86th Military Airlift Squadron

The 86th Military Airlift Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was to the 60th Military Airlift Wing, Military Airlift Command, stationed at Travis Air Force Base, California.

It was inactivated on 1 November 1991.

History
Activated as part of the Military Air Transport Service (MATS) in West Germany in 1952, it provided air transport between USAF bases in USAFE, between 1952 and 1954. It was reassigned to Charleston AFB, South Carolina in 1955, where it provided air transport between bases within the east and southeast United States. It was inactivated in 1955.

It was reactivated as a C-124 strategic airlift squadron at Travis AFB, California. It flew very long distance flights from Travis to Hawaii, Guam, Japan and the Philippines. It upgraded to C-141 Starlifter jet transports in 1967 and usually flew cargo and personnel to and from Travis to aerial ports in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War.

After the US withdrawal from Indochina in 1975, it flew C-141s on a worldwide basis. The squadron was inactivated in 1978 during the post-Vietnam USAF drawdown; however, it was reactivated in 1979, continuing C-141 airlift missions. In late 1993 the unit was redesignated the 20th Airlift Squadron (formerly assigned to Charleston AFB, SC). The Air Force retired its last Starlifters from this squadron in 1998 after the end of the Cold War.



Lineage

 * Established as the 86th Air Transport Squadron on 1 July 1952
 * Activated on 20 July 1952
 * Inactivated on 1 July 1955
 * Redesignated the 86th Air Transport Squadron, (Heavy) and activated on 8 January 1963
 * Redesignated the 86th Military Airlift Squadron, (Heavy) on 8 January 1966
 * Inactivated on 6 March 1978
 * Redesignated the 86th Military Airlift Squadron and activated on 15 February 1979
 * Inactivated on 1 November 1993

Note: an 86th Air Transport Squadron (Air Transport Command) was activated on 15 April 1943 in England, however it's lineage, assignments, stations or history are presently undetermined.

Assignments

 * 1602d Air Transport Wing, 20 Jul 1952-19 May 1954
 * 1608th Air Transport Wing, 20 May 1954-1 Jul 1955
 * 1501st Air Transport Wing, 8 Jan 1963-8 Jan 1966
 * 60th Military Airlift Wing, 8 Jan 1966–6 Mar 1978; 15 Feb 1979 – 1 Nov 1993

Stations

 * Rhein-Main AB, West Germany, 20 Jul 1952-19 May 1954
 * Charleston AFB, South Carolina, 20 May 1954-1 Jul 1955
 * Travis AFB, California, 8 Jan 1963-6 Mar 1978; 15 Feb 1979–1 Nov 1993

Aircraft
C-130E
 * C-54 Skymaster, 1952–1955
 * C-124 Globemaster II, 1963–1967
 * C-141 Starlifter, 1967–1978, 1979–1993