The 3030th AAF Base Unit (Pilot School, Specialized Very Heavy) was a

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 ...

training unit. It specialized in training the crews of

Boeing B-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Fl ...

bombers, as well as pilot transition from twin-engine fighters to four-engine aircraft. It was one of the first established training schools of B-29s in the United States Military, and was essential in proving the effectiveness and versatility of the aircraft. The unit was formed on 30 April 1944, and was discontinued on 1 November 1945.

Operational history

The 3030th AAF Base Unit was formed on 30 April 1944, at

Walker Air Force Base Walker Air Force Base is a closed United States Air Force base located three miles (5 km) south of the central business district of Roswell, New Mexico. It was opened in 1941 as an Army Air Corps flying school and was active during World ...

, as one of the first training schools of B-29 Superfortress bombers in the United States. When performing drills on the bombing target adjacent to the runway, the B-29 bombers used sand and flour bags as makeshift bombs, instead of actual ammunition. When actual rounds of ammunition or bombs needed to be used, the practice bombing and gunnery ranges due south of the air field, and on

Matagorda Island Matagorda Island (), ''Spanish for'' "thick brush," is a 38-mile (61 km) long barrier island on the Texas Gulf coast, located approximately south of Port O'Connor, in the southernmost part of Calhoun County. The traditional homeland of ...

, were used.{{Cite web, url=http://rdrnews.com/wordpress/blog/2016/09/25/remembering-walker-afb/, title=Remembering Walker AFB {{! Roswell Daily Record {{! Roswell Area News, website=rdrnews.com, access-date=2016-11-17, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118040719/http://rdrnews.com/wordpress/blog/2016/09/25/remembering-walker-afb/, archive-date=2016-11-18, url-status=dead Since some of the aircraft that the unit used were experimental or prototype B-29s, the 3030th AAF Base Unit lost many men in malfunctions of equipment on the aircraft. Plane crashes, although infrequent, happened a number of times throughout the unit's history.

References

Training units and formations of the United States Army Air Forces Military units and formations established in 1944 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945