29th Weapons Squadron

313th Troop Carrier Group C-47

The squadron was activated as the 29th Transport Squadron in March 1942 as the original squadron of the 313th Transport Group. The group was expanded from a headquarters and a single squadron in June, when the 47th, 48th, and 49th Transport Squadrons were activated to fill out the 313th.[7][8] The 29th trained under Air Transport Command (later I Troop Carrier Command) and equipped with Douglas C-47 Skytrain aircraft and other military models of the Douglas DC-3, including the C-53 Skytrooper in the southeastern United States.[2][8]

The squadron, now named the 29th Troop Carrier Squadron, moved to Oujda Airfield, French Morocco after the Operation Torch landings. It performed airlift of supplies and personnel to ground forces advancing through Algeria into Tunisia as part of Twelfth Air Force. The unit also evacuated wounded personnel to rear areas.[8]

The 29th, along with the 47th and 48th Squadrons of the 313th Group, took part in Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily. Although blown far off course on the first airdrops on the island by strong winds, the squadron managed to drop their paratroops near Avola, where they were able to assist British forces in seizing that town.[9] Two days later, 11 July 1943, the squadron was part of a formation of troop carrier units of the 52d Troop Carrier Wing bringing reinforcements, planning to drop paratroops near Gela. Planes of the 313th Group led the stream of troop carriers. However, attacks in the Gela area by enemy aircraft had sunk two ships and forced other ships in the invasion force to disperse. The heaviest enemy attack came at 2150 hours. Fifty minutes later, the first 313th Group aircraft approached the drop zone. The 48th was able to successfully make its drop on Farello Airfield. Mistaking the troop carriers for another enemy attack, ships of the assault force and antiaircraft units ashore began a heavy fire on squadron's C-47s as they departed. Of the 144 planes of the 52d Wing that participated in the mission, 23 were shot down and an additional 37 were heavily damaged.[10][11] For its completion of this mission the squadron earned its first Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC).[2]

It moved to Sicily for Operation Avalanche, the invasion of Italy. It dropped paratroopers of 82d Airborne Division south of Salerno on the night of 13 September 1943 and flew a reinforcement mission the following night.[8]

313th Troop Carrier Group C-46 Commando[note 2]

In February 1944, the squadron moved to RAF Folkingham, England, where it became part of IX Troop Carrier Command and began training for the assault on the continent of Europe. On D-Day the squadron dropped paratroopers near Picauville, Normandy and dropped reinforcements the following day. The squadron's efforts during Operation Overlord earned it a second DUC.[8]

On 17 September, the squadron participated in Operation Market Garden, the airborne assault on the Netherlands, when it dropped troopers near Arnhem and Nijmegen. In February 1945, the squadron moved to Achiet Airfield in France, where it began converting to Curtiss C-46 Commandos in preparation for Operation Varsity, the airborne assault across the Rhine. On 24 March 1945 it dropped elements of the 17th Airborne Division near Wesel.[8]

The squadron continued to operate from Achiet during 1945, performing transportation of personnel and supplies within Europe. It evacuated wounded and former prisoners of war and brought gasoline, ammunition to forward areas. After V-E Day, it continued to transport medical equipment and other supplies. In September, the squadron's personnel returned to the United States and it was inactivated on arrival at the port of embarkation.[2][8]

In August 1945 the squadron returned to the United States, and was inactivated at the port of embarkation in September.[2]

C-54 landing at Tempelhof Airport, Berlin

The squadron was activated at Capodichino Airport near Naples, Italy at the end of September 1946, absorbing the mission, personnel and equipment of the 305th Troop Carrier Squadron, which was simultaneously inactivated.[12] It once again was equipped with C-47s. The squadron briefly moved to Tulln Air Base, Austria in the spring of 1947.[2]

The squadron transferred without personnel and equipment to the States in June 1947. At Bergstrom Field, Texas it trained with Fairchild C-82 Packets and gliders. The squadron departed Bergstrom for in late October 1948 for Germany, arriving in early November to reinforce airlift units in Operation Vittles, the Berlin airlift as winter approached and the demand for supplies increased. Operating from a Royal Air Force base because of congestion at United States Air Forces Europe bases in Germany, the unit used Douglas C-54 Skymasters to transport cargo including coal, food, and medicine into West Berlin. As airlift forces in Europe were reduced following the lifting of the Soviet blockade, and faced with President Truman’s smaller 1949 defense budget, the Air Force was required to reduce the number of its groups to 48. The squadron was inactivated in September 1949.[8][13][14]

Fairchild C-119A

The squadron was activated at Mitchel Air Force Base, New York in February 1953, assuming the personnel and Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcars of the 335th Troop Carrier Squadron, an Air Force Reserve unit that had been called to active duty for the Korean War and was transitioning to the C-119 from the Curtiss Commando.[15] The squadron trained to maintain combat readiness in tactical airlift operations. It was inactivated on 8 June 1955.[2]

Squadron C-130 Hercules taking off from Khe Sanh

The squadron was reactivated at Forbes Air Force Base, Kansas in 1964, flying Lockheed C-130 Hercules.[2] In March 1965, the 29th became the first combat-ready unit of Tactical Air Command at Forbes. It then assumed a commitment to rotate aircraft to the Panama Canal Zone. The squadron frequently deployed to support airlift requirements of overseas commands, participate in tactical exercises and disaster relief.

In December 1965 the squadron left Forbes for Clark Air Base, Philippines, arriving in late January 1966 to perform theater airlift in Southeast Asia as part of 315th Air Division.[2] The unit deployed aircraft and crews to provide intra-theater airlift for United States military civic actions, combat support and civic assistance throughout the Republic of Vietnam, particularly from the C-130 operating location at Tan Son Nhut Airport outside Saigon. In May 1969, the unit assumed the Commando Vault mission, dropping a 10,000-pound bomb designed to clear helicopter landing zones out of jungle from its cargo bay.[2] The squadron was inactivated in October 1970[2] and its remaining aircraft and crews were distributed among the 463d Tactical Airlift Wing's other squadrons.

The squadron was reactivated in April 1971 at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia and began training with C-130s. Shortly after becoming combat ready, in November its mission, equipment and personnel were transferred to the 38th Tactical Airlift Squadron and the 29th was inactivated.[2]

The squadron was redesignated the 29th Weapons Squadron and reactivated in June 2003 at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas as part of the USAF Mobility Weapons School and equipped with C-130 Hercules. The squadron was reassigned to the USAF Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada in 2006.[2] In August 2014 the squadron established a detachment at Rosecrans Field, Missouri to conduct the Weapons Instructor Course for Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve aircrews flying the C-130H. This allowed the elements at Little Rock the ability to focus primarily on the C-130J.[6]

• 313th Transport Group (later 313 Troop Carrier Group), 2 March 1942 – 22 September 1945
• 313th Troop Carrier Group, 30 September 1946 – 18 September 1949
• 313th Troop Carrier Group, 1 February 1953 – 8 June 1955
• Tactical Air Command, 15 June 1964 (not organized)
• 313th Troop Carrier Wing, 1 October 1964
• 315th Air Division, 27 January 1966
• 463d Troop Carrier Wing (later 463d Tactical Airlift Wing), 25 March 1966 – 31 October 1970
• 316th Tactical Airlift Wing, 1 April – 15 November 1971
• USAF Mobility Weapons School, 1 June 2003
• USAF Weapons School, 5 July 2006 – present[2]

• Douglas C-47 Skytrain, 1942–1945, 1946–1948
• Douglas C-53 Skytrooper, 1942–1943[8]
• Curtiss C-46 Commando, 1945, 1953
• Fairchild C-82 Packet, 1947–1948
• Douglas C-54 Skymaster, 1948–1949
• Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar, 1953–1955
• Lockheed C-130 Hercules, 1964–1970, 1971, 2003–present[2]

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

• Anderson, Capt. Barry (1985). Army Air Forces Stations: A Guide to the Stations Where U.S. Army Air Forces Personnel Served in the United Kingdom During World War II (PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 January 2016.
• Garland, Lt Col Albert N.; Smyth, Howard McGaw (1993) [1964]. Sicily and the Surrender of Italy (PDF). United States Army in World War II: The Mediterranean Theater of Operations (50th Anniversary Commemorative ed.). Washington DC: Center of Military History. ISBN 978-1508422389. LCCN 64-60002.
• Haulman, Daniel L. (2000). "Berlin Airlift: Operation Vittles". In Warnock, A. Timothy (ed.). Short of War: Major USAF Contingency Operations 1947–1997. Maxwell AFG, AL: Air University Press. ISBN 978-0-16050411-2.
• Johnson, 1st Lt. David C. (1988). U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO) D-Day to V-E Day (PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 September 2015.
• Knaack, Marcelle Size (1978). Encyclopedia of US Air Force Aircraft and Missile Systems (PDF). Vol. 2, Post-World War II Bombers 1945–1973. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-59-5.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961]. Air Force Combat Units of World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-02-1. LCCN 61060979.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556.
• McGowan, Sam (2011). Trash Haulers: The story of the C-130 Troop Carrier/Tactical Airlift Mission. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1468501902. (self published)
• Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947–1977. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-12-9.
• Watkins, Robert (2008). Battle Colors. Vol. III Insignia and Markings of the Ninth Air Force in World War II. Atglen, PA: Shiffer Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7643-2938-8.
• Warren, John C. (September 1955). "Airborne Missions in the Mediterranean, 1942–1945, USAF Historical Study No. 74" (PDF). Research Studies Institute, USAF Historical Division, Air University. Retrieved 15 January 2018.

Further reading

• Harkiewicz, Joseph (1990). We Are the 29th Troop Carrier Squadron, WW II. Orlando, FL. OCLC 22904015.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) (self published)