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441st Troop Carrier Group
Group C-47A[note 1]
Active	1943–1946; 1949–1951
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Troop Carrier
Engagements	European Theater of Operations
Decorations	Distinguished Unit Citation[1]

The441st Troop Carrier Group is an inactiveUnited States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was to the 441st Troop Carrier Wing, stationed atChicago O'Hare International Airport, Illinois, where it was inactivated on 14 March 1951.

During World War II, the group was aDouglas C-47 Skytrain transport unit assigned toIX Troop Carrier Command in Western Europe. The 441st group flew combatparatroopers on airborne assaults on Normandy (Operation Overlord); Southern France (Operation Dragoon); the Netherlands (Operation Market-Garden), and Germany (Operation Varsity). It also flew combat resupply missions in the relief of Bastogne in 1945.

Constituted as441st Troop Carrier Group on 25 May 1943. Activated on 1 August 1943. UsedDouglas C-47 Skytrains to train for overseas duty. Moved toRAF Langar, England, February–March 1944, and assigned toNinth Air Force. Thegroup was assigned to the50th Troop Carrier Wing ofIX Troop Carrier Command. It was scheduled to be assigned to RAF Langar, however it only remained until 25 April until moving toRAF Merryfield.

From Merryfield, the group participated in theD-Day operation, dropping101st Airborne Division paratroops nearCherbourg Naval Base, then carried out resupply andglider delivery missions the following day. For its efficiency and achievements during these two days it was, like other troop carrier groups, awarded aDistinguished Unit Citation. During these missions, three C-47s and two CG-4A gliders were missing in action.

The group's aircraft flew supplies into Normandy as soon as suitable landing strips were available and evacuated casualties to Merryfield. On 17 July the air echelons of the99th,100th and302nd Troop Carrier Squadrons moved toGrosseto Airfield in Italy to prepare for operations connected with theOperation Dragoon, the invasion of southern France, returning to Merryfield on 24 August.

Meanwhile, the301st Troop Carrier Squadron remained active on the Normandy shuttle while supplies were urgently needed for the advancing Allied armies, although operating fromRAF Ramsbury from 7 August until the other squadrons returned.

Soon afterwards word was received that the 50th Troop Carrier Wing would move to France, the 441st being one of the first two groups, with headquarters leaving Merryfield on 6 September for itsAdvanced Landing Ground atVilleneuve-Vertus Airfield.

From RAF Langar in Nottinghamshire^[2] the group dropped paratroops of82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions nearNijmegen on 17 SeptemberOperation Market-Garden, and towed gliders with reinforcements on 18 and 23 September.

In December, the group transported ammunition, rations, medicine, and other supplies to troops of 101st Airborne Division surrounded by the enemy atBastogne. Released gliders carrying troops of17th Airborne Division nearWesel on 24 March 1945 when the Allies launched theOperation Varsity, the airborne assault across the Rhine. Hauled gasoline to armored columns in Germany after the Allies crossed the Rhine.

Continually transported freight and personnel in the theater when not participating in airborne operations. Evacuated casualties and prisoners who had been liberated.

The 441st remained overseas after the war as part ofUnited States Air Forces in Europe, performing occupation duty fromFrankfurt Germany. It continued to transport personnel and equipment, usingCurtiss C-46 Commando, C-47, andConsolidated C-109 Liberator Express aircraft.

The group was inactivated atEschborn Air Base, Germany on 30 September 1946 and its mission, personnel and equipment were transferred to the61st Troop Carrier Group, which was simultaneously activated.

The group was reactivated as a reserve unit in June 1949, whenContinental Air Command reorganized its flying units under thewing base organization. The 441st Troop Carrier Wing was activated as the headquarters for the group and its support elements. Assigned C-46 Commando aircraft, the wing was inactivated in March 1951 when its equipment and personnel were transferred to active duty units during theKorean War.

441st Troop Carrier Group

• Constituted as the441st Troop Carrier Group on 25 May 1943

Activated on 1 August 1943

Inactivated on 30 September 1946

• Redesignated441st Troop Carrier Group, Medium on 10 May 1949

Activated in the reserve on 27 June 1949

Ordered into active service on 10 March 1951

Inactivated on 14 March 1951^[1]

441st Troop Carrier Wing

• Established as the441st Troop Carrier Wing, Medium on 10 May 1949

Activated in the reserve on 27 June 1949

Ordered into active service on 10 March 1951

Inactivated on 14 March 1951^[3]

441st Troop Carrier Group

• 61 Troop Carrier Wing, 1 August 1943
• I Troop Carrier Command, 18 January 1944
• 50th Troop Carrier Wing, 17 March 1944
• IX Air Force Service Command, 18 May 1945 (attached to Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Forces, 20 May – 10 August 1945)
• 302d Transport Wing, 11 August 1945
• 51st Troop Carrier Wing (European Air Transport Service [Provisional]), 1 October 1945 – 30 September 1946^[4]
• 441st Troop Carrier Wing, 27 June 1949 – 14 March 1951

441st Troop Carrier Wing

• Tenth Air Force, 27 June 1949 – 14 March 1951^[3]

441st Troop Carrier Group

• 32d Troop Carrier Squadron, attached September 1945, assigned December 1945 – 30 September 1946^[5]
• 61st Troop Carrier Squadron, attached October 1945, assigned December 1945 – 30 September 1946^[6]
• 99th Troop Carrier Squadron, 1 August 1943 – 27 August 1945, 27 June 1949 – 14 March 1951^[7]
• 100th Troop Carrier Squadron, 1 August 1943 – 15 February 1946, 27 June 1949 – 14 March 1951^[8]
• 301st Troop Carrier Squadron, 1 August 1943 – 18 May 1945, August 1945 – 15 Feb 1946, 27 June 1949 – 14 March 1951^[9]
• 302d Troop Carrier Squadron, 1 August 1943 – 15 May 1945, 27 June 1949 – 14 March 1951^[10]
• 306th Troop Carrier Squadron, c. 5 January 1946 – 30 September 1946^[11]

441st Troop Carrier Wing

• 441st Air Base Group, 27 June 1949 – 14 March 1951
• 441st Maintenance and Supply Group, 27 June 1949 – 14 March 1951
• 441st Medical Group, 27 June 1949 – 14 March 1951
• 441st Troop Carrier Group, 27 June 1949 – 14 March 1951^[3]
• 441st Finance Disbursing Unit, 27 June 1949 – 1 November 1949

• Douglas C-47 Skytrain, 1943–1946
• Curtiss C-46 Commando, 1949–1951

Explanatory notes

Citations

 This article incorporatespublic domain material from theAir Force Historical Research Agency

• Anderson, Capt. Barry (1985).Army Air Forces Stations: A Guide to the Stations Where U.S. Army Air Forces Personnel Served in the United Kingdom During World War II(PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 23 January 2016. Retrieved28 June 2017.
• Cantwell, Gerald T. (1997).Citizen Airmen: a History of the Air Force Reserve, 1946-1994(PDF). Washington, D.C.: Air Force History and Museums Program.ISBN 0-16049-269-6. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 20 December 2016. Retrieved17 December 2016.
• Freeman, Roger A. (1996) The Ninth Air Force in Colour: UK and the Continent-World War Two. After the BattleISBN 1-85409-272-3
• Freeman, Roger A. (1994).UK Airfields of the Ninth: Then and Now. Harlow, England: After the Battle.ISBN 978-0-900913-80-8.
• Johnson, 1st Lt. David C. (1988).U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO) D-Day to V-E Day(PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 29 September 2015. Retrieved26 June 2017.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
• Knaack, Marcelle Size (1978).Encyclopedia of US Air Force Aircraft and Missile Systems(PDF). Vol. 2, Post-World War II Bombers 1945-1973. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.ISBN 0-912799-59-5. Retrieved17 December 2016.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961].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. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 20 December 2016. Retrieved17 December 2016.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969].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. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 20 December 2016. Retrieved17 December 2016.
• Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984).Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977(PDF). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.ISBN 0-912799-12-9. Retrieved17 December 2016.
• Warren, John C. (September 1955)."Airborne Missions in the Mediterranean 1942-1945, USAF Historical Study No. 74"(PDF). Research Studies Institute, USAF Historical Division, Air University. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 13 March 2013. Retrieved21 January 2021.

• Military units and formations established in 1943
• Troop carrier groups of the United States Air Force
• Troop carrier groups of the United States Army Air Forces

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