The 419th Flight Test Squadron is a

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 ...

squadron. It is assigned to the

412th Operations Group The 412th Test Wing (412 TW) is a wing of the United States Air Force, assigned to the Air Force Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Overview The 412th Test Wing plans, conducts, analyzes, and reports on all flight and ground te ...

Air Force Materiel Command Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force (USAF). AFMC was created on July 1, 1992, through the amalgamation of the former Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC) and the former Air Force Systems Com ...

, stationed at

Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is E ...

, California. During World War II, the 419th Bombardment Squadron was a

Boeing 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 ...

squadron, assigned to the

301st Bombardment Group 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

Fifteenth Air Force The Fifteenth Air Force (15 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base. It was reactivated on 20 August 2020, merging the previous units of the Ninth Air Force ...

. It earned two

Distinguished Unit Citation The Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the uniformed services of the United States, and those of allied countries, for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enem ...

s. In 1958, the squadron was activated as a

Boeing B-47 Stratojet The Boeing B-47 Stratojet (Boeing company designation Model 450) is a retired American long-range, six-engined, turbojet-powered strategic bomber designed to fly at high subsonic speed and at high altitude to avoid enemy interceptor aircraft ...

squadron as part of

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...

's nuclear force, but was discontinued four years later. In 1993, the squadron was consolidated with the 6519th Test Squadron, which had been conducting test operations at Edwards since 1989.

Overview

The 419th performs flight testing on

B-2 Spirit The Northrop (later Northrop Grumman) B-2 Spirit, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is an American heavy strategic bomber, featuring low-observable stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses. A subsonic flying ...

B-1 Lancer The Rockwell B-1 Lancer is a supersonic variable-sweep wing, heavy bomber used by the United States Air Force. It is commonly called the "Bone" (from "B-One"). It is one of three strategic bombers serving in the U.S. Air Force fleet along wit ...

, and

Boeing B-52 Stratofortress The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air ...

strategic bombers.

History

World War II

The squadron was first organized as the 29th Reconnaissance Squadron a

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, ...

in February 1942. In April 1942, it became the 419th Bombardment Squadron, a

heavy bomber Heavy bombers are bomber aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually bombs) and longest range (takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy bombers have therefore usually been among the larges ...

. It trained under

Second Air Force The Second Air Force (2 AF; ''2d Air Force'' in 1942) is a USAF numbered air force responsible for conducting basic military and technical training for Air Force enlisted members and non-flying officers. In World War II the CONUS unit defended ...

. It flew

antisubmarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...

patrols off the

California coast Coastal California, also known as the California Coastline and the Golden Coast, refers to the coastal regions of the U.S. state of California. The term is not primarily geographical as it also describes an area distinguished by cultural, economic ...

from late May to early June 1942, then over the Mid-Atlantic coast during June and July 1942.Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 514 It deployed to

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 ...

in August 1942, being assigned to

VIII Bomber Command 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

, one of the first B-17 heavy bomb squadrons assigned to England. It engaged in strategic bombardment operations over Occupied Europe, attacking enemy military and industrial targets. It moved to the

Mediterranean Theater of Operations The Mediterranean Theater of Operations, United States Army (MTOUSA), originally called the North African Theater of Operations, United States Army (NATOUSA), was a military formation of the United States Army that supervised all U.S. Army forc ...

as part of

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – Run for Tunis, 16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of secu ...

, the invasion of North Africa. It operated from desert airfields in Algeria and Tunisia during North African and Tunisian campaign. It became part of

Northwest African Strategic Air Force The Northwest African Strategic Air Force (NASAF) was a sub-command of the Northwest African Air Forces (NAAF) which itself was a sub-command of the Mediterranean Air Command (MAC). These new Allied air force organizations were created at the Cas ...

during Invasion of Sicily and later Italy in 1943. It was part of

for the strategic bombing of Nazi Germany and occupied Europe. It attacked enemy targets primarily in the Balkans; Southern France; Southern Germany and Austria from southern Italy. It engaged in shuttle bombing missions to airfields in the Soviet Union during the summer of 1944.Millet, Its personnel largely demobilized after German capitulation in May 1945. The squadron moved to the United States and was programmed for conversion to

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 ...

operations and deployment to Pacific Theater, plans canceled after Japanese capitulation in August 1945. Its aircraft were sent to storage and unit inactivated largely as a paper unit in October 1945.Pimlott,

Strategic Air Command

From 1958, the

wings of

(SAC) began to assume an alert posture at their home bases, reducing the amount of time spent on alert at overseas bases. The SAC alert cycle divided itself into four parts: planning, flying, alert and rest to meet General

Thomas S. Power General Thomas Sarsfield Power (June 18, 1905 – December 6, 1970) was a United States Air Force officer who served as commander in chief of the Strategic Air Command. He was an active military flier for more than 30 years. Early career Thomas ...

's initial goal of maintaining one third of SAC’s planes on fifteen minute ground alert, fully fueled and ready for combat to reduce vulnerability to a Soviet missile strike.Schake, p. 220 (note 43) To implement this new system B-47 wings reorganized from three to four squadrons.Schake, p. 220 (note 43) The 419th was activated at

Lockbourne Air Force Base Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base is an Ohio Air National Guard installation located near Lockbourne in southern Franklin County. The base was named for the famous early aviator and Columbus native Eddie Rickenbacker. It is the home of ...

as the fourth squadron of the

301st Bombardment Wing The 301st Air Refueling Wing is an inactive unit of the United States Air Force being last assigned to the Strategic Air Command at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, where it was inactivated on 1 June 1992. History : ''See the 301st Operations ...

. The alert commitment was increased to half the squadron's aircraft in 1962 and the four squadron pattern no longer met the alert cycle commitment, so the squadron was inactivated on 1 January 1962.

Flight test squadron

The 6519th Flight Test Squadron activated at

in October 1989, taking over the

Air Force Flight Test Center The Air Force Test Center (AFTC) is a development and test organization of the United States Air Force. It conducts research, development, test, and evaluation of aerospace systems from concept to deployment. It has test flown every aircraft in ...

's Strategic Systems Division (B-52G/H Stratofortress). It also operated Unmanned Aeria Vehicle test program

MQ-1 Predator The General Atomics MQ-1 Predator (often referred to as the predator drone) is an American remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) built by General Atomics that was used primarily by the United States Air Force (USAF) and Central Intelligence Agency ( ...

1994–2000 when the UAV program was realigned. It gained the Rockkwell B-1 Lancer program from the 6510th Flight Test Squadron in 1991. In October 1992, the 6519th was consolidated with the 419th, with the consolidated unit assuming the designation of 419th Test Squadron. It added the

program from the inactivating 420th Flight Test Squadron on 30 December 1997. The squadron also hosts the

C-12 Huron The Beechcraft C-12 Huron is the military designation for a series of twin-engine turboprop aircraft based on the Beechcraft Super King Air and Beechcraft 1900. C-12 variants are used by the United States Air Force, United States Army, United ...

Formal Training Unit.

Lineage

; 419th Bombardment Squadron * Constituted as the 29th Reconnaissance Squadron (Heavy) on 28 January 1942 : Activated on 3 February 1942 : Redesignated 419th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 22 April 1942 : Redesignated 419th Bombardment Squadron, Heavy c. 6 March 1944 : Redesignated 419th Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy on 5 August 1945 : Inactivated on 15 October 1945 * Redesignated 419th Bombardment Squadron, Medium on 20 August 1958 : Activated on 1 December 1958 : Discontinued and inactivated on 1 January 1962 * Consolidated with the 6519th Test Squadron as the 6519th Test Squadron on 1 October 1992 ; 419th Flight Test Squadron * Designated as the 6519th Test Squadron and activated on 10 March 1989 * Consolidated with the 419th Bombardment Squadron on 1 October 1992 : Redesignated 419th Test Squadron on 2 October 1992 : Redesignated 419th Flight Test Squadron on 1 March 1994

Assignments

, 3 Feb 1942 – 15 Oct 1945 * 301st Bombardment Wing, 1 Dec 1958 – 1 Jan 1962 *

6510th Test Wing Year 651 ( DCLI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 651 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the ...

(later 412th Test Wing), 10 March 1989 *

, 1 Oct 1993 – present

Stations

Geiger Field Spokane International Airport is a commercial airport located approximately west-southwest of downtown Spokane, Washington, United States. It is the primary airport serving the Inland Northwest, which consists of 30 counties and includes areas ...

, Washington, 3 February 1942 *

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, 28 May 1942 : Operated from

Muroc Army Air Base Muroc (also, Rogers, Rod, Yucca, and Rodriguez) is a former settlement in Kern County, California in the Mojave Desert. It was located on Rogers Dry Lake east of Edwards, at an elevation of 2283 feet (696 m). Muroc still appeared on maps as o ...

, California, c. 28 May - 14 June 1942 * Richard E. Byrd Field, Virginia, 21 June - 19 July 1942 *

RAF Chelveston Royal Air Force Chelveston, or more simply RAF Chelveston, is a former Royal Air Force station located on the south side of the B645 (former A45 road), east of Wellingborough, near the village of Chelveston in Northamptonshire, England. Durin ...

(AAF-105), England, 19 August 1942 *

Tafaraoui Airfield Oran Tafaraoui Airport is a joint civil/military airport in Oran Province, Algeria . History During World War II, it was a primary mission objective of the United States Army 34th Infantry Division during the Allied Operation Torch landings on 8 ...

, Algeria, 24 November 1942 *

Biskra Airfield Mohamed Khider Airport or Biskra Ouakda Airport is an airport in Algeria, located approximately 12 km north-northeast of Oumache; about 200 km south-southwest of Constantine, Algeria, Constantine. History During World War II, the air ...

, Algeria, 21 December 1942 *

Ain M'lila Airfield Ain M'lila Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield in Algeria, located approximately 17 km north-northwest of Aïn Kercha in Oum el Bouaghi province, about 50 km south-southeast of Constantine, Algeria, Constantine. It wa ...

, Algeria, 16 January 1943 *

Saint-Donat Airfield Saint-Donat Airfield was a World War II military airfield in Algeria, located near Tadjenanet in Mila Province; approximately 63 km southwest of Constantine, Algeria, Constantine. It was used by the United States Army Air Force Twelfth Air ...

, Algeria, 8 March 1943 *

Oudna Airfield Oudna Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield in Tunisia, which was located approximately southwest of La Mohammedia, south-southwest of Tunis It was used by the United States Army Air Force Twelfth Air Force during the North Af ...

, Tunisia, 6 August 1943 *

Cerignola Airfield The Foggia Airfield Complex was a series of World War II military airfields located within a radius of Foggia, in the Province of Foggia, Italy. The airfields were used by the United States Army Air Force Fifteenth Air Force as part of the str ...

, Italy, 10 December 1943 *

Lucera Airfield Lucera Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield in Italy. It was located 7.9 kilometers east of Lucera, in the Province of Foggia. The airfield was abandoned and dismantled after the end of the war in 1945. History Lucera Airfield a ...

, Italy, 2 February 1944 – July 1945 *

Sioux Falls Army Air Field Sioux Falls Regional Airport , also known as Joe Foss Field, is a public and military use airport three miles northwest of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States. It is named in honor of aviator and Sioux Falls native Joe Foss, who later served a ...

, South Dakota, 28 July 1945 *

Mountain Home Army Air Field A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher th ...

, Idaho, 17 August 1945 *

Pyote Army Air Base Pyote Air Force Base was a World War II United States Army Air Forces training airbase. It was on a mile from the town of Pyote, Texas, on Interstate 20, 20 miles west of Monahans and just south of U.S. Highway 80, east of El Paso. It was ...

, Texas, 23 August – 15 October 1945. * Lockbourne Air Force Base, Ohio, 1 December 1958 – 1 January 1962 *

, California, 10 Mar 1989 – present

Aircraft

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 ...

, 1942–1945 *

B-47 Stratojet The Boeing B-47 Stratojet (Boeing company designation Model 450) is a retired American long-range, six-engined, turbojet-powered strategic bomber designed to fly at high subsonic speed and at high altitude to avoid enemy interceptor aircraft ...

, 1959–1961 *

B-52 Stratofortress The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air ...

, 1989–Present *

(UAV), 1994–2000 *

, 1991–Present *

, 1997–PresentRogers,

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Freeman, Roger A. (1978) ''Airfields of the Eighth: Then and Now''. After the Battle * * * Millet, Jeffrey R. The Fifteenth Air Force Story: A History 1943–1985. Fifteenth Air Force Association, 1986. * John Pimlott, ''B-29 Superfortress'', Gallery Books, 1980. * * {{US Air Force navbox 419 Military units and formations in California Military units and formations established in 1994