66th Troop Carrier Squadron
Encyclopedia
The 66th Troop Carrier Squadron is an inactive unit of the United States Air Force
. Its last assignment was with the 403d Troop Carrier Group, stationed at Portland Municipal Airport
, Oregon
. It was inactivated on 17 April 1951.
During World War II
, the squadron operated primarily in the Southwest Pacific Theater, transporting personnel, dropping parachutists, towing gliders, and transporting cargo, munitions and evacuating casualties in numerous campaigns. The squadron earned both the United States Distinguished Unit Citation and the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for its combat operations.
As part of the Air Force Reserve during the postwar years, the squadron performed peacetime transport missions. Ordered to active service during the Korean War
, the units equipment and personnel were reassigned to Far East Air Force active duty units then was inactivated as a paper unit.
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...
. Its last assignment was with the 403d Troop Carrier Group, stationed at Portland Municipal Airport
Portland International Airport
Portland International Airport is a joint civil-military airport and the largest airport in the U.S. state of Oregon, accounting for 90% of passenger travel and more than 95% of air cargo of the state. It is located within Portland's city limits just south of the Columbia River in Multnomah...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. It was inactivated on 17 April 1951.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the squadron operated primarily in the Southwest Pacific Theater, transporting personnel, dropping parachutists, towing gliders, and transporting cargo, munitions and evacuating casualties in numerous campaigns. The squadron earned both the United States Distinguished Unit Citation and the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for its combat operations.
As part of the Air Force Reserve during the postwar years, the squadron performed peacetime transport missions. Ordered to active service during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, the units equipment and personnel were reassigned to Far East Air Force active duty units then was inactivated as a paper unit.
Lineage
- Constituted 66th Troop Carrier Squadron on 7 December 1942
- Activated on 12 December 1942
- Inactivated on 15 January 1946
- Activated in the reserve on 3 August 1947
- Redesignated 66th Troop Carrier Squadron (Medium) on 27 June 1949.
- Ordered to active service on 1 April 1951.
- Inactivated on 17 April 1951.
Assignments
- 403d Troop Carrier Group, 12 December 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....
, 21 July 1943 - 54th Troop Carrier Wing, 13 August 1943
- 433d Troop Carrier Group, 9 November 1943; 20 February 1945-15 January 1946
- 419th Troop Carrier Group, 3 August 1947
- 403d Troop Carrier Group, 27 June 1949-17 April 1951
Stations
- 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...
, 12 December 1942 - Alliance Army Air Field, NebraskaNebraskaNebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, 18 December 1942 - Pope FieldPope Air Force BasePope Field is a United States Army facility located 12 miles northwest of the central business district of Fayetteville, in Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States.-Units:...
, 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 May 1943 - Baer Field, IndianaIndianaIndiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, 18 June-6 July 1943 - Port Moresby 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...
, 21 July 1943 - Nadzab 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...
, 25 September 1943
- Operated from Tadji Airfield, 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...
, 12 May- June 1944
- Mokmer Airfield, BiakBiakBiak features a tropical rainforest climate with nearly identical temperatures throughout the course of the year. The average annual temperature in the city is 27 degrees celsius, which is also generally the average temperature of each day in Biak...
, Netherlands East Indies, 18 November 1944
- Operated from Hill Field, MindoroMindoroMindoro is the seventh-largest island in the Philippines. It is located off the coast of Luzon, and northeast of Palawan. The southern coast of Mindoro forms the northeastern extremum of the Sulu Sea.-History:...
, and Dulag AirfieldDulag AirfieldDulag Airfield is a World War II airfield located near Dulag in the province of Leyte, Philippines. It was closed after the war.-History:The airfield was built by the Japanese during the Occupation of the Philippines in 1943...
, 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...
, PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, 18 January-27 February 1945- Wama Airfield, MorotaiMorotaiMorotai Island Regency is a regency of North Maluku province, Indonesia, located on Morotai Island. The population was 54,876 in 2007.-History:...
, Netherlands East Indies, 27 February 1945 - Dulag AirfieldDulag AirfieldDulag Airfield is a World War II airfield located near Dulag in the province of Leyte, Philippines. It was closed after the war.-History:The airfield was built by the Japanese during the Occupation of the Philippines in 1943...
, 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...
, PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, 15 August 1945-15 January 1946 - Roanoke Municipal AirportRoanoke Municipal AirportRoanoke Municipal Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located two nautical miles south of the central business district of Roanoke, a city in Randolph County, Alabama, United States...
, VirginiaVirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, 3 August 1947 - Portland Municipal AirportPortland International AirportPortland International Airport is a joint civil-military airport and the largest airport in the U.S. state of Oregon, accounting for 90% of passenger travel and more than 95% of air cargo of the state. It is located within Portland's city limits just south of the Columbia River in Multnomah...
, OregonOregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, 27 June 1949-17 April 1951
- Wama Airfield, Morotai