World War II The
744th Bombardment Squadron was first activated at
Wendover Field, Utah on 1 June 1943, where it was one of the four original squadrons of the
456th Bombardment Group and received its initial
cadre. Shortly thereafter the
squadron moved to
Gowen Field, Idaho and began to train with
Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers. It completed its training in December 1943 and began its movement to the
Mediterranean Theater of Operations. The squadron arrived in theater at
Cerignola Airfield on 11 January 1944 and later that month moved to its combat station of
Stornara Airfield, Italy. It was nominally a very heavy bomber unit, but the squadron does not appear to have been fully manned or equipped with operational aircraft while a reserve unit. In 1948
Continental Air Command (ConAC) assumed responsibility for managing reserve and
Air National Guard units from ADC. President
Truman's reduced 1949 defense budget required reductions in the number of units in the Air Force. ConAC also reorganized its reserve units under the
wing base organization system in June 1949. As a result, the squadron was inactivated and its personnel and equipment were transferred to elements of the
302d Troop Carrier Wing, which was activated simultaneously.
Troop carrier operations The squadron was redesignated the
744th Troop Carrier Squadron and activated at
Miami International Airport, Florida, where it replaced the
76th Troop Carrier Squadron, a reserve unit that had been
mobilized for the
Korean War and which was returning to reserve status. The squadron and its
Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcars moved to
Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina in August 1953. It participated in numerous
military exercises in the United States and overseas, primarily with
airborne forces of the
United States Army. In March 1955, the
456th Troop Carrier Wing reorganized, and the squadron was assigned directly to wing
headquarters as the 456th Group and all wing support organizations were inactivated, while the squadron formed a detachment with eight C-119L aircraft. In October, the squadron moved with the wing to
Shiroi Air Base, Japan, but the flying detachments of the wing were located at various points between Okinawa and Alaska. The squadron took part in Project Drag Net, recovering instrument packages from high altitude research or
reconnaissance balloons. The project was terminated in May 1956 due to its low success rate, although the squadron earned an
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award for its participation. The squadron returned to the United States and
Ardmore Air Force Base, Oklahoma, where it was inactivated in July 1956 and its assets transferred to the
339th Troop Carrier Squadron. One half of the squadron's
Boeing B-52G Stratofortress aircraft were maintained on fifteen minute
alert, fully fueled and ready for combat to reduce vulnerability to a Soviet missile strike. The squadron continued the mission of strategic bombardment training. It frequently deployed aircraft and crews to meet USAF requirements, often having nearly all of the squadron's resources scattered around the world at various operating locations.
Provisional unit In June 2002, the squadron was redesignated the
744th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, converted to provisional status and assigned to
Air Mobility Command. It has not been active under its most recent designation. ==Lineage==