"41st Transport Squadron" redirects here. For the 41st Transport Squadron (formerly 41st Ferrying Squadron), see41st Military Airlift Squadron.
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The squadron was constituted as 41 Transport Squadron on 2 Feb 1942. Activated on 18 Feb 1942 at Duncan Field,Texas. Redesignated as: 41 Troop Carrier Squadron on 4 July 1942.[2] The 41st participated inairborne drops on Nadzab,Noemfoor,Tagaytay,Corregidor, and Aparri, as well as aerial transportation in South, Southwest, and WesternPacific, duringWorld War II.[2]
Redesignated 41 Troop Carrier Squadron, Heavy, on 30 June 1948 and participated in theBerlin Airlift in 1948.[2] The 41st was inactivated on 14 Sep 1949.[2]
Redesignated as 41 Troop Carrier Squadron, Medium, on 3 July 1952 and activated on 14 July 1952. The squadron transported troops to join theUnited Nations Operation in the Congo (ONUC) in the formerBelgian Congo in 1960. In November 1965 the squadron was moved fromLockbourne AFB, Ohio, toNaha Air Base, in Okinawa, Japan. It was redesignated as the 41 Troop Carrier Squadron on 8 Dec 1965. It airlifted personnel and equipment toSoutheast Asia fromRyukyu Islands from, 1965–1971. The 41 Troop Carrier Squadron was renamed 41 Tactical Airlift Squadron on 1 August 1967. Airlifted personnel and equipment in and aroundKorea during theUSS Pueblo (AGER-2) crisis in January 1968.[2]
The squadron was inactivated in Okinawa on 28 February 1971.
The squadron was reactivated on 31 August 1971 atPope AFB, NC. It has supportedU.S. Army training and performed rotational duty throughoutEurope, since 1971. The 41st airlifted personnel,special forces and supplies during operations inGrenada in 1983,Panama from December 1989 – January 1990, and inSouthwest Asia from, 11 August 1990 – 21 March 1991.[2] Redesignated as the 41st Airlift Squadron on 1 January 1992.[2]
U.S. Air Force Airmen from the720th Special Tactics Group out of Hurlburt Field, Fla., jump out of a C-130J Hercules aircraft during water rescue training above Choctawhatchee Bay, over the Destin coastline in Florida Oct. 3, 2007. The training is designed to enhance aerial ZoDIAC deployment and personnel recovery. The aircraft belongs to the 41st Airlift Squadron out of Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas.
The 'Blackcats' received their first C-130J on 13 March 2007, this marked the start of the squadron's replacement of their elderly C-130H Hercules transporters.[5]
On 26 July 2019, the 41st Airlift Squadron was awarded the 2018 General Joseph Smith Trophy for being the most outstanding airlift squadron in Air Mobility Command for 2018. The squadron led the largest wing exercises in a decade, delivered the most prevalent overseas airdrop in five years, and had the Air Force's lowest C-130J mishap rate for eight years.[6]
Attached to513th Tactical Airlift Wing, 6 November 1971 – 12 January 1972, 11 March–16 May 1974, 11 November 1974 – 15 January 1975
Attached to322d Tactical Airlift Wing, 4 June–16 August 1972, 5 February–14 April 1973, 9 August–15 October 1973
Attached to435th Tactical Airlift Wing, 4 October–15 December 1975, 13 July–10 September 1976, 5 March–25 April 1977, 2 May–22 July 1978
Attached to313th Tactical Airlift Wing, 5 December 1979 – 12 February 1980, 3 April–14 June 1981, 3 August–14 October 1982, 4 December 1983 – 15 February 1984, 10 February–10 April 1985, 25 May–13 August 1986, 1 August–14 October 1987, 3 December 1989 – 15 February 1992
Attached to Airlift Division, Provisional, 1610th, 1 November 1990; Tactical Airlift Wing, Provisional, 1660th, 17 December 1990; Tactical Airlift Group, Provisional, 1675th, 15 January–21 March 1991
Deployed toRAF Mildenhall, England, 6 November 1971 – 12 January 1972, 11 March-16 May 1974, 11 November 1974 – 15 January 1975, 13 July-10 September 1976, 5 March-25 April 1977, 2 May-22 July 1978, 5 December 1979 – 12 February 1980, 3 April-14 June 1981, 3 August-14 October 1982, 4 December 1983 – 15 February 1984, 10 February-10 April 1985, 25 May-13 August 1986, 1 August-14 October 1987, 3 December 1989 – 15 February 1990, 2 December 1991 – 15 February 1992
Deployed to Rhein-Main Air Base, Germany, 4 June-16 August 1972, 5 February-14 April 1973, 9 August-15 October 1973, 4 October-15 December 1975
Deployed toRAF Sculthorpe, England, 2 October-15 December 1988
Deployed toThumrait Air Base, Oman, 11 August 1990 – 12 January 1991
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United States
United States Air Force
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
Air Mobility Command (AMC)
