The 58th Rescue Squadron is one of five active-duty squadrons under the command of the

563d Rescue Group The 563rd Rescue Group is a United States Air Force unit stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The group also controls the rescue squadrons at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. It is assigned to the 355th Wing. The group direct ...

at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona but located at Operating Site Alpha,

Nellis Air Force Base Nellis Air Force Base ("Nellis" colloq.) is a United States Air Force installation in southern Nevada. Nellis hosts air combat exercises such as Exercise Red Flag and close air support exercises such as Green Flag-West flown in " Military ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

.http://www.nellis.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=4102 Major Tenant Units at Nellis AFB Factsheet

History

Rescue in North Africa

In the fall of 1952,

Air Rescue Service The United States Air Force Combat Rescue School (for most of its existence, either Air Rescue Service or Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service), was an organization of the United States Air Force. The school was established in 1946 as ''Air ...

, expanded its existing squadrons to groups. Its 7th Air Rescue Squadron, which had responsibility for rescue support in an area stretching from the middle Atlantic and across North Africa to the Middle East, became the 7th Air Rescue Group. Air Rescue Service formed new squadrons, which replaced existing flights of the old squadrons. The 58th Air Rescue Squadron was activated at

Wheelus Air Base Wheelus Air Base was a United States Air Force base located in British-occupied Libya and the Kingdom of Libya from 1943 to 1970. At one time it was the largest US military facility outside the US. It had an area of on the coast of Tripoli. T ...

, Libya, where it assumed the mission and took over the resources of Flight E, 6th Air Rescue Squadron. The 58th flew search and rescue in parts of the Middle East, Africa, and

Southern Europe Southern Europe is the southern region of Europe. It is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is essentially marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of Southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Alba ...

, especially at the El Uotia Gunnery Range in Libya. It was briefly inactive from September 1960 until June 1961. It also stood downrange alert during

manned space mission Human spaceflight (also referred to as manned spaceflight or crewed spaceflight) is spaceflight with a crew or passengers aboard a spacecraft, often with the spacecraft being operated directly by the onboard human crew. Spacecraft can also be ...

s, performed some overwater escort, and provided humanitarian aid during natural disasters. In September 1969, a coup led by Muammar Gaddafi replaced the

Kingdom of Libya The Kingdom of Libya ( ar, المملكة الليبية, lit=Libyan Kingdom, translit=Al-Mamlakah Al-Lībiyya; it, Regno di Libia), known as the United Kingdom of Libya from 1951 to 1963, was a constitutional monarchy in North Africa which ca ...

with the

Libyan Arab Republic Muammar Gaddafi became the ''de facto'' leader of Libya on 1 September 1969 after leading a group of young Libyan Army officers against King Idris I in a bloodless coup d'état. After the king had fled the country, the Revolutionary Comma ...

. The new republic terminated American base rights in Libya and the squadron was inactivated.

Guardian Angel

Prior to about 2000, Air Force rescue units were frequently composite units (as shown by the number of fixed and rotary wing aircraft flown by the squadron at Wheelus). At that time, rescue units were organized as fixed wing, helicopter, or

pararescue Pararescuemen (also known as PJs) are United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) and Air Combat Command (ACC) operators tasked with recovery and medical treatment of personnel in humanitarian and combat environments. These speci ...

units. The squadron, now the 58th Rescue Squadron, was activated at

, Nevada, in June 2002 as a pararescue squadron, often called a "Guardian Angel" squadron. The squadron possesses no aircraft, but its rescue personnel fly on the helicopters of the

66th Rescue Squadron The 66th Rescue Squadron is stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, where it operates HH-60 Pave Hawk aircraft conducting search and rescue and combat search and rescue missions. It is geographically separated unit of the 563rd Rescue Grou ...

Lineage

* Constituted as the 58th Air Rescue Squadron on 17 October 1952 : Activated on 14 November 1952 : Discontinued on 18 September 1960 * Organized on 18 June 1961 : Redesignated 58th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron on 8 January 1966 : Inactivated on 15 February 1970 * Redesignated 58th Rescue Squadron on 30 May 2002 : Activated on 14 June 2002

Assignments

* 7th Air Rescue Group, 14 November 1952 (attached for operational control to Headquarters

United States Air Forces Europe United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

(USAFE), until 15 November 1953, to Seventeenth Air Force until 1 August 1954, USAFE, until unknown date) * 12th Air Rescue Group, 8 December 1956 *

, 18 Feb 1958 – 18 September 1960 * Air Rescue Service (later Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service), 18 June 1961 * Atlantic Rescue and Recovery Center (later 40 Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Wing), 1 April 1967 – 15 February 1970 *

57th Operations Group The 57th Operations Group (57 OG) is the operational component of the 57th Wing, assigned to the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command. The group is stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The Group provides direct oversight of the N ...

, 14 June 2002 *

, 1 October 2003 – present)

Stations

* Wheelus Air Base, Libya, 14 November 1952 – 18 September 1960 * Wheelus Air Base, Libya, 18 June 1961 – 15 February 1970 * Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, 14 June 2002 – present

Aircraft

* Sikorsky H-5 Dragonfly (1952–1953) * Grumman SA-16 Albatross (later HU-16) (1952–1960, 1961-1968) * Fairchild C-82 Packet (1952–1953) * Douglas SC-47 Skytrain (1953–1956) *

Sikorsky H-19 The Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw (company model number S-55) was a multi-purpose helicopter used by the United States Army and United States Air Force. It was also license-built by Westland Aircraft as the Westland Whirlwind in the United Kingdom ...

(also SH-19 (later HH-19)) (1953–1960, 1961–1963) *

Douglas SC-54 Skymaster The Douglas C-54 Skymaster is a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and the Korean War. Like the Douglas C-47 Skytrain derived from the DC-3, the C-54 Skymaster was derived from a civilian a ...

(later HC-54) (1957–1960, 1961–1964) *

Kaman HH-43 Huskie The Kaman HH-43 Huskie is a helicopter with intermeshing rotors used by the United States Air Force, the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps from the 1950s until the 1970s. It was primarily used for aircraft firefighting and ...

(1963–1970) *

Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter The Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter is a four-engined, piston-powered United States strategic tanker aircraft based on the Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter. It replaced the KB-29 and was succeeded by the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker. Design and developm ...

(1964) * Boeing HC-97 Stratofreighter (1964–1966, 1968) *

Lockheed HC-130 Hercules The Lockheed HC-130 is an extended-range, search and rescue (SAR)/ combat search and rescue (CSAR) version of the C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft, with two different versions operated by two separate services in the U.S. armed fo ...

History

Rescue in North Africa

Guardian Angel

Lineage

Assignments

Stations

Aircraft

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography