| 838th Air Division | |
|---|---|
 C-123 Providers in flight in the late 1950s[a] | |
| Active | 1957; 1963–1966 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Command of tacticalairlift forces |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Lt Gen Ernest C. Hardin Jr. |
| Insignia | |
| 838th Air Division[b][1] |  |
The838th Air Division is an inactiveUnited States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was withTactical Air Command, assigned toTwelfth Air Force atForbes Air Force Base, Kansas. It was inactivated on 24 December 1969.
Thedivision was first activated in the fall of 1957 atArdmore Air Force Base, where the463d Troop Carrier Wing and419th Troop Carrier Group were stationed. However, the 419th, which was flyingFairchild C-123 Providers, was inactivated in December, rather than upgrading to awing and the 838th was inactivated along with it.
The838th Air Division was first activated on 25 September 1957 atArdmore Air Force Base, Oklahoma in anticipation that the419th Troop Carrier Group would be expanded to a wing, joining the463d Troop Carrier Wing at Ardmore. Thedivision's 838th Air Base Group assumed the management of the base from the 463d Air Base Group, which was inactivated upon transferring its resources. However, the 463d Wing was converting from theFairchild C-123 Provider to become the Air Force's firstLockheed C-130 Hercules wing and it was decided to inactivate the 419th and its Providers before the end of the year, along with the new division.[1] The division commander, Col James L. Daniel Jr., had been the commander of the 463d wing before the division was activated and returned to that command when the division and 419th Group were inactivated on 11 December 1957.[1][2] The 838th Air Base Group was reassigned to the 463d Wing and remained the base host unit.[3]
The division was reactivated atPope Air Force Base in July 1963 and was assigned the464th Troop Carrier Wing, a C-123 wing stationed there. In October the 463d Troop Carrier Wing, which had recently moved toLangley Air Force Base, Virginia was again assigned to the 838th. Both wings performed worldwide tactical airlift and participated in tacticalexercises and operations.[1] Its 463d Wing supported forces deploying in response to theGulf of Tonkin incident in Operation One Buck beginning shortly after the incident in August 1964.[4] The 464th Wing conducted combat crew training until April 1964 and kept two of its squadrons deployed overseas for most of the period it was assigned. It was awarded theMacKay Trophy in 1964 forOperation Dragon Rouge, thehumanitarian airlift of over 1500refugees from theRepublic of the Congo in an operation that continued after it was reassigned to another division.[5] It also received anAir Force Outstanding Unit Award for the actions of its elements deployed to Vietnam performing combat airlift missions.[6] The 464th had sent two squadrons of Providers to South Vietnam during 1962 inOperation Mule Train andOperation Ranch Hand. The crews and planes operated as provisional units there.[7] These planes were joined by a third squadron in 1963, although all were eventually transferred to regularPacific Air Forces units of the315th Troop Carrier Group.[8]
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In November 1964, the division moved from Pope toForbes Air Force Base, Kansas. The 463d and 464th Wings were relieved from assignment to the division and the313th Troop Carrier Wing at Forbes and the516th Troop Carrier Wing atDyess Air Force Base, Texas were transferred to the 838th's command[1][9] Until the division inactivated, its wings frequently deployed aircraft and personnel toEurope, theFar East, and thePanama Canal Zone.[1]
In May 1968, the930th Tactical Airlift Group, flyingFairchild C-119 Flying Boxcars was called to active duty. the C-119s of its71st Tactical Airlift Squadron had been selected for conversion toAC-119 Shadow gunship configuration. The group's stay with the 838th was short, however and it was returned to reserve status on 1 June 1968, while its 71st Squadron was transferred to the1st Special Operations Wing.[1][10]
In August 1969, the 516th Wing began training aircrews on thede Havilland Canada C-7 Caribou. The 838th was inactivated in December 1969 and its units were reassigned directly toTwelfth Air Force.[1][11][9]
Wings
Groups
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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