311th Airlift Squadron


The 311th Airlift Squadron was part of the 375th Airlift Wing at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. It operated Learjet C-21 aircraft providing executive airlift for Combatant Commanders.

History

World War II

The 311th Troop Carrier Squadron trained in the United States from 1943 to 1944 and later flew cargo and personnel missions. It transferred to Hawaii in February 1945 and flew cargo in the Hawaiian Islands. When Lieutenant General Millard Harmon crashed in the Pacific, the squadron participated in an intensive air search for survivors. In August 1945 it moved to Okinawa and continued its airlift mission until May 1946.

Air Force reserve

The 311th trained in C-46 aircraft from June 1949 – April 1951.

Vietnam War

In Vietnam, the 311th flew cargo and passengers in support of I and II Corps. In addition, the unit flew flare, communications cover, air evacuation, and search and rescue missions for downed aircraft.
On 10 May 1968, The special forces camp at Kham Duc in the central highlands near Laos came under heavy mortar fire and was ordered to be evacuated. On 12 May, during evacuation efforts, an Army Boeing CH-47 Chinook and two division C-130s were disabled by enemy fire. One C-130 burst into flames at the end of the runway, killing all aboard. The final C-130 took off thinking it had boarded the last of the men on the ground. As the Viet Cong overran the forward outpost and established gun positions on the airstrip, eight aircraft were destroyed and the C-130 on the runway reduced its usable length to only about 2,200 feet. However, the three-man combat control team, in charge of directing the evacuation, was still on the ground searching for survivors.
Informed that three men remained behind, Lt Col Joe M. Jackson of the 311th Air Commando Squadron dove his Fairchild C-123K Provider from 9,000 to land at the field. Unable to slow by reversing his propellers he jammed on the brakes and skidded halfway down the runway. The three combat controllers jumped from a culvert next to the runway and leaped into the open rear cargo door. A 122 mm rocket, fired from just outside the perimeter stopped only 10 meters from the plane. It did not explode. Jackson taxied around the shell and took off under heavy fire from the hills on either side of the camp. For this rescue, he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Operational support airlift

The squadron was redesignated the 311th Airlift Flight and activated at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska in April 1997, assuming the mission, personnel and Learjet C-21 aircraft of the inactivating 11th Airlift Flight, when Air Force operational support airlift in the United States was centralized under the 375th Air Mobility Wing. It supported the Commander, United States Strategic Command, providing passenger airlift for Department of Defense officials throughout the US. In June 2005, the flight became the 311th Airlift Squadron and moved to Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, absorbing the resources of the 84th Airlift Flight, which was inactivated. It was inactivated in June 2014, leaving the 200th Airlift Squadron of the Colorado Air National Guard to continue its mission at Peterson.

Lineage

  • Constituted as the 311th Troop Carrier Squadron on 23 October 1943
  • Redesignated 311th Troop Carrier Squadron, Medium on 10 May 1949
  • Redesignated 311th Troop Carrier Squadron, Assault and activated on 24 May 1963
  • Redesignated 311th Airlift Flight on 27 March 1997

Assignments

Stations

Aircraft