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333d Special Operations Wing Active as the 633d Special Operations Wing
A-1E Skyraider of the wing's 6th Special Operations Squadron
Active	1942–1944; 1944–1946; 1968-1970
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Special Operations
Part of	Pacific Air Forces
Engagements	Pacific Theater Vietnam War
Decorations	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Combat "V" Device Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm
Insignia
633d Special Operations Wing emblem (approved 29 May 1969)

The 333d Special Operations Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was active from July 1968 through March 1970 at Pleiku Air Base, South Vietnam. In 1985, the wing was consolidated with the 333d Bombardment Group as the 333d Special Operations Wing.

History

World War II

Heavy bomber training unit

The 333d Bombardment Group, a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Operational Training Unit (OTU) assigned to Second Air Force, was established at Topeka Army Air Base, Kansas in July 1942. The 333d's original components were the 466th, 467th, 468th and 469th Bombardment Squadrons. The squadrons were all initially formed at Salt Lake City Army Air Base, and did not join group headquarters at Topeka until late August.

The OTU program involved the use of an oversized parent unit to provide cadres to "satellite groups". In February 1943 it moved to Dalhart Army Air Field, Texas, and shifted its mission to become a Replacement Training Unit (RTU). RTUs were also oversized units, but trained individual pilots or aircrews for shipment to theaters of operation. However, the Army Air Forces found that standard military units like the 333d, based on relatively inflexible tables of organization, were not proving well adapted to the training mission. Accordingly a more functional system was adopted in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit. As a result, the group was inactivated and training activities at Dalhart were assumed by the 232d (bomber) and 268th (fighter) AAF Base Units.

Very heavy bomber operations

Dalhart became a center for organizing Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bombardment groups and the 333d was again activated there in July 1944. However, its original squadrons were not activated along with it. Instead, the 435th, 460th, and 507th Bombardment Squadrons were assigned. These three squadrons had previously been the "fourth" (highest numbered) squadrons in groups that also flew B-29s. The three squadrons had been inactivated in May 1944, when B-29 groups were reorganized to have three, rather than four squadrons. The 435th had seen combat in the Southwest Pacific Theater early in the war.

In January 1945 the group moved to Great Bend Army Air Field, Kansas, where it continued its training until June 1945. The group deployed to Okinawa as part of Eighth Air Force in the Pacific Theater. It arrived in Okinawa, but the end of the war with the defeat of Japan led to a drawdown of Eighth Air Force and the group never engaged in combat. The group helped evacuate prisoners of war from Japan to airfields in the Philippines. The unit was inactivated on Okinawa on 28 May 1946.

Vietnam War

The 633d Combat Support Group had provided support for Air Force units at Pleiku Air Base, South Vietnam since the spring of 1966. In February 1968, the 6th Air Commando Squadron, flying Douglas A-1 Skyraiders, moved to Pleiku from England Air Force Base, Louisiana and was assigned to the 14th Air Commando Wing, which was located at Nha Trang Air Base. The 633d Special Operations Wing was activated in July 1968 to act as the headquarters for both units stationed at Pleiku.

The wing engaged in special operations combat, including close air support, air escort, day and night interdiction, and visual and photographic reconnaissance from its activation until November 1969.

In November 1969 its only operational squadron was inactivated in Operation Keystone Cardinal, the first reduction in United States Air Forces combat forces as ceilings on forces in South Vietnam were reduced and the United States began to withdraw. Its Douglas A-1 Skyraiders were transferred to the 56th Special Operations Wing in Thailand. The wing managed the reduction of United States forces at Pleiku until March 1970, when it was inactivated and transferred its remaining equipment and personnel to the 6254th Air Base Squadron.

Consolidation and redesignation

In July 1985, the wing was consolidated with the 333d Bombardment Group, a World War II unit that also served in the Pacific area. The consolidated unit was designated the 333d Special Operations Wing, but has never been active under that designation.

Lineage

333d Bombardment Group

• Constituted as the 333d Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 9 July 1942

Activated on 15 July 1942

Inactivated on 1 April 1944

• Redesignated 333d Bombardment Group, Very Heavy

Activated on 7 July 1944

Inactivated on 28 May 1946

• Consolidated with the 633d Special Operations Wing as the 333d Special Operations Wing on 31 July 1985

333d Special Operations Wing

• Established as the 633d Special Operations Wing and activated on 9 July 1968 (not organized)

Organized on 15 July 1968

Inactivated on 15 March 1970

Consolidated with the 333d Bombardment Group as the 333d Special Operations Wing on 31 July 1985

Assignments

• 21st Bombardment Wing, 15 Jul 1942
• Probably II Bomber Command, 21 February 1943 – 1 April 1944
• Probably II Bomber Command, 7 July 1944
• 316th Bombardment Wing (later 316th Composite Wing), by 31 August 1945 – 28 May 1946
• Pacific Air Forces, 9 July 1968 (not organized)
• Seventh Air Force, 15 July 1968 – 15 March 1970

Components

Group

• 633d Combat Support Group, 15 July 1968- 15 March 1970

Squadrons

• 6th Air Commando Squadron (later 6th Special Operations Squadron), 15 July 1968 – 15 November 1969
• 466th Bombardment Squadron, 15 July 1942—1 April 1944
• 467th Bombardment Squadron, 15 July 1942—1 April 1944
• 468th Bombardment Squadron, 15 July 1942—1 April 1944
• 469th Bombardment Squadron, 15 July 1942—1 April 1944
• 435th Bombardment Squadron, 7 July 1944 – 28 May 1946
• 460th Bombardment Squadron, 7 July 1944 – 28 May 1946
• 507th Bombardment Squadron, 7 July 1944 – 28 May 1946
• 633d Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, 15 July 1968 – 15 March 1970

Other

• 31st Photo Laboratory, c. 7 July 1944 – c. 28 May 1946
• 633d USAF infirmary, 15 July 1968 – 15 March 1970

Stations

• Topeka Army Air Base, Kansas, 15 July 1942
• Dalhart Army Air Field, Texas, 22 February 1943 – 1 April 1944
• Dalhart Army Air Field, Texas, 7 July 1944
• Great Bend Army Air Field, Kansas, 13 January – 18 June 1945
• Kadena Air Base, Okinawa 5 August 1945 – 28 May 1946
• Pleiku Air Base, South Vietnam, 9 July 1968 – 15 March 1970

Aircraft

• Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, 1942-1944
• Boeing B-29 Superfortress, 1944-1946
• Douglas A-1 Skyraider, 1968-1969

Campaigns and awards

Award streamer	Award	Dates	Notes
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Combat "V" Device	15 July 1968 – 31 May 1969	633d Special Operations Wing
	Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm	15 July 1968 – 15 March 1970	633d Special Operations Wing

Campaign Streamer	Campaign	Dates	Notes
	American Theater without inscription	15 Jul 1942 – 1 April 1944, 7 July 1944-18 Jun 45	333d Bombardment Group
	Asiatic–Pacific Theater without inscription	5 August 1945 – 2 March 1946	333d Bombardment Group
	Vietnam Air Offensive, Phase III	9 July 1968 – 31 October 1968	633d Special Operations Wing
	Vietnam Air Offensive, Phase IV	1 November 1968 – 22 February 1969	633d Special Operations Wing
	Tet 1969/Counteroffensive	23 February 1969 – 8 June 1969	633d Special Operations Wing
	Vietnam Summer-Fall 1969	9 June 1969 – 31 October 1969	633d Special Operations Wing
	Vietnam Winter-Spring 1970	3 November 1969 – 15 March 1970	633d Special Operations Wing

See also

• List of inactive AFCON wings of the United States Air Force
• List of A-1 Skyraider operators
• List of B-29 Superfortress operators
• B-17 Flying Fortress units of the United States Army Air Forces

References

Notes

1. ^ Ravenstein, pp. 290-291
2. ^ Maurer, Combat Units, pp. 213-214
3. ^ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, 572-575
4. Craven & Cate, Introduction, p. xxxvi
5. Goss, p. 75
6. Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 537-538, 566-567, 609-610
7. Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 537-538
8. Robertson, Patsy (9 March 2010). "Factsheet 633 Air Base Wing (ACC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Archived from the original on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
9. Robertson, Patsy (23 August 2011). "Factsheet 14 Flying Training Wing (AETC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
10. Robertson, Patsy (9 April 2015). "Factsheet 6 Special Operations Squadron (AFSOC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
11. USAF Force Withdrawal from Southeast Asia, p. 14
12. ^ Department of the Air Force/MPM Letter 648q, 31 July 1985, Subject: Reconstitution, Redesignation, and Consolidation of Selected Air Force Organizations
13. "Factsheet 21 Air Division". Air Force Historical Research Agency. 5 October 2007. Archived from the original on 27 October 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
14. "Factsheet 316 Air Division". Air Force Historical Research Agency. 12 October 2007. Archived from the original on 30 October 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
15. World War II squadrons in Maurer, pp. 213-214
16. Station information through 1946 in Maurer, pp. 213-214

Bibliography

 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 (PDF). Vol. VI, Men & Planes. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. LCCN 48003657. OCLC 704158. Retrieved 17 December 2016.

  Goss, William A. (1955). "The Organization and its Responsibilities, Chapter 2 The AAF". In Craven, Wesley F.; Cate, James L. (eds.). The Army Air Forces in World War II (PDF). Vol. VI, Men & Planes. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. LCCN 48003657. OCLC 704158. Retrieved 17 December 2016.

• 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. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
• 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.
• "Project Corona Harvest, USAF Force Withdrawal from Southeast Asia 1 January 1970 – 30 June 1971 (Secret, automatically declassified 1984)" (PDF). Headquarters, Pacific Air Forces. 31 May 1972. Retrieved 5 October 2015.

v t e United States Air Force in the Vietnam War
Commands	Pacific Air Forces 2nd Air Division Seventh Air Force Thirteenth Air Force
South Vietnam	Bases Bien Hoa Binh Thuy Cam Ranh Da Nang Nha Trang Phu Cat Pleiku Phan Rang Tan Son Nhut Tuy Hoa Airfields Quang Ngai Qui Nhon Tay Loc Ban Me Thuot SIGINT Monkey Mountain Facility Wings 3rd TFW 12th TFW 14th ACW/SOW 31st TFW 35th TFW 37th TFW 315th TAW 366th TFW 377th ABW 633d SOW
Thailand	Bases Don Muang Korat Nakhon Phanom Takhli U-Tapao Ubon Udorn Wings 8th TFW 49th TFW 56th SOW 307th SW 347th TFW 354th TFW 355th TFW 366th 388th TFW 432d TRW 474th TFW
Other major support facilities	Bases Clark (Philippines) Ching Chuan Kang (Republic of China) Andersen (Guam) Kadena (Japan) Misawa (Japan)

v t e USAAF Second Air Force in World War II
Airfields	Airfields
Units	Commands II Air Support Command II Bomber Command II Fighter Command IV Air Support Command XX Bomber Command XXI Bomber Command XXII Bomber Command Wings 5th Bombardment 15th Bombardment Training 16th Bombardment Operational Training 17th Bombardment Training 18th Replacement 21st Bombardment 46th Bombardment Operational Training 58th Bombardment 73rd Bombardment 315th Bombardment 316th Bombardment Groups Bombardment 2nd Bombardment 6th Bombardment 7th Bombardment 9th Bombardment 12th Bombardment 16th Bombardment 17th Bombardment 19th Bombardment 25th Bombardment 29th Bombardment 34th Bombardment 39th Bombardment 40th Bombardment 42nd Bombardment 46th Bombardment 47th Bombardment 48th Bombardment 85th Bombardment 86th Bombardment 86th Bombardment 88th Bombardment 94th Bombardment 95th Bombardment 96th Bombardment 99th Bombardment 100th Bombardment 301st Bombardment 302nd Bombardment 303rd Bombardment 304th Bombardment 305th Bombardment 306th Bombardment 307th Bombardment 308th Bombardment 312th Bombardment 330th Bombardment 331st Bombardment 333rd Bombardment 346th Bombardment 351st Bombardment 376th Bombardment 379th Bombardment 381st Bombardment 382nd Bombardment 383rd Bombardment 384th Bombardment 385th Bombardment 388th Bombardment 390th Bombardment 393rd Bombardment 395th Bombardment 396th Bombardment 398th Bombardment 399th Bombardment 400th Bombardment 401st Bombardment 407th Bombardment 415th Bombardment 418th Bombardment 444th Bombardment 445th Bombardment 446th Bombardment 447th Bombardment 448th Bombardment 449th Bombardment 450th Bombardment 451st Bombardment 452nd Bombardment 453rd Bombardment 454th Bombardment 455th Bombardment 456th Bombardment 457th Bombardment 458th Bombardment 459th Bombardment 460th Bombardment 461st Bombardment 462nd Bombardment 464th Bombardment 467th Bombardment 468th Bombardment 469th Bombardment 470th Bombardment 471st Bombardment 472nd Bombardment 484th Bombardment 485th Bombardment 486th Bombardment 487th Bombardment 488th Bombardment 489th Bombardment 490th Bombardment 491st Bombardment 493rd Bombardment 494th Bombardment 497th Bombardment 498th Bombardment 499th Bombardment 500th Bombardment 501st Bombardment 502nd Bombardment 504th Bombardment 505th Bombardment 509th Composite Fighter 20th Fighter 54th Fighter 84th Fighter 85th Fighter 507th Fighter 508th Fighter Reconnaissance 2nd Reconnaissance 3rd Reconnaissance 4th Reconnaissance 5th Reconnaissance 6th Reconnaissance 7th Reconnaissance 8th Reconnaissance 71st Reconnaissance 77th Reconnaissance Troop Carrier 443nd Troop Carrier
United States Army Air Forces First Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Seventh Eighth Ninth Tenth Eleventh Twelfth Thirteenth Fourteenth Fifteenth Twentieth

• Pleiku
• Military units and formations established in 1968
• Special operations wings of the United States Air Force