46th Troop Carrier Squadron
Encyclopedia
The 46th Troop Carrier Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force
unit. Its last was assigned to the Fifth Air Force
, stationed at Tachikawa Air Base, Japan
. It was inactivated on 1 April 1949.
Deployed to Okinawa in August 1945 after the Japanese capitulation and became part of the Fifth Air Force army of occupation. Equipped with long-range C-46 Commando aircraft and was reassigned to Japan and the Korean peninsula during late 1945. Initial missions included the evacuation of former Allied prisoners of war; later primarily cargo transport missions in the occupied areas of Japan and Korea during the postwar era. Inactivated in 1949 in Japan due to budget constraints; its aircraft being assigned to other units as part of the consolidation.
Reactivated inn 1959 at McGuire AFB, training personnel and prepared for operation of the BOMARC surface-to-air missiles; operated and maintained BOMARC missiles and associated equipment, trained personnel, and maintained a capability to intercept and destroy hostile aircraft until inactivation. The Bomarc site is located 4 miles (6.4 km) east-southeast of McGuire AFB at 40°02′06"N 074°26′29"W. Although geographically separated from the base, the squadron received administrative and logistical support from McGuire. The squadron was inactivated on 31 October 1972, the last of the Bomarc missile squadrons inactivated.
The squadron was re-designated as the 46th Tactical Missile Squadron on 19 September 1985 while remaining inactive.
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
unit. Its last was assigned to the Fifth Air Force
Fifth Air Force
The Fifth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan....
, stationed at Tachikawa Air Base, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. It was inactivated on 1 April 1949.
History
Activated under Air Transport (Later I Troop Carrier) Command in May 1942; Trained at several airfields in Texas and the Midwest and southeast. Also performed various airlift missions as part of training. Deployed to Fifth Air Force in Australia during late 1942 and January 1943. Performed cargo airlift; supply and evacuation; combat paratrooper jumps and other assigned missions along the northern coast of New Guinea; the Dutch East Indies and in the Philippines as part of MacArthur's island hopping offensive against the Japanese in the Southwest Pacific.Deployed to Okinawa in August 1945 after the Japanese capitulation and became part of the Fifth Air Force army of occupation. Equipped with long-range C-46 Commando aircraft and was reassigned to Japan and the Korean peninsula during late 1945. Initial missions included the evacuation of former Allied prisoners of war; later primarily cargo transport missions in the occupied areas of Japan and Korea during the postwar era. Inactivated in 1949 in Japan due to budget constraints; its aircraft being assigned to other units as part of the consolidation.
Reactivated inn 1959 at McGuire AFB, training personnel and prepared for operation of the BOMARC surface-to-air missiles; operated and maintained BOMARC missiles and associated equipment, trained personnel, and maintained a capability to intercept and destroy hostile aircraft until inactivation. The Bomarc site is located 4 miles (6.4 km) east-southeast of McGuire AFB at 40°02′06"N 074°26′29"W. Although geographically separated from the base, the squadron received administrative and logistical support from McGuire. The squadron was inactivated on 31 October 1972, the last of the Bomarc missile squadrons inactivated.
The squadron was re-designated as the 46th Tactical Missile Squadron on 19 September 1985 while remaining inactive.
Lineage
- Constituted 46th Transport Squadron on 30 May 1942
- Activated on 15 June 1942
- Redesignated: 46th Troop Carrier Squadron on 4 July 1942
- Redesignated: 46th Troop Carrier Squadron (Medium) on 10 August 1948
- Inactivated on 1 April 1949
- Reconstituted and consolidated (19 Sep 1985) with 46 Air Defense Missile Squadron (BOMARC)
- Constituted on 10 Dec 1958
- Activated on 1 Jan 1959
- Inactivated on 31 Oct 1972
- Redesignated as 46 Tactical Missile Squadron on 19 Sep 1985 (Remained inactive)
Assignments
- 317th Transport (later Troop Carrier) Group317th Troop Carrier GroupThe 317th Troop Carrier Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 317th Tactical Airlift Wing, stationed at Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina...
, 15 June 1942 - Fifth Air ForceFifth Air ForceThe Fifth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan....
, 18 August 1948-1 April 1949
- Attached to: 317th Troop Carrier Wing, 18 August 1948
- Attached to: 6146th Station Group, 1 October 1948
- Attached to: 374th Troop Carrier Group, 5 March-1 April 1949
- New York Air Defense Sector, 1 Jan 1959
- 21st Air Division, 1 Apr 1966
- 35th Air Division, 1 Dec 1967-1 Oct 1972.
Stations
- Duncan Field, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, 15 June 1942 - Bowman Field, KentuckyKentuckyThe Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, 19 June 1942; - Lawson Field, GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, 10 October 1942 - Maxton Airport, North CarolinaNorth CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, 3–12 December 1942 - Garbutt Field, AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, 23 January 1943 - Port Moresby Airfield Complex, Papua New GuineaPapua New GuineaPapua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
, 1 October 1943 - Finschhafen Airfield, Papua New GuineaPapua New GuineaPapua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
, 19 April 1944 - Hollandia Airfield Complex, New GuineaNew GuineaNew Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, 5 July 1944
- Tanauan AirfieldTanauan AirfieldTanauan Airfield is a World War II airfield located near Tanauan in the province of Leyte, Philippines. It was closed after the war.-History:The airfield was built by the Americans shortly after landing on Leyte in November 1944...
, LeyteLeyteLeyte is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Tacloban City and occupies the northern three-quarters of the Leyte Island. Leyte is located west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran...
, Philippines Commonwealth, 19 November 1944 - Clark Field, LuzonLuzonLuzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
, Philippines Commonwealth, March 1945 - Kadena Airfield, Okinawa, 19 August 1945
- Seoul Airport, KoreaKoreaKorea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, ig October 1945 - Tachikawa AirfieldTachikawa Airfieldis an airfield in the city of Tachikawa, the western part of Tokyo, Japan. Currently under the administration of the Ministry of Defense, it has also served as the civil aviation with Japan's first scheduled air service.-Operations:...
, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, 19 January 1946 - Kimpo Airfield, KoreaKoreaKorea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, 10 July 1946 - Matsushima Air FieldMatsushima Air Fieldis a military aerodrome of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force . It is located west of Ishinomaki in the Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.In 1971 an F-86F fighter jet from this base collided with All Nippon Airways Flight 58, causing 162 deaths...
, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, 1 August 1948 - Tachikawa AB, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, 1 October 1948-1 April 1949 - McGuire AFB, New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, 1 Jan 1959-1 Oct 1972
Aircraft and missiles
- C-47 SkytrainC-47 SkytrainThe Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...
, 1942–1945 - C-46 CommandoC-46 CommandoThe Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commando was a transport aircraft originally derived from a commercial high-altitude airliner design. It was instead used as a military transport during World War II by the United States Army Air Forces as well as the U.S. Navy/Marine Corps under the designation R5C...
, 1945–1949 - CIM-10 Bomarc, 1959-1972