317th Operations Group | |
|---|---|
 317th C-130E Hercules | |
| Active | 1942–1949; 1952–1957; 1978–1980; 1992–1993 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Airlift |
| Part of | Air Mobility Command |
| Nickname | Jungle Skippers (World War II) |
| Motto | I Gain By Hazard |
| Engagements | Southwest Pacific Theater |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit CitationPhilippine Presidential Unit Citation |
| Insignia | |
| 317th Operations Group emblem(Approved 22 December 1942)[1] |  |
The317th Operations Group is an inactiveUnited States Air Force unit, last stationed atPope Air Force Base, North Carolina as part ofAir Mobility Command. It was activated in 1992 during the Air Force's Objective Wing reorganization, and inactivated the following year when all Air Force units at Pope were assigned to the23d Wing.
Thegroup was first activated as the317th Transport Group in February 1942, becoming the317th Troop Carrier Group in July. The 317th took part in nearly all theairlift operations in thePacific Theater of Operations, including theBattle of Wau, New Guinea, andOperation Topside, parachute drops on Corregidor in 1945. For each of these operations the 317th was awarded theDistinguished Unit Citation. Following the war, the 317th served as part of theoccupation forces in Japan.
In September 1948, the group (now equipped with theDouglas C-54 Skymaster) moved to Germany to augment theBerlin Airlift forces and flew missions fromCelle RAF Station until the end of the Airlift in 1949. It was inactivated in September 1949 as part of the Air Force's reduction of the number of combat groups required byPresident Truman's 1949 defense budget. The group returned to Germany in June 1952 as a theater airlift unit flyingFairchild C-119 Flying Boxcars. Its squadrons were attached to its parent317th Troop Carrier Wing in 1955 and the group was inactivated in March 1957.
The group has been active twice since then, as the317th Tactical Airlift Group from 1978 to 1980 and as the317th Operations Group from 1992 to 1993. Forces deployed from the group participated inOperation Desert Storm in 1992.
Thegroup was first activated atDuncan Field, Texas on 22 February 1942 as the317th Transport Group with the39th,40th and41st Transport Squadrons assigned.[1][2][3][4] The group's initialcadre was eighteen enlisted men and one captain.[5] In mid-June, the group added a fourth squadron, the46th Transport Squadron and moved toBowman Field, Kentucky with 83 men assigned.[6][7] The group was equipped with several military models of the DC-3, primarily theDouglas C-47 Skytrain.[1] It began training at Bowman and grew to over 900 persons.[6]
The 317th became the317th Troop Carrier Group in July 1942 and grew to its full wartime strength of over 1200 as it prepared to deploy. Originally scheduled for European operations, its orders were changed to prepare to move to join theSouth West Pacific Area.[1][6] Its final training withgliders, atLaurinburg-Maxton Airport was cancelled when a storm destroyed the gliders that were to be used for training.[6]
The air echelon of the group flew toBrookley Field, Alabama to receive new C-47s from the Mobile Air Depot.[8] These planes were outfitted with additional internal fuel tanks, for the group was to ferry them across the Pacific. The group'saircrews flew them to the Pacific coast to practice long range navigation, while the ground echelon proceeded by train toCamp Stoneman, California, embarking on theUSS Maui (ID-1514) on 31 December 1942, while theaircrews departed on the first leg of their ferry flight to Australia on 5 January 1943.[9]
The 317th arrived in Australia in January 1943, where it was assigned toFifth Air Force.[1] The 317th was the second airlift group in the Southwest Pacific Theater.[note 1] Upon arrival in Australia, the 46th Squadron was placed under the control of the Allied Directorate of Air Transport and equipped with aBoeing B-17 Flying Fortress and aConsolidated B-24 Liberator converted for transport operations, plus severalDouglas C-39s.[10] In June 1943. the B-17 crashed with six crewmembers and 36 passengers on board in what was considered at the time the worst aviation disaster in Australia.[11]
The group deployed to New Guinea for operations for a short time early in 1943. It received aDistinguished Unit Citation for making numerous flights in unarmed planes over theOwen Stanley Range on 30 January and 1 February 1943 to transport reinforcements and supplies toWau, Papua New Guinea, where allied forces were defending a valuable Allied airdrome against Japanese attack.[1]
The group exchanged its new C-47's for a variety of aircraft in New Guinea and began operating from Australia, where group headquarters were located.[1] Many of these aircraft carried Australian civil registrations.[10] It flew troops and equipment to New Guinea, established courier and passenger routes in Australia, and trained with airborne troops.[1]
The group again equipped with C-47's and left Australia for New Guinea in September 1943. It took part in the first airborne operation in the Southwest Pacific on 5 September, dropping paratroops atNadzab, New Guinea, to cut supply lines and seize enemy bases in the area. Until November 1944, the group transported men and cargo to Allied bases on New Guinea,New Britain,Guadalcanal, and in theAdmiralty Islands. It also dropped reinforcements and supplies to forces onNoemfoor on 3 and 4 July 1944.[1]
The 317th moved to the Philippines in November 1944. There the group transported supplies to ground forces onLuzon,Leyte, andMindoro, and suppliedguerrillas onMindanao,Cebu, andPanay. It participated in two airborne operations during February 1945. On 3 and 4 February it dropped paratroops south of Manila to seize roads leading to the city. On 16 and 17 February it dropped the503rd Parachute Regimental Combat Team on Corregidor to openManila Bay to US shipping. Because of the small size of the Corregidordrop zone, which bordered a 500-foot tall cliff, each plane of the group could only permit a handful of paratroopers to jump on each approach to the drop zone. Over 600 individual passes were made by the group's planes and more than half of the planes received battle damage from enemy fire.[12] The 317th received its second Distinguished Unit Citation for this operation.[1]
The group flew two unusual missions on 12 and 15 April 1945 when this troop carrier organization bombedCarabao Island withnapalm drums. The group dropped part of511th Parachute Infantry Regiment nearAparri on 23 June 1945 to split Japanese forces in the Cagayen Valley and prevent them from retreating to the hills in northern Luzon.[1]
The 317th was the first Allied unit to touch down on Japanese soil after thesurrender of Japan, when twelve of its planes led a 16 ship formation that landed atAtsugi Air Base on 28 August.[13][note 2] Colonel John Lackey, commanding officer of the 317th, was the first American pilot to land in Japan. His plane, and the next two to land were equipped with special communications gear in order to establish an initial command and control network for theoccupying forces.[14]
After the end of the Pacific War, the 317th remained in the theater as part ofFar East Air Forces. The group provided troop carrier and courier service in the Far East. It addedCurtiss C-46 Commandos to its C-47s, then replaced the C-47s with larger four-engineDouglas C-54 Skymasters in 1947, adding "Heavy" to its name in the spring of 1948.[1] In August 1948, with the implementation of thewing base reorganization, the group and its support organizations atTachikawa Airfield, Japan were assigned to the new317th Troop Carrier Wing.[1]
The Soviet blockade of Berlin created a demand for all the large transport aircraft in theUnited States Air Force inventory. AlthoughUnited States Air Forces Europe had two troop carrier groups in Germany, they were both equipped with the C-47 in the summer of 1948. These aircraft were aging, had a limited capacity, presented serious supply problems associated with the parts needed to keep them flying and their payload was limited.[15]
The group left Japan for Germany in September 1948, completing the transfer in nine days.[16] Shortly after its arrival atWiesbaden Air Base, a formerLuftwaffe fighter base with limited facilities,[17] the group was attached to the 7489th Air Force Wing. However, theRoyal Air Force had made improvements to several of their bases in theBritish Zone of Occupation and began to open them for use by American units participating in the airlift. In December, the group moved to one of these fields,Celle RAF Station, which permitted it to make supply flights to Berlin over flat terrain through the shorter Northern Corridor to Berlin.[18] Once the 317th Wing moved to Celle in January 1949, the group was relieved of its attachment to the 7489th Wing.[16] The group participated in Operation Vittles, theBerlin Airlift, until 31 July 1949. It was typical for the group to fly 100 round trips toBerlin a day during the airlift carrying various cargo, but mostly coal.[13] After the end of the Airlift the Air Force directed that all units operating from the British Zone of Occupation be withdrawn and returned to the United States and the group became non-operational in August.[16][19] However, PresidentTruman's reduced 1949 defense budget also required reductions in the number of groups in the Air Force to 48,[20] and the group was inactivated in September and its planes redistributed to other units or returned to the United States.[1][16]
The 317th Became a theater airlift organization, trading in its "Heavy" designation for "Medium" in July 1952 when it was activated atRhein-Main Air Base, Germany. It usedFairchild C-119 Flying Boxcars for troop carrier and airlift service, participating in numerous exercises and humanitarian missions.[1] The group became non-operational in 1955 and its squadrons were attached to wing headquarters. It was inactivated atNeubiberg Air Base in March 1957.[16]
The group was redesignated317th Tactical Airlift Group and once again became responsible for the 317th Wing's operational squadrons atPope Air Force Base in September 1978, although one squadron was typically deployed with the313th Tactical Airlift Group atRAF Mildenhall. It was inactivated in April 1980 and its squadrons returned to the control of the wing.[16]
The final activation of the group began as the Objective Wing organization was implemented in January 1992. As the317th Operations Group it once again assumed responsibility for the 317th Wing's flying operations.[21] The group was activated duringOperation Desert Storm, and deployed forces of the 317th airlifted American and allied combat troops deep inside Iraqi territory to support the flanking maneuver that led to the surrender ofIraq's Republican Guard. It was inactivated a little over a year later, whenairlift andfighter units at Pope were combined into a single wing, the23d Wing.[5][22]
| Award streamer | Award | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Distinguished Unit Citation | 30 January 1943-1 February 1943 | Papua New Guinea 317th Troop Carrier Group[1] |
| Distinguished Unit Citation | 16 February 1945-17 February 1945 | Philippines 317th Troop Carrier Group[1] |
 | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 June 1979-1 April 1980[16] | 317th Tactical Airlift Group |
_Streamer.png) | Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation | 17 November 1944-4 July 1945[16] | 317th Troop Carrier Group[1] |
| Campaign Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Air Offensive, Japan | 23 January 1943 – 2 September 1945 | 317th Troop Carrier Group[1] |
| New Guinea | 24 January 1943 – 31 December 1944 | 317th Troop Carrier Group[1] |
| Northern Solomons | 23 February 1943 – 21 November 1944 | 317th Troop Carrier Group[1] |
| Bismarck Archipelago | 15 December 1943 – 27 November 1944 | 317th Troop Carrier Group[1] |
| Western Pacific | 17 April 1944 – 2 September 1945 | 317th Troop Carrier Group[1] |
| Leyte | 17 October 1944 – 1 July 1945 | 317th Troop Carrier Group[1] |
| Luzon | 15 December 1944 – 4 July 1945 | 317th Troop Carrier Group[1] |
 | World War II Army of Occupation (Japan and Germany) | 3 September 1945 – 2 September 1949 | 317th Troop Carrier Group[1] |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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