USAF Patch Airlift d 6100 SW Support Wing Tachikawa AB CAMRON FM a

USAF Patch 6100 SW Support Wing Airlift Camron Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Squadron FM Div Field Maintenance Division TAB Tachikawa Air Base Name 1958 Japanese made Fully Embroidered cut edge 67mm by 117mm two and five eighth inches by four and five eighth inches.

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Following WWII Tachikawa Airfield Tokyo Japan was established by the US Air Transport Command as a major air passenger and cargo transport hub for local operations in the Tokyo Area for support to the Occupation Government in Japan and to provide strategic transport to the United States with 1503 Army Air Force Base Unit AAFBU activated to manage the operations at the airfield. Seventh Air Forces Service Command Japan Air Materiel Area JAMA became a major tenant organization at the Airfield taking responsibility for the eastern part as a logistics base with ATC providing depot level maintenance for Far East Air Force aircraft with logistical support from Air Materiel Command on the western part of the airfield. With the inactivation of Air Transport Command in 1948 Military Air Transport Service became responsible for the airfield and redesignated 1503 AAFBU as 540 Air Transport Wing on 1 June 1948 and then 1503 Air Transport Wing on 1 October 1948 following USAF requirements that MATS units be numbered between 1200 and 2199. With the Airfields strategic location 1503 ATW became the main MATS organization in the Western Pacific supporting numerous tenant organizations such as the Air Rescue Service Air Weather Service and Far East Air Force theater Troop Carrier Groups and US Navy Air Transport units which transshipped supplies and personnel from the MATS Aerial Port at Tachikawa Airfield.

Operations greatly increased during the Korean War with 1503 ATW Troop Carrier units carrying out the evacuation of American civilians and then transporting Allied military personnel and material into the war zone and returning casualties to the USAF Hospital on the base and repatriated POWs from North Korea in 1953.

Far East Air Force activated 6100 Support Wing in 1953 which took over base support host duties for the airfield from 1503 ATW with MATS and Air Materiel Command became tenant organizations. 1503 ATW continued to operate and support MATS Aerial Port 24 hours a day operations with C 118 Liftmaster C 121 Constellation C 124 Globemaster and C 133 Cargomaster transport aircraft from Hickam Field Hawaii or being staged through Alaska and MATS flights from Tachikawa AB west to Clark Air Base Philippines Saigon Bangkok and Karachi Airport Pakistan or south to Guam Wake or Midway Island in the Central Pacific Region.  6100 Support Wing provided base support for base personnel and dependents including military housing radio station and 6100 Chaplains Office base security with 6100 Air Police Squadron installation management functions with 6100 Supply Service Communications Civil Engineering and Transportation Squadrons and on line multi aircraft maintenance support to base and transient aircraft with 6100 Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Squadron for Far East Air Force theater Troop Carrier Groups the Air Rescue Service Air Weather Service and smaller FEAF tenant units together with support for 6000 Operations Squadrons VIP flights. 6100 Support Wing had its own liaison flying element 6100 Operations Squadron and supported FEAF alerts exercises and humanitarian operations including transport of maintenance liaison and observer personnel to Indochina and evacuating wounded French troops in 1954. 6100 SW was allocated host responsibility for the Air Material Command logistics base on eastern portion of the airfield when Far East Air Far East Air Logistics Force was inactivated on 1 October 1955 and the base consolidated.

6100 SW was redesignated 6100 Air Base Wing on 1 January 1961 and was consolidated with 6000 Support Wing at Fuchu AB and redesignated 6100 Support Wing on 1 July 1961. 6100 SW was also known as Kanto Base Command Pacific Air Forces and assumed responsibility for the operation of the PACAF Sentry Dog Training Center at Tachikawa AB on 1 July 1961. As United States military forces began to increase in Indochina the Wing supported MATS transportation of personnel and equipment to Tan Son Nhut AB South Vietnam and Don Muang RTAFB Bangkok Thailand. Operations from Tachikawa began to phase down in 1964 as its location in urban Tokyo made heavy transport operations undesirable and its short runway made jet transport difficult. USAF began to develop nearby Tama Airfield as Yokota Air Base which began to take the heavier transport operations

1503 ATW was reduced to Group status and redesignated 1503 Air Transport Group on 22 June 1964 assigned to 1502 ATW with operations focused on Aeromedical Transport operations with Aeromedical Detachments with Detachment 2 1453 Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron at Clark AB and 1509 Support Squadron Mactan Island Airfield in the Philippines and supporting MATS units at deployed locations in the Pacific including 1511 Support Squadron at Midway Naval Air Station Midway Island. In early 1965 C 141 Starlifter jet aircraft undertook transport missions from Tachikawa AB to the new Cam Ranh AB South Vietnam where 1503 ATGs Detachment 1512 Support Squadron was established and C 130E Hercules troop carrier units from Pacific Air Forces continued to operate from Tachikawa AB.

With the inactivation of the Military Air Transport Service 1503 ATG was inactivated on 8 January 1966 with the new Military Airlift Command transport operations reassigned to Yokota AB. 1503 ATGs aerial port facilities at Tachikawa AB were reallocated to Pacific Air Forces 6100 Support Wing to support the C 130E Hercules intra theatre transport operations. Further transport operations moved to Yokota AB and by 1969 the airfield only undertook light aircraft operations. 6100 Support Wing was inactivated on 31 July 1970 and Tachikawa AB reassigned to Yokota based 347 Tactical Fighter Wing as a support base with the USAF hospital remaining operational together with USAF military housing for Tokyo. When 347 TFW relocated to Mountain Home AFB on 15 May 1971 6100 Air Base Wing Provisional was activated at Yokota AB to support Tachikawa AB until inactivated when 475 Air Base Wing was established on 1 November 1971 to take responsibility for Tachikawa AB.

With the end of the Vietnam War in 1975 Tachikawa AB was scheduled for closure and inactivated on 30 September 1977 and handed back to the Japanese Government on 30 November 1977.

6100 Camron operated with a number of specialist Divisions including Field Maintenance Organisational Maintenance Avionics with each allocated a separate identification colour. FM Div black OM Div yellow Dark Blue and Light Blue currently unknown confirmation required.

This patch dates from 1958.