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The 1st Troop Carrier Group (Provisional) was a
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
unit formed in Japan shortly after the beginning of the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
, drawing from resources throughout the Pacific, to augment the
airlift An airlift is the organized delivery of Materiel, supplies or personnel primarily via military transport aircraft. Airlifting consists of two distinct types: strategic and tactical. Typically, strategic airlifting involves moving material lo ...
capability of
Far East Air Forces The 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 the Hickam AFB portion of Join ...
. It airlifted troops and equipment in Japan and Korea, operating from its home station of
Tachikawa Air Base is an aerodrome, airfield in the city of Tachikawa, Tokyo, Tachikawa, in the western part of Tokyo, Japan. Currently under the administration of the Ministry of Defense (Japan), Ministry of Defense, it has also served as a civilian airport with ...
, Japan and forward locations in Korea. It flew courier missions and evacuated wounded from the battle area. In late November, the group moved a
Marine Corps Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included raiding ashore (often in supp ...
unit to North Korea. When the Chinese counterattack force United Nations forces to retreat, it helped evacuate elements of the
X Corps 10th Corps, Tenth Corps, or X Corps may refer to: France * 10th Army Corps (France) * X Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars Germany * X Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army * ...
from North Korea. The unit was discontinued in early 1951 following the arrival in theater of
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 v ...
airlift units that had been
mobilized Mobilization (alternatively spelled as mobilisation) is the act of assembling and readying military troops and supplies for war. The word ''mobilization'' was first used in a military context in the 1850s to describe the preparation of the ...
for the war and most of its remaining resources were incorporated into those units.


Background

The planning for the
Inchon Landing The Battle of Inchon (), also called Inchon landing, was an amphibious invasion and a battle of the Korean War that resulted in a decisive victory and strategic reversal in favor of the United Nations Command (UN). The operation involved some ...
included an airdrop by the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team, which would be supported by the 314th Troop Carrier Group, flying new
Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar The Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar (Navy and Marine Corps designation R4Q) is an American military transport aircraft developed from the World War II-era Fairchild C-82 Packet, designed to carry cargo, personnel, Litter (rescue basket), litte ...
s. However both these units were still in the United States. The 314th had the capability to airdrop 2700
paratrooper A paratrooper or military parachutist is a soldier trained to conduct military operations by parachuting directly into an area of operations, usually as part of a large airborne forces unit. Traditionally paratroopers fight only as light infa ...
s. The
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
notified the Air Force that the 187th and supporting troops would have a strength of 3500, plus heavy equipment which would also need to be airdropped, which would require 140 C-119s or their equivalents. The Air Force agreed to increase the 314th's strength from 64 to 96 C-119s, but informed
Far East Air Forces The 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 the Hickam AFB portion of Join ...
(FEAF) that it would have to provide the remaining airlift from its own resources. Moreover,
General MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army. He served with distinction in World War I; as chief of ...
informed FEAF that once his forces were established in Korea, they would require 700 to 1,000 tons of airlifted cargo each day on a continuing basis. In response, FEAF converted the 374th Troop Carrier Wing's
21st Troop Carrier Squadron 069 is: * in Brazil, the telephone area code for the city of Rio de Janeiro and surrounding cities (Greater Rio de Janeiro) * in China, the telephone area code for the city of Shanghai. * in Indonesia, the area code for the city of Jakarta and su ...
from
Douglas C-124 Globemaster II The Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, nicknamed "Old Shaky", is a retired 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 Forc ...
s to
Douglas C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II. During the war the C-47 was used for tro ...
s and organized the 1st Troop Carrier Group (Provisional).Endicott, p. 91


History

The 1st Group was organized as a provisional unit at
Ashiya Air Base is a military airdrome of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force . It is located north of Ashiya in the Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. History Ashiya Airfield was established as a Japanese Army Air Force facility in 1944 and was used primarily as a de ...
, Japan on 26 August 1950, although it immediately moved to
Tachikawa Air Base is an aerodrome, airfield in the city of Tachikawa, Tokyo, Tachikawa, in the western part of Tokyo, Japan. Currently under the administration of the Ministry of Defense (Japan), Ministry of Defense, it has also served as a civilian airport with ...
, from which it and its three squadrons operated until it was discontinued. The
group 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 iden ...
was under the operational control of the 1st Troop Carrier Task Force (Provisional), but was attached to the
374th Troop Carrier Wing 374th may refer to: *374th Airlift Wing, unit of the United States Air Force assigned to Fifth Air Force, stationed at Yokota Air Base, Japan *374th Fighter Squadron or 171st Air Refueling Squadron, unit of the Michigan Air National Guard's 127th W ...
at Tachikawa for support. Personnel and equipment drawn from
Thirteenth Air Force The Thirteenth Expeditionary Air Force (13 EAF) is a provisional numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Hickam Air Force Base, Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam on the island of Oahu, ...
in the Philippines,
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 Intercon ...
on Guam and
Far East Air Materiel Command Far East Air Materiel Command (FEAMCOM) was a logistics and materiel command of the United States Air Force. Its most important operational role came during the Korean War of 1950–1953. FEAMCOM was originally established as the Far East Air Ser ...
in Japan were used to man the group. Using
Curtiss C-46 Commando The Curtiss C-46 Commando is a low-wing, twin-engine aircraft derived from the Curtiss CW-20 pressurized high-altitude airliner design. Early press reports used the name "Condor III" but the Commando name was in use by early 1942 in company p ...
s (and briefly Douglas C-47 Skytrains) the group began airlifting freight and passengers between Japan and Korea on 2 September 1950. The group transported a
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
unit to
Pyongyang Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...
, North Korea on 25 and 26 November, then flew emergency air evacuations from
Sinanju Sinanju is a region (신안주) in Anju city, South Pyongan Province, North Korea. The name literally means "Comfortable New Village." When Anju County was raised to the status of a city in August 1987, Sinanju Workers' District was divided int ...
(K-29)Endicott, p. 178 and other forward bases as the Chinese advanced. Pressure from advancing advancing
People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...
(PLA) required the evacuation of The pressure from the PLA made evacuation by sea without augmentation by airlift impractical. On 14 December, air evacuation of X Corps from Yonpo Airfield (K-27) began. The air evacuation ended three days later, when X Corps was no longer able to secure Yonpo. The evacuating crews maintained a twenty-four hour operation with airplanes taking off every five minutes in what was usually bad weather. Aircrews had to assist with the loading of their planes to speed departures. The fatigue brought on by these operations ultimately resulted in the hospitalization of a number of group pilots. Leaving its deployed location at
Kimpo Air Base Gimpo International Airport , sometimes referred to as Seoul–Gimpo International Airport but formerly rendered in English as Kimpo International Airport, is located in the far western end of Seoul, some west of the central district of Seou ...
(K-14), on 4 January 1951 Korea, the group was discontinued on 25 January. This was part of a reorganization of airlift units in Far East Air Force in which provisional units, such as the group, which used equipment and personnel of other units on a temporary basis, were replaced by permanent units. Many of the group's personnel transferred to the
86th Troop Carrier Squadron The 86th Troop Carrier Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 437th Troop Carrier Group, based at Brady Air Base, Japan. It was inactivated on 10 June 1952. History Activated in May 1943 under ...
, which was activated in its place and which was assigned to the
437th Troop Carrier Group 437th may refer to: *437th Airlift Wing, active unit of the United States Air Force *437th Bombardment Squadron, a unit of the Alaska Air National Guard *437th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit * 437th Operations G ...
, a
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 v ...
unit that had been
mobilized Mobilization (alternatively spelled as mobilisation) is the act of assembling and readying military troops and supplies for war. The word ''mobilization'' was first used in a military context in the 1850s to describe the preparation of the ...
for the war and which had moved to Brady Air Base, Japan in November 1950. In its five months of operation, the group carried over 28,000 passengers, 7,000 air evacuees, and almost 12,000 tons of cargo.


Lineage

* Designated by Far East Air Forces as the 1st Troop Carrier Group (Provisional), Medium and organized on 26 August 1950 : Redesignated Troop Carrier Group, Medium No. 1 (Provisional)Ravenstein, p. 197 : Discontinued on 25 January 1951Endicott, p. 91


Assignments

* 1st Troop Carrier Task Force (Provisional)Endicott, p. 94 (attached to 374th Troop Carrier Wing), 26 August 1950Futrell, pp.155-156 * Far East Combat Cargo Command (Provisional) (attached to 374th Troop Carrier Wing), c. 10 September 1950 – 25 January 1951


Components

* 46th Troop Carrier Squadron (Provisional), 26 August 1950 – 6 October 1950 * 47th Troop Carrier Squadron (Provisional), 26 August 1950 – 25 January 1951 * 48th Troop Carrier Squadron (Provisional), 26 August 1950 – 10 January 1951


Stations

* Ashiya Air Base, Japan, 26 August 1950 * Tachikawa Air Base, Japan, 26 August 1950 – 25 January 1951


Aircraft

* Curtiss C-46 Commando, 1950-1951 * Douglas C-47 Skytrain, 1950


Commanders

* Col. Cecil H. Childre, 26 August 1950 – 21 October 1950 * Lt. Col. Edward H. Nigro, 21 October 1950 – 25 January 1951


Campaigns


See also

*
United States Air Force In South Korea The United States Air Force in South Korea is composed of units assigned to Pacific Air Forces Seventh Air Force. The mission of the personnel, equipment and aircraft is to deter, protect and defend the Republic of Korea from attack from the Demo ...


References


Notes

; Explanatory notes ; Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * *


External links

{{USAF Korea Military units and formations established in 1950 United States Air Force units and formations in the Korean War 001 Military units and formations disestablished in 1951