56th Training Squadron
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The 56th Training Squadron is an active
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
unit. It is assigned to the
56th Operations Group The 56th Operations Group is a unit of the United States Air Force, and the flying component of the 56th Fighter Wing. The group is the direct descendant of the World War II 56th Fighter Group of the United States Army Air Forces. The 56th ...
at
Luke Air Force Base Luke Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States., effective 20 December 2007 It is located west of the central business district of Glendale, Arizona, Glendale, and west of Phoenix, Arizona, P ...
, Arizona. The squadron was first activated at Hamilton Field, California in 1941 as the 56th Pursuit Squadron. It deployed to Alaska where it earned a
Distinguished Unit Citation The Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the uniformed services of the United States, and those of allied countries, for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed e ...
in combat during the Aleutian Campaign. It returned to the United States, where it became a training unit and was disbanded in a general reorganization of the
Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
in 1944. The squadron was redesignated the 56th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron and activated late in 1952 as an
air defense Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-lau ...
unit in the upper midwestern United States. It initially flew
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 ...
s, but converted to the
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 ...
. It continued to fly the Starfighter until
Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for air defense of the continental United States. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air De ...
began to phase them out of its inventory. In 1979, the squadron was redesignated as the 56th Tactical Training Squadron. It dropped the "Tactical" from its designation in 1991. Since 1979, except for a brief break in 1993–1994, the squadron has conducted academic training for United States Air Force fighter pilots, earning six
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award The Air and Space Outstanding Unit Award (ASOUA) is one of the unit awards of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. It was established in 1954 as the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award and was the first independent Air Force ...
s along the way.


Mission

The 56th Training Squadron trains almost half of the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
's new fighter pilots each year. It provides academic and ground training for pilots transitioning into the
General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superio ...
at
Luke Air Force Base Luke Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States., effective 20 December 2007 It is located west of the central business district of Glendale, Arizona, Glendale, and west of Phoenix, Arizona, P ...
, and at the
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military reservation in
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. Courses provided by the unit include initial instruction, transition courses, senior officer courses, Thunderbird/aggressor pilot instruction,
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). ...
, night systems and F-16 Block 50 specialized conversion courses. It also provides academic, simulator and live mission training for upgrading weapons directors. It establishes quality control of training materials and manages all international military student affairs and aircrew training devices for the
56th Fighter Wing The 56th Fighter Wing is a fighter wing in the United States Air Force. It is the world's largest Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II wing and one of two Air Force F-35 training locations. Additionally, it is one of two active-duty F-16 training b ...
.


History


World War II

The squadron was activated at Hamilton Field, California as the 56th Pursuit Squadron on 15 January 1941,Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 116–117 It trained with
Curtiss P-36 Hawk The Curtiss P-36 Hawk, also known as the Curtiss Hawk Model 75, is an American-designed and built fighter aircraft of the 1930s and 40s. A contemporary of the Hawker Hurricane and Messerschmitt Bf 109, it was one of the first of a new generation ...
s and
Curtiss P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter-bomber that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry ...
s, then moved to Everett Army Air Field, where it served as a part of the
air defense Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-lau ...
force for the northwest Pacific coast during the first few months of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The squadron was redesignated as a fighter unit in May 1942. On 20 June 1942, the air echelon of the 56th took its newly assigned
Bell P-39 Airacobra The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by th ...
s to
Nome, Alaska Nome (; , , also ''Sitŋazuaq'', ''Siqnazuaq'') is a city in the Nome Census Area, Alaska, Nome Census Area in the Unorganized Borough, Alaska, Unorganized Borough of the US state of Alaska. The city is located on the southern Seward Peninsula c ...
, where it served in combat against the Japanese forces that invaded the Aleutian Islands during the summer of 1942. For operations against the Japanese in November 1942 the squadron received a
Distinguished Unit Citation The Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the uniformed services of the United States, and those of allied countries, for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed e ...
. The air echelon returned to the United States in December 1942 and rejoined the group, which had been assigned to
Third Air Force The Third Air Force (Air Forces Europe) (3 AF) is a Numbered Air Force, numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA). Its headquarters is Ramstein Air Base, Germany. It is responsible for all U ...
in Louisiana, and became a replacement training unit (RTU) for
North American P-51 Mustang 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 ...
pilots. RTUs were oversized units training individual
pilots An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they are ...
or
aircrew Aircrew are personnel who operate an aircraft while in flight. The composition of a flight's crew depends on the type of aircraft, plus the flight's duration and purpose. Commercial aviation Flight deck positions In commercial aviatio ...
s. In early May 1943, the 54th Fighter Group began a split operation, with
headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...
and the 56th and 57th Fighter Squadrons relocating to Bartow Army Air Field, Florida, while the group's other squadron was at Hillsborough Army Air Field. However, the
Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
(AAF) was finding that standard military units, based on relatively inflexible tables of organization, were proving less well adapted to the training mission. Accordingly, a more functional system was adopted in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit. As a result, in 1944 the squadron was disbanded as the AAF converted to the AAF Base Unit system. The units at Bartow were replaced by the 340th AAF Base Unit (Replacement Training Unit, Fighter),


Cold War

The squadron was reconstituted as the 56th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, activated at
Selfridge AFB Selfridge Air National Guard Base or Selfridge ANGB is an Air National Guard installation located in Harrison Township, Michigan, near Mount Clemens. Selfridge Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the Uni ...
, Michigan in November 1952, assigned to the
4708th Air Defense Wing The 4708th Air Defense Wing is a discontinued United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the 30th Air Division of Air Defense Command (ADC) at Selfridge Air Force Base (AFB), Michigan, where it was discontinued in 1956. I ...
, and equipped with
North American F-86F 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 ...
s.Cornett & Johnson, p. 116 In February 1953 the 56th was assigned to the 575th Air Defense Group, and in July converted to
radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...
equipped and
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armed F-86Ds. On 18 August 1955, as part of
Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for air defense of the continental United States. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air De ...
's Project Arrow, which was designed to bring back on the active list the fighter units which had compiled memorable records in the two world wars., the 56th FIS moved on paper from Selfridge to
Wright-Patterson AFB Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place just east of Dayton, Ohio, in Greene and Montgomery counties. It includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur Wr ...
, Ohio, where it assumed the mission, personnel and aircraft of the
97th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron The 97th Flying Training Squadron is part of the 340th Flying Training Group and is the Reserve associate to the 80th Flying Training Wing based at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas. The 97th flew combat in the European Theater of Operations and ...
.Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 323 At Wright-Patterson the squadron was assigned to the
4706th Air Defense Wing The 4706th Air Defense Wing is a discontinued United States Air Force (USAF) organization. Its last assignment was with the 37th Air Division of Air Defense Command (ADC) at O'Hare International Airport (IAP), Illinois where it was discontinued in ...
until the spring of 1956 when it transferred to the
58th Air Division The 58th Air Division (58th AD) is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command, based at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. It was inactivated on 1 February 1959. History World War II B-29 ...
. The squadron was the primary air defense unit for southwestern Ohio and the research facilities at Wright-Patterson. In the Spring of 1957, the 56th FIS began re-equipping with the North American
F-86L Sabre The North American F-86D/K/L Sabre (initially known as the YF-95 and widely known informally as the "Sabre Dog") is an American transonic jet interceptor aircraft, interceptor. Developed for the United States Air Force in the late 1940s, it was ...
, an improved version of the F-86D which incorporated
data link A data link is a means of telecommunications link, connecting one location to another for the purpose of transmitting and receiving digital information (data communication). It can also refer to a set of electronics assemblies, consisting of a t ...
to communicate directly with
Semi Automatic Ground Environment The Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) was a system of mainframe computer, large computers and associated computer network, networking equipment that coordinated data from many radar sites and processed it to produce a single unified image ...
(SAGE) computers. The unit became proficient with both the F-86L and SAGE, and won an Air Defense Command "A" award for live rocket SURE-FIRE missions in the late summer of 1957. The transition into the F-86L was short-lived however, as the squadron began transition into the "missile-with-a-man-in-it", the
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 ...
in May 1958, becoming the second ADC squadron equipped with the Starfighter. The squadron received both single seat F-104As and the two-seat, dual-control, combat trainer F-104B. The performance of the F-104B was almost identical to that of the F-104A, but the lower internal fuel capacity reduced its effective range considerably. The 56th FIS was under operational control of
30th Air Division The 30th Air Division (30th AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command, assigned to Tenth Air Force, being stationed at Sioux City Air National Guard Base, Sioux City Municipal Air ...
(Air Defense), before being transferred to the
Detroit Air Defense Sector The Detroit Air Defense Sector (DEADS) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the Air Defense Command (ADC) 26th Air Division at Custer Air Force Station (AFS), Michigan. It was inactivated on 1 Apri ...
in April 1959. It was found that the F-104A was not very well suited for service as an interceptor. Its short interception range was a problem for North American air defense, and its lack of all-weather capability made it incapable of operating in conjunction with the SAGE system. Its service with the ADC was consequently quite brief, and the F-104As of the 56th FIS were transferred to the Air National Guard. With the transfer of the Starfighters, ADC shut down operations at Wright-Patterson and the 56th FIS was inactivated at Wright-Patterson on 1 March 1960.


Training

In 1979, the squadron became the 56th Tactical Training Squadron and was assigned to the 56th Tactical Fighter Wing at
MacDill Air Force Base MacDill Air Force Base (MacDill AFB) is an active United States Air Force installation located 4 miles (6.4 km) south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida. The "host wing" for MacDill AFB is the 6th Air Refueling Wing (6 ARW), assig ...
, Florida to conduct academic training for
F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superio ...
fighter pilots until 1993 when it was inactivated. From the spring of 1994, performed the same function at
Luke Air Force Base Luke Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States., effective 20 December 2007 It is located west of the central business district of Glendale, Arizona, Glendale, and west of Phoenix, Arizona, P ...
, Arizona as well as for
McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force (USAF) selected McDonnell Douglas's desi ...
pilots in 1994 and 1995. The squadron has earned six
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award The Air and Space Outstanding Unit Award (ASOUA) is one of the unit awards of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. It was established in 1954 as the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award and was the first independent Air Force ...
s for its performance of this mission.


Lineage

* Constituted as the 56th Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor) on 20 November 1940 : Activated on 15 January 1941 : Redesignated 56th Fighter Squadron, Single Engine on 15 May 1942 : Disbanded on 1 May 1944 * Reconstituted and redesignated 56th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, on 14 November 1952 : Activated on 27 November 1952 : Discontinued on 1 March 1960 * Redesignated 56th Tactical Training Squadron on 25 September 1979 : Activated on 1 October 1979 : Redesignated 56th Training Squadron on 1 November 1991 : Inactivated on 20 July 1993 * Activated on 1 April 1994


Assignments

* 54th Pursuit Group (later Fighter Group), 15 January 1941 – 1 May 1944 * 4708th Defense Wing, 27 November 1952 * 575th Air Defense Group, 16 February 1953 * 4706th Air Defense Wing, 18 August 1955 *
58th Air Division The 58th Air Division (58th AD) is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command, based at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. It was inactivated on 1 February 1959. History World War II B-29 ...
, 1 March 1956 * 30th Air Division, 1 September 1958 * Detroit Air Defense Sector, 1 April 1959 – 1 March 1960 * 56th Tactical Fighter Wing (later 56th Tactical Training Wing, 56th Fighter Wing), 1 October 1979 * 56th Operations Group, 1 November 1991 – 20 July 1993 * 56th Operations Group, 1 April 1994 – present


Stations

* Hamilton Field, Harding Field, Louisiana, 31 January 1942 (air echelon operated from Santa Ana Army Air Base">Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport">Harding Field, Louisiana, 31 January 1942 (air echelon operated from Santa Ana Army Air Base, California, 28 May 1942 – 12 June 1942, Nome, Alaska, 20 June 1942 – 20 October 1942, and Elmendorf Field, Alaska Territory, 23 October 1942 – 21 December 1942) * Bartow Army Air Field, Florida, May 1943-1 May 1944 * Selfridge Air Force Base, Michigan, 27 November 1952 * Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, 18 August 1955 – 1 March 1960 * MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, 1 October 1979 – 20 July 1993 * Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, 1 April 1994 – present


Aircraft

* Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, 1941 * Bell P-39 Airacobra, 1941–1943 * North American P-51 (later F-51) Mustang, 1943–1944, 1952–1953 * F-86F Sabre, 1953 * F-86D Sabre, 1953–1957 * F-86L Sabre, 1957–1958 * Lockheed F-104A/B Starfighter, 1958–1960


Awards and campaigns


References

; Notes


Bibliography

* Buss, Lydus H.(ed), Sturm, Thomas A., Volan, Denys, and McMullen, Richard F., History of Continental Air Defense Command and Air Defense Command July to December 1955, Directorate of Historical Services, Air Defense Command, Ent AFB, CO, 1956 * * * *


Further reading


Grant, C.L., The Development of Continental Air Defense to 1 September 1954, (1961), USAF Historical Study No. 126
* Vol II * * USAF Aerospace Defense Command publication, The Interceptor, January 1979 (Volume 21, Number 1). {{Aerospace Defense Command, state=collapsed Military units and formations in Ohio 0056