The 94th Flying Training Squadron is part of the

306th Flying Training Group The 306th Flying Training Group (306 FTG) is a unit of the United States Air Force, assigned to Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The group is stationed at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) near Colorado Springs, Colorado. T ...

based at

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academies, United States service academy in Air Force Academy, Colorado, Air Force Academy Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs. I ...

, Colorado. It conducts glider training for Air Force Academy cadets. The 94 FTS conducts thousands of sorties every year at the world's busiest VFR airfield. It is the parent squadron of the

Air Force Academy An air force academy or air academy is a national institution that provides initial officer training, possibly including undergraduate level education, to air force officer cadets who are preparing to be commissioned officers in a national air forc ...

's advanced soaring teams: the Aerobatic Demonstration Team and the elite Sailplane Racing Team. The squadron is augmented by the reserve 70th Flying Training Squadron.

History

World War II

Activated in June 1943 under

I Troop Carrier Command The I Troop Carrier Command is a disbanded United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Continental Air Forces, at Stout Field, Indiana, where it was disbanded in November 1945, and its resources transferred to IX Troop Carrier C ...

and equipped with

Douglas C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II. During the war the C-47 was used for tro ...

s. Trained in various parts of the eastern United States until the end of 1943. Deployed to England and assigned to

IX Troop Carrier Command The IX Troop Carrier Command was a United States Army Air Forces unit. Its last assignment was with the Ninth Air Force, based at Greenville Army Air Base, South Carolina. It was inactivated on 31 March 1946 as a component command of the Ninth ...

. Prepared for the

invasion An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory (country subdivision), territory controlled by another similar entity, ...

of Nazi-occupied Europe. Began

operations Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

by dropping

paratroop A paratrooper or military parachutist is a soldier trained to conduct military operations by parachuting directly into an area of operations, usually as part of a large airborne forces unit. Traditionally paratroopers fight only as light infa ...

s of the

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division (military), division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault military operation, operations. The 101st is designed to plan, coordinat ...

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

(6 June 1944) and releasing gliders with reinforcements on the following day. The unit 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 ...

and a French citation for these missions. After the Normandy invasion the squadron ferried supplies in the United Kingdom. After moving to France in September, the unit dropped paratroops of the

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into hostile areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

near

Nijmegen Nijmegen ( , ; Nijmeegs: ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and the ninth largest of the Netherlands as a whole. Located on the Waal River close to the German border, Nijmegen is one of the oldest cities in the ...

and towed gliders carrying reinforcements during the airborne attack on the Netherlands. In December, it 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 ...

by releasing gliders with supplies for the 101st Airborne Division near

Bastogne Bastogne (; ; ; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Bastogne, Longvilly, Noville, Villers-la-Bonne-Eau, and Wardi ...

. When the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

made the air assault across the

Rhine River The Rhine ( ) is one of the major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Swiss-Austrian border. From Lake Cons ...

in March 1945, each aircraft towed two gliders with troops of the

17th Airborne Division The 17th Airborne Division, "The Golden Talons", was an airborne infantry division of the United States Army during World War II, commanded by Major General William M. Miley. Activated in April 1943, the division took part in the Knollwood ...

and released them near

Wesel Wesel () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel (district), Wesel district. Geography Wesel is situated at the confluence of the Lippe River and the Rhine. Division of the city Suburbs of Wesel i ...

. The squadron also hauled food, clothing, medicine, gasoline, ordnance equipment, and other supplies to the front lines and evacuated patients to rear zone hospitals. It converted from C-47s to

Curtiss C-46 Commando The Curtiss C-46 Commando is a low-wing, twin-engine aircraft derived from the Curtiss CW-20 pressurized high-altitude airliner design. Early press reports used the name "Condor III" but the Commando name was in use by early 1942 in company p ...

s and the new aircraft to transport displaced persons from Germany to France and

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

after

V-E Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official surrender of all German military operations ...

. Returned to the U.S. during the period July–September 1945, and trained with C-46 aircraft until inactivated.

Reserve operations

The squadron was activated in the reserves in 1949. It was

mobilized Mobilization (alternatively spelled as mobilisation) is the act of assembling and readying military troops and supplies for war. The word ''mobilization'' was first used in a military context in the 1850s to describe the preparation of the ...

in 1951, but immediately inactivated and its personnel used as fillers for other units.

Airmanship training

The squadron has taught soaring to cadets at the

since October 1983.

Campaigns and decorations

* Campaigns: Rome-Arno, Normandy; Northern France; Southern France; Rhineland; Ardennes-Alsace; Central Europe. * Decorations:

. France, -7Jun 1944. French Croix de Guerre with Palm. -7Jun 1944; 15 Aug 1944. French Fourragere.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 94th Troop Carrier Squadron on 14 May 1943 : Activated on 1 June 1943 : Inactivated on 31 July 1946 * Redesignated 94th Troop Carrier Squadron, Medium on 19 May 1949 : Activated in the reserve on 27 June 1949 : Ordered to active service on 1 April 1951 : Inactivated on 3 April 1951 * Redesignated 94th Airmanship Training Squadron on 30 September 1983 : Activated on 1 October 1983 : Redesignated 94th Flying Training Squadron on 31 October 1994

Assignments

439th Troop Carrier Group 439th may refer to: *439th (Tyne) Light Air Defence Regiment, Royal Artillery, a Volunteer unit of the British Army *439th Airlift Wing, an active United States Air Force Reserve unit *439th Bombardment Squadron, a B-26 Marauder medium bombardment ...

, 1 June 1943 *

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 ...

, 10 June–31 July 1946 * 439th Troop Carrier Group, 27 June 1949 – 3 April 1951 *

, 1 October 1983 * 34th Operations Group, 31 October 1994 *

, 4 Oct 2004 – present

Stations

Alliance Army Air Field An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

, Nebraska, 1 June 1943 *

Sedalia Army Air Field Sedalia is the name of several places: Canada *Sedalia, Alberta, a hamlet in Alberta, Canada United States *Sedalia, Colorado *Sedalia, Indiana *Sedalia, Kentucky *Sedalia, Missouri, the largest US city named Sedalia *Sedalia, North Carolina * Sed ...

, Missouri, 15 June 1943 * Alliance Army Air Field, Nebraska, 2 August 1943 * Laurinburg-Maxton Army Air Base, North Carolina, 16 December 1943 *

Baer Field Baer (or Bär, from ) or Van Baer is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: Baer * Alan Baer, American tuba player * Arthur "Bugs" Baer (1886–1969), American journalist and humorist * Buddy Baer (1915–1986), American boxer * ...

, Indiana, 2–14 February 1944 *

RAF Balderton Royal Air Force Balderton or more simply RAF Balderton was a former Royal Air Force satellite station located south of Newark-on-Trent, sandwiched between the now extinct Great Northern Railway (GNR) Bottesford-Newark line and the A1 road ...

(AAF-482),Station number in Anderson. England, 10 March 1944 *

RAF Upottery RAF Upottery (also known as Smeatharpe) is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station in East Devon, England. The airfield is located near the village of Upottery, approximately north-northeast of the town of Ho ...

(AAF-462), England, 26 April 1944 *

Juvincourt Airfield Juvincourt Airfield is an abandoned military airfield, which is located near the commune of Juvincourt-et-Damary in the Aisne department of northern France. Built originally as a grass airfield by the French Air Force before World War II, Ju ...

(A-68),Station number in Johnson. France, 8 September 1944 *

Lonray Airfield Lonray Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield, which is located near the commune of Lonrai in the Orne region of northern France. Located just outside Lonrai, the United States Army Air Force established a temporary airfield o ...

(A-45), France, 28 September 1944 * Chateaudun Airfield (A-39), France, 4 November 1944 – 7 September 1945 * Baer Field, Indiana, 22 September 1945 * Sedalia Army Air Field, Missouri, 7 October 1945 – 10 June 1946 * Selfridge Air Force Base, Michigan, 27 June 1949 – 3 April 1951 * USAF Academy, Colorado, 1 Oct 1983 – presentStation information in Haulman, except as noted.

Aircraft

* Douglas C-47 Skytrain (1943–1945) * Curtiss C-46 Commando (1945–1946) *

North American T-6 Texan 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 ...

(1949–1950) *

Beechcraft T-7 Navigator The Beechcraft Model 18 (or "Twin Beech", as it is also known) is a 6- to 11-seat, twin-engined, low-wing, tailwheel light aircraft manufactured by the Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. Continuously produced from 1937 to November ...

(1949–1951) * Beechcraft T-11 Kansan (1949–1951) * Curtiss TC-46 Commando (1949–1951) * de Havilland Canada UV-18 Twin Otter (1983 - 1994) * LET TG-10B Blanik (2002–2012) * LET TG-10C Blanik (2002–2011) * Schempp-Hirth TG-15A Duo Discus (2008–present) * Schempp-Hirth TG-15B Discus 2 (2008–present) *

DG Flugzeugbau TG-16A The DG Flugzeugbau DG-1000 is a two-seater class Glider (aircraft), glider built by DG Flugzeugbau. It first flew in July 2000 at Speyer in Germany. There are four models, with 18- and 20-metre wings of HQK-51 profile. The latest DG-1001 variant ...

(2011–present)

References

; Notes ; Citations

Bibliography

* * * * {{cite book, editor=Maurer, Maurer, title=Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II, orig-year=1969, url= http://media.defense.gov/2010/Dec/02/2001329899/-1/-1/0/AFD-101202-002.pdf , archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161220180455/http://media.defense.gov/2010/Dec/02/2001329899/-1/-1/0/AFD-101202-002.pdf , url-status= dead , archive-date= 20 December 2016 , edition= reprint, year=1982, publisher=Office of Air Force History, location=Washington, DC, isbn=0-405-12194-6, oclc=72556, lccn=70605402 Military units and formations in Colorado United States Air Force Academy 0094