463d Airlift Group
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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 ...
's 463rd Airlift Group was a theater
airlift An airlift is the organized delivery of supplies or personnel primarily via military transport aircraft. Airlifting consists of two distinct types: strategic and tactical. Typically, strategic airlifting involves moving material long distanc ...
unit last stationed at
Little Rock Air Force Base Little Rock Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately northeast of Little Rock, Arkansas. Little Rock AFB is the primary C-130 Hercules training base for the Department of Defense, training C-130 pilots, naviga ...
, Arkansas. It was inactivated on October 1st, 2008.


Mission

The 463rd was a unit with over 1,200 Airmen. The unit employed 30 C-130 aircraft that perform airlift missions worldwide. It provided direct support to warfighting combatant commanders with theater combat aerial delivery of personnel and their resupply worldwide.


Units

The unit comprised eight squadrons: five flying, two maintenance, and one support. *
30th Airlift Squadron The 30th Airlift Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit, last assigned to the 19th Airlift Wing. It was the first active-duty associate unit attached to an Air National Guard wing (military aviation unit), wing, working with the 1 ...
(C-130H)
Cheyenne Regional Airport Cheyenne Regional Airport (Jerry Olson Field) is a civil-military airport a mile north of downtown Cheyenne, in Laramie County, Wyoming. It is owned by the Cheyenne Regional Airport Board. Cheyenne Regional Airport is the home of Cheyenne Air ...
(Associate Unit) *
41st Airlift Squadron The 41st Airlift Squadron is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Mobility Command's 19th Airlift Wing at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas. It operates Lockheed C-130J Super Hercules aircraft. The 41st AS became Air Mobility ...
(C-130J) "Black Cats" (Silver tail Stripe) *
50th Airlift Squadron 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. It has attained significance throughout history in part because typical humans have five digits on eac ...
(C-130H) "Red Devils" (Red tail Stripe) * 53rd Airlift Squadron (C-130E) "Blackjacks" (Gold tail Stripe) * 61st Airlift Squadron (C-130E) "Green Hornets" (Green tail Stripe) * 463rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron * 463rd Maintenance Squadron * 463rd Operations Support Squadron


History

When active, the 463rd Airlift Group is entitled to display the awards earned by the 463rd Bombardment Group prior to 16 January 1953, unless that group is assigned to another headquarters.


Cold War

The group was first constituted as the 463rd Troop Carrier Wing, Medium and activated at Memphis Airport, Tennessee, on 16 January 1953, when it assumed the mission, equipment and personnel of the
516th Troop Carrier Wing 516th may refer to: *516th Aeronautical Systems Wing, wing of the United States Air Force assigned to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio *516th Air Defense Group, disbanded United States Air Force organization *516th Infantry Regiment (United St ...
, a reserve unit called to active duty 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 ...
, which was simultaneously inactivated. Assigned to
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 ...
(TAC) and equipped with
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. On 1 September, the wing moved to
Ardmore Air Force Base Ardmore Army Air Field, later Ardmore Air Force base was an installation of the United States Army and later Air Force. It was named after the nearby city of Ardmore, Oklahoma but was actually located closer to the town of Gene Autry, Oklahoma. It ...
, Oklahoma. In December 1957, it began replacing its C-119s with the new
Lockheed C-130A Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 ...
turboprop transport. In 1959 Ardmore closed and the 463rd transferred to
Sewart Air Force Base Sewart Air Force Base (1941–1971) is a former United States Air Force base located in Smyrna, about 25 miles southeast of Nashville, Tennessee. During World War II, it was known as Smyrna Army Airfield. History World War II The War Depar ...
, Tennessee, to join the 314th TCW, making Sewart the only US C-130 troop carrier base. The wing moved again in 1964, this time to
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, where it replaced a TAC refueling wing that was being discontinued. The 463rd airlifted and airdropped troops and cargo to support operations and exercises worldwide, supporting deployments during the following crises:
Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
(July 1958),
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
(August 1958), Berlin (September 1961),
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
(October–November 1962), the
Gulf of Tonkin The Gulf of Tonkin is a gulf at the northwestern portion of the South China Sea, located off the coasts of Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and South China. It has a total surface area of . It is defined in the west and northwest by the northern ...
(August–December 1964), Southeast Asia (February and April–November 1965), and the
Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...
(April–September 1965). The wing moved to
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 (fo ...
in November 1965 and was assigned to the
315th Air Division The 315th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force formation. Originally designated the 315th Bombardment Wing, it was activated in July 1944 at Peterson Field, Colorado as a command and control organization for four very heavy B-29 Su ...
. Wing headquarters was at Mactan Air Base in Mactan Island in the Philippines and two squadrons were based at Clark until November 1968 when the wing and the two Mactan squadrons transferred to Clark. In PACAF, the wing initially provided airlift in Thailand then provided airplanes and crews to a 315th Air Division detachment at
Tan Son Nhut Air Base Tan Son Nhut Air Base ( vi, Căn cứ không quân Tân Sơn Nhứt) (1955–1975) was a Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) facility. It was located near the city of Saigon in southern Vietnam. The United States used it as a major base durin ...
, South Vietnam. In December 1965, began furnishing aircraft and crews to fly missions in Southeast Asia. The Tan Son Nhut operation was part of 315th Air Division until October 1966 when 834th Air Division activated. The 463rd was one of three C-130 wings that provided airplanes and crews to 834th Air Division detachments. In the spring of 1969 the 463rd detachment transferred from Tan Son Nhut to
Cam Ranh Air Base Calmodulin (CaM) (an abbreviation for calcium-modulated protein) is a multifunctional intermediate calcium-binding messenger protein expressed in all eukaryotic cells. It is an intracellular target of the secondary messenger Ca2+, and the bind ...
, where it remained until the wing ceased aircraft operations in Southeast Asia on 25 October 1971. Redesignated as the 463rd Tactical Airlift Wing in August 1967. On 31 December 1971 the 463rd was inactivated. Reactivated at
Dyess Air Force Base Dyess Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located about southwest of downtown Abilene, Texas, and west of Fort Worth, Texas. The host unit at Dyess is the 7th Bomb Wing assigned to the Global Strike Command Ei ...
, Texas, in June 1972, the 463rd began participating in operations and exercises worldwide for TAC. In 1974, all tactical airlift was transferred to
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 ...
, then to
Air Mobility Command Air Mobility Command (AMC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the U.S. Air Force. It is headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, east of St. Louis, Missouri. Air Mobility Command was established on 1 June 1992, and was formed from elements ...
(AMC) in 1992 when MAC was inactivated. The wing's tactical components deployed frequently to Europe, the Pacific, and the Canal Zone to provide air transportation as needed. On 1 November 1991, the wing implemented the Objective Wing organization and was redesignated as the 463rd Airlift Wing.


Post Cold War

The wing was inactivated on 1 October 1993 and most of its personnel and equipment was absorbed by the incoming 7th Wing at Dyess. The 7th was a composite wing which incorporated Dyess' C-130s, which were transferred from Air Mobility Command to
Air Combat Command Air Combat Command (ACC) is one of nine Major Commands (MAJCOMs) in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force (HAF) at the Pentagon. It is the primary provider of air combat forces for the Air Force, and i ...
(ACC). When the US-based C-130 force was realigned in 1997 from ACC back to AMC, the
314th Airlift Wing The 314th Airlift Wing (314 AW) is a wing of the United States Air Force based at Little Rock Air Force Base in Little Rock, Arkansas. Its mission is to carry out Lockheed C-130 Hercules combat airlift training. The wing was activated in Novem ...
at
Little Rock Air Force Base Little Rock Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately northeast of Little Rock, Arkansas. Little Rock AFB is the primary C-130 Hercules training base for the Department of Defense, training C-130 pilots, naviga ...
was split into two pieces. The wing and training units went to
Air Education and Training Command Air Education and Training Command (AETC) is one of the nine Major Commands (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force (USAF), reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force. It was established 1 July 1993, with the realignment of Air Training ...
. AMC reactivated the 463rd as the 463rd Airlift Group on 1 April 1997 to control the two operational C-130 squadrons. From Little Rock, the 463rd provided worldwide airlift, delivering combat, humanitarian, and other supplies. On 1 October 2008, the 463rd Airlift Group was inactivated and its personnel and equipment transferred to the
19th Airlift Wing The 19th Airlift Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Mobility Command's Eighteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas. The wing is also the host unit at Little Rock. The Wing provides the ...
.


Lineage

* Established as the 463rd Troop Carrier Wing, Medium on 1 December 1952. : Activated on 16 January 1953 : Redesignated 463rd Troop Carrier Wing, Assault on 1 October 1962 : Redesignated 463rd Troop Carrier Wing, Medium on 15 May 1965 : Redesignated 463rd Troop Carrier Wing on 8 December 1965 : Redesignated 463rd Tactical Airlift Wing on 1 August 1967 : Inactivated on 31 December 1971 * Activated on 1 June 1972 : Redesignated 463rd Airlift Wing on 1 November 1991 : Inactivated on 1 October 1993 * Redesignated 463rd Airlift Group on 31 March 1997 : Activated 1 April 1997Lineage, including assignments, components, stations and aircraft through 2007 in Bailey, Factsheet 463 Airlift Group except as indicated : Inactivated on 1 October 2008


Assignments

*
Eighteenth Air Force Eighteenth Air Force (Air Forces Transportation) (18 AF) is the only Numbered Air Force (NAF) in Air Mobility Command (AMC) and one of the largest NAFs in the United States Air Force. 18 AF was activated on 28 March 1951, inactivated on 1 Janu ...
, 16 January 1953 *
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 September 1957 *
838th Air Division The 838th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Tactical Air Command, assigned to Twelfth Air Force at Forbes Air Force Base, Kansas. It was inactivated on 24 December 1969. The divisi ...
, 25 September 1957 *
839th Air Division The 839th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Military Airlift Command, assigned to Twenty-First Air Force at Sewart Air Force Base, Tennessee, although except for the last month of its e ...
, 15 January 1959 * 838th Air Division, 1 October 1963 * 840th Air Division, 9 November 1964 * 315th Air Division (Combat Cargo), 23 November 1965 * 6th Air Division, 1 November 1968 *
Thirteenth Air Force The Thirteenth Air Force (Air Forces Pacific) (13 AF) was a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It was last headquartered at Hickam Air Force Base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. 13 AF has never been stat ...
, 15 December 1969 – 31 December 1971 *
834th Air Division The 834th Airlift Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Military Airlift Command, assigned to Twenty-Second Air Force at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, where it was inactivated on 1 April 199 ...
, 1 June 1972 *
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- ...
, 31 December 1974 *
Fifteenth Air Force The Fifteenth Air Force (15 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base. It was reactivated on 20 August 2020, merging the previous units of the Ninth Air Force ...
, 1 July – 1 October 1993 *
Twenty-First Air Force The 21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force (21 EMTF) was one of two EMTFs assigned to the Air Force's Air Mobility Command. It was headquartered at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey. The 21 EMTF was a redesignation of Twenty-First Air ...
, 1 April 1997 * Eighteenth Air Force, 1 October 2003 – 1 October 2008


Components

Wings * 456th Troop Carrier: attached 10 March – 9 July 1956 (not operational). Groups * 309th Troop Carrier Group: attached 8 July 1955 – c. 21 May 1956 *
419th Troop Carrier Group 419th may refer to: * 419th Fighter Wing, United States Air Force Reserve unit active with Tenth Air Force, based at Hill Air Force Base, Utah * 419th Flight Test Squadron (419 FLTS), part of the 412th Test Wing based at Edwards Air Force Base, Cal ...
: attached 9 July 1956 – 25 September 1957 * 463rd Troop Carrier Group (later 463rd Operations Group): 16 January 1953 – 25 September 1957; 1 November 1991 – 1 October 1993 Squadrons * 16th Troop Carrier Squadron: attached 14 November 1954 – 8 July 1955 * 18th Tactical Airlift Training: 1 June – 31 August 1972 (not operational, 25–31 August 1972) * 20th Operations: 17 February 1970 – 31 December 1971 * 29th Troop Carrier (later, 29 Tactical Airlift) Squadron: attached 30 January – 24 March 1966, assigned 25 March 1966 – 31 October 1970 (not operational 1 July – 31 October 1970) * 47th Tactical Airlift Squadron: 6 July – 1 August 1973 *
50th Airlift Squadron 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. It has attained significance throughout history in part because typical humans have five digits on eac ...
: 1 April 1997 – 1 October 2008 * 61st Airlift Squadron: 1 April 1997 – 1 October 2008 * 360th Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron: 24 November 1972 – 1 July 1973 (not operational) *
772nd Bombardment Squadron The 772nd Expeditionary Airlift Squadron is a provisional United States Air Force unit, assigned to Air Combat Command to activate or inactivate as needed. Its most recent known deployment was with the 451st Air Expeditionary Wing at Kandaha ...
(later 772nd Tactical Airlift Squadron): 25 September 1957 – 23 November 1965; 7 February 1966 – 15 June 1971 (not operational 1–15 June 1971); 1 June 1972 – 1 November 1991 (detached 9 July – 15 September 1972; 10 November 1972 – 10 January 1973; 6 May – 4 June 1973; 5 February – 8 April 1974; 5 January – 15 March 1975; 30 November 1975 – 15 January 1976; 3 August – 15 October 1976; 3 November 1977 – 7 January 1978; 3 April – 5 June 1979; 3 August – 5 October 1980; 3 December 1981 – 13 February 1982; 4 April – 7 June 1983; 10 October – 7 December 1985; 5 June – 12 August 1987; 1 August – 13 October 1988; 1 October – 14 December 1989) * 773rd Troop Carrier Squadron (later 773rd Tactical Airlift Squadron): 25 September 1957 – 31 October 1971 (detached 15 November 1954 – 19 May 1955 and 3 January – 6 March 1961; not operational 15–31 October 1971); 1 June 1972 – 1 November 1991 (detached 1 June – 8 July 1972; 16 September – 16 November 1972; 23 February – 12 May 1973; 3 July – 16 September 1973; 5 May – 17 July 1974; 3 May – 16 July 1975; 3 February – 9 April 1976; 7 November 1976 – 15 January 1977; 3 August – 5 October 1977; 19 September – 1 December 1978; 3 February – 5 April 1980; 3 June – 14 August 1981; 3 October – 7 December 1982; 8 February – 10 April 1984; 6 April – 4 June 1985; 9 December 1986 – 3 February 1987; 1 February – 16 April 1988; 1 April – 14 June 1989; 2 June – 14 August 1990). * 774th Troop Carrier Squadron (later 774th Tactical Airlift Squadron): 25 September 1957 – 31 December 1971 (detached 21 March – 19 June 1961; not operational 26 December 1962 – 1 April 1963); 1 August 1973 – 1 October 1986 (detached 3 October – 16 December 1973; 3 September – 16 November 1974; 4 August – 15 October 1975; 3 May – 7 July 1976; 3 June – 5 August 1977; 3 March – 5 May 1978; 28 September – 5 December 1979; 3 February – 7 April 1981; 5 April – 15 June 1982; 4 August – 10 October 1983; 5 June – 4 August 1984; 3 December 1984 – 9 February 1985; 5 April – 12 June 1986) * Troop Carrier Squadron Provisional, 4480th: attached 3 January – 1 April 1963 * 6485th Operations: 1 September – 1 December 1968


Stations

* Memphis Municipal Airport, Tennessee, 16 January 1953 * Ardmore Air Force Base, Oklahoma, 1 September 1953 * Sewart Air Force Base, Tennessee, 15 January 1959 *
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, 1 July 1963 – 22 November 1965 *
Mactan Island Airfield Mactan is a densely populated island located a few kilometers (~1 mile) east of Cebu Island in the Philippines. The island is part of Cebu province and it is divided into the city of Lapu-Lapu and the municipality of Cordova. The island is sep ...
, Philippines, 23 November 1965 *
Clark Air Base Clark Air Base is a Philippine Air Force base on Luzon Island in the Philippines, located west of Angeles City, about northwest of Metro Manila. Clark Air Base was previously a United States military facility, operated by the U.S. Air Forc ...
,
Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...
, Philippines, 15 July 1968 – 31 December 1971 * Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, 1 June 1972 – 1 October 1993 * Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas, 1 April 1997 – 1 October 2008


Aircraft

*
Curtiss C-46 Commando The Curtiss C-46 Commando is a twin-engine transport aircraft derived from the Curtiss CW-20 pressurised high-altitude airliner design. Early press reports used the name "Condor III" but the Commando name was in use by early 1942 in company pub ...
(1953) * Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar (1953–1957) * Chase C-122A Avitruc (1955) (YC-122, 1954–1955) * Fairchild C-123B Provider (1955–1957) *
Lockheed C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally design ...
: C-130A (1956–1959) : C-130B (1959–1971) : C-130E (1972–1975, 1997–2008) : C-130H (1975–1993, 1997–2008) *
Douglas C-124C Globemaster II The Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, nicknamed "Old Shaky", is an American heavy-lift cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California. The C-124 was the primary heavy-lift transport for United States Air Force (USAF ...
(1970–1971) * Douglas C-118A Liftmaster (1968, 1970–1971) :
DeHavilland Canada C-7A 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 ...
(1972)


See also

*
List of Lockheed C-130 Hercules operators The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a multipurpose military transport aircraft used by many different nations around the world. This is a list of the specific military units, as well as some civilian airlines, that fly it. Africa Algeria ;Alg ...


References


Citations


Bibliography

* * * * *


External links


Little Rock AFB Official Website

Joe's USAF Blue Book

463rd Bomb Group Historical Society Website
* {{USAF South Vietnam Airlift groups of the United States Air Force Military units and formations of the United States in the Cold War