The 474th Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 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. Its first predecessor is the 474th Bombardment Squadron, which served as a

medium bomber A medium bomber is a military bomber Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft designed to operate with medium-sized Aerial bomb, bombloads over medium Range (aeronautics), range distances; the name serves to distinguish this type from larger heavy bombe ...

training unit from 1942 to 1944, when it was disbanded in a reorganization of

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 units. The

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

's second predecessor is the 474th Tactical Fighter Squadron, which flew

North American F-86 Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing So ...

and

North American F-100 Super Sabre The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard (ANG) until 1979. The first of the Century Series of ...

fighters from October 1957 until March 1959, when it was inactivated and transferred its personnel and equipment to another unit. The two squadrons were consolidated in September 1985.

History

World War II training operations

The 474th Bombardment Squadron was activated on 17 July 1942 at

Barksdale Field Barksdale may refer to: Places *Barksdale, Mississippi, an unincorporated community *Barksdale, Texas, an unincorporated community * Barksdale, Wisconsin, a town ** Barksdale (community), Wisconsin, an unincorporated community * Barksdale Air Force ...

, Louisiana as one of the original components of the 335th Bombardment Group, and was equipped with

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 ...

s. It became part of

Third Air Force The Third Air Force (Air Forces Europe) (3 AF) is a 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.S. air forces in E ...

, which was responsible for the majority of

training for the

(AAF).Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 214-215.Craven & Cate, Introduction, p. xxxvi The

drew its

cadre Cadre may refer to: *Cadre (military), a group of officers or NCOs around whom a unit is formed, or a training staff *Cadre (politics), a politically controlled appointment to an institution in order to circumvent the state and bring control to th ...

from elements of the

17th Bombardment Group The 17th Bombardment Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. The group was last stationed at Hurlburt Field, Florida. The Group is a direct successor to the 17th Pursuit Group, one of the 15 original combat air groups formed by the ...

, which was in the process of converting to the B-26 from the

North American 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 e ...

. The 474th acted as a Replacement Training Unit (RTU) for the B-26. The RTU was an oversized unit which trained individual

pilots An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

and

aircrew Aircrew, also called flight crew, are personnel who operate an aircraft while in flight. The composition of a flight's crew depends on the type of aircraft, plus the flight's duration and purpose. Commercial aviation Flight deck positions ...

s, after which they would be assigned to operational units. However, the AAF found that standard military units, whose manning was based on relatively inflexible

tables of organization A table of organization and equipment (TOE or TO&E) is the specified organization, staffing, and equipment of units. Also used in acronyms as 'T/O' and 'T/E'. It also provides information on the mission and capabilities of a unit as well as the un ...

were not well adapted to the training mission. Accordingly, it adopted a more functional system in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit, manned according to the base's specific needs. As this reorganization was implemented in the Spring of 1944, he 335th Group, its components and supporting units at Barksdale, were disbanded on 1 May and replaced by the 331st AAF Base Unit (Medium, Bombardment). The squadron became Section O of the new base unit.

Fighter operations

The 474th Fighter-Day Squadron was activated at

George Air Force Base George Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base located within the city limits, 8 miles northwest, of central Victorville, California, about 75 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California. Established by the United States Army Air Co ...

, California as the fourth North American F-86H Sabre squadron of the

413th Fighter-Day Wing The 413th Flight Test Group (413 FTG) is a United States Air Force Air Force Reserve Command unit. It is stationed at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia as a tenant unit. The 413 FTG conducts flight tests on aircraft after th ...

in October 1957.''See'', Ravenstein, pp. 222-223 (start of assignment to 413th Wing), Mueller, p.191 (start of assignment at George AFB). Its primary mission was training for other squadrons in the wing. It upgraded to

s in 1958 and became an operational squadron. It was inactivated and its personnel and equipment were transferred to the 309th Tactical Fighter Squadron, which moved to George from

Turner Air Force Base Turner may refer to: People and fictional characters *Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name *Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name *One who uses a lathe for turnin ...

, Georgia on 15 March 1959.''See'', Ravenstein, pp. 222-223 (end of assignment to 413th Wing), Mueller, p.191 (end of assignment at George AFB). The squadrons were consolidated in inactive status as the 474th Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron on 19 September 1985.Department of the Air Force/MPM Letter 662q, 19 September 1985, Subject: Reconstitution, Redesignation, and Consolidation of Selected Air Force Tactical Squadrons

Lineage

; 474th Bombardment Squadron * Constituted as the 474th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) on 9 July 1942 : Activated on 17 July 1942 : Disbanded on 1 May 1944 : Reconstituted on 19 September 1985 and consolidated with the 474th Tactical Fighter Squadron as the 474th Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron ; 474th Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron * Constituted as the 474th Fighter-Day Squadron on 26 September 1957 : Activated on 8 October 1957 : Redesignated 474th Tactical Fighter Squadron on 1 July 1958 : Inactivated on 15 March 1959 : Consolidated with the 474th Bombardment Squadron as the 474th Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron on 19 September 1985

Assignments

* 335th Bombardment Group, 17 July 1942 – 1 May 1944 * 413th Fighter-Day Wing (later 413th Tactical Fighter Wing), 8 October 1957 – 15 March 1959 (atached to

65th Air Division The 65th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with United States Air Forces in Europe, assigned to Seventeenth Air Force, being stationed at Lindsey Air Station, Germany. It was inactivated o ...

11 November 1958 – 14 March 1959)Ravenstein, pp. 222-223

Stations

* Barksdale Field, Louisiana, 17 July 1942 – 1 May 1944 * George Air Force Base, California, 8 October 1957 – 15 March 1959 (operated from Torrejon AB, Spain, 15 November 1958 – 14 March 1959)Mueller, p. 191

Aircraft

* Martin B-26 Marauder, 1942-1944Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 576-577 * North American F-86H Sabre, 1957-1958 * North American F-100 Super Sabre, 1958-1959

Campaigns

References

Notes

Bibliography

* :: * * * {{cite book, last=Ravenstein, first=Charles A., title=Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977, url= http://media.defense.gov/2010/Sep/21/2001330257/-1/-1/0/AFD-100921-047.pdf, access-date= 17 December 2016, year=1984, publisher=Office of Air Force History, location=Washington, DC, isbn=0-912799-12-9 Fighter squadrons of the United States Air Force