55th Aeromedical Airlift Squadron

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

The 55th Aeromedical Airlift Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit with a long history of air transport and medical evacuation.

It began in 1942 as the 55th Ferrying Squadron, one of four squadrons in the 16th Ferrying Group. Its early work involved managing aircraft ferries to the Soviet Union via the ALSIB route, operating from Camp Luna, New Mexico, and later Churchill, Canada. In 1943 it was disbanded during a reorganization of Air Transport Command.

During the postwar reorganization of Military Air Transport Service, the unit was reconstituted as the 55th Air Transport Squadron in 1952, absorbing the 1256th Air Transport Squadron. It flew strategic airlift missions at Kelly AFB, Texas, and then Travis AFB, California, until it was inactivated in 1960 as the Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter was retired from service.

The squadron was reactivated in Germany in 1966 as the 55th Military Airlift Squadron and took over the 1455th Air Transport Squadron’s mission. In 1968 it was redesignated the 55th Aeromedical Airlift Squadron, transferred to USAFE, and became part of the 7310th Tactical Airlift Wing, focusing on aeromedical evacuation.

A notable mission occurred in 1981 when the squadron helped return Americans released after being held hostage in Iran. The aircraft carried the prisoners to Europe for medical exams before they returned to the United States.

In July 1993 the squadron moved from Rhein Main to Ramstein Air Base as the base became a new regional airlift hub. On September 1, 1993, the squadron was inactivated and its airlift duties were assumed by the 75th and 76th Airlift Squadrons, which moved to Ramstein.