436th Airlift Wing

436 MAW Douglas C-124C Globemaster II at RAF Wethersfield England in 1967

Lockheed C-141A-15-LM Starlifter 64-0630 of the 436th Military Airlift Wing, MAC, at Brisbane airport, Australia supporting the visit of President Lyndon B. Johnson on 22 October 1966. This aircraft was later converted to the stretched C-141B configuration, and eventually was retired to AMARC on 14 November 2000.

436th Airlift Wing Markings on a C-141A at Brisbane airport, Australia supporting the visit of President Lyndon B. Johnson, 22 October 1966.

The wing was activated as a Reserve troop carrier wing in June 1949, and until April 1951, trained under the supervision of the 2236th Air Force Reserve Training Center, and again during May 1955 – November 1957, under supervision of the 2230th Air Reserve Flying Center. In between, ordered to active service and inactivated almost immediately, personnel serving as fillers for other USAF units during the Korean War.[1]

In January 1966 the 436th was again activated at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware where it replaced the 1607th Air Transport Wing when Military Airlift Command replaced Military Air Transport Service. The wing initially flew strategic airlift missions with propeller-driven Douglas C-124 Globemaster II and Douglas C-133 Cargomaster aircraft. However the C-124s were replaced by Lockheed C-141 Starlifter jet transports in the late 1960s, and the C-133s were replaced by the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy in 1971. In 1973, the 436th exchanged their C-141s with the 437th Military Airlift Wing at Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina, which sent their C-5s to Dover, making the 436th an exclusively C-5 Galaxy wing.[1]

During the Vietnam War, the wing flew numerous missions to Southeast Asia, although the wing flew routes worldwide to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. It participated in joint training with U.S. Army, taking part in numerous tactical exercises in the United States and overseas, particularly in support of NATO. Additionally, it flew worldwide airlift missions, including hauling mail and other high priority cargo, conducting aeromedical evacuation, serving as personnel transport, participating in humanitarian relief, and diplomatic missions.[1]

Wing aircrews were also augmented by attached Reserve aircrews from the 512th Airlift Wing. It airlifted personnel and equipment for operations in Grenada, 24 October 1983 – 18 December 1983; and Panama, 19 December 1989 – 14 January 1990. The 436th deployed an Airlift Control Element at Tocumen International Airport, Panama on 19 December 1989. It also provided airlift of personnel and equipment, and logistical support for operations in Southwest Asia, August 1990 – May 1991.[1]

In the years since Desert Storm and Military Airlift Command morphing into Air Mobility Command, the 436th has served as the only combat ready C-5 Galaxy airlift wing capable of airdrop and special operations procedures in support of tactical forces and national objectives.

The wing's 436th Operations Group, is Air Mobility Command's main active-duty heavy-lift organization, flying missions worldwide, and supporting combat operations in Southwest Asia and in Afghanistan.

February 10 2009, the 436AW received its first C-5M Super Galaxy named "The Spirit of Global Reach",[6] the C-5M offers 22% more thrust, 58% higher rate of climb and a modern glass cockpit.[7]

On 26 April 2015, the wing and its associate 512th Airlift Wing dispatched the first USAF aircraft, a Dover C-17, carrying cargo and personnel for humanitarian aid following the earthquake in Nepal. The plane carried a United States Agency for International Development Disaster Assistance Response Team, the Fairfax County, Virginia Urban Search and Rescue Team and 45 tons of cargo.[8]

• Ninth Air Force, 27 June 1949
• First Air Force, 1 August 1950 – 16 April 1951; 18 May 1955
• First Air Force, 18 May 1955
• Fourteenth Air Force, 25 March-15 May 1958
• Twenty-First Air Force, 8 January 1966
• Eighteenth Air Force, 1 October 2003–present[1]

Groups

• 436th Troop Carrier Group (later 436th Operations Group: 27 June 1949 – 16 April 1951; 18 May 1955 – 15 May 1958; 1 December 1991–present[1]

Squadrons

• 1st Military Airlift Squadron: 8 January 1966 – 30 June 1971
• 3d Military Airlift Squadron: 1 August 1973 – 1 December 1991
• 9th Military Airlift Squadron: 8 January 1966 – 8 September 1968; 1 April 1971 – 1 December 1991
• 20th Military Airlift Squadron: 8 January 1966 – 1 August 1973
• 31st Military Airlift Squadron: 8 January 1966 – 8 April 1969; 1 October 1989 – 1 December 1991
• 39th Military Airlift Squadron: 8 January 1966 – 31 March 1971
• 52d Military Airlift Squadron: 8 January 1967 – 8 February 1969 (detached)
• 58th Military Airlift Squadron: 1 July 1966 – 15 August 1971[1]

• Godman Air Force Base, Kentucky, 27 June 1949
• Standiford Municipal Airport (later Standiford Field), Kentucky, 20 October 1950 – 16 April 1951
• Floyd Bennett Field (later, NAS New York), New York, 18 May 1955 – 15 May 1958
• Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, 8 January 1966 – present[1]

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

• Endicott, Judy G. (1998). Active Air Force Wings as of 1 October 1995 and USAF Active Flying, Space, and Missile Squadrons as of 1 October 1995 (PDF). Air Force History and Museums Program. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ASIN B000113MB2. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
• Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947–1977. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-12-9.
• The history of Dover Air Force Base and the heritage of the 436th Airlift Wing. Washington,DC: Air Mobility Command. 2000. OCLC 44576369.