The 34th Operations Group is an inactive

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

unit. It was first activated as the 34th Flying Training Wing and supervised training of bombardiers and pilots for multiengine aircraftuntil it was disbanded on 16 June 1946 at Midland Army Air Field, Texas. The wing was reactivated in 1978 as the 34th Tactical Airlift Training Group and conducted various courses for crews of the

Lockheed C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally design ...

until inactivating in December 1961. It was activated a third time in 1994 as the 34th Operations Group and conducted airmanship training at the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and Uni ...

History

The wing supervised Training Command Flight Schools in Central and Northern Texas and Oklahoma. The assigned schools provided specialized training for bombardiers, and the wing was the home of the "West Texas Bombardier Quadrangle" schools (Childress, Midland, San Angelo, and Big Spring Army Airfields). The wing also provided specialized schools for training on the two-engine

Martin B-26 Marauder The Martin B-26 Marauder is an American twin-engined medium bomber that saw extensive service during World War II. The B-26 was built at two locations: Baltimore, Maryland, and Omaha, Nebraska, by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in t ...

medium bomber (Dodge City, Laughlin Army Airfields), and the

Consolidated 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 ...

four-engine heavy bomber (Fort Worth, Liberal Army Airfields). 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 fores in the zone of interior. As training requirements changed during the war, schools were activated, inactivated, or transferred to meet them.Manning, ''et al.'' When the

became a separate service in September 1947, former Air Corps units that had been disbanded, including this wing, were transferred to it. The wing was reconstituted in 1978 as the 34th Tactical Airlift Training Group at

Little Rock Air Force Base Little Rock Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately northeast of Little Rock, Arkansas. Little Rock AFB is the primary C-130 Hercules training base for the Department of Defense, training C-130 pilots, naviga ...

, Arkansas and supervised training courses for the

until inactivating in 1991 with the implementation of the Objective Wing organization by its parent

314th Tactical Airlift Wing The 314th Airlift Wing (314 AW) is a wing of the United States Air Force based at Little Rock Air Force Base in Little Rock, Arkansas. Its mission is to carry out Lockheed C-130 Hercules combat airlift training. The wing was activated in Novem ...

. The group was again activated as the 34th Operations Group and supervised airmanship training for the

34th Training Wing The Commandant of Cadets is a named organization of the United States Air Force based at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Until August 2006 The commander of the 34th Training Wing was "dual-hatted" as the Commandant of Cad ...

at the

, Colorado until inactivating in 2004 and transferring its mission to 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 ...

Lineage

* Established as the 34th Flying Training Wing (Bombardier, Specialized) on 17 December 1942 : Activated on 8 January 1943 : Disbanded on 16 June 194634th Flying Training Wing, lineage and history document Air Force Historical Agency, Maxwell AFB, Alabama * Reconstituted 1978 as 34th Tactical Airlift Training Group : Activated on 15 September 1978 : Inactivated on 1 December 1991 * Redesignated 34th Operations Group in 1994 : Activated on 1 October 1994 : Inactivated on 4 October 2004

Assignments

* AAF Gulf Coast Training Center (later Central Flying Training Command), 8 January 1943 – 16 June 1946 * 314th Tactical Airlift Wing, 15 September 1978 – 1 December 1991 * 34th Training Wing, 1 October 1994 – 4 October 2004

Stations

San Angelo Army Air Field San Angelo Army Airfield is an inactive United States Air Force base, about 8 miles south-southwest of San Angelo, Texas. It was active during World War II as a training airfield. It was closed on 30 November 1945. History Initially built as ...

, Texas, 8 January 1943 * Midland Army Air Field, Texas, 25 May 1945 – 16 June 1946 * Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas, 15 September 1978 – 1 December 1991 * United States Air Force Academy, Colorado, 1 October 1994 – 4 October 2004

Training aircraft

The schools of the wing used primarily the

Beechcraft AT-11 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 ...

for bombardier training. * Two-Engine training was performed on the

* Four-Engine training was performed on the

Assigned Schools

; Big Spring Army Air Field, Big Spring, Texas : AAF Bombardier School : 77th Bombardier Training Group : Opened: August 1942, Closed: December 1945 (AT-11) : One of the "West Texas Bombardier Quadrangle" schools; closed 1945, reopened 1951 as Big Spring Air Force Base; later Webb Air Force Base, closed 1977 ;

Childress Army Air Field Childress Municipal Airport is a public use airport located four nautical miles (5 mi, 7 km) west of the central business district of Childress, a city in Childress County, Texas, United States. The airport is owned by the Ci ...

, Childress, Texas : AAF Bombardier School : 79th Bombardier Training Group : Opened January 1943, Closed: December 1945 (AT-11) : One of the "West Texas Bombardier Quadrangle" schools. ;

Dodge City Army Air Field Dodge City Army Airfield, also known as Ford County Airport and Dodge City Municipal Airport, is an abandoned airfield located in Ford County, Kansas, northwest of Dodge City. History The Dodge City Chamber of Commerce, through its presi ...

, Dodge City, Kansas : AAF Pilot School (Specialized, Two-Engine) : Opened May 1943, Closed: December 1945 (B-26) : Provided B-26 Marauder training and transition training. Also trained Free French and WASP pilots on the B-26 ;

Fort Worth Army Air Field Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth (abbreviated NAS JRB Fort Worth) includes Carswell Field, a military airbase located west of the central business district of Fort Worth, in Tarrant County, Texas, United States. This military ai ...

, Fort Worth, Texas : AAF Pilot School (Specialized, 4-Engine), also Transition School : 96th Pilot Transition Training Group (4 Engine) : Opened May 1943, Closed: December 1945 (B-24) : Also known as Tarrant Army Airfield; performed B-32 Dominator training in 1945; remained open after the war as Carswell AFB, closed 1993, now NAS Fort Worth (Navy), Carswell Field, (USAFR) ;

Laughlin Army Air Field Laughlin Air Force Base is a facility of the United States Air Force located east of Del Rio, Texas. Overview Laughlin AFB, the largest pilot training base in the US Air Force, is home to the 47th Flying Training Wing of the Air Education and ...

, Del Rio, Texas : AAF Pilot School (Specialized, Two-Engine) : Opened January 1943, Closed: August 1945 (B-26) : Provided B-26 Marauder training and transition training. Also trained Free French and WASP pilots on the B-26; Became A-26 Invader school, August 1945; remained open after the war as Laughlin Air Force Base. ;

Liberal Army Air Field Liberal Army Airfield was a World War II Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber training base of the United States Army Air Forces' Second Air Force. It is currently the city-owned Liberal Mid-America Regional Airport. History The first tangib ...

, Liberal, Kansas : AAF Pilot School (Specialized, Four-Engine) : Opened May 1943, Closed: September 1945 (B-24) : Provided 4-engine training on the B-24 Liberator and transition training. ; Midland Army Air Field, Midland, Texas : AAF Instructors School (Bombardiers) : AAF Bombardier School : 78th Bombardier Training Group : Opened January 1942, Closed: December 1945 (AT-11) : One of the "West Texas Bombardier Quadrangle" schools. ;

, San Angelo, Texas : AAF Pilot School (Basic) : 49th Basic Flying Training Group : AAF Bombardier School : 76th Bombardier Training Group : Opened: February 1941, Closed: August 1945 (BT-14, BT-15, AT-11) : Basic school closed March 1942; One of the "West Texas Bombardier Quadrangle" schools.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* {{USAAF Training Bases World War II Operations groups of the United States Air Force