Constituted as the 437th Troop Carrier Group on 15 April 1943, it was activated on 01 May 1943 in Dunnellon, FL. They trained with C-46 and C-47 aircraft for duty overseas with the Ninth Air Force. They moved to England during January and February of 1944 and begin preparing for the Normandy invasion (Operation Neptune in support of Overlord).



The group released gliders near Cherbourg early on June 6, 1944. They flew follow up missions on 06 and 07 June carrying reinforcements of troops, anti-aircraft pieces, ammunition, rations and other supplies for the 82nd Airborne Division; they received a Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for these actions in France.



A detachment was sent to Italy in July 1944 for the invasion of southern France (Operation Dragoon) in August. They dropped paratroops over the assault area on 15 August, flew a resupply mission on the following day and then hauled freight to bases in Italy until they returned to England on 24 August.



During the airborne attack on Holland (Market Garden), 17 to 25 September 1944 the group released gliders carrying troops and equipment and flew several resupply missions to provide reinforcements. In December 1944 they flew supply missions in support of the troops in Bastogne.



They moved to France in February 1945 for action during the air assault across the Rhine (Operation Varsity); each aircraft towed two gliders over the east bank and released them near Wesel on 24 March 1945.



They flew numerous missions in March and April to carry gasoline, food, medicine, and other supplies to ground forces pushing across Germany. When not participating in one of the major airborne operations, the organization continually transported ammunition, rations, clothing, and other supplies as well as evacuating wounded personnel to rear zone hospitals. They evacuated prisoners of war and displaced persons to relocation centers. After the V-E Day they returned to the US in August 1945. On 15 November 1945, the unit was inactivated.



The 437th Operations Group (437 OG) is an active United States Air Force unit. It is the flying component of the Eighteenth Air Force 437th Airlift Wing, stationed at Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina.The unit's World War II predecessor unit, the 437th Troop Carrier Group was a C-47 Skytrain transport unit assigned to Ninth Air Force in Western Europe. During the Normandy campaign, the group released gliders over Cherbourg and carried troops, weapons, ammunition, rations, and other supplies for the 82nd Airborne Division in Operation NEPTUNE.