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Military unit From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2nd Airlift Squadron is an inactive airlift of the United States Air Force squadron that was last stationed at Pope Army Airfield, North Carolina, where it operated Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft. The squadron was assigned to the 43rd Airlift Group of Air Mobility Command.
| 2nd Airlift Squadron | |
|---|---|
C-130s taxiing at Pope Army Airfield | |
| Active | 1935–1945; 1992–2016 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Airlift |
| Part of | Air Mobility Command |
| Nickname(s) | Lancers[citation needed] |
| Engagements | China-Burma-India Theater[1] |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation[1] |
| Insignia | |
| 2nd Airlift Squadron emblem[1][note 1] |  |
| 2nd Troop Carrier Squadron emblem (approved 5 May 1942[2] |  |
Provide the Department of Defense with highly trained, highly motivated, combat-ready aircrews who execute the best tactical airlift/airdrop operations in the United States Air Force.[3]
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Prior to the early 1930s, transport aircraft in the Air Corps had been assigned to air depots and to service squadrons, although provisional transport squadrons had been formed for special projects. By 1932 Major Hugh J. Kerr, Chief of the Field Service Section of the Materiel Division, proposed the formation of a transport squadron at each air depot to act as a cadre for the transport wing the Air Corps proposed to support a field army in the event of mobilization. Major General Benjamin Foulois approved the formation of four provisional squadrons in November 1932.[4]
The 2nd Provisional Transport Squadron was constituted in October 1933. By March 1934, it had become a Regular Army Inactive unit at Norton Field, Ohio, with reserve officers assigned.[5]
In the spring of 1935, these squadrons, including the 2nd Transport Squadron at Olmsted Field, Pennsylvania, were made regular units and activated with Bellanca C-27 Airbus aircraft assigned. With enlisted men as pilots, the squadron hauled engines, parts, and other equipment to airfields in their assigned depot area, returned items to the depot, and transferred materiel between depots. They also furnished transportation for maneuvers. The rapid transport of supplies by the squadrons permitted the Air Corps to maintain low levels of materiel at its airfields, relying on replenishment from depot stocks only when needed.[4]
In May 1937, the squadron was reassigned from the Middletown Air Depot to the newly activated 10th Transport Group, which assumed command of all four squadrons. The squadron received two-engine Douglas C-33s, the military version of the DC-2 in 1936 and Douglas C-39s (DC-2s with tail surfaces of the DC-3) in 1939 to replace the single engine Bellancas. These, and various other militarized DC-3s remained as the squadron's equipment until the entry of the United States into World War II.[4]
The squadron trained transport pilots, 21 May-1 October 1942; transported troops and airdropped them during the airborne assault on Myitkyina, Burma, 17 May 1944; aerial transportation in China-Burma-India theater, 25 February 1943-c. August 1945; airlift of Chinese troops to eastern China for disarmament operations, September–November 1945. Airlift for airborne troops, 1 June 1992 – 2015.[citation needed]
The squadron flew C-130H2 Hercules transport aircraft on airlift missions and shared these aircraft in an association with the Air Force Reserve Command's 440th Airlift Wing. After being moved to Pope in the 2005 BRAC, the 440th became the first Air Force Reserve Wing to have an active duty associate squadron.[6][7][8]
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