[
]
Squadrons
* 326th Military Airlift Squadron: 14 April 1959 – 11 February 1963; 1 July 1973 – 1 August 1992
* 327th Troop Carrier Squadron: 14 April 1959 – 11 February 1963
* 328th Troop Carrier Squadron: 14 April 1959 – 11 February 1963
* 709th Military Airlift Squadron: 1 October 1973 – 1 August 1992[
]
Stations
* Reading Municipal Airport, Pennsylvania, 2 September 1949
* New Castle County Airport, Delaware, 12 April 1950 – 1 April 1951
* New Castle County Airport, Delaware, 14 June 1952
* Naval Air Station Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, 20 July 1958
* Carswell Air Force Base, Texas, 8 January 1965 – 29 June 1971
* Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, 1 July 1973 – present[
]
Aircraft
* Beechcraft AT-7, AT-11, and Curtiss C-46 Commando, 1949–1951
* Curtiss C-46 Commando, 1952–1957
* Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar, 1957–1965
* Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, 1965–1971
* Lockheed C-141 Starlifter, 1973
* Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, 1973 – present
* McDonnell Douglas C-17 Globemaster III, 2007–present
See also
References
; Notes
; Citations
Bibliography
*
*
External links
512th Airlift Wing's official website
{{USAAF 10th Air Force World War II
0512
Military units and formations in Delaware