75th Flying Training Wing | |
---|---|
Active | 1943–1946 |
Country | United States |
Branch | United States Army Air Forces |
Role | Command of flying training units |
Engagements | World War II |
The 75th Flying Training Wing [a] was a flying training wing of the United States Army Air Forces. At the time, a wing controlled several multi-squadron groups. It was last assigned to the Army Air Forces Flying Training Command, and was disbanded on 15 June 1946 at Buckingham Army Air Field, Florida.
The wing was a World War II command and control organization, initially part of Eastern Flying Training Command. The mission of the wing was to train aerial gunners. Fixed gunnery training for air cadet pilots was carried out at Eglin Field, while flexible gunnery training for enlisted gunners was carried out both at Tyndall Field in northern Florida and Buckingham Army Air Field in Southwest Florida. As the men graduated from flexible gunnery school, they were assigned to combat crews either forming in the United States or as replacements to overseas combat units. [1] The school at Buckingham was the central school for training instructors for flexible gunnery until June 1944, when it moved to Laredo Army Air Field. [2] Buckingham was also home to a pyschological research detachment that studied psychological problems unique to aerial gunners and determined criteria for selection and training of gunners. [3] [4]
As training requirements changed during the war, schools were activated and inactivated or transferred to meet those requirements. [5]
The schools of the wing flew two types of aircraft, gunnery trainers and gunnery targets.
Tyndall Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base located 12 miles (19 km) east of Panama City, Florida. The base was named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lt. Frank Benjamin Tyndall. The base operating unit and host wing is the 325th Fighter Wing of the Air Combat Command (ACC). The base hosts 2,902 active duty members. In October 2018, Hurricane Michael caused significant damage to the base.
Nellis Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation in southern Nevada. Nellis hosts air combat exercises such as Exercise Red Flag and close air support exercises such as Green Flag-West flown in "Military Operations Area (MOA) airspace", associated with the nearby Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR). The base also has the Combined Air and Space Operations Center-Nellis.
Apalachicola Regional Airport is a county-owned, public-use airport located two nautical miles (4 km) west of the central business district of Apalachicola, a city in Franklin County, Florida, United States. It is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a general aviation facility. It was previously known as Apalachicola Municipal Airport. The airport supports general aviation activity in the area and provides service via a tenant fixed-base operator (FBO).
The 46th Test Wing is an inactive wing of the United States Air Force last based at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The wing's 46th Test Group was a tenant unit at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico.
The 29th Flying Training Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit last based at Craig Air Force Base, Alabama. It was inactivated when Craig was closed when the Air Force reduced its pilot training program after the Vietnam War.
Dyersburg Army Air Base is an inactive United States Air Force base, approximately 2 miles north of Halls, Tennessee. It was active during World War II as a training airfield. It was closed on 30 November 1945
Tonopah Air Force Base is a Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS) in the USA that was a Tonopah Basin military installation until shortly after it was designated an Air Force Base in 1948. Two of the runways still in use are maintained by Nye County, Nevada; and World War II building foundations and three hangars of the base remain at the municipal Tonopah Airport.
The 43d Flying Training Squadron is part of the 340th Flying Training Group and is the reserve associate to the 14th Flying Training Wing based at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi. It operates Raytheon T-1 Jayhawk, Beechcraft T-6 Texan II and Northrop T-38 Talon aircraft conducting flight training.
The 52nd Expeditionary Flying Training Squadron was part of the Iraq Training and Advisory Mission – Air Force. It operated Cessna and Beechcraft T-6A Texan II aircraft conducting flight training for members of the Iraqi Air Force. In late 2011, all U.S. forces were withdrawn from Iraq and the squadron was inactivated.
The III Reconnaissance Command is a disbanded United States Army Air Forces unit. Its last assignment was with Third Air Force stationed at Rapid City Army Air Base, South Dakota, where it was inactivated on 8 April 1946. After transferring to the United States Air Force in September 1947, it was disbanded in October 1948.
The United States Army Air Forces during World War II had major subordinate Commands below the Air Staff level. These Commands were organized along functional missions. One such Command was the Flying Training Command (FTC). It began as Air Corps Flying Training Command on 23 January 1942, was redesignated Army Air Forces Flying Training Command (AAFTC) on 15 March 1942, and merged with Army Air Forces Technical Training Command to become Army Air Forces Training Command on 31 July 1943. Continuing service after the war, it was redesignated Air Training Command on 1 July 1946. During the consolidation of Air Force Major Commands in the retrenchment of the 1990s, Air Training Command assumed control of Air University and became Air Education and Training Command on 1 July 1993—today's Air Education and Training Command (AETC), which celebrated its 75th anniversary 23 January 2017. see the Lineage and honors statement for AETC.
I Fighter Command was a United States Army Air Forces intermediate command responsible for command and control of the fighter operations within the First Air Force during World War II. It was initially established in June 1941 as the 1st Interceptor Command to provide air defense of the Northeastern United States. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the command's area of responsibility extended over the entire Atlantic coast and into Canada and Iceland. As the perceived threat of attack decreased, the command's responsibnility for training units and aircrews became its primary mission. The command continued its mission until March 1946, when it was inactivated.
The 54th Fighter Group is an active unit of the United States Air Force stationed at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico and assigned to the 49th Wing of Air Education and Training Command. The group was reactivated in March 2014.
The 469th Bombardment Group is a former United States Army Air Forces (AAF) unit. It was activated in May 1943 and served as a Replacement Training Unit until it was disbanded in April 1944 when the AAF reorganized its training and support units in the United States.
The 88th Bombardment Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. During World War II, the group served as a training unit for Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress units and aircrews. It was inactivated in May 1944, when the Army Air Forces reorganized its training units, replacing units like the 88th that were organized under rigid tables of organization.
Buckingham Army Airfield is an inactive United States Army Air Forces base, approximately 10 miles east of Fort Myers, Florida. It was active during World War II as an Army Air Forces Training Command airfield. It was closed on 30 September 1945, prior to the establishment of the United States Air Force as an independent service two years later in 1947. Part of the airfield is now in the Wild Turkey Strand Preserve.
The Army Air Forces Eastern Flying Training Command (EFTC) was a unit of the United States Army Air Forces. It was assigned to the Army Air Forces Training Command, stationed at Maxwell Field, Alabama. It was inactivated on 15 December 1945.
The 408th Armament Systems Group is an inactive United States Air Force (USAF) unit. Its last assignment was with Air Force Materiel Command's 308th Armament Systems Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. It was inactivated in 2010.
Army Air Forces Gunnery Schools were World War II organizations for training personnel in the skill of aerial gunnery. The several schools existed at domestic Army Airfields and gunnery ranges.
The 79th Flying Training Wing was a unit of the United States Army Air Forces. It was last assigned to the Eastern Flying Training Command, and was disbanded on 16 June 1946 at Midland Army Airfield, Texas.
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency