The 99th Flying Training Squadron (99 FTS) is a training squadron 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 ...
, part of the
12th Flying Training Wing (12 FTW) based at
Randolph Air Force Base
Randolph Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Bexar County, Texas, ( east-northeast of Downtown San Antonio).
Opened in 1931, Randolph has been a flying training facility for the United States Army Air Corps, the United ...
, Texas.
Operating
Raytheon T-1A Jayhawks, the squadron prepares prospective flight instructors to teach undergraduate pilots and combat systems officers at various bases in the
Air Education and Training Command
The Air Education and Training Command (AETC) is one of the nine List of major commands of the United States Air Force, Major Commands (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force (USAF), reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force. It was esta ...
(AETC).
The squadron was formed during World War II as the first flying unit for
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
s. Known as the
Tuskegee Airmen
The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Fighter Group, 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of th ...
, the unit served with distinction in the
European Theater of Operations
The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater (warfare), theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It command ...
. After the war it served as a flight training unit until its inactivation in 1949.
It was re-activated in 1988 as a training squadron. Its planes' tails are painted red to honor the Tuskegee Airmen.
History
World War II
The 99th was originally formed as the
U.S. 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 ...
' first
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
fighter squadron, then known the 99th Pursuit Squadron. The personnel received their initial flight training at
Tuskegee, Alabama
Tuskegee ( ) is a city in Macon County, Alabama, Macon County, Alabama, United States. General Thomas Simpson Woodward, a Creek War veteran under Andrew Jackson, laid out the city and founded it in 1833. It became the county seat in the same y ...
, earning them the nickname
Tuskegee Airmen
The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Fighter Group, 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of th ...
. The squadron was originally scheduled to fly air defense over
Liberia
Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...
but was diverted to the
Mediterranean Theater of Operations
The Mediterranean Theater of Operations, United States Army (MTOUSA), originally called the North African Theater of Operations, United States Army (NATOUSA), was a military formation of the United States Army that supervised all U.S. Army for ...
.
Considered ready for combat duty, the 99th was transported to
Casablanca
Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...
, Morocco, on the and participated in the
North African campaign
The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers. It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert campaign, Desert Wa ...
. From Morocco, they traveled by train to
Oujda
Oujda (, ) is a major city in northeast Morocco near the Algeria–Morocco border, border with Algeria. Oujda is the capital city of the Oriental (Morocco), Oriental region of northeastern Morocco and has a population of 506,224 people (2024 censu ...
then to
Tunis
Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...
, the location from which they operated against the
Luftwaffe
The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
. Flyers and ground crew alike were isolated in their initial command, the
33d Fighter Group, by the racial segregation practices of the Army and group commander Colonel
William Momyer. The flight crews were given little guidance from battle-experienced pilots except for a week spent with Colonel
Philip Cochran. The 99th's first combat mission was to attack the small, but strategic, volcanic island of
Pantelleria
Pantelleria (; ), known in ancient times as Cossyra or Cossura, is an Italian island and comune in the Strait of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, southwest of Sicily and east of the Tunisian coast. On clear days Tunisia is visible from the ...
in the Mediterranean Sea, in preparation for the
Allied invasion of Sicily
The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as the Battle of Sicily and Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allies of World War II, Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis p ...
in July 1943. On Friday, 2 July 1943, Lieutenant Charles B. Hall of Brazil, Indiana, shot down the first enemy plane for the group. "It is probably the first time in history that a Negro in a pursuit plane has shot down an enemy in aerial combat."
[ Eugene Bullard was credited with one or two victories while flying with the Lafayette Flying Corps, but these were not verified. Bailey & Cony ]
The 99th moved to Sicily, where they would receive a
Distinguished Unit Citation for their performance in combat.
[
]
But Colonel Momyer reported to NAAF Deputy Commander Major General John K. Cannon that the 99th was ineffective in combat and its pilots cowardly, incompetent, or worse, resulting in a critical article in ''Time'' magazine. In response, the House Armed Services Committee
The U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee or HASC, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is responsible for funding and oversight of the Department of ...
convened a hearing to determine whether the Tuskegee Airmen experiment should be allowed to continue. Momyer characterized the 99th pilots as incompetent because they had seen little air-to-air combat. To bolster the recommendation to scrap the project, a member of the committee commissioned and then submitted into evidence, a report by the University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...
that purported to prove that African Americans were of low intelligence and incapable of handling complex situations (such as air combat).
The 99th's commander, Colonel Benjamin O. Davis Jr., forcefully denied the claims, but only the intervention of Colonel Emmett O'Donnell Jr. prevented a recommendation for disbandment of the squadron from being sent to President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
. General Henry H. Arnold
Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold (25 June 1886 – 15 January 1950) was an American General officers in the United States, general officer holding the ranks of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army and later, General of the Ai ...
ordered an evaluation of all Mediterranean Theater of Operations
The Mediterranean Theater of Operations, United States Army (MTOUSA), originally called the North African Theater of Operations, United States Army (NATOUSA), was a military formation of the United States Army that supervised all U.S. Army for ...
units flying the 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 ...
to determine the true merits of the 99th; the results showed the 99th Fighter Squadron to be at least equal to other units operating the fighter.
While operating from North Africa
North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...
, the unit helped degrade enemy fortifications on Pantelleria
Pantelleria (; ), known in ancient times as Cossyra or Cossura, is an Italian island and comune in the Strait of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, southwest of Sicily and east of the Tunisian coast. On clear days Tunisia is visible from the ...
and Tunisia.
The 99th supported Allied invasions of Sicily
Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
and Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. It provided close air support
Close air support (CAS) is defined as aerial warfare actions—often air-to-ground actions such as strafes or airstrikes—by military aircraft against hostile targets in close proximity to friendly forces. A form of fire support, CAS requires ...
to the U.S. 5th Army during its assaults on Foggia
Foggia (, ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere delle Puglie, Tavoliere, also know ...
and Anzio, and to French and Polish armies in their attack on Monastery Hill near Monte Cassino
The Abbey of Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a Catholic Church, Catholic, Benedictines, Benedictine monastery on a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Valle Latina, Latin Valley. Located on the site of the ancient ...
. On 27 and 28 January 1944, ''Luftwaffe'' Fw 190 fighter-bombers raided Anzio
Anzio (, also ; ) is a town and ''comune'' on region of Italy, about south of Rome.
Well known for its seaside resorts, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Islands of Ponza, Palmarola, and Ve ...
, where the Allies had conducted amphibious landings on 22 January. Attached to the 79th Fighter Group, eleven of the 99th Fighter Squadron's pilots shot down enemy fighters, including Captain Charles B. Hall, who claimed two shot down, bringing his aerial victory total to three. The eight fighter squadrons defending Anzio claimed a total of 32 German aircraft shot down, while the 99th claimed the highest score among them with 13.
The squadron earned its second Distinguished Unit Citation on 12–14 May 1944, while attached to the 324th Fighter Group
3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...
, attacking German positions on Monastery Hill, attacking infantry massing on the hill for a counterattack, and bombing a nearby strong point to force the surrender of the German garrison to Moroccan Goumiers.
In mid-1944, the squadron was assigned to conduct bomber escort missions. The unit supported bomber missions over Romania, France, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Yugoslavia and Greece.
During the war, the squadron was awarded three Distinguished Unit Citations.
Flight training
After the war, the squadron returned to the United States, where it flew training missions under the command of Marion Rodgers until its inactivation in 1949. It was reactivated in 1988 as a flying training unit. With the closure of Williams Air Force Base
Williams Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force (USAF) base, located in Maricopa County, Arizona, east of Chandler, Arizona, Chandler, and about southeast of Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix. It is a designated Superfund site due to a num ...
, Arizona
Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
, the squadron moved to Randolph Air Force Base
Randolph Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Bexar County, Texas, ( east-northeast of Downtown San Antonio).
Opened in 1931, Randolph has been a flying training facility for the United States Army Air Corps, the United ...
, Texas. Today it operates Raytheon T-1 Jayhawk aircraft preparing instructor pilots and instructor combat systems officers to conduct undergraduate flight training in the T-1A.
Operations
Operations: 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 ...
[
]
Lineage
* Constituted as the 99th Pursuit Squadron on 19 March 1941
: Activated on 22 March 1941
: Redesignated 99 Fighter Squadron on 15 May 1942
: Redesignated 99th Fighter Squadron, Single Engine on 28 February 1944
: Inactivated on 1 July 1949
* Redesignated 99th Flying Training Squadron on 29 April 1988
: Activated on 1 July 1988
: Inactivated on 1 April 1993
* Activated on 14 May 1993[
]
Assignments
* United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...
, 22 Mar 1941
* Air Corps Technical Training Command, 26 March 1941
* Southeast Air Corps Training Center (later Southeast Army Air Forces Training Center), 5 November 1941 (attached to III Fighter Command, 19 August–c. 2 April 1943)
* Twelfth Air Force
The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona.
The command is the air component to U ...
, 24 April 1943
* XII Air Support Command (later XII Tactical Air Command), 28 May 1943 (attached to 33d Fighter Group, 29 May 1943; 324th Fighter Group, c. 29 June 1943; 33d Fighter Group, 19 July 1943; 79th Fighter Group, 16 October 1943; 324th Fighter Group, 1 April–6 June 1944)
* 332d Fighter Group, 1 May 1944 (attached to 86th Fighter Group, 11–30 June 1944)
* 477th Composite Group, 22 June 1945[Wilson ]
* 332d Fighter Group, 1 July 1947 – 1 July 1949
* 82d Flying Training Wing, 1 June 1988
* 82d Operations Group, 15 December 1991 – 1 April 1993
* 12th Operations Group, 14 May 1993 – present[
]
Stations
* Chanute Field, Illinois, 22 March 1941
* Maxwell Field, Alabama, 5 Nov 1941
* Tuskegee Army Air Field, Alabama, 10 November 1941 – 2 April 1943
* Casablanca Airfield, French Morocco, 24 April 1943
* Qued N'ja Airfield, French Morocco, 29 April 1943
* Fardjouna Airfield, Tunisia, 7 Jun 1943
* Licata Airfield, Sicily
Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
, Italy, 28 July 1943
* Termini Imerese
Termini Imerese (; ) is a town of the Metropolitan City of Palermo on the northern coast of Sicily, in Italy.
It is one of the most important towns of the Metropolitan City of Palermo, from which it is 33 km away. The town is easily reachabl ...
, Sicily, Italy, 4 September 1943
* Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto, Sicily, Italy, 17 September 1943
* Foggia Airfield, Italy, 17 October 1943
* Madna Airfield, Italy, 22 November 1943
* Capodichino Airport, Italy, 16 January 1944
* Cercola Airfield, Italy, 2 April 1944
* Pignataro Maggiore Airfield, Italy, 10 May 1944
* Ciampino Airfield, Italy, 11 June 1944
* Orbetello
Orbetello is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Grosseto (Tuscany), Italy. It is located about south of Grosseto, on the Lagoon of Orbetello, which is home to an important Natural Reserve.
History
Orbetello was an ancient Etruscan set ...
, Italy, 17 June 1944
* Ramitelli Airfield, Italy, 6 July 1944
* Cattolica Airfield, Italy, c. 5 May–June 1945
* Godman Field, Kentucky, 22 June 1945
* Blythe Army Air Base, California (October–November 1946)
* Lockbourne Army Air Base (later Lockbourne Air Force Base), Ohio, 13 March 1946 – 1 July 1949
* Williams Air Force Base
Williams Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force (USAF) base, located in Maricopa County, Arizona, east of Chandler, Arizona, Chandler, and about southeast of Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix. It is a designated Superfund site due to a num ...
, Arizona, 1 June 1988 – 1 April 1993
* Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, (14 May 1993 – present)[
]
Aircraft
* 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 ...
(1943–1944)
* Bell P-39 Airacobra (1944)
* 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 ...
(1944–1945)
* 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 ...
(1944, 1945–1949)
* 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. ...
(1988–1993)
* Raytheon T-1A Jayhawk (1993–2024)[
]
References
; Notes
; Citations
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:99th Flying Training Squadron
Military units and formations in Texas
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