Misplaced Pages

This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article. (July 2022)

463rd Airlift Group
A U.S. Air Force C-130 Hercules from Little Rock, Air Force Base, Ark., lands at McChord Air Force Base, Wash., for Rodeo 2007 on 21 July 2007
Active	1953–1971; 1972–1993; 1997–2008
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Airlift
Part of	Air Mobility Command
Engagements	Operation Urgent Fury (Grenada) Operation Just Cause (Panama)
Decorations	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Combat "V" Device (3x) Air Force Outstanding Unit Award (10x) Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm
Insignia
Emblem of the 463rd Airlift Group (Approved 30 August 1954)

The United States Air Force's 463rd Airlift Group was a theater airlift unit last stationed at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas. It was inactivated on October 1, 2008.

Mission

The 463rd was a unit with over 1,200 Airmen. The unit employed 30 C-130 aircraft that perform airlift missions worldwide. It provided direct support to warfighting combatant commanders with theater combat aerial delivery of personnel and their resupply worldwide.

Units

The unit comprised eight squadrons: five flying, two maintenance, and one support.

• 30th Airlift Squadron (C-130H) Cheyenne Regional Airport (Associate Unit)
• 41st Airlift Squadron (C-130J) "Black Cats" (Silver tail Stripe)
• 50th Airlift Squadron (C-130H) "Red Devils" (Red tail Stripe)
• 53rd Airlift Squadron (C-130E) "Blackjacks" (Gold tail Stripe)
• 61st Airlift Squadron (C-130E) "Green Hornets" (Green tail Stripe)
• 463rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
• 463rd Maintenance Squadron
• 463rd Operations Support Squadron

History

When active, the 463rd Airlift Group is entitled to display the awards earned by the 463rd Bombardment Group prior to 16 January 1953, unless that group is assigned to another headquarters.

Cold War

The group was first constituted as the 463rd Troop Carrier Wing, Medium and activated at Memphis Airport, Tennessee, on 16 January 1953, when it assumed the mission, equipment and personnel of the 516th Troop Carrier Wing, a reserve unit called to active duty for the Korean War, which was simultaneously inactivated. Assigned to Tactical Air Command (TAC) and equipped with Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcars. On 1 September, the wing moved to Ardmore Air Force Base, Oklahoma. In December 1957, it began replacing its C-119s with the new Lockheed C-130A Hercules turboprop transport. In 1959 Ardmore closed and the 463rd transferred to Sewart Air Force Base, Tennessee, to join the 314th TCW, making Sewart the only US C-130 troop carrier base. The wing moved again in 1964, this time to Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, where it replaced a TAC refueling wing that was being discontinued.

The 463rd airlifted and airdropped troops and cargo to support operations and exercises worldwide, supporting deployments during the following crises: Lebanon (July 1958), Taiwan (August 1958), Berlin (September 1961), Cuba (October–November 1962), the Gulf of Tonkin (August–December 1964), Southeast Asia (February and April–November 1965), and the Dominican Republic (April–September 1965).

The wing moved to Pacific Air Forces in November 1965 and was assigned to the 315th Air Division. Wing headquarters was at Mactan Air Base in Mactan Island in the Philippines and two squadrons were based at Clark until November 1968 when the wing and the two Mactan squadrons transferred to Clark. In PACAF, the wing initially provided airlift in Thailand then provided airplanes and crews to a 315th Air Division detachment at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, South Vietnam. In December 1965, began furnishing aircraft and crews to fly missions in Southeast Asia. The Tan Son Nhut operation was part of 315th Air Division until October 1966 when 834th Air Division activated. The 463rd was one of three C-130 wings that provided airplanes and crews to 834th Air Division detachments. In the spring of 1969 the 463rd detachment transferred from Tan Son Nhut to Cam Ranh Air Base, where it remained until the wing ceased aircraft operations in Southeast Asia on 25 October 1971. Redesignated as the 463rd Tactical Airlift Wing in August 1967. On 31 December 1971 the 463rd was inactivated.

Reactivated at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, in June 1972, the 463rd began participating in operations and exercises worldwide for TAC. In 1974, all tactical airlift was transferred to Military Airlift Command, then to Air Mobility Command (AMC) in 1992 when MAC was inactivated. The wing's tactical components deployed frequently to Europe, the Pacific, and the Canal Zone to provide air transportation as needed. On 1 November 1991, the wing implemented the Objective Wing organization and was redesignated as the 463rd Airlift Wing.

Post Cold War

The wing was inactivated on 1 October 1993 and most of its personnel and equipment was absorbed by the incoming 7th Wing at Dyess. The 7th was a composite wing which incorporated Dyess' C-130s, which were transferred from Air Mobility Command to Air Combat Command (ACC).

When the US-based C-130 force was realigned in 1997 from ACC back to AMC, the 314th Airlift Wing at Little Rock Air Force Base was split into two pieces. The wing and training units went to Air Education and Training Command. AMC reactivated the 463rd as the 463rd Airlift Group on 1 April 1997 to control the two operational C-130 squadrons.

From Little Rock, the 463rd provided worldwide airlift, delivering combat, humanitarian, and other supplies. On 1 October 2008, the 463rd Airlift Group was inactivated and its personnel and equipment transferred to the 19th Airlift Wing.

Lineage

• Established as the 463rd Troop Carrier Wing, Medium on 1 December 1952.

Activated on 16 January 1953

Redesignated 463rd Troop Carrier Wing, Assault on 1 October 1962

Redesignated 463rd Troop Carrier Wing, Medium on 15 May 1965

Redesignated 463rd Troop Carrier Wing on 8 December 1965

Redesignated 463rd Tactical Airlift Wing on 1 August 1967

Inactivated on 31 December 1971

• Activated on 1 June 1972

Redesignated 463rd Airlift Wing on 1 November 1991

Inactivated on 1 October 1993

• Redesignated 463rd Airlift Group on 31 March 1997

Activated 1 April 1997

Inactivated on 1 October 2008

Assignments

Components

Wings

• 456th Troop Carrier: attached 10 March – 9 July 1956 (not operational).

Groups

• 309th Troop Carrier Group: attached 8 July 1955 – c. 21 May 1956
• 419th Troop Carrier Group: attached 9 July 1956 – 25 September 1957
• 463rd Troop Carrier Group (later 463rd Operations Group): 16 January 1953 – 25 September 1957; 1 November 1991 – 1 October 1993

Squadrons

• 16th Troop Carrier Squadron: attached 14 November 1954 – 8 July 1955
• 18th Tactical Airlift Training: 1 June – 31 August 1972 (not operational, 25–31 August 1972)
• 20th Operations: 17 February 1970 – 31 December 1971
• 29th Troop Carrier (later, 29 Tactical Airlift) Squadron: attached 30 January – 24 March 1966, assigned 25 March 1966 – 31 October 1970 (not operational 1 July – 31 October 1970)
• 47th Tactical Airlift Squadron: 6 July – 1 August 1973
• 50th Airlift Squadron: 1 April 1997 – 1 October 2008
• 61st Airlift Squadron: 1 April 1997 – 1 October 2008
• 360th Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron: 24 November 1972 – 1 July 1973 (not operational)
• 772nd Bombardment Squadron (later 772nd Tactical Airlift Squadron): 25 September 1957 – 23 November 1965; 7 February 1966 – 15 June 1971 (not operational 1–15 June 1971); 1 June 1972 – 1 November 1991 (detached 9 July – 15 September 1972; 10 November 1972 – 10 January 1973; 6 May – 4 June 1973; 5 February – 8 April 1974; 5 January – 15 March 1975; 30 November 1975 – 15 January 1976; 3 August – 15 October 1976; 3 November 1977 – 7 January 1978; 3 April – 5 June 1979; 3 August – 5 October 1980; 3 December 1981 – 13 February 1982; 4 April – 7 June 1983; 10 October – 7 December 1985; 5 June – 12 August 1987; 1 August – 13 October 1988; 1 October – 14 December 1989)
• 773rd Troop Carrier Squadron (later 773rd Tactical Airlift Squadron): 25 September 1957 – 31 October 1971 (detached 15 November 1954 – 19 May 1955 and 3 January – 6 March 1961; not operational 15–31 October 1971); 1 June 1972 – 1 November 1991 (detached 1 June – 8 July 1972; 16 September – 16 November 1972; 23 February – 12 May 1973; 3 July – 16 September 1973; 5 May – 17 July 1974; 3 May – 16 July 1975; 3 February – 9 April 1976; 7 November 1976 – 15 January 1977; 3 August – 5 October 1977; 19 September – 1 December 1978; 3 February – 5 April 1980; 3 June – 14 August 1981; 3 October – 7 December 1982; 8 February – 10 April 1984; 6 April – 4 June 1985; 9 December 1986 – 3 February 1987; 1 February – 16 April 1988; 1 April – 14 June 1989; 2 June – 14 August 1990).
• 774th Troop Carrier Squadron (later 774th Tactical Airlift Squadron): 25 September 1957 – 31 December 1971 (detached 21 March – 19 June 1961; not operational 26 December 1962 – 1 April 1963); 1 August 1973 – 1 October 1986 (detached 3 October – 16 December 1973; 3 September – 16 November 1974; 4 August – 15 October 1975; 3 May – 7 July 1976; 3 June – 5 August 1977; 3 March – 5 May 1978; 28 September – 5 December 1979; 3 February – 7 April 1981; 5 April – 15 June 1982; 4 August – 10 October 1983; 5 June – 4 August 1984; 3 December 1984 – 9 February 1985; 5 April – 12 June 1986)
• Troop Carrier Squadron Provisional, 4480th: attached 3 January – 1 April 1963
• 6485th Operations: 1 September – 1 December 1968

Stations

• Memphis Municipal Airport, Tennessee, 16 January 1953
• Ardmore Air Force Base, Oklahoma, 1 September 1953
• Sewart Air Force Base, Tennessee, 15 January 1959
• Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, 1 July 1963 – 22 November 1965
• Mactan Island Airfield, Philippines, 23 November 1965
• Clark Air Base, Luzon, Philippines, 15 July 1968 – 31 December 1971
• Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, 1 June 1972 – 1 October 1993
• Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas, 1 April 1997 – 1 October 2008

Aircraft

• Curtiss C-46 Commando (1953)
• Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar (1953–1957)
• Chase C-122A Avitruc (1955) (YC-122, 1954–1955)
• Fairchild C-123B Provider (1955–1957)
• Lockheed C-130 Hercules

C-130A (1956–1959)

C-130B (1959–1971)

C-130E (1972–1975, 1997–2008)

C-130H (1975–1993, 1997–2008)

• Douglas C-124C Globemaster II (1970–1971)
• Douglas C-118A Liftmaster (1968, 1970–1971)

DeHavilland Canada C-7A Caribou (1972)

See also

• List of Lockheed C-130 Hercules operators

References

Citations

1. ^ Bailey, Carl E. (28 December 2007). "Factsheet 463 Airlift Group (AMC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
2. ^ Lineage, including assignments, components, stations and aircraft through 2007 in Bailey, Factsheet 463 Airlift Group except as indicated

Bibliography

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

• Endicott, Judy G. (1998). Active Air Force Wings as of 1 October 1995 and USAF Active Flying, Space, and Missile Squadrons as of 1 October 1995 (PDF). Air Force History and Museums Program. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ASIN B000113MB2. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) . 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) . 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.
• Rogers, Brian. (2005). United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978. Hinkley, UK: Midland Publications. ISBN 1-85780-197-0.

External links

• Little Rock AFB Official Website
• Joe's USAF Blue Book
• 463rd Bomb Group Historical Society Website
• "C-130 Dyess timeline". Abilene Reporter News. 23 April 2011. Archived from the original on 12 August 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2014.

v t e Air Mobility Command (AMC)
Numbered Air Forces	Eighteenth (Transportation)
Command Organizations	618th Air and Space Operations Center (Tanker Airlift Control Center) USAF Expeditionary Center Special Air Mission
Bases	Andrews Charleston Dover Dyess Fairchild Hickam Little Rock MacDill McChord McConnell McGuire Pope Ramstein Scott Travis
Group	43d Air Mobility Operations 317th Airlift Group
Wings	Air Base 87th 628th Air Mobility 60th 305th 375th Air Refueling (Tanker) 6th 22d 92d Airlift 19th 62d 89th 436th 437th Air Mobility Operations 515th 521st Contingency Response 621st

v t e United States Air Force
Leadership	Department of the Air Force Secretary of the Air Force Under Secretary of the Air Force Air Staff Chief of Staff Vice Chief of Staff Director of Staff Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Four-star generals Three-star generals 1940–1959 2000–2009 2010–2019 2020–present House Armed Services Committee House Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces Senate Committee on Armed Services Senate Subcommittee on Airland Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
Structure	Commands Reserve Air National Guard Field Operating Agencies Installations Direct Reporting Units District of Washington Operational Test and Evaluation Center USAF Academy Major commands ACC AETC AFGSC AFMC AFRC AFSOC AMC PACAF USAFE–AFAFRICA Numbered Air Forces First Second Third Fourth Fifth Seventh Eighth Ninth Tenth Eleventh Twelfth Thirteenth Expeditionary Fifteenth Sixteenth Eighteenth Nineteenth Twentieth Twenty-Second Wings ANG Groups ANG Squadrons ANG Security Forces Civilian auxiliary: Civil Air Patrol
Personnel and training	Personnel Rank officers cadets enlisted Specialty Code Aeronautical ratings Judge Advocate General's Corps RED HORSE Security Forces Medical Service Chief of Chaplains Chief Scientist Training: Air Force Academy Officer Training School Reserve Officer Training Corps Basic Training Airman Leadership School SERE Fitness Assessment
Uniforms and equipment	Awards and decorations Badges Equipment Aircraft Uniforms
History and traditions	History Aeronautical Division / Aviation Section / Division of Military Aeronautics / Army Air Service / Army Air Corps / Army Air Forces "The U.S. Air Force" Air Force Band Airman's Creed Core Values Flag Symbol Memorial National Museum Women Airforce Service Pilots Air Force One / Air Force Two Honor Guard Thunderbirds Service numbers Air & Space Forces Association
Category

v t e Military Airlift Command (MAC)
Air Forces	Twenty-First Twenty-Second Twenty-Third
Air Divisions Named Units	2d 76th 322d 834th Air Weather Service Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service Special Air Mission Air Photographic Service Aeromedical Transport
Wings	MAW 60th 62d 63d 436th 437th 438th 443d TAW 314th 316th 317th 433d 463d
Bases	Altus AFB Andrews AFB Charleston AFB Dover AFB Dyess AFB Hurlburt Field Kelly AFB Langley AFB Little Rock AFB McChord AFB McGuire AFB Norton AFB Pope AFB Scott AFB Sewart AFB Travis AFB
Aircraft	C-5 Galaxy C-9 Nightingale C-47 Skytrain C-54 Skymaster C-119 Flying Boxcar C-121 Constellation C-130 Hercules C-133 Cargomaster C-135 Stratolifter C-141 Starlifter VC-25

v t e Pacific Air Forces (PACAF)
Air Forces	Fifth Seventh (Air Forces Korea) Eleventh Thirteenth Expeditionary
Bases	Andersen Eielson Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (Elmendorf Air Force Base) Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam (Hickam Air Force Base) Kadena Kunsan Misawa Osan Yokota
Wings	3rd 8th Fighter 15th 18th 35th Fighter 36th 51st Fighter 354th Fighter 374th Airlift

v t e Tactical Air Command (TAC)
Air Forces	First Ninth Twelfth Eighteenth Nineteenth
Air Divisions	20th (ADTAC) 21st (ADTAC) 23d (ADTAC) 24th (ADTAC) 25th (ADTAC) 26th (ADTAC) 28th (ADTAC) 831st 832d 833d 834th 835th 836th 837th 838th 839th 840th
Named units	Air Forces Panama Air Forces Iceland Air Defense, Tactical Air Command
Wings	TFW 1st 4th 12th 15th 20th 23d 27th 32d 33d 37th 50th 56th 312th 323d 347th 354th 355th Other 1st SOW 57th FWW 63d TAW 64th TAW 67th TRW 75th TRW 85th TFTW 317th TAW 363d TRW 405th TFTW 461st TBW 4505th ARW
Former bases	Active (MAJCOM) Altus (AETC) Brooks (AFMC) Cannon (AFSOC) Charleston (AMC) Creech (ACC) Davis–Monthan (ACC) Dover (AMC) Dyess (ACC) Eglin (AFMC) Hill (AMFC) Holloman (ACC) Hurlburt Field (AFSOC) Langley (ACC) Little Rock (AETC) Luke (AETC) MacDill (AMC) McChord (AMC) McConnell (AMC) Moody (ACC) Mountain Home (ACC) Nellis (ACC) Pope (AMC) Seymour Johnson (ACC) Shaw (ACC) Tonopah (ACC) Tyndall (AETC) Whiteman (ACC) Inactive Bergstrom Blythville Donaldson England Forbes George Howard Grenier Myrtle Beach Orlando Sewart Turner Williams Inactive, but with a military presence Bunker Hill Biggs Dow Godman Homestead Lockbourne March Otis
Aircraft	A-1 A-7 A-10 A-37 AC-47 AC-119 AC-130 B-26 B-57 B-66 C-7 C-47 C-82 C-119 C-123 C-130 E-3 E-8 EF-111 EC-135 F-4 F-5 F-15 F-16 F-47 F-51 F-80 F-82 F-84 F-86 F-89 F-100 F-101 F-102 F-104 F-105 F-106 F-111 F-117 H-1 H-5 H-6 H-19 H-43 H-60 H-53 KB-29 KB-50 KC-97 O-1 O-2 OH-23 OV-10 P-40 P-38 R-4 S-62 T-6 T-28 T-29 T-33 T-38

United States Air Force In South Vietnam
Air Bases	Bien Hoa Binh Thuy Cam Ranh Da Nang Nha Trang Phù Cát Pleiku Phan Rang Tan Son Nhut Tuy Hoa
Wings	3d TFW 12th TFW 14th ACW/SOW 31st TFW 35th TFW 37th TFW 315th TAW 366th TFW 377th ABW

• Airlift groups of the United States Air Force
• Military units and formations of the United States in the Cold War