434th Fighter Training Squadron
Encyclopedia
47th Flying Training Wing
The 47th Flying Training Wing is a United States Air Force pilot training wing based at Laughlin Air Force Base, near Del Rio, Texas...
based at Laughlin Air Force Base
Laughlin Air Force Base
Laughlin Air Force Base is a facility of the United States Air Force located five miles east of the central business district of Del Rio, Texas.-Overview:...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. It operates T-38 Talon
T-38 Talon
The Northrop T-38 Talon is a twin-engine supersonic jet trainer. It was the world's first supersonic trainer and is also the most produced. The T-38 remains in service as of 2011 in air forces throughout the world....
aircraft conducting flight training.
World War II
Activated on 15 October 1943 at Grand Central Air Terminal, near Long BeachLong Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, California. Equipped with the Lockheed P-38F Lightning, trained for combat and served as an air defense organization for the west coast as part of IV Fighter Command
IV Fighter Command
The IV Fighter Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Fourth Air Force, based at Oakland Airport, California...
.
Even though the defense of the US west coast initially took priority, it was decided to deploy Lightning squadrons to Britain for heavy bomber escort duty. The squadron was reassigned to RAF Wattisham
RAF Wattisham
RAF Wattisham was a Royal Air Force station located in East Anglia just outside the village of Wattisham, south of Stowmarket in Suffolk, England. During the Cold War it was a major front-line air force base...
, England, April–May 1944, and assigned to VIII Fighter Command
VIII Fighter Command
The VIII Fighter Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the United States Air Forces in Europe, being stationed at RAF Honington, England. It was inactivated on 20 March 1946....
, Eighth Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
.
From England, the squadron scorted heavy bombers during operations against targets on the Continent, strafed targets of opportunity, and flew fighter-bomber, counter-air, and area-patrol missions. Engaged primarily in B-17/B-24 escort activities and fighter sweeps until the Normandy invasion
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
in June 1944.
Patrolled the beachhead during the invasion. Strafed and dive-bombed troops, bridges, locomotives, railway cars, barges, vehicles, airfields, gun emplacements, flak towers, ammunition dumps, power stations, and radar sites while on escort or fighter-bomber missions as the Allies drove across France
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
during the summer and fall of 1944. The unit flew area patrols to support the breakthrough at Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô is a commune in north-western France, the capital of the Manche department in Normandy.-History:Originally called Briovère , the town is built on and around ramparts. Originally it was a Gaul fortified settlement...
in July and the airborne attack on Holland in September. The unit continued escort and fighter-bomber activities from October to mid-December 1944. It converted to P-51s between 10 September and 1 October, using both types on missions until conversion was completed.
Participated in the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
(December 1944 – January 1945) by escorting bombers to and from targets in the battle area and by strafing transportation targets while on escort duty. From February to April 1945 it continued to fly escort missions, but also provided area patrols to support the airborne attack across the Rhine
Operation Varsity
Operation Varsity was a successful joint American–British airborne operation that took place toward the end of World War II...
in March.
Returned to Camp Kilmer
Camp Kilmer
Camp Kilmer, New Jersey is a former United States Army camp that was activated in June 1942 as a staging area and part of an installation of the New York Port of Embarkation. The camp was organized as part of the Army Service Forces Transportation Corps. Troops were quartered at Camp Kilmer in...
New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
in November 1945, and was inactivated on December 1945.
Cold War
The squadron trained as fighter-day, and later, tactical fighter squadron from, 1952-1962. It was not manned from, 3 January 1962-October 1966. In 1966, began training F-4 Phantom IIF-4 Phantom II
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engined, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor fighter/fighter-bomber originally developed for the United States Navy by McDonnell Aircraft. It first entered service in 1960 with the U.S. Navy. Proving highly adaptable,...
crews for assignment in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
. In August 1972, the squadron deployed to Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, where it served under operational control of 49th Tactical Fighter Wing. It engaged in combat over North
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
and South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
. It redeployed to the U.S. in October 1972. By 1975, the 434th provided combat aircrew training for U.S. and Allied pilots. From 1977-1991, the squadron trained pilots, weapon systems officers, and forward air control
Forward air control
Forward air control is the provision of guidance to Close Air Support aircraft intended to ensure that their attack hits the intended target and does not injure friendly troops. This task is carried out by a forward air controller . For NATO forces the qualifications and experience required to be...
lers.
Lineage
- Constituted 434th Fighter Squadron on 12 Oct 1943
- Activated on 15 Oct 1943
- Inactivated on 1 Dec 1945
- Re-designated 434th Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 15 Oct 1952
- Activated on 1 Dec 1952
- Re-designated: 434th Fighter-Day Squadron on 15 Feb 1954
- Re-designated: 434th Tactical Fighter Squadron on 1 Jul 1958
- Re-designated: 434th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron on 1 Oct 1975
- Inactivated on 3 May 1991
- Re-designated: 434th Fighter Training Squadron on 21 Jun 2007
- Activated on 19 Jul 2007.
Assignments
- 479th Fighter Group, 15 Oct 1943-1 Dec 1945
- 479th Fighter-Bomber (later, 479th Fighter-Day) Group, 1 Dec 1952
- 479th Fighter-Day (later, 479th Tactical Fighter) Wing479th Tactical Training WingThe 479th Tactical Training Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Tactical Training, Holloman, stationed at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico...
, 8 Oct 1957 - 35th Tactical Fighter Wing, 1 Oct 1971
- Attached to 49th Tactical Fighter Wing, 12 Aug-6 Oct 1972
- 479th Tactical Training Wing479th Tactical Training WingThe 479th Tactical Training Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Tactical Training, Holloman, stationed at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico...
, 1 Jan 1977-3 May 1991 - 47th Operations Group47th Operations GroupThe 47th Operations Group is the flying component of the 47th Flying Training Wing, assigned to the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command. The group is stationed at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas.-Overview:...
, 19 Jul 2007-Present
- 479th Tactical Training Wing
Stations
- Grand Central Air Terminal, California, 15 Oct 1943
- Lomita Flight Strip, California, 6 Feb 1944
- Santa Maria Army Airfield, California, 8-18 Apr 1944
- RAF WattishamRAF WattishamRAF Wattisham was a Royal Air Force station located in East Anglia just outside the village of Wattisham, south of Stowmarket in Suffolk, England. During the Cold War it was a major front-line air force base...
(AAF-377), England, 15 May 1944-c. 23 Nov 1945 - Camp KilmerCamp KilmerCamp Kilmer, New Jersey is a former United States Army camp that was activated in June 1942 as a staging area and part of an installation of the New York Port of Embarkation. The camp was organized as part of the Army Service Forces Transportation Corps. Troops were quartered at Camp Kilmer in...
, New Jersey, 29 Nov-1 Dec 1945
- George AFB, California, 1 Dec 1952
- Deployed to Moron AB, Spain, 9 Aug-17 Dec 1961
- Deployed to Takhli RTAFB, Thailand, 12 Aug-6 Oct 1972
- Holloman AFB, New Mexico, 1 Jan 1977-3 May 1991
- Laughlin AFB, Texas, 19 Jul 2007-Present
Aircraft
- P-38 LightningP-38 LightningThe Lockheed P-38 Lightning was a World War II American fighter aircraft built by Lockheed. Developed to a United States Army Air Corps requirement, the P-38 had distinctive twin booms and a single, central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament...
(1943–1944) - F-51 Mustang (1944–1945, 1952–1953)
- P-47 ThunderboltP-47 ThunderboltRepublic Aviation's P-47 Thunderbolt, also known as the "Jug", was the largest, heaviest, and most expensive fighter aircraft in history to be powered by a single reciprocating engine. It was heavily armed with eight .50-caliber machine guns, four per wing. When fully loaded, the P-47 weighed up to...
(1945) - F-86 SabreF-86 SabreThe North American F-86 Sabre was a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as America's first swept wing fighter which could counter the similarly-winged Soviet MiG-15 in high speed dogfights over the skies of the Korean War...
(1953–1955) - F-100 Super SabreF-100 Super SabreThe North American F-100 Super Sabre was a supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard until 1979. The first of the Century Series collection of USAF jet fighters, it was the first USAF fighter capable of...
(1954–1959) - F-104 StarfighterF-104 StarfighterThe Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is a single-engine, high-performance, supersonic interceptor aircraft originally developed for the United States Air Force by Lockheed. One of the Century Series of aircraft, it served with the USAF from 1958 until 1969, and continued with Air National Guard units...
(1959–1962) - F-4 Phantom IIF-4 Phantom IIThe McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engined, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor fighter/fighter-bomber originally developed for the United States Navy by McDonnell Aircraft. It first entered service in 1960 with the U.S. Navy. Proving highly adaptable,...
(1966–1976) - T-38 TalonT-38 TalonThe Northrop T-38 Talon is a twin-engine supersonic jet trainer. It was the world's first supersonic trainer and is also the most produced. The T-38 remains in service as of 2011 in air forces throughout the world....
(1977–1991, 2007–Present)