The 459th Airlift Squadron is part of the 374th Airlift Wing at

Yokota Air Base , is a Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) and United States Air Force (USAF) base in the Tama Area, or Western Tokyo. It occupies portions of Akishima, Fussa, Hamura, Mizuho, Musashimurayama, and Tachikawa. The base houses 14,000 perso ...

, Japan. It operates the UH-1N Iroquois and the C-12J Huron aircraft, performing passenger transport (including VIPs),

aeromedical evacuation Aeromedical evacuation (AE) usually refers to the use of military transport aircraft to carry wounded personnel. The first recorded British ambulance flight took place in 1917 in the Sinai peninsula some 30 miles south of El Arish when a Royal ...

and

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

missions.

History

The 459th was originally established in mid-1942 as the 459th Bombardment Squadron under

II Bomber Command The II Bomber Command is a disbanded United States Air Force unit. It was established in September 1941, shortly before the attack on Pearl Harbor to command heavy bomber units assigned to Second Air Force. Following the entry of the United St ...

as a

B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

Replacement Training Unit (RTU). They operated until March 1944 with the end of Heavy Bomber training.

B-29 Superfortress operations against Japan

The 459th Bombardment Squadron was reorganized as a

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 squadron on 1 April 1944. After completion of training in January 1945, they moved to North Field, Guam, in the

Mariana Islands The Mariana Islands (; also the Marianas; in Chamorro: ''Manislan Mariånas'') are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, betw ...

of the

Central Pacific Area Pacific Ocean Areas was a major Allied military command in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands during the Pacific War, and one of three United States commands in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater. Admir ...

, and were assigned to XXI Bomber Command,

Twentieth Air Force The Twentieth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) (20th AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming. 20 AF's primary mission is Interco ...

. The squadron's mission was the strategic bombardment of the Japanese home islands and the destruction of its war-making capability. The Squadron Flew "shakedown" missions against Japanese targets on Moen Island, Truk, and other points in the Carolines and Marianas. The squadron began missions over Japan on 25 February 1945 with a

firebombing Firebombing is a bombing technique designed to damage a target, generally an urban area, through the use of fire, caused by incendiary devices, rather than from the blast effect of large bombs. In popular usage, any act in which an incendiary d ...

mission over northeast Tokyo. The squadron continued to participate in wide-area firebombing attacks, but when the Army Air Forces ran out of incendiary bombs after ten days, the squadron flew conventional strategic bombing missions using high explosive bombs. The squadron continued attacking urban areas with incendiary raids until the end of the war in August 1945, attacking major Japanese cities and causing massive destruction of urbanized areas. They also conducted raids against strategic objectives such as aircraft factories, chemical plants, oil refineries, and other targets in Japan. The squadron flew its last combat missions on 14 August when hostilities ended. Afterwards, the squadron's B 29s carried relief supplies to Allied prisoner of war camps in Japan and

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer M ...

. The squadron remained in the western Pacific, although largely demobilized in the fall of 1945. Some of the squadron's aircraft were scrapped on

Tinian Tinian ( or ; old Japanese name: 天仁安島, ''Tenian-shima'') is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Together with uninhabited neighboring Aguiguan, it forms Tinian Municipality, one of the ...

; others were flown to storage depots in the United States. The squadron was inactive from the end of 1945 until 1949.

United States Air Force

During the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

the squadron was reactivated at Cam Ranh Air Base, South Vietnam, in 1966. It provided intra-theatre airlift services in Vietnam, including air-land and

airdrop An airdrop is a type of airlift in which items including weapons, equipment, humanitarian aid or leaflets are delivered by military or civilian aircraft without their landing. Developed during World War II to resupply otherwise inaccessible tr ...

assault missions from 1966 to 1970. The unit was inactivated as part of the drawdown of United States forces. The squadron conducted airlifts of key

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

personnel from April 1975 to March 1978, aeromedical airlifts from March 1978 to November 1991, and operational support airlifts since December 1991.

Operations and decorations

* Combat Operations: Combat in Western Pacific, c. 12 April – 14 August 1945. Intra-theatre airlift in Southeast Asia, January 1967 – May 1970 * Campaigns: World War II: Air Offensive, Japan; Western Pacific. Vietnam: Vietnam Air Offensive; Vietnam Air Offensive, Phase II; Vietnam Air Offensive, Phase III; Vietnam Air/Ground; Vietnam Air Offensive, Phase IV; TET 69/Counteroffensive; Vietnam Summer-Fall, 1969; Vietnam Winter-Spring, 1970; Sanctuary Counteroffensive * Decorations:

Distinguished Unit Citation The Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the uniformed services of the United States, and those of allied countries, for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enem ...

s: Japan, 10 May 1945; Tokyo and Yokohama, Japan, 23–29 May 1945. Presidential Unit Citations (Southeast Asia) 21 January – 12 May 1968; 1 April – 30 June 1970; Navy Presidential Unit Citation: Vietnam, 20 January – 1 April 1968;

Air Force Outstanding Unit Award The Air and Space Outstanding Unit Award (ASOUA) is one of the unit awards of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. It was established in 1954 as the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award and was the first independent Air Force d ...

with Combat "V" Device 1 January – 30 April 1967; 1 May 1967 – 30 April 1968; 1 July 1970 – 31 December 1971.

Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm The Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross also known as the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross or Vietnam Cross of Gallantry ( vi, Anh-Dũng Bội-Tinh) is a military decoration of the former Government of South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam). The medal wa ...

: 1 January 1967 – 30 April 1972

Lineage

459th Airlift Squadron * Constituted as the 459th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 1 July 1942 : Activated on 6 July 1942 : Inactivated on 1 April 1944 * Redesignated 459th Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy and activated on 1 April 1944 : Inactivated on 21 December 1945 * Redesignated 459th Troop Carrier Squadron, Medium on 26 May 1952 : Activated in the reserve on 14 June 1952 : Inactivated on 14 July 1952 * Redesignated 459th Troop Carrier Squadron and activated, on 12 October 1966 (not organized) : Organized on 1 January 1967 : Redesignated 459th Tactical Airlift Squadron on 1 August 1967 : Inactivated on 1 June 1970 * Consolidated with the 1400th Military Airlift Squadron on 1 December 1991 as the 459th Airlift Squadron : Inactivated on 1 October 1993 : Activated on 1 October 1993 1400th Military Airlift Squadron * Designated as the 1400th Military Airlift Squadron and activated on 1 April 1975 * Consolidated with the 459th Tactical Airlift Squadron on 1 December 1991 as the 459th Airlift Squadron

Assignments

* 330th Bombardment Group, 6 July 1952 – 1 April 1944 * 330th Bombardment Group, 1 April 1944 – 27 December 1945 * 330th Troop Carrier Group, 14 June 1952 – 14 July 1952 *

Pacific Air Forces Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) is a Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force and is also the air component command of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). PACAF is headquartered at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam (f ...

, 12 October 1966 (not organized) *

483d Troop Carrier Wing 483rd or 483d may refer to: *483d Bombardment Squadron or 303d Air Refueling Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit *483d Tactical Airlift Wing, tactical airlift and composite wing assigned to Pacific Air Forces during the Vietnam War See ...

(later 483d Tactical Airlift Wing), 1 January 1967 – 1 March 1972 * 89th Military Airlift Wing, 1 April 1975 * 375th Aeromedical Airlift Wing (later 375th Military Airlift Wing), 15 March 1978 *

375th Operations Group The 375th Operations Group (375 OG) is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force 375th Air Mobility Wing. It is stationed at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. The unit's World War II predecessor unit, the 375th Troop Carri ...

, 1 December 1991 * 22d Operations Group, 1 April 1993 – 1 October 1993 * 374th Operations Group, 1 October 1993 – present

Stations

* Salt Lake City Army Air Base, Utah, 6 July 1942 *

Alamogordo Army Air Field Alamogordo () is the seat of Otero County, New Mexico, United States. A city in the Tularosa Basin of the Chihuahuan Desert, it is bordered on the east by the Sacramento Mountains and to the west by Holloman Air Force Base. The population was ...

, New Mexico, 1 August 1942 * Biggs Field, Texas, 2 September 1942 *

, New Mexico, 29 November 1942 * Biggs Field, Texas, 5 April 1943 – 1 April 1944 *

Walker Army Air Field Walker Army Airfield (also known as Victoria-Pratt Airfield o Walker-Hays Airfield is an abandoned airfield located north of Interstate 70 in Ellis County, 1 mile northwest of Walker, Kansas or 3 miles northeast of Victoria, Kansas. Walker Arm ...

, Kansas, 1 April 1944 * Dalhart Army Air Field, Texas, 25 May 1944 * Walker Army Air Field, Kansas, 1 August 1944 – 7 January 1945 * North Field, Guam,

Northern Mariana Islands The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI; ch, Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas; cal, Commonwealth Téél Falúw kka Efáng llól Marianas), is an unincorporated territory and commonw ...

, 18 February – 19 November 1945 * Camp Anza, California, c. 18–27 December 1945 * Greater Pittsburgh Airport, Pennsylvania, 14 June 1952 − 14 July 1952 * Cam Ranh Air Base, South Vietnam, 1 January 1966 – 30 April 1972 : Detachment at Don Muang Airport, Thailand *

Andrews Air Force Base Andrews Air Force Base (Andrews AFB, AAFB) is the airfield portion of Joint Base Andrews, which is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force. In 2009, Andrews Air Force Base merged with Naval Air Facility Washington to form Joint Ba ...

, Maryland, 1 April 1975 *

Scott Air Force Base Scott Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in St. Clair County, Illinois, near Belleville and O'Fallon, east-southeast of downtown St. Louis. Scott Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the ...

, Illinois. 15 March 1978 – 1 October 1993 *

, Japan, 1 October 1993 – present

Aircraft

*Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress (1942, 1944) *

Consolidated B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

(1942–1944) *

(1944–1945) *

de Havilland Canada C-7 Caribou The de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou (designated by the United States military as the CV-2 and later C-7 Caribou) is a Canadian specialized cargo aircraft with short takeoff and landing (STOL) capability. The Caribou was first flown in 1958 ...

(1967–1970) * North American T-39 Sabreliner (1975–1984) *

Learjet C-21 The Learjet Model 35 and Model 36 are a series of American multi-role business jets and military transport aircraft manufactured by Learjet. When used by the United States Air Force they carry the designation C-21A. The aircraft are powered b ...

(1993–2007) *3 Beechcraft C-12 Huron (2007–present) *4 Bell UH-1N Twin Huey (1993–present) Yokota deems UH-1N copters 'completely safe' 3 December 2004
' Stars and Stripes'' Retrieved 6 November 2016

References

; Notes

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

374th Airlift Wing
{{USAAF 20th Air Force World War II

459 __NOTOC__ Year 459 ( CDLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Ricimer and Patricius (or, less frequently, year 1212 ...