The 304th Special Operations Squadron is an inactive

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 designation. It was designated on 15 September 1985 by the consolidation of the

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 ...

304th Transport Squadron, which was disbanded on 1 December 1943 at Mohanbari Airport, India, and the 4th Strategic Support Squadron, which was discontinued and inactivated on 15 March 1961 at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. The 304th was a transport squadron which served primarily in the

China-Burma-India Theater China Burma India Theater (CBI) was the United States military designation during World War II for the China and Southeast Asian or India–Burma (IBT) theaters. Operational command of Allied forces (including U.S. forces) in the CBI was ...

. It participated in the airlift of supplies and equipment from India to China over the

Himalayan Mountains The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than 100 peak ...

("The Hump"). The 4th was a

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile compon ...

transport squadron providing a limited air transport capability to supplement that of the

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 ...

(MATS).

History

World War II

The squadron was activated by

Tenth Air Force The Tenth Air Force (10 AF) is a unit of the U.S. Air Force, specifically a numbered air force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). 10 AF is headquartered at Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base/Carswell Field (formerly Carswel ...

in India and equipped with

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 ...

s. It was assigned to the 30th Transport Group in the Assam Valley of eastern India, to aid in moving supplies to China by

Air Transport Command Air Transport Command (ATC) was a United States Air Force unit that was created during World War II as the strategic airlift component of the United States Army Air Forces. It had two main missions, the first being the delivery of supplies a ...

(ATC). The squadron supplemented the ATC aircraft flying over "

The Hump The Hump was the name given by Allies of World War II, Allied pilots in the Second World War to the eastern end of the Himalayan Mountains over which they flew military transport aircraft from British Raj, India to Republic of China (1912- ...

" into airfields in China. As more and more ATC aircraft arrived for the logistics mission to China, the 30th Transport Group was inactivated, and the assets of the unit were re-designated ''Station No. 9, India-China Wing, ATC''.AFHRA Document 00182130 30th Transport Group
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Strategic Air Command

In its early years, along with its own fighter wings for escorting its bombers, SAC formed a limited air transport capability to supplement that of the

, which provided SAC with the majority of its airlift support. The 4th Strategic Support Squadron was activated on 18 February 1953 at Rapid city Air Force Base, South Dakota. During the postwar years and through the 1950s the squadron carried much classified equipment and personnel to various locations around the world. It was moved to Dyess AFB, Texas on 15 June 1957, and was inactivated on 15 March 1961 when SAC got out of the transport bushiness.

Consolidated unit

The two units were consolidated on 19 September 1985, being designated as the 304th Special Operations Squadron, and assigned to USAF Special Operations Command. There is no record of the unit ever being activated in the Regular Air Force or Reserves.AFHRA Lineage and History, 304th Special Operations Squadron, provided by Daniel L. Haulman, PhD, Chief, Organizational Histories Branch Air Force Historical Research Agency, 23 April 2014

Lineage

* Constituted as 304th Transport Squadron on 4 June 1943 : Activated in India on 21 June 1943 : Disbanded on 1 December 1943 * Reconstituted, and consolidated (19 September 1985), with 4th Strategic Support Squadron :: Constituted on 3 February 1953 :: Activated on 18 February 1953 :: Discontinued, and inactivated, on 15 March 1961 * Consolidated squadron re-designated as 304th Special Operations Squadron on 19 September 1985 (Remained Inactive) :: Re-designated as 304th Expeditionary Special Operations Squadron, and converted to provisional status, on 24 January 2005 :: Withdrawn from provisional status, and re-designated as 304th Special Operations Squadron, on 30 March 2011

Assignments

; 304th Transport Squadron * 30th Transport Group, 21 June – 1 December 1943 ; 4th Strategic Support Squadron *

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces S ...

, 18 February 1953 *

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 Forc ...

, 1 April 1955 * 96th Bombardment Wing, 1 September 1959 – 15 Mar 1961 ; 304th Special Operations Squadron *

Air Force Special Operations Command Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), headquartered at Hurlburt Field, Florida, is the special operations component of the United States Air Force. An Air Force major command (MAJCOM), AFSOC is also the U.S. Air Force component command ...

to activate or inactivate at any time after 24 January 2005. * Withdrawn from Air Force Special Operations Command on 30 March 2011

Stations

; 304th Transport Squadron * Mohanbari Airport, India, 21 June – 1 December 1943 ; 4th Strategic Support Squadron * Rapid City (later, Ellsworth) AFB, South Dakota, 18 February 1953 * Dyess AFB, Texas, 15 June 1957 – 15 March 1961

Aircraft

, 1943 * C-124 Globemaster II, 1953-1961

References

{{USAAF 10th Air Force World War II Military units and formations established in 1943 Troop carrier squadrons of the United States Army Air Forces