The 77th Flying Training Wing was a wing of the

United States 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 ...

. It was assigned to the

Central Flying Training Command Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center (disambiguation), center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa ...

, and was based in Texas between 1943 and its disbandment on 16 June 1946. There is no lineage between the United States Air Force

77th Aeronautical Systems Wing The 77th Aeronautical Systems Wing (77 ASW) is an inactive United States Air Force unit, last assigned to the Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Its World War II predecessor unit, the 77th Reconnaissance Grou ...

, established on 5 February 1942 as the 77th Observation Group at Salinas Army Air Base, California, and this organization.

History

On 14 August 1943, the wing was established at Foster Army Airfield, Texas. It directed Flight Schools in South Texas. The schools provided phase III advanced flying training for Air Cadets, along with advanced single-engine transition training for experienced pilots for reassignment to other flying units. Air Cadet graduates of the advanced schools were commissioned as Second Lieutenants, received their "wings" and were reassigned to

First Air Force The First Air Force (Air Forces Northern & Air Forces Space; 1 AF-AFNORTH & AFSPACE) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. Its primary mission i ...

Second Air Force The Second Air Force (2 AF; ''2d Air Force'' in 1942) is a USAF numbered air force responsible for conducting basic military and technical training for Air Force enlisted members and non-flying officers. In World War II the CONUS unit defended ...

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 ...

, or

Fourth Air Force The Fourth Air Force (4 AF) is a numbered air force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). It is headquartered at March Air Reserve Base, California. 4 AF directs the activities and supervises the training of more than 30,000 Air Force Reserv ...

operational or Replacement Training Units in the Zone of the Interior (the continental United States). As training requirements changed during the war, schools were activated and inactivated or transferred to meet those requirements.Manning, Thomas A. (2005), ''History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002''. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas The wing headquarters was moved to Bryan Army Airfield in March 1945, and disbanded there in June 1946.

Lineage

* Established as 77th Flying Training Wing on 14 August 1943 : Activated on 25 August 1943 : Disbanded on 16 June 1946 .77th Flying Training Wing, lineage and history document Air Force Historical Agency, Maxwell AFB, Alabama

Assignments

* Army Air Forces Central Flying Training Command, 25 August 1943 – 16 June 1946

Training aircraft

The schools of the wing used primarily the

North American AT-6 The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft, which was used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Air Force (USAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Ro ...

as their single-engine advanced trainer. Also some Bell P-39s,

Curtiss P-40 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 and North American P-51s were used for transition training. :

Assigned Schools

; Aloe Army Airfield, Victoria, Texas : AAF Pilot School (Advanced Single Engine), also SE Transition School : 61st Single Engine Flying Training Group : Opened: December 1942, Closed: November 1945 (AT-6, P-47) : Aircraft carried fuselage code "(Suffix)W" Sub-Field of Foster Army Airfield; had at least ten auxiliary airfields ; Bryan Army Air Base, Bryan, Texas : AAF Instructors' School (Instrument Pilot) : Opened: January 1943, Closed: November 1945 (AT-6) : Had 3 auxiliary airfields; Base closed 1947; reactivated in 1951 as Bryan Air Force Base closed 1958 ; Eagle Pass Army Airfield, Eagle Pass, Texas : AAF Pilot School (Advanced Single Engine) : 57th Single Engine Flying Training Group : Opened: October 1942, Closed: May 1945 (AT-6) : Aircraft carried fuselage code "EP";Flight Training Field Fuselage Codes of World War II
/ref> had at least three auxiliary airfields ;

Foster Field Foster Field at 1st Community Credit Union Stadium, Norris Diamond is a baseball stadium at Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas. The stadium is home to the Angelo State University Rams Baseball team. It was built in 2000 for the San ...

, Victoria, Texas : AAF Pilot School (Advanced Single Engine), also SE Transition School : 62d Single Engine Flying Training Group : 79th Bombardier Training Group : Opened: October 1941, Closed: October 1945 (AT-6, P-40, P-47, P-51) : Aircraft carried fuselage code "(Suffix)Y" had at least five auxiliary airfields; Closed 1945; became Foster Air Force Base in 1952, closed 1955. ; Matagorda Peninsula Army Airfield, Matagorda Island, Texas : AAF Pilot School (Advanced Single Engine Transition) : Opened: July 1942, Closed: April 1945 (AT-6, P-40, P-47, P-51) : Aircraft carried fuselage code "P"; Sub-Field of Foster Army Airfield; Now Pierce Airfield ; Moore Field, Mission, Texas : AAF Pilot School (Advanced Single Engine), also SE Transition School : Opened: November 1942, Closed: December 1945 (AT-6, P-39, P-40) : had at least four auxiliary airfields

Stations

* Foster Army Airfield, Texas, 25 August 1943 * Bryan Army Air Base, Texas, 26 March 1945 – 16 June 1946

References

{{USAAF Training Bases World War II Training wings of the United States Army Air Forces Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1946