| 333d Special Operations Wing Active as the 633rd Special Operations Wing  | |
|---|---|
 A-1E Skyraider of the wing's6th 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 withCombat "V" Device Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm |
| Insignia | |
| 633d Special Operations Wing emblem(approved 29 May 1969)[1] |  |
The333d Special Operations Wing is an inactiveUnited States Air Force unit. It was active from July 1968 through March 1970 atPleiku Air Base, South Vietnam. In 1985, thewing was consolidated with the333d Bombardment Group as the 333d Special Operations Wing.
The333d Bombardment Group, a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Operational Training Unit (OTU) assigned toSecond Air Force, was established atTopeka Army Air Base, Kansas in July 1942. The 333d's original components were the466th,467th,468th and469th Bombardment Squadrons.[2][3] The squadrons were all initially formed atSalt Lake City Army Air Base, and did not join groupheadquarters at Topeka until late August.[3]
The OTU program involved the use of an oversized parent unit to providecadres to "satellite groups". In February 1943 it moved toDalhart Army Air Field, Texas, and shifted its mission to become a Replacement Training Unit (RTU). RTUs were also oversized units, but trained individualpilots oraircrews for shipment to theaters of operation.[2][4] However, theArmy 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.[5] As a result, thegroup was inactivated and training activities at Dalhart were assumed by the 232d (bomber) and 268th (fighter) AAF Base Units.
Dalhart became a center for organizingBoeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bombardment groups and the 333d was again activated there in July 1944.[2] However, its original squadrons were not activated along with it. Instead, the435th,460th, and507th 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.[6] The 435th had seen combat in theSouthwest Pacific Theater early in the war.[7]
In January 1945 the group moved toGreat Bend Army Air Field, Kansas, where it continued its training until June 1945. The group deployed toOkinawa as part ofEighth Air Force in the Pacific Theater. It arrived in Okinawa, but the end of the war with thedefeat 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.[2]
The633d Combat Support Group[8] had provided support for Air Force units atPleiku Air Base, South Vietnam since the spring of 1966. In February 1968, the6th Air Commando Squadron, flyingDouglas A-1 Skyraiders, moved to Pleiku fromEngland Air Force Base, Louisiana and was assigned to the14th Air Commando Wing, which was located atNha Trang Air Base. The633d Special Operations Wing was activated in July 1968 to act as the headquarters for both units stationed at Pleiku.[1][9][10]
Thewing engaged inspecial operations combat, includingclose air support, air escort, day and nightinterdiction, andvisual and photographic reconnaissance from its activation until November 1969.[1]
In November 1969 its only operational squadron was inactivated in Operation Keystone Cardinal, the first reduction inUnited States Air Forces combat forces as ceilings on forces in South Vietnam were reduced and the United States began to withdraw. ItsDouglas A-1 Skyraiders were transferred to the56th Special Operations Wing in Thailand.[11] 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.
In July 1985, the wing was consolidated with the 333d Bombardment Group, aWorld War II unit that also served in the Pacific area. The consolidated unit was designated the333d Special Operations Wing, but has never been active under that designation.[12]
| Award streamer | Award | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award withCombat "V" Device | 15 July 1968 – 31 May 1969 | 633d Special Operations Wing[1] |
 | Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm | 15 July 1968 – 15 March 1970 | 633d Special Operations Wing[1] |
| Campaign Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
.png) | American Theater without inscription | 15 Jul 1942 – 1 April 1944, 7 July 1944-18 Jun 45 | 333d Bombardment Group[2] |
 | Asiatic–Pacific Theater without inscription | 5 August 1945 – 2 March 1946 | 333d Bombardment Group[2] |
 | Vietnam Air Offensive, Phase III | 9 July 1968 – 31 October 1968 | 633d Special Operations Wing[1] |
| Vietnam Air Offensive, Phase IV | 1 November 1968 – 22 February 1969 | 633d Special Operations Wing[1] |
| Tet 1969/Counteroffensive | 23 February 1969 – 8 June 1969 | 633d Special Operations Wing[1] |
| Vietnam Summer-Fall 1969 | 9 June 1969 – 31 October 1969 | 633d Special Operations Wing[1] |
| Vietnam Winter-Spring 1970 | 3 November 1969 – 15 March 1970 | 633d Special Operations Wing[1] |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
| Commands | | ||||||||
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South Vietnam |
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Thailand |
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| Other major support facilities |
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