61st Air Base Wing
61st Air Base WingActive 20 November1940— present Country United StatesBranch Air ForceType Base Support Part of Air Force Space CommandGarrison/HQ Los Angeles Air Force BaseDecorations Distinguished Unit Citation
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit CitationCommanders Current
commander ColonelJoseph Schwarz
The 61st Air Base Wing (61 ABW) is a wing of the United States Air Force based out of Los Angeles Air Force Base, El Segundo, California.
Contents
Mission
Provide effective and efficient base operating support to improve wartime readiness and the quality of life of LAAFB customers.
Units
- 61st Medical Group
Provides responsive, quality, cost-effective healthcare in a competitive environment. It ensures mission readiness and healthy lifestyles through proactive healthcare programs.
- 61st Mission Support Group
Provides personnel, family support, services, communications, contracting, civil engineering and security forces services for base organizations and personnel.
History
Lineage
- 61st Transport Group (1940 – 1942)
- 61st Troop Carrier Group (1942 – 1945, 1948 - 1959)
- 61st Military Airlift Group (1984 – 1994)
- 61st Air Base Wing (1994 – Present)
Bases stationed
- Olmstead Field, Pennsylvania (1940 – 1941)
- Daniel Field, Georgia (1941 – 1942)
- Lubbock, Texas (1942)
- Pope Field, North Carolina (1942 – 1943)
- Lourmel Air Base], Morocco (1943)
- Kairouan, Tunisia (1943)
- Sicily (1943 – 1944)
- RAF Barkston Heath, England (1944 – 1945)
- Abbeville, France (1945)
- Waller Field, Trinidad (1945 – 1946)
- Eschborn Air Base, Germany (1946 – 1947)
- Rhein Main Air Base, Germany (1947 – 1950)
- McChord Air Force Base, Washington (1950)
- Ashiya Air Base, Japan (1950 – 1952)
- Tachikawa Air Base, Japan (1952)
- Larson Air Force Base, Washington (1952 – 1954)
- Donaldson Air Force Base, South Carolina (1954 – 1959)
- Howard Air Force Base, Panama (1984 – 1992)
- Los Angeles Air Force Base, California (1994 – Present)
Aircraft Operated
- C-47 Skytrain (1942 – 1948)
- CG-4 (1942 – 1945)
- C-54 Skymaster (1948 – 1952)
- C-124 Globemaster II (1952 – 1959)
- C-130 Hercules (1984 – 1992)
Operational History
World War II
Constituted as 61st Transport Group on 20 Nov 1940. Activated on 1 Dec 1940. Redesignated 61st Troop Carrier Group in Jul 1942. Used C-47's to prepare for paratroop operations and trained in glider towing in United States from 1940-1942. Assigned to Twelfth Air Force] and moved to North Africa in May 1943.
It flew airborne assault and resupply airdrop missions during the invasions of Sicily and Italy in 1943 and transported cargo and personnel throughout the North African and Mediterranean theaters. The group also flew airborne assault missions during the Normandy invasion and later supported Operation Market Garden in Holland. In 1945 it participated in the airborne assault across the Rhine. Also provided transport services in the European theater, hauling gasoline, ammunition, food, medicine, and other supplies, and evacuating wounded personnel.
Moved to Trinidad in May 1945. Assigned to Air Transport Command. Used C-47's to transport troops returning to the US. Inactivated in Trinidad on 31 Jul 1945
Cold War
The unit was reactivated in Germany on 30 Sep 1946. Assigned to United States Air Forces in Europe. Redesignated 61st Troop Carrier Group (Medium) in Jul 1948, and 61st Troop Carrier Group (Heavy) in Aug 1948.
In Germamy, the group participated in the Berlin Airlift, from June 1948 to May 1949, the group's C-54 aircraft ferried coal, flour, and other cargo into Berlin.
In 1950, the group moved to the United States shortly after the outbreak of the Korean War for duty with Military Air Transport Service. Attached to Far East Air Forces, it flew airlift missions on the Northern Pacific Route from the United States to Japan in support of United Nations forces in Korea before moving to Japan and conducting airlift missions from Japan to Korea from 1950-1952.
Returned to the US in Nov 1952 to join Tactical Air Command, to which the group had been assigned in Oct 1951. Converted from C-54 to C-124 aircraft and carried out worldwide strategic airlift operations from 1952-1959. Inactivated on 8 Oct 1959.
The 61st Military Airlift Group was reactivated at Howard AFB, Panama 1 December 1984. At Howard, the group was the parent unit for the 310th Military Airlift Squadron (310th MAS) with a diverse array of aircraft (C-21A, CT-43A, C-130E/H, C-27A). The C-21 and CT-43 provided VIP airlift support for the Commander-In-Chief, U.S. Southern Command (CINCSOUTH). The C-130s and C-27s flew tactical airlift operations in Central and South America from 1984-1992. The unit was deactivated and it's assets absorbed by the 24th Wing when the 310th's mission was transferred to Air Combat Command on 1 June 1992.
Post Cold War
The 61 Air Base Wing was reactivated as a non-flying unit at Los Angeles AFB and has supported the Space and Missile Systems Center from 1994 to the present.
Major Commands
- Air Transport Command (1945 – 1947)
- United States Air Forces in Europe (1947 – 1950)
- Military Air Transport Service (1950 – 1959)
- Military Airlift Command (1984 – 1992)
- Air Force Materiel Command (1992 - 2001)
- Air Force Space Command (2001 – Present)
Numbered Air Force
- 18th Air Force (1951 – 1959)
- 21st Air Force (1984 – 1992)
- Space and Missile Systems Center (1994 – Present)
References
- Freeman, Roger A. (1994) UK Airfields of the Ninth: Then and Now 1994. After the Battle ISBN 0900913800
- Freeman, Roger A. (1996) The Ninth Air Force in Colour: UK and the Continent-World War Two. After the Battle ISBN 1854092723
- Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0892010924.
- Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947-1977. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0912799129.
- Rogers, Brian (2005). United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978. Hinkley, England: Midland Publications. ISBN 1-85780-197-0.
External links
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