709th Airlift Squadron
military unit
The 709th Airlift Squadron is part of the 512th Airlift Wing at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware.
The squadron was first activated during World War II as the 709th Bombardment Squadron. After training in the United States, it deployed to the European Theater, where it engaged in the strategic bombing campaign against Germany. After V-E Day, it returned to the United States, where it was inactivated in the fall of 1945.
The squadron was briefly activated in the reserves from 1947 to 1949. In 1973, the squadron was redesignated the 709th Military Airlift Squadron and activated at Dover as a reserve associate unit of the 436th Military Airlift Wing. Its reservists operated the 436th's C-5s alongside members of the regular Air Force.
Mission
Since 1973 the squadron has trained for and flown airlift missions with the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, It also participates in military exercises and global humanitarian and contingency operations.
History
World War II
Training in the United States
The squadron was first activated on 1 May 1943 at Ephrata Army Air Base, Washington as the 709th Bombardment Squadron, one of the four squadrons of the 447th Bombardment Group.
The original mission of the squadron was to be an Operational Training Unit.
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This entry incorporates text from “709th Airlift Squadron” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.