page_title: 483rd Tactical Airlift Wing
section_title: Korean War
hierarchical_section_title: 483rd Tactical Airlift Wing / History / Korean War
caption_attribution_description: A U.S. Air Force Fairchild C-119B-10-FA Flying Boxcar (s/n 49-102) of the 314th Troop Carrier Group in 1952. This aircraft was later converted to an C-119C in 1955-56. The 314th TCG served in Japan during the Korean War, participating in two major airborne operations, at Sunchon in October 1950 and at Munsan-ni in March 1951. It later transported supplies to Korea and evacuated prisoners of war. Original caption: "The 314th Troop Carrier Group C-119 Flying Boxcars do not start out for the "mountain" unless weather reports are good. They must be able to see the tiny drop zone on the peak before they can drop. But weather is so unpredictable in the high mountains, that often when the planes arrive, the entire area is "socked in" with heavy clouds. In the radio contact with the "men on the mountains," the pilots circle hoping for a break in the clouds, or sometimes, to dive under the clouds and drop on the lower slopes. On several occasions, the planes have had to return to Japan as many as three times without dropping. But 314th Troop Carrier Group pilots are presistant, and eventually win through to drop successfully. 1952 (U.S. Air Force photo)"
context_page_description: The 483d Tactical Airlift Wing was a tactical airlift and composite wing assigned to Pacific Air Forces during the Vietnam War. It was the host organization at Cam Ranh Bay Air Base South Vietnam from 1970–1972.
  The unit history includes the temporarily bestowed history of the World War II 483d Bombardment Group, which was a United States Army Air Forces combat group. It served primarily in the Mediterranean, African, and The Middle East Theatres of World War II. During the Korean War, the group was redesignated the 483d Troop Carrier Groupand assigned to the wing.
  The Wing was first organized as the 483d Troop Carrier Wing during the Korean War, as an airlift organization assigned to Far East Air Forces for duty.
context_section_description: The wing was activated at Ashiya AB, Japan as the 483d Troop Carrier Wing on 1 January 1953 and replaced the 403d Troop Carrier Wing, Medium and absorbed the 403d's mission, personnel and equipment.  It was assigned to the 315th Air Division of Far East Air Forces (FEAF) for duty in the Korean War.
  The wing was equipped with Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcars and performed troop carrier and air transport operations in the Far East, including landing of troops and cargo in forward areas of the combat zone, air transportation of airborne troops and equipment, and air evacuation of casualties.  In June 1953, as the Korean war neared an armistice, all wing C-119s airlifted the entire 187th Regimental Combat Team (Airborne) from Kyushu, Japan to Seoul and Chunch'on, South Korea, to preclude enemy breakthroughs. This was the largest mass movement of personnel in the history of combat cargo to that time.  For is actions in the Korean War, the wing received the Korean Presidential Unit Citation.
  Between April 1953 and September 1954, the wing aided the French Air Force in Indochina by training aircrews, evacuating wounded, and maintaining aircraft.  For these actions, the wing became one of the first units in the Air Force to receive the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award.  In 1958, the wing began to reequip with Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft.  Its transition was complete by 1959.  It performed theater transport duties and participated in joint exercises with Army units until inactivated in Japan on 23 June 1960.  Its squadrons were transferred to the direct control of the 315th Air Division and relocated to Naha Air Base and Tachikawa Air Base, Japan as Ashiya AB closed.
caption: C-119B 49–109 of the wing's 314th Troop Carrier Group
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