135th Airlift Group

The 135th Airlift Group (135 AG) is an inactive unit of the United States Air Force, allotted to the Maryland Air National Guard. At the time of its inactivation, it was assigned to the 175th Wing, stationed at Warfield Air National Guard Base, Middle River, Maryland. The unit cased its colors 27 Sep 2013 and was expected to inactivate at the end of the month, but the inactivation request was never processed and it remained active but unmanned until 2016. It officially inactivated 1 May 2016.

The 135th Airlift Group mission was to maintain combat-ready aircrew and aircraft to mobilize, deploy and provide intra-theater airlift in support of U.S. interests worldwide. It supported theater commanders' requirements for combat delivery capability through tactical airland/airdrop operations and humanitarian aeromedical evacuations.

The Maryland Air National Guard's introduction to the world of special operations began when Air Force leaders decided to phase out active duty air commando units in 1954. Despite the decision, there was still a need to maintain a limited number of crews and aircraft to support unconventional warfare missions. After lengthy deliberations, the Air Force decided in 1955 to establish four special air warfare units within the Air National Guard: the 129th Air Resupply Group in California, the 130th in West Virginia, the 143d in Rhode Island, and the 135th in Maryland.

The 135th Air Resupply Squadron was established in September 1955 as a new Maryland Air National Guard unit with no previous United States Air Force history or lineage by the National Guard Bureau. Activated on 10 September at Harbor Field, Baltimore, Maryland, the squadron was assigned to the 135th Air Resupply Group. Allocated to Military Air Transport Service (MATS), and equipped with C-46D Commando transports.

The 135th was designated at the time as a "Psychological Warfare" unit which supported USAF unconventional warfare (guerrilla warfare), direct action (commando-type raids), strategic reconnaissance (intelligence gathering), and PSYWAR operations. The C-46 was supplemented by SA-16 Albatross amphibious aircraft beginning in 1956. The SA-16 (later redesignated HU-16) completely replaced the C-46s in late 1958. Training for water landings with the SA-16 was extremely hazardous. To make matters worse, doctrine required pilots to land their aircraft on water at night, with no landing lights. Night water landings were practiced at Patuxent River Naval Air Station in southern Maryland. Three crewmen were killed when their plane crashed after accidentally contacting the water surface during a low approach in May 1956.

Ultimately, the 135th's mission included counterinsurgency, military civic action, psychological operations, tactical air operations, and unconventional warfare. In addition to blacked-out water landings, the SA-16 crews practiced pulling personnel from the ground by means of the Fulton Recovery System, which retired Col. Richard T. Lynch, a former 135th commander, described as being "like bungee jumping in reverse."

In 1958, the group was inactivated and it began reporting directly to the Maryland Air National Guard. However, it was reactivated in 1962 and re-designated as the 135th Air Commando Group following the revival of an active duty air commando unit at Hurlburt Field, Florida in line with President John F. Kennedy's initiative to bolster the United States military special forces during the early involvement in the Vietnam War.

In 1963, the 135th added U-10 Super Couriers to its inventory. The U-10s were used for infiltration, extraction and psychological operations. These aircraft were temporarily replaced by U-6 Beavers from 1965 to 1967 due to a need for U-10s in Vietnam. In 1963, the 135th participated in Exercise Swift Strike III, one of the largest military maneuvers since World War II. During the exercise, the unit not only flew a variety of special air warfare missions, but received an operational readiness inspection from Tactical Air Command to boot.