Description
345th TAS Tactical Airlift Squadron Patch
Aviators! Are you looking for a high-quality patch you’ll proudly wear or display? Look no further than the 345th TAS Tactical Airlift Squadron Patch!
- 4 inch
- Embroidered
- US Naval Aviator Owned Business
- Sew On
- Reproduction
- Free Shipping
The 345th Airlift Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force squadron most recently assigned to the 19th Operations Group at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, where it was inactivated in June 2014. The squadron was activated in the summer of 2010 as an “active duty associate” squadron, jointly operating the Lockheed C-130J Hercules aircraft of the 815th Airlift Squadron.
The squadron was first activated as the 345th Troop Carrier Squadron in the Air Force Reserve in 1949 and trained at Memphis Municipal Airport, Tennessee. In 1951 it was called to active duty for the Korean War and served until 1953.
In 1955, the unit was activated at Sewart Air Force Base, Tennessee as a rotary wing troop carrier assault unit in a test of the USAF’s ability to support United States Army assault operations. It participated in Operation Sage Brush, which was, in part, a test of this concept. The squadron was inactivated the following year and its aircraft distributed to helicopter support organizations. A few months later the squadron was activated as a fixed wing troop carrier assault unit at Sewart and equipped with Fairchild C-123 Provider aircraft. It continued to fly the Provider until 1961 when it converted to the Lockheed C-130 Hercules. It has continued to fly various models of the Hercules ever since.
In 1962, the squadron was moved to the Pacific area and came under the control of the 315th Air Division, which managed airlift resources for Pacific Air Forces. The squadron returned on paper to the United States a few months later and its personnel and equipment were transferred to another squadron. The 345th returned to the Pacific in 1965 and began to deploy C-130s to Southeast Asia, and in 1966 moved from Okinawa to Ching Chuan Kang Air Base, where it was assigned to the 314th Troop Carrier Wing. Following the end of the Viet Nam War, the squadron returned to Okinawa and served in the Pacific until it was inactivated in 1993.
