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The United States Air Force's 135th Airlift Group is an airlift unit located at Warfield Air National Guard Base on the south side of the Martin State Airport in Middle River, Maryland.
[edit] Mission
The 135th Airlift Group was organized as the 135th Air Resupply Group on Sept. 10, 1955, making it the oldest group-level headquarters in the Maryland Air National Guard. When it was organized, it was one of a handful of Air National Guard units nationwide tasked with what was at the time called the air commando mission, which included covert infiltration, resupply and exfiltration of special operations troops. It remained a special operations-type unit until 1971, when it was reorganized as a tactical air support unit. In this role, it was tasked with providing Forward Air Controllers to direct air strikes in support of troops on the ground. In 1977 it was again reorganized, this time as a tactical airlift unit. The 135th Airlift Group was inactivated for two brief periods: 1958-1962 and 1996-1999, although its subordinate units continued to function as independent squadrons.
It was originally stationed at Harbor Field in Baltimore, where it flew C-54 and SA-16 aircraft. In 1960, it relocated to the north side of the Martin Company Airport (now the Martin State Airport) in Middle River Maryland. In 1981, it moved across the field to join other Maryland Air National Guard units based on the south side of the field. The military facilities are named Warfield Air National Guard Base.
[edit] Assignments
[edit] Previous designations[2]
- 135th Airlift Group (1992-Present)
- 135th Tactical Airlift Group (1977-1992)
- 135th Tactical Air Support Group (1971-1977)
- 135th Special Operations Group (1968-1971)
- 135th Air Commando Group (1963-1968)
- 135th Troop Carrier Group (1962-1963)
- 135th Air Resupply Group (1955-1958)
[edit] Subordinate Units
- 135th Airlift Squadron (1955-Present)
- 135th Maintenance Squadron
- 135th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
- 135th Operations Support Flight
- 135th Maintenance Operations Flight
[edit] Bases stationed
[edit] Aircraft and missiles operated[3]
- C-46D Commando (1955-1958)
- HU-16A Albatross (1956-1962) (Previous designation: SA-16A)
- HU-16B Albatross (1957-1971) (Previous designation: SA-16B)
- U-10B Super Courier (1963-1965)
- U-10D Super Courier (1967-1972)
- U-6A Beaver (1965-1967)
- O-2A Super Skymaster (1971-1977)
- C-7A Caribou (1977-1980)
- C-130B Hercules (1980-1989)
- C-130E Hercules (1989-1999)
- C-130J Hercules (1999-present)
[edit] Decorations
[edit] References
- ^ The Maryland Air National Guard: A Commemorative History. Charlotte, NC: Fine Books Publishing Co. 2000.
- ^ The Maryland Air National Guard: A Commemorative History. Charlotte, NC: Fine Books Publishing Co. 2000.
- ^ The Maryland Air National Guard: A Commemorative History. Charlotte, NC: Fine Books Publishing Co. 2000.
- ^ Air Force Personnel Center Awards Search (Post-1991)
[edit] External links
- Maryland Air National Guard[1]
- Maryland Military Historical Society[2]
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