The 8th Flying Training Squadron is part of the 71st Flying Training Wing based at Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma. It operates the T-6A Texan II aircraft conducting flight training.

Mission

Performs Joint Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training with T-6A Texan II trainers.

History

World War II

Activated in early 1942 under Fourth Air Force; after a brief organizational period in Southern California where it was equipped with reconnaissance P-38 Lightnings (F-4) it deployed to the Southwest Pacific Area, being assigned to Fifth Air Force in Australia. Engaged in long-range tactical reconnaissance missions over New Guinea; later the Netherlands East Indies and in late 1944, over the Philippines in support of MacArthur's Island-Hopping campaign (1942–1945). After the Japanese capitulation in August 1945, became part of the Army of Occupation in Japan. It was not operational between April 1946 and July 1947.

Korean War

From 1947–1949 flew photographic mapping missions over Japan, Korea, Philippines and other areas of western Pacific. During the Korean War, the squadron flew tactical reconnaissance sorties over North and South Korea from, 29 June 1950 – 24 February 1951.

Flying training

The 8th has conducted undergraduate pilot training for active duty,

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...

Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a MAJCOM, major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of ...

and selected foreign allies since 1 November 1972. Since the mid-1990s, the squadron has also conducted joint primary flight training for selected US Navy and US Marine Corps student

naval aviator Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

s, with command of the squadron alternating between Air Force officers in the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

and Navy officers in the ranks of

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

Lineage

* Constituted as the 8th Photographic Squadron on 19 Jan 1942 : Activated 1 Feb 1942 : Redesignated 8th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron on 9 Jun 1942 : Redesignated 8th Photographic Squadron (Light) on 6 Feb 1943 : Redesignated 8th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron on 13 Nov 1943 : Redesignated 8th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Night Photographic on 10 Aug 1948 : Redesignated 8th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Photo-Jet on 1 Aug 1949 : Inactivated on 25 Feb 1951 :Redesignated 8th Flying Training Squadron on 14 Apr 1972 :Activated on 1 Nov 1972

Assignments

IV Air Support Command The I Tactical Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Second Air Force, based at Biggs Field, Texas. It was inactivated on 22 December 1945. History General Headquarters Air Force (GHQ AF) reorganize ...

, 1 Feb 1942 * Fifth Air Force, 29 Mar 1942 (attached to Allied Air Forces, Apr – Sep 1942) *

V Bomber Command The V Bomber Command is an inactive United States Army Air Forces unit. It was last assigned to Fifth Air Force, based at Irumagawa AB, Japan. It was inactivated on 31 May 1946. During World War II the unit initially controlled Fifth Air Forc ...

, 5 Sep 1942 *

6th Photographic Group 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second smalles ...

(later 6th Reconnaissance Group), 13 Nov 1943 (attached to V Bomber Command after c. 10 Dec 1945) * V Bomber Command, 27 Apr 1946 * 314th Composite Wing, 31 May 1946 *

71st Reconnaissance Group 020 is the national dialling code for London in the United Kingdom. All subscriber numbers within the area code consist of eight digits and it has capacity for approaching 100 million telephone numbers. The code is used at 170 telephone exch ...

(later 71st Tactical Reconnaissance Group), 28 Feb 1947 (attached to 314th Composite Wing until Nov 1947) * Fifth Air Force, 1 Apr 1949 * 543d Tactical Support Group, 26 Sep 1950 – 25 Feb 1951 * 71st Flying Training Wing, 1 Nov 1972 * 71st Operations Group, 15 Dec 1991 – present

Stations

* March Field, California, 1 Feb – 14 Mar 1942 : Two flights remained at March Field, CA, to 16 Jun 1942 * Essendon Airport, Melbourne, Australia, 7 Apr 1942 * Archerfield Airport (Brisbane), Australia, 24 Apr 1942 *

Charters Towers Airfield Charters Towers Airport is an airport located in Columbia, Charters Towers, Queensland, Australia, north of the Charters Towers CBD. History World War II During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces Fifth Air Force stationed the ...

, Australia, 2 May 1942 * Kila Airfield (3 Mile Drome), Port Moresby, New Guinea, 9 Sep 1942 *

Nadzab Airfield Lae Nadzab Airport is a regional airport located at Nadzab outside Lae, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea along the Highlands Highway. It is served by both private and regional aircraft with domestic flights. The airport replaced the Lae Airfi ...

, New Guinea, 16 Mar 1944 : Operated from Biak after c. 11 Aug 1944 * Mokmer Airfield, Biak, 10 Sep – 20 Oct 1944 *

Dulag Airfield Dulag Airfield is a World War II airfield located near Dulag in the province of Leyte, Philippines. It was closed after the war. History The airfield was built by the Japanese during the Occupation of the Philippines in 1943. Seized by the Americ ...

, Leyte, Philippines, 4 Nov 1944 : Air Echelon assigned to

Clark Field Clark is an English language surname, ultimately derived from the Latin with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educate ...

, Luzon, Philippines, 19 May – 12 Aug 1945 * Motobu Airfield, Okinawa, 21 Jul 1945 * Chōfu Airfield, Japan, 28 Sep 1945 *

Irumagawa Air Base is a Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) base located in the city of Sayama, Saitama Prefecture, north of western Tokyo, Japan. It was the airfield for the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force Academy until 1945, when it became Johnson Air Fo ...

, Japan, 25 Jan 1946 * Yokota Air Base, Japan, 25 Mar 1949 : Detachment operated from Itazuke Air Base, Japan, from 29 Jun 1950 * Itazuke Air Base, Japan, 9 Jul 1950 *

Taegu Air Base Daegu International Airport (Hangul: ; Hanja: ; Revised Romanization: ''Daegu Gukje Gonghang''; McCune-Reischauer: ''Taegu Kukche Konghang'') is the international airport serving the city of Daegu and the surrounding area in the southeast of ...

(K-2), South Korea, 2 Oct 1950 * Komaki Air Base, Japan : Operated from Taegu Air Base (K-2), South Korea, 26 Jan – 25 Feb 1951 * Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma, 1 Nov 1972 – present

Aircraft

F-4 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive tw ...

(1942–1944) *

F-5 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive tw ...

(1943–1946) *

B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

(1942–1943) *

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 ...

(1943–1944) * F-6 Mustang (1946) *

P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...

(1946) * P-61 Black Widow (1946) * F-15A/RF-61C Reporter (1947–1949) *

RF-80 Shooting Star The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star was the first jet fighter used operationally by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II. Designed and built by Lockheed in 1943 and delivered just 143 days from the start of design, prod ...

(1949–1951) * T-37 Tweet (1972–2006) * T-6 Texan II (2006 – present)

Notable members

* Jeffrey B. Cashman, future Brigadier General. *

Fred Hargesheimer Major Fred Hargesheimer (May 7, 1916 – December 23, 2010) was a former pilot of the United States Army Air Forces who was shot down during World War II over Papua New Guinea in June 1943. He later became a philanthropist who helped out the v ...

, pilot turned philanthropist to those who saved his life after he was shot down. *

James P. Ulm James Paul Ulm is a retired brigadier general in the United States Air Force. Biography Ulm was born in Frankfort, Indiana in 1937 and raised in Lakewood, Ohio. He graduated from George Washington University with a master's degree in 1973. ...

, future Brigadier General.

References

Notes

; Explanatory notes ; Citations

Bibliography

* * * * ; Further reading * Stanaway, John and Bob Rocker. ''The Eight Ballers: Eyes of the Fifth Air Force. The 8th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron in World War II''. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing, 1999. . {{DEFAULTSORT:08 Flying Training Squadron

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