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| 439th Operations Group | |
|---|---|
 Emblem of the 439th Operations Group | |
| Active | 1943–1946; 1949–1951; 1952–1957; 1965–1968; 1992—present |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Air Force Reserve |
The439th Operations Group is an activeUnited States Air Force Reserve unit. It is the flying component of theTwenty-Second Air Force439th Airlift Wing, stationed atWestover Air Reserve Base,Massachusetts.
The unit'sWorld War II predecessor unit, the439th Troop Carrier Group, was aC-47 Skytrain transport unit assigned toNinth Air Force in Western Europe. DuringOperation Overlord, two serials of aircraft of the 439th TCG, one of 45 and the other of 36, were dispatched late in the evening of 5 June to drop the506th Parachute Infantry Regiment during the first hour of the invasion behindUtah Beach.
Difficult weather conditions and heavy anti-aircraft fire were encountered and three aircraft failed to return. A reinforcement mission with gliders was flown on the following day, with 50 C-47s towing 30Horsa and 20CG-4 Wacos. The 439th later received aDistinguished Unit Citation for its work during these two days.
The group operates 8 C-5M Super Galaxys, flown by the 337th Airlift Squadron. The peacetime mission includes recruiting, training, and supervision of personnel to assure mission readiness.[1]
The 439th Operations Group can provide worldwide air movement of troops, supplies, equipment and medical patients. Airlift also involves airdrop and combat offloading operations.
The 439th Operations Group consists of:
Trained in the U.S. with C-47s, 1943-Jan1944. Moved to England, February–March 1944, for duty with Ninth Air Force.[2]
The group beganoperations by droppingparatroops of the101st Airborne Division inNormandy onD-Day (6 June 1944) and releasinggliders with reinforcements on the following day. The group received aDistinguished Unit Citation and a French citation for these missions. After the Normandy invasion the group ferried supplies in the United Kingdom until the air echelon was sent toItaly in July to transport cargo to Rome and evacuate wounded personnel. The detachment dropped paratroops of the517th Parachute Infantry Regiment along theRiviera in support of theinvasion of Southern France on 15 August, and later towed gliders to provide reinforcements; for these missions the group earned another citation from the French government. After the air echelon returned to England on 25 August the group resumed its cargo missions.[2]
After moving to France in September, the group dropped paratroops of the82nd Airborne Division nearNijmegen and towed gliders carrying reinforcements during theairborne attack on the Netherlands. In December, it participated in theBattle of the Bulge by releasing gliders with supplies for the 101st Airborne Division nearBastogne. When theAllies made the air assault across theRhine River in March 1945, each aircraft of the 439th towed two gliders with troops of the17th Airborne Division and released them nearWesel. The group also hauled food, clothing, medicine, gasoline, ordnance equipment, and other supplies to the front lines and evacuated patients to rear zone hospitals. It converted from C-47s to C-46s and the 439th used the new aircraft to transport displaced persons from Germany to France andBelgium afterV-E Day.[2]
The group returned to the U.S. during the period July–September 1945, and trained with C-46 aircraft until inactivated on 10 Jun 1946.[2]
From June 1949, the group trained in troop carrier operations until mobilized in April 1951, its personnel being used as fillers for USAF organizations worldwide during theKorean War.[2]
Activated in the Reserve on 15 June 1952, the group trained in fighter-bomber operations until phased out in September 1957 when the wing adopted theTri-Deputate organization.
On 8 January 1966 the 439th replaced the 1602d Air Transport Group at Rhein-Main AB, Germany. The group controlled assigned and attached Military Airlift Command airlift units at Rhein-Main, provided air transport and air evacuation services within and occasionally outside Europe. Earned an Air Force Outstanding Unit Award for May–June 1967 support during the Middle East crisis.[2]
Since 1 August 1992 the group has trained for and flown global airlift operations, transporting personnel, equipment, and supplies and participating in numerous exercises.[2]
The group received its firstC-5M Super Galaxy on June 2, 2017. Marking the first of eight for the unit.[1] On September 7, 2017 the unit's last C-5A left Westover for Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona for retirement.[3]
Group
Squadrons
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
Media related to439th Troop Carrier Group (United States Army Air Forces) at Wikimedia Commons
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