The 28th Flying Training Wing was a unit 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 last assigned to the

Eastern Flying Training Command Army Air Forces Eastern Flying Training Command (EFTC) was a unit of the United States Army Air Forces. It was assigned to the Army Air Forces Training Command, stationed at Maxwell Field, Alabama. It was inactivated on 15 December 1945. Hist ...

, and was disbanded on 30 December 1945 at

Craig Field Craig Field (born 12 December 1972) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. Field played for South Sydney Rabbitohs, South Sydney, Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, Balmain Tigers and Wests Tigers. His primary position was at . ...

, Alabama. There is no lineage between the United States Air Force 28th Bomb Wing, established on 28 July 1947 at

Rapid City Army Air Base Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a ''cascade'' ...

, South Dakota, and this organization.

History

The wing commanded

Flight Schools in the Southeastern United States. Graduates of the advanced schools were commissioned as Second Lieutenants, receiving their "wings". Most of the assigned schools provided phase III advanced single-engine flying training for Air Cadets, from which the graduates would attend Replacement Training schools operated by one of the numbered air forces in single-engine fighters. From there they would be deployed overseas to the combat theaters as replacement pilots. The command also operated several specialized schools at Jackson, Tuskegee, Spence and Clewiston. Jackson Army Air Base was the home of the Royal Netherlands Flight Academy, which trained pilots for their air force. It also had a two-engine school for

B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...

medium bomber training for Dutch pilots. Riddle Field at Clewiston, Florida was a contract pilot school which taught both primary and basic flight training. Tuskegee Field, Alabama was exclusively for black air cadets, who received their basic and single-engine advanced training by black Army instructors after graduating from the primary school at

Moton Field Moton may refer to: People Given name * Moton Hopkins (born 1986), American professional gridiron football player Surname * LeVelle Moton (born 1974), American college basketball coach * Robert Russa Moton (1867–1940), African American educator a ...

, operated by the

Tuskegee Institute Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature. The campus was de ...

. 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

Lineage

* Established as 28th Flying Training Wing on 17 December 1942 : Activated on 26 December 1942 : Disbanded on 30 December 194528th Flying Training Wing, lineage and history document Air Force Historical Agency, Maxwell AFB, Alabama

Assignments

* Army Air Forces Southeast Training Center, 26 December 1942 * Army Air Forces Eastern Flying Training Command, 15 Sep 1943 – 30 Dec 1945

Training aircraft

The advanced trainer operated by the schools was the

North American AT-6 The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and other air forces ...

Texan. The contract primary school at Clewiston flew

Boeing-Stearman PT-17 The Stearman (Boeing) Model 75 is a biplane formerly used as a military trainer aircraft, of which at least 10,626 were built in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. Stearman Aircraft became a subsidiary of Boeing in 1934. Widely known ...

s. The basic schools at Jackson, Tuskegee and Spence Fields flew

Vultee BT-13 The Vultee Aircraft Corporation became an independent company in 1939 in Los Angeles County, California. It had limited success before merging with the Consolidated Aircraft Corporation in 1943, to form the Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporat ...

Valiant single-engine trainers.

Assigned pilot schools

;

, Selma, Alabama : AAF Pilot School (Advanced Single Engine) : 21st Single-Engine Flying Training Group : Opened: April 1941, Closed: December 1945 (AT-6) : Aircraft carried fuselage code "CR" Also trained Free French Air Force cadets; Advanced school closed at the end of World War II; remained open after World War II as Craig Air Force Base, closed 1977 ;

Jackson Army Airbase Hawkins Field is a joint civil-military public airport in Jackson, Mississippi. It is owned by the City of Jackson and operated by the Jackson Municipal Airport Authority. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 call ...

, Jackson, Mississippi : AAF Specialized Flying School (Basic-Advanced) : 35th Base Headquarters and Air Base Squadron : Opened: January 1941, Closed: December 1945 (BT-13, AT-6) : Also Royal Netherlands Flying School (B-25) ; Marianna Army Airfield, Marianna, Florida : AAF Pilot School (Advanced Single Engine), two-engine transition school : 17th Single-Engine Flying Training Group : Opened: January 1942, Closed: September 1944 (AT-6) : Aircraft carried fuselage code "MA" Became A-26 Invader transition school, September 1944 closed October 1945; re-opened as Graham Air Base, 1953, closed 1961 ; Napier Army Airfield, Dothan, Alabama : AAF Pilot School (Advanced Single Engine) : 18th Single-Engine Flying Training Group : Opened: December 1941, Closed: October 1945 (AT-6) : Aircraft carried fuselage code "N" Trained RAF and Mexican Air Force cadets ; Riddle Field, Clewiston, Florida : AAF Contract Pilot School (Primary-Advanced) : 75th Flying Training Detachment (Contract Pilot) : Opened: April 1943, Closed: September 1945 (PT-17, AT-6) : Operated by: Riddle-McKay Aero School ; Spence Army Airfield, Moultrie, Georgia : AAF Pilot School (Advanced Single Engine) : 7th Single-Engine Flying Training Group : Opened: April 1943, Closed: November 1945 (BT-13, AT-6) : In 1945 Basic training was transferred from Cochran (BT-13) to Spence (AT-6); Re-opened as Spence Air Base, 1951–1961 ; Tuskegee Army Airfield, Tuskegee, Alabama : AAF Pilot School (Basic-Advanced) : Opened: May 1941, Closed: September 1946 (BT-13, AT-6) : Tuskegee had Basic and Advanced Flying Schools for African American flight cadets. Primary flight training was conducted at nearby

flying

PT-17 Stearman The Stearman (Boeing) Model 75 is a biplane formerly used as a military trainer aircraft, of which at least 10,626 were built in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. Stearman Aircraft became a subsidiary of Boeing in 1934. Widely kno ...

s. Graduates then moved on to the Basic Flying School and then the Advanced Single-Engine School at Tuskegee flying

AT-6 Texan The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and other air forces ...

Stations

George Army Airfield George Field is a former World War II military airfield, located 5 miles east-northeast of Lawrenceville, Illinois. It operated as an advanced pilot training school for the United States Army Air Forces from 1942 until 1945. History George Fie ...

, Illinois, 26 December 1942 * Craig Field, Alabama, 15 August 1943 – 30 December 1945.

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Training wings of the United States Army Air Forces Military units and formations established in 1942 1942 establishments in the United States Military units and formations disestablished in 1945