62nd Tactical Airlift Sqn Usaf - St Peter - Saltby, Leicestershire
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SMacB
N 52° 49.788 W 000° 44.273
30U E 652397 N 5855735
A framed print of a Lockheed C-130 Hercules in St Peter's church, Saltby, dedicated to the 62nd Tactical Airlift Sqn Usaf, that were stationed nearby during WWII.
Waymark Code: WM10B7N
Location: East Midlands, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 04/06/2019
Views: 2
A framed print of a Lockheed C-130 Hercules in St Peter's church, Saltby, dedicated to the 62nd Tactical Airlift Sqn Usaf, that were stationed at the nearby Saltby Army Air Base during WWII.
Inscription -
IN MEMORY OF OUR VISIT 10TH JUNE 1984
PICTURE PRESENTED TO THE MEN AND WOMEN OF
SALTBY ENGLAND 10TH JUNE 1984
FRIENDS PAST AND PRESENT
FROM 62ND TACTICAL AIRLIFT SQUADRON
LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE
ARKANSAS
USA "Royal Air Force Saltby or more simply RAF Saltby is a former Royal Air Force station in Leicestershire, England. The airfield is located approximately 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Melton Mowbray; about 90 miles (140 km) north-northwestof London.
Opened in 1942, it was used by both the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces. During the war it was used primarily as a transport airfield. After the war it was closed in 1945 and kept in reserve until 1955.
Today the remains of the airfield are located on private property and, now known as Saltby Airfield, is used primarily for gliding."
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"The 62nd Airlift Squadron, sometimes written as 62d Airlift Squadron, is part of the 314th Airlift Wing at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas. Originally constituted in 1942 as the 62nd Troop Carrier Squadron, it first deployed to Morocco in 1943, remaining in Europe until its inactivation in 1946. It reactivated three years later and deployed to Japan during the Korean War. In 1967, the unit was redesignated the 62nd Tactical Airlift Squadron, and in 1991 the 62nd Airlift Squadron. It operates Lockheed C-130J Super Hercules aircraft and provides advanced training to pilots, copilots, and loadmasters for combat airlift and airdrop operations.
Activated in late 1942 under I Troop Carrier Command and equipped with Douglas C-47 Skytrains. Trained in various parts of the eastern United States. Deployed to French Morocco in May 1943 and assigned to Twelfth Air Force to support combat operations in the North African Campaign. Remained with Twelfth Air Force, moving to Tunisia and Sicily providing transport and resupply operations as well as casualty evacuation of wounded personnel in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO). Reassigned to IX Troop Carrier Command in England during early 1944 as part of the build-up of Allied forces prior to the D-Day invasion of France.
Began operations by dropping paratroops into Normandy on D-Day (6 June 1944) and releasing gliders with reinforcements on the following day. The unit received a Distinguished Unit Citation and a French citation for these missions.
After the Normandy invasion the squadron ferried supplies in the United Kingdom. The squadron also hauled food, clothing, medicine, gasoline, ordnance equipment, and other supplies to the front lines and evacuated patients to rear zone hospitals. It dropped paratroops near Nijmegen and towed gliders carrying reinforcements during the airborne attack on the Netherlands. In December, it participated in the Battle of the Bulge by releasing gliders with supplies for the 101st Airborne Division near Bastogne.
Moved to Belgium in early 1945, and participated in the Western Allied invasion of Germany, participating in the air assault across the Rhine River in March 1945, each aircraft towed two gliders with troops of the 17th Airborne Division and released them near Wesel."
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