page_title: 29th Weapons Squadron
section_title: Vietnam War
hierarchical_section_title: 29th Weapons Squadron / History / Vietnam War
caption_attribution_description: A U.S. Air Force Lockheed C-130 Hercules taking off from Khe Sanh, in 1968.
context_page_description: The 29th Weapons Squadron is a United States Air Force unit, stationed at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas. It is assigned to the USAF Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base. The mission of the squadron is to provide advanced Lockheed C-130J Hercules instructional flying.
  The squadron was first activated in 1942 as the 29th Transport Squadron. After training in the United States, it deployed to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations as the 29th Troop Carrier Squadron. The squadron dropped paratroopers in the invasions of Sicily and Italy before moving to England. From England it participated in Operation Overlord. The 29th earned two Distinguished Unit Citations for combat actions. Following VE Day, the squadron returned to the United States where it was inactivated in September 1945.
  The squadron was activated again in September 1946 and served with the occupation forces in Italy and Austria before returning to the United States in 1947. In 1948 the squadron moved to Germany, where it participated in the Berlin Airlift until being inactivated in 1949 as American airlift forces in Germany were reduced after the blockade of Berlin was ended.
context_section_description: The squadron was reactivated at Forbes Air Force Base, Kansas in 1964, flying Lockheed C-130 Hercules. In March 1965, the 29th became the first combat-ready unit of Tactical Air Command at Forbes. It then assumed a commitment to rotate aircraft to the Panama Canal Zone.  The squadron frequently deployed to support airlift requirements of overseas commands, participate in tactical exercises and disaster relief.
  In December 1965 the squadron left Forbes for Clark Air Base, Philippines, arriving in late January 1966 to perform theater airlift in Southeast Asia as part of 315th Air Division. The unit deployed aircraft and crews to provide intra-theater airlift for United States military civic actions, combat support and civic assistance throughout the Republic of Vietnam, particularly from the C-130 operating location at Tan Son Nhut Airport outside Saigon.  In May 1969, the unit assumed the Commando Vault mission, dropping a 10,000-pound bomb designed to clear helicopter landing zones out of jungle from its cargo bay. The squadron was inactivated in October 1970 and its remaining aircraft and crews were distributed among the 463d Tactical Airlift Wing's other squadrons.
  The squadron was reactivated in April 1971 at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia and began training with C-130s.  Shortly after becoming combat ready, in November its mission, equipment and personnel were transferred to the 38th Tactical Airlift Squadron and the 29th was inactivated.
caption: Squadron C-130 Hercules taking off from Khe Sanh
exif: {"Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS4 Windows", "Image DateTime": "2009:10:29 08:54:02", "Image ExifOffset": "164", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "302", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "6973", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1800", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1483"}