The 705th Tactical Airlift Training Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 924th Tactical Airlift Group at Ellington Air Force Base, Texas where it was inactivated on 30 June 1976, when reserve flying operations at Ellington ended. 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, de ...

was first activated as the 705th Bombardment Squadron in 1943. After training in the United States with

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 ...

s, it deployed to the

European Theater of Operations The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It commanded Army Ground For ...

, where it engaged in the strategic bombing campaign against Germany. After V-E Day, the squadron returned to the United States and was inactivated. The squadron was activated in the reserve in 1948. It was

mobilized Mobilization is the act of assembling and readying military troops and supplies for war. The word ''mobilization'' was first used in a military context in the 1850s to describe the preparation of the Prussian Army. Mobilization theories and ...

for the Korean War in 1951, but its personnel were used as fillers for other units and it was inactivated shortly after mobilization. The squadron again became a reserve unit in 1955 as the 705th Troop Carrier Squadron. It served as an airlift unit in the reserve until 1968, when it became a combat crew training unit as the 705th Tactical Airlift Squadron (CCTS) and trained Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircrews until inactivated.

History

World War II

Training for combat

The

was first activated on 1 April 1943 at Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona as the 705th Bombardment Squadron with an initial

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 ...

drawn from the 39th Bombardment Group.Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 709–710Castens, p. 20 It was one of the original squadrons of the 446th Bombardment Group.Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 320–321Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 710Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 710–711 The cadre departed for Orlando Army Air Base, Florida for training with the Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics, where they flew simulated combat missions from

Montbrook Army Air Field Williston Municipal Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport located two nautical miles (4 km) southwest of the central business district of Williston, a city in Levy County, Florida, United States. Commonly referred to as Willist ...

. The unit headed for

Alamogordo Army Air Field Alamogordo () is the seat of Otero County, New Mexico, United States. A city in the Tularosa Basin of the Chihuahuan Desert, it is bordered on the east by the Sacramento Mountains and to the west by Holloman Air Force Base. The population was ...

, New Mexico in June 1943, but was diverted to Lowry Field, Colorado, where the squadron was filled out and advanced training was completed. The squadron lost one aircraft during this training. The ground echelon left Lowry on 18 October 1943 for Camp Shanks, New York and embarked on the , sailing on 27 October 1943 and arrived in

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

on the Firth of Clyde on 2 November 1943. The aircraft left Lowry on 20 October 1943 for staging at Lincoln Army Air Field, Nebraska. The

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 ferried their planes under the control of Air Transport Command via the southern route from Florida through Puerto Rico, Brazil, Senegal, and Morocco to England. The 705th was part of the first United States Army Air Forces group to complete the Transatlantic hop from Brazil to Africa without the installation of additional bomb bay fuel tanks.

Combat in the European Theater

The squadron arrived at its new base at

RAF Flixton Royal Air Force Bungay or more simply RAF Bungay (known locally as Flixton) is a former Royal Air Force station located south-west of Bungay in the English county of Suffolk. The airfield is also known after the village of Flixton, near whi ...

The station was referred to as Flixton by the Army Air Forces, but was also known as RAF Bungay. in the east of England in October. The 705th flew its first mission on 16 December 1943 against shipping facilities in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

. The unit operated chiefly against strategic objectives. Its targets included U-boat installations at Kiel, the port at

, a chemical plant at

Ludwigshafen Ludwigshafen, officially Ludwigshafen am Rhein (; meaning " Ludwig's Port upon Rhine"), is a city in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, on the river Rhine, opposite Mannheim. With Mannheim, Heidelberg, and the surrounding region, it form ...

, ball-bearing works at Berlin, aircraft engine plants at Rostock, aircraft factories at Munich, marshalling yards at Coblenz, motor works at Ulm, and oil refineries at Hamburg. Besides strategic missions, the 705th often carried out

close air support In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and moveme ...

and air interdiction operations. It supported

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The operat ...

, the invasion of Normandy, in June 1944 by attacking strong points, bridges, airfields, transportation, and other targets in France. The squadron aided ground forces at

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Saint-Lô during July by hitting bridges, gun batteries, and enemy troops. It dropped supplies to Allied troops near

Nijmegen Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...

during Operation Market-Garden in September. The unit bombed

marshalling yard A classification yard (American and Canadian English (Canadian National Railway use)), marshalling yard (British, Hong Kong, Indian, Australian, and Canadian English (Canadian Pacific Railway use)) or shunting yard (Central Europe) is a railway ya ...

s, bridges, and road junctions during the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944 and January 1945. It flew low level missions to drop medical supplies, arms, and food to airborne and ground troops near Wesel during Operation Varsity in March 1945. The 705th flew its last combat mission on 25 April, attacking a bridge near Salzburg, Austria. After V-E Day, the 705th flew transport missions to France, sometimes landing at fields that had been targets the previous year. It also flew "Trolley" missions, transporting support personnel for "sightseeing" trips over Germany to view the results of their efforts. The squadron began to redeploy to the US in June 1945. The first aircraft of the air echelon departed the United Kingdom in mid-June 1945 flying the northern route via Iceland. The ground echelon sailed from Greenock on the ''Queen Mary'' on the sixth of July 1945 and arrived in New York on 11 July 1945. Personnel were given 30 days leave. The ground and air echelons reassembled at Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota in late July. It was inactivated on 28 August 1945.

Air Force reserve

Corollary unit

The 705th Bombardment Squadron was activated again under

Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for continental air defense. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was est ...

(ADC) in the reserves in March 1948 at Carswell Air Force Base, Texas. Shortly after the squadron was activated, in July 1948, Continental Air Command (ConAC) assumed reserve training responsibility from ADC. It was nominally a

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 ...

very heavy bombardment squadron, although it is not certain that it was equipped or fully manned. The May 1949 Air Force Reserve program called for a new type of unit, the Corollary Unit, which was a reserve unit integrated with an active duty unit. The plan was viewed as the best method to train reservists by mixing them with an existing regular unit to perform duties alongside the regular unit. The squadron became a "Heavy" unit in June 1949 and a corollary of the 7th Bombardment Wing, which was the regular combat wing at Carswell. In May 1951, the squadron was

for the Korean War, as were all reserve corollary units, and its personnel were used as fillers for other units, while the squadron was inactivated on 25 June.

Airlift operations at Ellington

Reserve flying organizations began to be reformed in July 1952. However, the Air Force desired that all reserve units be designed to augment the regular forces in the event of a national emergency. The six reserve pilot training wings, including the 8706th Pilot Training Wing at Ellington Air Force Base, Texas, however, had no mobilization mission. On 18 May 1955, the 8706th Wing was discontinued and replaced by the 446th Troop Carrier Wing.Ravenstein, pp. 242–244 Along with

Beechcraft C-45 Expeditor 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 Novembe ...

s inherited from the pilot training program, the squadron began training with

Curtiss C-46 Commando The Curtiss C-46 Commando is a twin-engine transport aircraft derived from the Curtiss CW-20 pressurised high-altitude airliner design. Early press reports used the name "Condor III" but the Commando name was in use by early 1942 in company pub ...

s as the 705th Troop Carrier Squadron. By late 1956, about 150 Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcars became surplus to the regular Air Force, and in 1957 the squadron converted to the C-119. In the summer of 1956, the squadron participated in Operation Sixteen Ton during its two weeks of active duty training. Sixteen Ton was performed entirely by reserve troop carrier units and moved United States Coast Guard equipment From

Floyd Bennett Naval Air Station Floyd Bennett Field is an airfield in the Marine Park neighborhood of southeast Brooklyn in New York City, along the shore of Jamaica Bay. The airport originally hosted commercial and general aviation traffic before being used as a naval air ...

Isla Grande Airport Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport , also commonly known as Isla Grande Airport, is an airport in Isla Grande, a district in the municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is owned by the Puerto Rico Ports Authority and is adjacent to the Pu ...

in Puerto Rico and

San Salvador San Salvador (; ) is the capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its eponymous department. It is the country's political, cultural, educational and financial center. The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, which comprises the capital i ...

in the Bahamas. After the success of Operation Sixteen Ton, the squadron began to use inactive duty training periods for Operation Swift Lift, transporting high priority cargo for the air force and Operation Ready Swap, transporting aircraft engines, between Air Materiel Command's depots. At Ellington, the squadron initially trained with the 2578th Air Force Reserve Flying Center, but in 1958, the center was inactivated and some of its personnel were absorbed by the squadron. Ellington was the first base to use the Air Reserve Technician Program, in which a cadre of the unit consisted of full time personnel who were simultaneously civilian employees of the Air Force and held rank as members of the reserves. In 1958 it was assigned directly to the 446th Troop Carrier Wing when ConAC converted its reserve units to the dual deputy organization, which eliminated operational and maintenance group headquarters.Under this plan flying squadrons reported to the wing Deputy Commander for Operations and maintenance squadrons reported to the wing Deputy Commander for Maintenance The group's squadrons were reassigned directly to the Wing. Since 1955, the reserve flying force included squadrons that were not located with their parent wings, but were spread over Air Force, Navy and civilian airfields under what was called the Detached Squadron Concept. However, under this concept, support organizations remained with the wing. Although the dispersal of flying units under the Detached Squadron Concept was not a problem when the entire wing was called to active service, mobilizing a single flying squadron and elements to support it proved difficult. This weakness was demonstrated in the partial mobilization of reserve units during the

Berlin Crisis of 1961 The Berlin Crisis of 1961 (german: Berlin-Krise) occurred between 4 June – 9 November 1961, and was the last major European politico-military incident of the Cold War about the occupational status of the German capital city, Berlin, and of po ...

.Cantwell, pp. 189–191 To resolve this, ConAC determined to reorganize its reserve wings by establishing groups with support elements for each of its troop carrier squadrons at the start of 1962. However, as this plan was entering its implementation phase, another partial mobilization occurred for the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the United S ...

. The formation of troop carrier groups was delayed until January 1963. This reorganization would facilitate mobilization of elements of wings in various combinations when needed. In January 1963, the 925th Troop Carrier Group was activated as the

headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

for the 705th and its support elements.

C-130 Hercules training school

The squadron was one of the first reserve units to upgrade to the Lockheed C-130 Hercules. In March 1968, the squadron became a combat crew training unit as the demand for C-130 training increased with the conversion of other reserve units from the C-119. As a training unit, it was no longer necessary to have associated support elements available for deployment support, so the 925th Group was inactivated and the squadron was once again assigned directly to the 446th Wing. The squadron operated the USAF Combat Crew Training School (Tactical Airlift – C-130), and trained not only reservists, but members of the Air National Guard, regular Air Force and other military services using the Hercules. The school was manned primarily by air reserve technicians, and was the first reserve unit to train active duty military. In 1972, the squadron was briefly assigned to the

433d Tactical Airlift Wing The 433rd Airlift Wing, sometimes written as 433d Airlift Wing, (433 AW) is an Air Reserve component of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to Fourth Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at Kelly Field Annex, Joint Base San Ant ...

Kelly Air Force Base Kelly Field (formerly Kelly Air Force Base) is a Joint-Use facility located in San Antonio, Texas. It was originally named after George E. M. Kelly, the first member of the U.S. military killed in the crash of an airplane he was piloting. In ...

, Texas, when the 446th Wing inactivated, but was soon transferred to the remaining reserve headquarters at Ellington, the 924th Tactical Airlift Group.Ravenstein, pp. 227–228 The squadron continued to train aircrews until 1976, when it was inactivated with the end of reserve flying operations at Ellington.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 705th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 20 March 1943 : Activated on 1 April 1943 : Redesignated 705th Bombardment Squadron, Heavy on 20 August 1943 : Inactivated on 28 August 1945 * Redesignated 705th Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy on 26 September 1947 : Activated in the reserve on 26 March 1948 : Redesignated 705th Bombardment Squadron, Heavy on 27 June 1949 : Ordered to active service on 1 May 1951 : Inactivated on 25 June 1951 * Redesignated 705th Troop Carrier Squadron, Medium on 11 April 1955 : Activated in the reserve on 25 May 1955Lineage, including assignments and stations, through March 1963 in Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 709–710 : Redesignated 705th Tactical Airlift Squadron on 1 July 1967 : Redesignated 705th Tactical Airlift Squadron (CCTS)Combat Crew Training Squadron on 25 March 1968 : Redesignated 705th Tactical Airlift Training Squadron on 1 June 1972 : Inactivated on 1 April 1976

Assignments

* 446th Bombardment Group: 1 April 1943 – 28 August 1945 * 446th Bombardment Group: 26 March 1948 – 25 June 1951 * 446th Troop Carrier Group: 25 May 1955 – 14 April 1959 * 925th Troop Carrier Group (later Tactical Airlift Group): 17 January 1963 * 446th Tactical Airlift Wing: 25 March 1968 *

: 1 July 1972 * 924th Tactical Airlift Group: 1 September 1972 – 1 April 1976

Stations

* Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona, 1 April 1943 * Lowry Field, Colorado, 8 June 1943 – c. 24 October 1943 * RAF Flixton (AAF-125),Station code in Anderson. England, 4 November 1943 – 5 July 1945 * Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota, 15 July 1945 – 28 August 1945 * Carswell Air Force Base, Texas, 26 March 1948 – 25 June 1951 * Ellington Air Force Base (later Ellington Air Reserve Base), Texas, 25 May 1955 – 1 April 1976

Aircraft

, 1943–1945 * Curtiss C-46 Commando, 1955–1956 * Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar, 1956–1967 * Lockheed C-130 Hercules, 1967–1976

Awards and campaigns

References

Notes

; Explanatory notes ; Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * *
AF Pamphlet 900-2, Unit Decorations, Awards and Campaign Participation Credits, Vol II
Department of the Air Force, Washington, DC, 30 September 1976 {{USAAF 2d Air Force World War II Airlift squadrons of the United States Air Force 0705 Military units and formations of the United States Air Force Reserves Ellington Airport (Texas)