536th Tactical Airlift Squadron

P-47 Thunderbolt as used by the 536th Fighter Squadron for training

The squadron was first established as the 536th Fighter Squadron and was activated in November 1943 at Richmond Army Air Base, Virginia,[2] as one of the four original squadrons of the 87th Fighter Group.[3] The squadron began operations with Republic P-47 Thunderbolts as a Replacement Training Unit (RTU). RTUs were oversized units which trained aircrews prior to their deployment to combat theaters and assignment to an operational group.[4] In January 1944, the squadron and the 537th Fighter Squadron moved to Millville Army Air Field, New Jersey,[2] and the 87th group's headquarters and other squadrons transferred to Camp Springs Army Air Field, Maryland.[3][5]

However, the Army Air Forces found that standard military units, based on relatively inflexible tables of organization were proving less well adapted to the training mission. Accordingly, a more functional system was adopted in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit.[6] while the groups and squadrons acting as RTUs were disbanded or inactivated.[7] This resulted in the squadron being disbanded in the spring of 1944[2] and being replaced by the 135th AAF Base Unit (Fighter), which assumed its mission, personnel, and equipment.[8]

In 1952, the squadron was redesignated as the 536th Troop Carrier Squadron, became part of the newly constituted 87th Troop Carrier Wing under the wing base organization system, and was activated at Atterbury Air Force Base. The 87th wing replaced the 923d Reserve Training Wing at Atterbury when reserve flying operations resumed there.[note 1] The squadron operated Curtiss C-46 Commandos to train reservists. In February 1953, the 434th Troop Carrier Group was released from active duty and activated in the reserves, and its 72d Troop Carrier Squadron assumed the mission, personnel and equipment of the 537th.[9]

The squadron was activated in 1967, and took over DeHavilland Canada C-7A Caribou aircraft that were formerly operated by the 61st Aviation Company (U.S. Army) in South Vietnam, assuming their tactical airlift mission. Operating from Vung Tau Air Base, the 536th earned a Navy Presidential Unit Citation, as well as an Air Force Presidential Unit Citation for airlift support of Khe Sanh and other forward bases from January to May 1968. It earned a second Air Force Presidential Unit Citation for action between April and June 1970 when it participated in the aerial resupply of Dak Seang Special Forces Camp, evacuation of over 2000 refugees from Cambodia, and transportation of the Presidential Southeast Asia Investigation Team to various remote locations in South Vietnam.

• 87th Fighter Group: 1 October 1943 – 10 April 1944
• 87th Troop Carrier Group: 15 June 1952 – 1 February 1953[10]
• Pacific Air Forces: 12 October 1966 (not organized)
• 483d Troop Carrier Wing (later 483d Tactical Airlift Wing): 1 January 1967 – 31 August 1971

• Richmond Army Air Base, Virginia, 1 October 1943
• Millville Army Air Field, New Jersey, 7 January 1944 – 10 April 1944
• Atterbury Air Force Base, Indiana, 15 June 1952 – 1 February 1953[10]
• Vung Tau Air Field, Vietnam, 1 January 1967 – c. 1 July 1970
• Cam Ranh Air Base, Viet Nam, c. 1 July 1970 – 31 October 1971

• Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, 1943–1944
• Curtiss C-46 Commando, 1952–1953
• DeHavilland Canada C-7A Caribou, 1967–1971[10]

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

• Craven, Wesley F; Cate, James L, eds. (1955). The Army Air Forces in World War II. Vol. VI, Men & Planes. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press. LCCN 48-3657.
• 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.
• 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.
• "AF Pamphlet 900-2, Unit Decorations, Awards and Campaign Participation Credits" (PDF). Washington, DC: Department of the Air Force. 15 June 1971. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 August 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2016. (from 317th Motor Vehicle Squadron)
• "AF Pamphlet 900-2, Unit Decorations, Awards and Campaign Participation Credits, Vol II" (PDF). Washington, DC: Department of the Air Force. 30 September 1976. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 August 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2016.