439th Airlift Wing

The 439th Airlift Wing (439 AW) is an active United States Air Force Reserve unit. It is assigned to the Air Force Reserve Command, Fourth Air Force, and is based at Westover Air Reserve Base, Massachusetts.

The peacetime mission includes recruiting, training and supervision of personnel to assure mission readiness. The wing is also responsible for the management of aircraft maintenance and all assigned Air Force combat support real property, equipment and supplies.

The 439th has two units that are designated Geographically Separated Units (GSU). They are the 250 reservists serving as members of the 85th Aerial Port Squadron, Hanscom Air Force Base, MA, and 100 more comprise the 722nd Aeromedical Staging Squadron at Fort Hamilton, NY.

Units
The wing consists of the following component groups:

439th Operations Group (439 OG)
 * 337th Airlift Squadron (337 AS) C-5A/B Galaxy
 * 439th Aeromedical Staging Squadron (439 ASTS)
 * 439th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron (439 AES)
 * 439th Operations Support Squadron (439 OSS)
 * 439th Airlift Control Flight (439 ACF)

439th Maintenance Group (439 MXG)
 * 439th Maintenance Squadron (439 MXS)
 * 439th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron (439 AMXS)
 * 439th Maintenance Operations Flight (439 MOF)

439th Mission Support Group (439 MSG)
 * 42d Aerial Port Squadron (42 APS)
 * 58th Aerial Port Squadron (58 APS)
 * 85th Aerial Port Squadron (85 APS) (Hanscom Air Force Base)
 * 439th Civil Engineering Squadron (439 CES)
 * 439th Communications Squadron (439 CS)
 * 439th Mission Support Squadron (439 MSS)
 * 439th Security Forces Squadron (439 SFS)
 * 439th Services Squadron (439 SVS)
 * 439th Logistics Readiness Squadron (439 LRS)

History

 * For additional lineage and history, see 439th Operations Group

Lineage

 * Established as 439th Troop Carrier Wing, Medium on 19 May 1949
 * Activated in the Reserve on 27 June 1949
 * Ordered to active service on 1 April 1951
 * Inactivated on 3 April 1951


 * Redesignated 439th Fighter-Bomber Wing on 26 May 1952
 * Activated in the Reserve on 15 June 1952
 * Inactivated on 16 November 1957


 * Redesignated 439th Tactical Airlift Wing on 14 March 1974
 * Activated in the Reserve on 1 April 1974
 * Redesignated: 439th Military Airlift Wing on 1 October 1987
 * Resesignated: 439th Airlift Wing on 1 February 1992.

Assignments

 * Tenth Air Force, 27 June 1949-3 April 1951; 15 June 1952-16 November 1957
 * Eastern Air Force Reserve Region, 1 April 1974
 * Fourteenth Air Force, 8 October 1976
 * Twenty-Second Air Force, 1 July 1993-.

Components
Group
 * 439th Troop Carrier (later, 439th Fighter-Bomber; 439th Military Airlift; 439th Operations Group): 27 June 1949-3 April 1951; 15 June 1952-16 November 1957; 1 August 1992–present
 * 911th Tactical Airlift Group: 1 October 1980-1 August 1992
 * 914th Tactical Airlift Group: 25 January 1976-1 August 1992

Squadrons
 * 337th Tactical (later Military) Airlift Squadron: 1 April 1974-1 August 1992
 * 731 Tactical (later Military) Airlift Squadron: 1 April 1974-1 October 1982.

Stations

 * Selfridge AFB, Michigan, 27 June 1949-3 April 1951; 15 June 1952-16 November 1957
 * Westover AFB (later, ARB), Massachusetts, 1 April 1974–present

Aircraft

 * TC-46, 1949–1951
 * C-46, 1952–1955
 * T-28, 1953–1955
 * F-51, 1953–1954
 * T-33, 1953–1957
 * F-80, 1953–1956
 * F-84, 1956–1957


 * F-86, 1957
 * TC-47, 1957
 * C-119, 1957
 * C-123, 1974–1982
 * C-130, 1974–1988
 * C-5, 1987–present

Operations
Under supervision of the 2242nd Air Force Reserve Training Center, the newly established wing trained as a troop carrier organization from 1949 until 1951 and for fighter-bomber missions from 1952 to 1957.

It replaced the 901st and 905th Tactical Airlift Groups at Westover Air Reserve Base in April 1974 and assumed tactical airlift, special operations, satellite support, and aeromedical evacuation missions. It has since taken part in tactical exercises, global airlift, and humanitarian missions. It gained two tactical groups and the responsibility for operating the military portion of Niagara Falls International Airport on 25 January 1976 and Pittsburgh International Airport on 1 October 1980, but relinquished control of those groups in 1992. During the 1980s, the wing took part in various training exercises involving tactical airlift and rotated personnel and aircraft to Panama. It also provided airlift support for the movement and training of other units and conducted local proficiency flying training missions. At the conclusion of the Iran–Iraq War in 1989, the wing transported United Nations ceasefire observers to the Persian Gulf area. It airlifted troops and equipment to Panama during the incursion into Panama at the end of the year. The 439th airlifted troops, equipment, and supplies to support global contingency, humanitarian, and anti-drug operations during the 1990s. Additionally, its airlifts included troops and cargo to Europe and the Persian Gulf area before and during the Gulf War, and Patriot missiles to Israel in 1991.

Expeditions

 * World War II
 * Operation Just Cause
 * Operation Desert Shield
 * Operation Desert Storm
 * Operation Iraqi Freedom