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
Midland Army Airfield is a former World War II military airfield, located 8.4 miles west-southwest of Midland, Texas. It operated as a Bombardier training school for the United States Army Air Forces from 1942 until 1945.
History
Origins
Mi ...
, Texas.
It has no lineage link with the United States Air Force
79th Medical Wing, established on 13 January 1942 as the 79th Pursuit Group (Interceptor) at
Dale Mabry Army Airfield, Florida.
History
As a gunnery training wing, both enlisted flexible gunnery schools for bomber-crew defensive gunners, and pilot-training, fixed-gunnery schools were included. After graduation, air cadets were commissioned as second lieutenants, received their "wings", and were reassigned to operational or replacement training units operated by one of the four numbered air forces in the zone of interior.
[Manning, Thomas A. (2005), ''History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002''. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas ]
Lineage
* Established as 79th Flying Training Wing on 14 August 1943
: Activated on 25 August 1943
: Disbanded on 30 December 1945
[79th Flying Training Wing, lineage and history document Air Force Historical Agency, Maxwell AFB, Alabama]
Assignments
* Army Air Forces
Central Flying Training Command
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the 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 continent, also known a ...
, 25 August 1943
* Army Air Forces
Eastern Flying Training Command, 15 October-30 December 1945
Training aircraft
The schools of the wing used
Beechcraft AT-11 and
Lockheed AT-18
The Lockheed Hudson is a light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built by the American Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was initially put into service by the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and pr ...
s for airborne gunnery trainers. Trainee gunners fired at modified AT-6s and Bell RP-39Qs with nonpiercing ammunition that would break apart on contact. Also, older, noncombat-suitable
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 des ...
s and
B-17 Flying Fortress
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...
es were used in the latter part of training.
Fixed gunnery training at Matagorda Island used
North American AT-6s to attack fixed targets on the range with machine guns and concrete practice bombs.
Assigned schools
;
Harlingen Army Airfield, Harlingen, Texas
: AAF Gunnery School (Flexible)
: 93d Flexible Gunnery Training Group
: Opened: January 1942, closed: February 1946 (AT-6, AT-11, AT-18, B-24, RP-39Q)
: Used modified AT-6s (later RP-39Qs) as air gunnery targets; closed February 1946; reopened as Harlingen Air Force Base, 1950; closed 1962
;
Laredo Army Airfield, Laredo, Texas
: AAF Gunnery School (Flexible)
: 2d Aerial Gunnery Training Group
: Opened: April 1942, Closed: November 1945 (AT-6, AT-11, AT-18, B-17, B-24, RP-39Q)
: Used modified AT-6s (later RP-39Qs) as air gunnery targets; closed November 1945; reopened as Laredo Air Force Base, 1950; closed 1974
;
Matagorda Island General Bombing and Gunnery Range, Matagorda Island, Texas
: AAF Gunnery School (Fixed)
: 62d Single Engine Flying Training Group (856th, 857th, 858th, 859th) Single-Engine Gunnery Squadrons
: Opened: June 1942, Closed: April 1945 (AT-6)
www.accident-report.com: Matagorda Peninsula Army Airfield
: Also known as Matagorda Peninsula Army Airfield; Sub-Field of Foster Field, Texas
Stations
* Harlingen Army Airfield, Texas, 25 August 1943
* Maxwell Field, Alabama, 15 October–30 December 1945
References
{{Portal bar, Aviation, Military, 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 1945
1943 establishments in Texas
1945 disestablishments in Alabama