Remember when...The 10th Troop Carrier Squadron

  • Published
  • By John M. Lacomia
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing History Office
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  A colleague once conveyed to me that the goal of a military historian is to, "Build your future by, knowing your past."

That phrase rings true eight years after it was told to me. In the past two years, I have studied the history of the 60th Air Mobility Wing, its accomplishments and the people, aircraft and units that have made it one of the best units in Air Mobility Command.

Through my research, I have been extremely impressed with the performance of the units C-47 Skytrain aircraft and one of the first squadrons assigned to it, the 10th Troop Carrier Squadron.

On December 1, 1940, the 10th Transport Squadron was activated along with the 11th, and 12th at Olmstead Field in Pennsylvania, with 1st Lt. Arthur Anderson as the squadron's first commander. These four squadrons and their C-47 aircraft were part of the newly formed 60th Transport Group. The group along with its sister squadrons would move from Olmstead Field to Westover Field, Mass., on May 21, 1941, less than six months after activation. As the clouds of war loomed down on the United States, the group was needed to transport troops and supplies to the European theater. Thus, on May 20, 1942, the group and its squadrons were once again re-assigned, this time to Chelveston, England.

On July 5, 1942, the group and squadrons were re-designated as a troop carrier group and squadrons and thus the 10th TCS was born.

The 10th TCS along with its sister squadrons would only spend a few months stationed in England. On November 8, 1942, the 10th TCS started its participation in the invasion of North Africa. The squadron would move from Algeria and Tunisia over the course of the next seven months, until the Allied Invasion of Europe.

After a successful operation in North Africa, the squadron pressed on with the rest of the group in the airborne invasions of Sicily and Greece and the support of partisans in the Balkans, while also providing transportation to the Mediterranean theater of operations. As the Allied Forces pushed back the Axis Powers, the squadron followed the progression.

From September 6, 1943, the squadron was stationed in Sicily, Italy, and finally Trinidad at the end of the World War II. The squadron would be re-activated in September 1946, along with its sister units, and would play a vital role in the Berlin Airlift that lasted from June 1948 through September 1949.

The squadron's emblem symbolizes the various roles the unit played in the Allied success against the Axis Powers in Europe. Inside the emblem are paratroopers dropping to their destination with much needed weapons, food, medical assistance and various supplies.

More than 64 years later this same emblem is in use today by the 10th Airlift Squadron, assigned to the 62nd Airlift Wing at McChord Air Force Base, Wash.

For its exceptional service, the squadron received the Distinguished Unit Citation and campaign streamers for, Algeria-French Morocco, Tunisia, Sicily, Naples-Foggia, Anzio, Rome-Arno, North Apennines, Po Valley and Air Combat in the European-African-Middle East Theater.