The 439th Operations Group is an active

United States Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commis ...

unit. It is the flying component of the

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- ...

439th Airlift Wing The 439th Airlift Wing (439 AW) is an active United States Air Force Reserve unit. It is assigned to the Air Force Reserve Command, Fourth Air Force, and is based at Westover Air Reserve Base, Massachusetts. The peacetime mission includes re ...

, stationed at

Westover Air Reserve Base Westover Air Reserve Base is an Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) installation located in the Massachusetts communities of Chicopee and Ludlow, near the city of Springfield, Massachusetts. Established at the outset of World War II, today Westo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. The unit's

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

predecessor unit, the 439th Troop Carrier Group was a

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 troo ...

transport unit assigned to

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 D ...

in Western Europe. During

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The ope ...

, two serials of aircraft, one of 45 and the other of 36 from the 439th TCG were dispatched late in the evening of 5 June to drop the

506th Parachute Infantry Regiment The 506th Infantry Regiment, originally designated the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (506th PIR) during World War II, is an Airborne forces, airborne light infantry regiment of the United States Army. Currently a parent regiment under the U. ...

during the first hour of the invasion behind Utah Beach. Difficult weather conditions and heavy anti-aircraft fire were encountered and three aircraft failed to return. A reinforcement mission with gliders was flown on the following day, with 50 C-47s towing 30

Horsa Hengist (, ) and Horsa are legendary Germanic peoples, Germanic brothers who according to later English legends and ethnogenesis theories led the Angles (tribe), Angles, Saxons and Jutes, the progenitor groups of modern English people, in thei ...

and 20

CG-4 Waco The Waco CG-4 was the most widely used American troop/cargo military glider of World War II. It was designated the CG-4A by the United States Army Air Forces, and given the service name Hadrian (after the Roman emperor) by the British. The ...

s. The 439th later received a

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 e ...

for its work during these two days.

Overview

The group operates 8 C-5M Super Galaxys, flown by the 337th Airlift Squadron. The peacetime mission includes recruiting, training and supervision of personnel to assure mission readiness. The 439th Operations Group is capable of providing worldwide air movement of troops, supplies, equipment and medical patients. Airlift also involves airdrop and combat offloading operations.

Units

The 439th Operations Group consists of the following units: *

337th Airlift Squadron The 337th Airlift Squadron is a United States Air Force Reserve squadron, part of the 439th Airlift Wing at Westover Air Reserve Base, Massachusetts. It operates Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, C-5M Super Galaxy aircraft supporting the United States Air ...

C-5M Super Galaxy The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a large military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed, and now maintained and upgraded by its successor, Lockheed Martin. It provides the United States Air Force (USAF) with a heavy ...

* 439th Aerospace Medicine Squadron * 439th Aeromedical Staging Squadron * 439th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron * 439th Operations Support Squadron * 439th Airlift Control Flight

History

: ''For additional lineage and history, see

World War II

Trained in the U.S. with C-47s, 1943-Jan1944. Moved to England, February–March 1944, for duty with Ninth Air Force. The group began

operations Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

by dropping

paratroop 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 of the

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division (military), division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault military operation, operations. The 101st is designed to plan, coordinat ...

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

(6 June 1944) and releasing gliders with reinforcements on the following day. The group received a

and a French citation for these missions. After the Normandy invasion the group ferried supplies in the United Kingdom until the air echelon was sent to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in July to transport cargo to Rome and evacuate wounded personnel. The detachment dropped paratroops of the

517th Parachute Infantry Regiment The 517th Parachute Infantry Regiment (517th PIR) was an airborne infantry regiment of the United States Army, formed during World War II. At times the regiment was attached to the 17th Airborne Division, 82nd Airborne Division and later, the ...

along the

Riviera () is an Italian word which means , ultimately derived from Latin , through Ligurian . It came to be applied as a proper name to the coast of Liguria (the Genoa region in northwestern Italy) in the form , then shortened in English. Riviera may a ...

in support of the invasion of Southern France on 15 August, and later towed gliders to provide reinforcements; for these missions the group earned another citation from the French government. After the air echelon returned to England on 25 August the group resumed its cargo missions. After moving to France in September, the group dropped paratroops of the

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into hostile areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

near

Nijmegen Nijmegen ( , ; Nijmeegs: ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and the ninth largest of the Netherlands as a whole. Located on the Waal River close to the German border, Nijmegen is one of the oldest cities in the ...

and towed gliders carrying reinforcements during the airborne attack on the Netherlands. In December, it participated in the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive or Unternehmen Die Wacht am Rhein, Wacht am Rhein, was the last major German Offensive (military), offensive Military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western ...

by releasing gliders with supplies for the 101st Airborne Division near

Bastogne Bastogne (; ; ; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Bastogne, Longvilly, Noville, Villers-la-Bonne-Eau, and Wardi ...

. When the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

made the air assault across the

Rhine River The Rhine ( ) is one of the major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Swiss-Austrian border. From Lake Cons ...

in March 1945, each aircraft of the 439th towed two gliders with troops of the

17th Airborne Division The 17th Airborne Division, "The Golden Talons", was an airborne infantry division of the United States Army during World War II, commanded by Major General William M. Miley. Activated in April 1943, the division took part in the Knollwood ...

and released them near

Wesel Wesel () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel (district), Wesel district. Geography Wesel is situated at the confluence of the Lippe River and the Rhine. Division of the city Suburbs of Wesel i ...

. The group also hauled food, clothing, medicine, gasoline, ordnance equipment, and other supplies to the front lines and evacuated patients to rear zone hospitals. It converted from C-47s to C-46s and the 439th used the new aircraft to transport displaced persons from Germany to France and

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

after

V-E Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official surrender of all German military operations ...

. The group returned to the U.S. during the period July–September 1945, and trained with C-46 aircraft until inactivated on 10 Jun 1946.

Air Force Reserve

From June 1949, the group trained in troop carrier operations until mobilized in April 1951, its personnel being used as fillers for USAF organizations worldwide during 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 ...

. Activated in the Reserve on 15 June 1952, the group trained in fighter-bomber operations until phased out in September 1957 when the wing adopted the Tri-Deputate organization. On 8 January 1966 the 439th replaced the 1602d Air Transport Group at Rhein-Main AB, Germany. The group controlled assigned and attached Military Airlift Command airlift units at Rhein-Main, provided air transport and air evacuation services within and occasionally outside Europe. Earned an Air Force Outstanding Unit Award for May–June 1967 support during the Middle East crisis. Since 1 August 1992 the group has trained for and flown global airlift operations, transporting personnel, equipment, and supplies and participating in numerous exercises. The group received its first

on June 2, 2017. Marking the first of eight for the unit. On September 7, 2017 the unit's last C-5A left Westover for Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona for retirement.

Lineage

* Established as 439th Troop Carrier Group on 14 May 1943 : Activated on 1 June 1943 : Inactivated on 10 June 1946 * Redesignated 439th Troop Carrier Group, Medium on 19 May 1949 : Activated in the Reserve on 27 June 1949 : Ordered to active service on 1 April 1951 : Inactivated on 3 April 1951 * Redesignated 439th Fighter-Bomber Group on 26 May 1952 : Activated in the Reserve on 15 June 1952 : Inactivated on 16 November 1957 * Redesignated 439th Military Airlift Group and activated on 27 December 1965 (not organized) : Organized on 8 January 1966 : Inactivated on 24 December 1968 * Redesignated 439th Operations Group and activated in the Reserve, on 1 August 1992.

Assignments

I Troop Carrier Command The I Troop Carrier Command is a disbanded United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Continental Air Forces, at Stout Field, Indiana, where it was disbanded in November 1945, and its resources transferred to IX Troop Carrier C ...

, 1 June 1943 *

, c. 10 March 1944 *

IX Troop Carrier Command The IX Troop Carrier Command was a United States Army Air Forces unit. Its last assignment was with the Ninth Air Force, based at Greenville Army Air Base, South Carolina. It was inactivated on 31 March 1946 as a component command of the Ninth ...

, 26 August 1944 * I Troop Carrier Command, September 1945 *

, c. December 1945 * Tactical Air Command, 21 March 1946 *

Third Air Force The Third Air Force (Air Forces Europe) (3 AF) is a Numbered Air Force, numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA). Its headquarters is Ramstein Air Base, Germany. It is responsible for all U ...

, unknown 1946-10 June 1946 *

439th Troop Carrier Wing 439th may refer to: *439th (Tyne) Light Air Defence Regiment, Royal Artillery, a Volunteer unit of the British Army *439th Airlift Wing, an active United States Air Force Reserve unit *439th Bombardment Squadron, a B-26 Marauder medium bombardment ...

, 27 June 1949 – 3 April 1951 * 439th Fighter-Bomber Wing, 15 June 1952 – 16 November 1957 *

Military Air Transport Service The Military Air Transport Service (MATS) is an inactive United States Department of Defense, Department of Defense Unified Command. Activated on 1 June 1948, MATS was a consolidation of the United States Navy's Naval Air Transport Service (NA ...

, 27 December 1965 (not organized) *

322d Air Division 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 and cultural significance in many societies ...

, 8 January 1966 – 24 December 1968 * 439th Airlift Wing, 1 August 1992–present

Components

Group * 52d Military Airlift Group: attached 8 January 1966 – 24 December 1968 Squadrons *

55th Military Airlift Squadron The 55th Aeromedical Airlift Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was first activated during World War II as the 55th Ferrying Squadron. It deployed to Canada and managed a station on the ALSIB ferrying route. The squadro ...

: 8 January 1966 – 24 December 1968 * 58th Aerial Port Squadron: 1 August 1992 – 1 October 2002 * 74th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron: 1 August 1992 – 1 October 1994 * 85th Aerial Port Squadron: 1 August 1992 – 1 January 1995 * 91st Troop Carrier (later Fighter-Bomber) Squadron (L4): 1 June 1943 – 10 June 1946; 27 June 1949 – 3 April 1951; 15 June 1952 – 1 April 1954 * 92d Troop Carrier (later Fighter-Bomber) Squadron (J8): 1 June 1943 – 10 June 1946; 27 June 1949 – 3 April 1951; 15 June 1952 – 1 April 1954 * 93d Troop Carrier Squadron (3B): 1 June 1943 – 10 June 1946; 27 June 1949 – 3 April 1951; 15 June 1952 – 16 November 1957 * 94th Troop Carrier Squadron (D8): 1 June 1943 – 10 June 1946; 27 June 1949 – 3 April 1951 *

: 1 August 1992–present * 439th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron: 1 October 1994 – present * 439th Air Terminal Squadron (later 439th Aerial Port Squadron): 8 January 1966 – 24 December 1968 * 439th Materiel Squadron: 8 January 1966 – 24 December 1968 * 471st Fighter-Bomber Squadron: 1 April 1954 – 1 July 1957 * 472d Fighter-Bomber Squadron: 1 April 1954 – 16 November 1957

Stations

Alliance Army Air Field An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

, Nebraska, 1 June 1943 *

Sedalia Army Air Field Sedalia is the name of several places: Canada *Sedalia, Alberta, a hamlet in Alberta, Canada United States *Sedalia, Colorado *Sedalia, Indiana *Sedalia, Kentucky *Sedalia, Missouri, the largest US city named Sedalia *Sedalia, North Carolina * Sed ...

, Missouri, 15 June 1943 *

, Nebraska, 2 August 1943 * Laurinburg-Maxton Army Air Base, North Carolina 16 December 1943 *

Baer Field Baer (or Bär, from ) or Van Baer is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: Baer * Alan Baer, American tuba player * Arthur "Bugs" Baer (1886–1969), American journalist and humorist * Buddy Baer (1915–1986), American boxer * ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, 2–14 February 1944 *

RAF Balderton Royal Air Force Balderton or more simply RAF Balderton was a former Royal Air Force satellite station located south of Newark-on-Trent, sandwiched between the now extinct Great Northern Railway (GNR) Bottesford-Newark line and the A1 road ...

(AAF-482), England, 10 March 1944 *

RAF Upottery RAF Upottery (also known as Smeatharpe) is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station in East Devon, England. The airfield is located near the village of Upottery, approximately north-northeast of the town of Ho ...

(AAF-462), England, 26 April 1944 *

Juvincourt Airfield Juvincourt Airfield is an abandoned military airfield, which is located near the commune of Juvincourt-et-Damary in the Aisne department of northern France. Built originally as a grass airfield by the French Air Force before World War II, Ju ...

(A-68), France, 8 September 1944 *

Lonray Airfield Lonray Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield, which is located near the commune of Lonrai in the Orne region of northern France. Located just outside Lonrai, the United States Army Air Force established a temporary airfield o ...

(A-45), France, 28 September 1944 * Chateaudun Airfield (A-39), France, 4 November 1944 – 7 September 1945 * Baer Field, Indiana, 22 September 1945 * Sedalia Army Air Field, Missouri, 7 October 1945 – 10 June 1946 *

Selfridge Air Force Base Selfridge Air National Guard Base or Selfridge ANGB is an Air National Guard installation located in Harrison Township, Michigan, near Mount Clemens. Selfridge Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the Un ...

, Michigan, 27 June 1949 – 3 April 1951; 15 June 1952 – 16 November 1957 *

Rhein-Main Air Base Rhein-Main Air Base was a United States Air Force air base near the city of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was a Military Airlift Command (MAC) and United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) installation, occupying the south side of Frankfurt ...

, West Germany, 8 January 1966 – 24 December 1968 *

, Massachusetts, 1 August 1992 – present

Aircraft

, 1943–1945 *

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 ...

, 1945–1946, 1952–1955 * TC-46 Commando, 1949–1951 *

F-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by a team headed by James H. Kin ...

, 1953–1954 *

T-33 Shooting Star The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star (or T-Bird) is an American subsonic jet trainer. It was produced by Lockheed and made its first flight in 1948. The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 starting as TP-80C/TF-80C in development, then d ...

, 1953–1954 *

F-80 Shooting Star The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star is the first jet fighter used operationally by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II. Designed and built by Lockheed in 1943 and delivered just 143 days from the start of design, two p ...

, 1953–1956 *

F-84 Thunderjet The Republic F-84 Thunderjet is an American turbojet fighter-bomber aircraft. Originating as a 1944 United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) proposal for a "day fighter", the F-84 first flew in 1946. Although it entered service in 1947, the Thunde ...

, 1956–1957 *

F-86 Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Sov ...

, 1957 *

TC-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (Royal Air Force, RAF designation) is a airlift, military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies of World War II, Allies during World Wa ...

, 1957 *

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 patients, and mechani ...

, 1957 *

C-118 Liftmaster The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport aircraft, military transport near the end of World War II, Douglas reworked it ...

, 1966–1968 *

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 ...

, 1966–1968 * C-131 Samaritan, 1966–1968 *

C-5 Galaxy The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a large military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed, and now maintained and upgraded by its successor, Lockheed Martin. It provides the United States Air Force (USAF) with a heavy intercontinental-rang ...

, 1992–2017 *

, 2017–present

References

* Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. * Johnson, David C. (1988), U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO), D-Day to V-E Day; Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center, Maxwell AFB, Alabama.
439th Operations Group

External links

{{Navboxes , list = {{Tactical Air Command {{USAAF 9th Air Force UK {{USAAF 1st Air Force World War II Operations groups of the United States Air Force Military units and formations established in 1943