The 434th Flying Training Squadron is part of the 47th Flying Training Wing based at

Laughlin Air Force Base Laughlin Air Force Base is a facility of the United States Air Force located east of Del Rio, Texas. Overview Laughlin AFB, the largest Aviator, pilot training base in the US Air Force, is home to the 47th Flying Training Wing of the Air Educa ...

, Texas. It operates

Beechcraft T-6 Texan II The Beechcraft T-6 Texan II is a single-engine turboprop aircraft built by Textron Aviation. It is a license-built Pilatus PC-9, a trainer aircraft. The T-6 replaced the United States Air Force's Cessna T-37B Tweet and the United States Nav ...

aircraft conducting flight training.

History

World War II

The squadron was activated on 15 October 1943 at Grand Central Air Terminal. It was initially equipped with the

Lockheed P-38F Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinc ...

and trained for combat to serve as an air defense organization for the west coast as part of

IV Fighter Command The IV Fighter Command is a disbanded United States Air Force unit. It was activated under Fourth Air Force at March Field, California in June 1941, when it replaced a provisional organization. It was responsible for training fighter units and ...

. 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 assigned to

VIII Fighter Command The VIII Fighter Command was a United States Army Air Forces unit of command above the wings and below the numbered air force. Its primary mission was command of fighter operations within the Eighth Air Force. In the World War II European Thea ...

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces S ...

and moved to

RAF Wattisham Royal Air Force Wattisham or more simply RAF Wattisham was, between 1939 and 1993, the name of a Royal Air Force station located in East Anglia just outside the village of Wattisham, south of Stowmarket in Suffolk, England. During the Cold W ...

, England, in April–May 1944. From England, the squadron escorted 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

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...

and

Consolidated B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models desi ...

escort activities and fighter sweeps until the

Normandy invasion Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 ( D-Day) with the ...

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 during the summer and fall of 1944. The unit flew area patrols to support the breakthrough at

Saint-Lô Saint-Lô (, ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in northwest France, the capital of the Manche department in the region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy.airborne attack on the Netherlands in September. The unit continued escort and fighter-bomber activities from October to mid-December 1944. It converted to

P-51 The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by a team headed by James H. Kin ...

s between 10 September and 1 October, using both types on missions until conversion was completed. Participated in the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive or Unternehmen Die Wacht am Rhein, Wacht am Rhein, was the last major German Offensive (military), offensive Military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western ...

(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 in March. Returned to

Camp Kilmer Camp Kilmer is a former United States Army camp in Central New Jersey 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 Tra ...

New Jersey in November 1945, and was inactivated in 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

McDonnell F-4 Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber that was developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bowers ...

crews for assignment in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

. In August 1972, the squadron deployed to Thailand, where it served under operational control of 49th Tactical Fighter Wing. It engaged in combat over North and South Vietnam. 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 to 1991, the squadron trained pilots, weapon systems officers, and

forward air control Forward air control is the provision of guidance to close air support (CAS) 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 (FAC). ...

lers.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 434th Fighter Squadron on 12 October 1943 : Activated on 15 October 1943 : Inactivated on 1 December 1945 * Redesignated 434th Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 15 October 1952 : Activated on 1 December 1952 : Redesignated 434th Fighter-Day Squadron on 15 February 1954 : Redesignated 434th Tactical Fighter Squadron on 1 July 1958 : Redesignated 434th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron on 1 October 1975 : Inactivated on 3 May 1991 * Redesignated 434th Fighter Training Squadron on 21 June 2007 : Activated on 19 July 2007 : Redesignated 434th Flying Training Squadron on unknown date

Assignments

* 479th Fighter Group, 15 October 1943 – 1 December 1945 * 479th Fighter-Bomber Group (later 479th Fighter-Day Group), 1 December 1952 * 479th Fighter-Day Wing (later 479th Tactical Fighter Wing), 8 October 1957 * 35th Tactical Fighter Wing, 1 October 1971 (attached to 49th Tactical Fighter Wing, 12 August–6 October 1972) * 479th Tactical Training Wing, 1 January 1977 – 3 May 1991 * 47th Operations Group, 19 July 2007 – present

Stations

* Grand Central Air Terminal, California, 15 October 1943 * Lomita Flight Strip, California, 6 February 1944 * Santa Maria Army Air Field, California, 8–18 April 1944 *

(AAF-377),Station number in Anderson. England, 15 May 1944 – c. 23 November 1945 *

, New Jersey, 29 November–1 December 1945 *

George Air Force Base George Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base located within the city limits, 8 miles northwest, of central Victorville, California, about 75 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California. Established by the United States Army Air C ...

, California, 1 December 1952 : Deployed to Moron Air Base, Spain, 9 August–17 December 1961 : Deployed to

Ching Chuan Kang Air Base Ching Chuan Kang Air Base ( zh, t=清泉崗空軍基地, CCK) is a Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF) base located in Taichung, Taiwan. It is the home to the 3rd Tactical Fighter Wing, with three squadrons of AIDC F-CK-1 Ching-kuo f ...

, Taiwan, April 1965 – February 1966 : Deployed to

Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base is a Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) facility in central Thailand, approximately 144 miles (240 km) northwest of Bangkok in Takhli District, Nakhon Sawan Province. Units Takhli is the home of the Royal Thai ...

, Thailand, 12 August–6 October 1972 *

Holloman Air Force Base Holloman Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base established in 1942 located six miles (10 km) southwest of the central business district of Alamogordo, which is the county seat of Otero County, New Mexico, United States. The b ...

, New Mexico, 1 January 1977 – 3 May 1991 *

, Texas, 19 July 2007 – present

Aircraft

* Lockheed P-38 Lightning (1943–1944) * North American F-51 Mustang (1944–1945, 1952–1953) *

Republic P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter, and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...

(1945) *

North American F-86 Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Sov ...

(1953–1955) *

North American F-100 Super Sabre The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft designed and produced by the aircraft manufacturer North American Aviation. The first of the Century Series of American jet fighters, it was the first United ...

(1954–1959) *

Lockheed F-104 Starfighter The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic interceptor. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the " Century Series" of fighter aircraft for the United States Air Force (USAF), it was developed into an ...

(1959–1962) * McDonnell F-4 Phantom II (1966–1976) *

Northrop T-38 Talon The Northrop T-38 Talon is a two-seat, twinjet Supersonic aircraft, supersonic jet trainer designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Northrop Corporation. It was the world's first supersonic trainer as well as the most produced. ...

(1977–1991, 2007–2012) *

(2012 – present)

References

; Notes ; Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * {{US Air Force navbox Military units and formations in Texas 0434 Fighter squadrons of the United States Air Force