97th Flying Training Squadron
Encyclopedia
The 97th Flying Training Squadron (97 FTS) is part of the 340th Flying Training Group
340th Flying Training Group
The 340th Flying Training Group is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Education and Training Command Tenth Air Force...

 and is the Reserve associate to the 80th Flying Training Wing
80th Flying Training Wing
The 80th Flying Training Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force based out of Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas.-Mission:...

 based at Sheppard Air Force Base
Sheppard Air Force Base
Sheppard Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located five miles north of the central business district of Wichita Falls, in Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the largest training base and most diversified in Air Education and Training Command...

, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

. It operates T-37 Tweet and T-38 Talon
T-38 Talon
The Northrop T-38 Talon is a twin-engine supersonic jet trainer. It was the world's first supersonic trainer and is also the most produced. The T-38 remains in service as of 2011 in air forces throughout the world....

 aircraft conducting flight training.

History

The 97th flew combat in the European Theater of Operations
European Theater of Operations
The European Theater of Operations, United States Army was a United States Army formation which directed U.S. Army operations in parts of Europe from 1942 to 1945. It referred to Army Ground Forces, United States Army Air Forces, and Army Service Forces operations north of Italy and the...

 and the Mediterranean Theater of Operations
Mediterranean Theater of Operations
The Mediterranean Theater of Operations, United States Army was originally called North African Theater of Operations and is an American term for the conflict that took place between the Allies and Axis Powers in North Africa and Italy during World War II...

 between 25 December 1942 and 3 May 1945. It flew fighter escort and air defense from, 1947–1949 and air defense from, 1951-1957. The 97th has trained USAF pilots to fly supersonic jet aircraft from, 1973–1993 and since 1998.

Lineage

  • 97th Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor) (1942)
  • 97th Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor) (Twin Engine) (1942)
  • 97th Fighter Squadron (Twin Engine) (1942–1944)
  • 97th Fighter Squadron, Two Engine (1942–1947)
  • 97th Fighter Squadron, Single Engine (1947–1950)
  • 97th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron (1950–1972)
  • 97th Flying Training Squadron (1972–Present)

Assignments

  • 82d Fighter Group (1942–1945, 1947–1949)
  • Eastern Air Defense Force
    Eastern Air Defense Force
    The Eastern Air Defense Force is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command being stationed at Stewart Air Force Base, New York. It was inactivated on July 1, 1960.-History:...

     (1950–1952)
    • Attached: 56th Fighter-Interceptor Wing (1 December 1950-20 May 1951)
    • Attached: 142d Fighter-Interceptor Wing (20 May 1951-6 February 1952)
  • 4706th Air Defense Wing
    4706th Air Defense Wing
    The 4706th Air Defense Wing is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the 30th Air Division, being stationed at Kincheloe Air Force Base, Michigan...

     (1952–1955)
  • 82d Fighter Wing (1955–1958)
  • 82d Flying Training Wing (1973–1993)
  • 340th Flying Training Group
    340th Flying Training Group
    The 340th Flying Training Group is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Education and Training Command Tenth Air Force...

     (1998–Present)

Bases stationed

  • Harding Army Air Field, Louisiana
    Louisiana
    Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

     (1942)
  • Muroc Army Air Field, California
    California
    California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

     (1942)
  • Long Beach
    Long Beach, California
    Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...

    , California (1942)
  • RAF Eglinton, Northern Ireland
    Northern Ireland
    Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

     (1942)
  • Tafaraoui Airfield, Algeria
    Algeria
    Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...

     (1942–1943)
  • Telergma Airfield, Algeria
    Algeria
    Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...

     (1943)
  • Berteaux Airfield
    Berteaux Airfield
    Berteaux Airfield is an abandoned World War II United States Army Air Forces military airfield in Algeria, which was located approximately 9 km east of Telerghma; 35 km southwest of Constantine....

    , Algeria
    Algeria
    Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...

     (1943)
  • Souk-el-Arba Airfield
    Souk-el-Arba Airfield
    Souk-el-Arba Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield in Tunisia, located approximately 2.3 km southeast of Jendouba; 130 km west-southwest of Tunis...

    , Tunisia
    Tunisia
    Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...

     (1943)
  • Grombalia Airfield
    Grombalia Airfield
    Grombalia Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield in Tunisia, which is located approximately 112 km east-southeast of Hammam-Lif, about 16 km southeast of Tunis...

    , Tunisia
    Tunisia
    Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...

     (1943)
Operated From: Gerbini Airfield
Gerbini Airfield
Gerbini Airfield is a series of abandoned World War II military airfields in Sicily, located 23 KM West of Catania, near the intersection of the A19 and SP24 highways. The airfields consisted of a series of flat agricultural fields, used for runways and parking areas...

, Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

 (6–18 September 1943)
  • San Pancrazio, Italy
    Italy
    Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

     (1943)
  • Lecce
    Lecce
    Lecce is a historic city of 95,200 inhabitants in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Lecce, the second province in the region by population, as well as one of the most important cities of Puglia...

    , Italy
    Italy
    Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

     (1943–1944)
  • Vincenzo Airfield, Italy
    Italy
    Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

     (1944–1945)
  • Lesina Airfield, Italy
    Italy
    Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

     (1945)
  • Grenier Air Force Base
    Grenier Air Force Base
    Grenier Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base located three miles south of the central business district of Manchester, New Hampshire on the county line of Hillsborough and Rockingham counties...

    , New Hampshire
    New Hampshire
    New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

     (1947–1949)
    • Deployed: Ladd Air Force Base, Alaska
      Alaska
      Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

       (4 April-29 June 1948)
  • Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
    Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
    Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Greene and Montgomery counties in the state of Ohio. It includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur Wright Field and Fairfield Aviation General Supply Depot. Patterson Field is located approximately...

    , Ohio
    Ohio
    Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

     (1950–1955)
  • New Castle Air Force Base, Delaware
    Delaware
    Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...

     (1955–1958)
  • Williams Air Force Base
    Williams Air Force Base
    Williams Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base, located in Mesa, and about southeast of Phoenix, Arizona.It was active as a training base for both the United States Army Air Forces, as well as the USAF from 1941 until its closure in 1993...

    , Arizona
    Arizona
    Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

     (1973–1993)
  • Sheppard Air Force Base
    Sheppard Air Force Base
    Sheppard Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located five miles north of the central business district of Wichita Falls, in Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the largest training base and most diversified in Air Education and Training Command...

    , Texas (1998–Present)


Aircraft Operated

  • P-38 Lightning
    P-38 Lightning
    The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was a World War II American fighter aircraft built by Lockheed. Developed to a United States Army Air Corps requirement, the P-38 had distinctive twin booms and a single, central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament...

     (1942–1945)
  • F-51 Mustang (1947–1949)
  • F-86D Sabre Interceptor (1951–1955)
  • F-94 Starfire
    F-94 Starfire
    The Lockheed F-94 Starfire was the United States Air Force's first operational jet-powered all-weather interceptor aircraft. It was a development by Lockheed of the twin-seat T-33 Shooting Star trainer aircraft.-Design and development:...

     (1955–1957)
  • T-38 Talon
    T-38 Talon
    The Northrop T-38 Talon is a twin-engine supersonic jet trainer. It was the world's first supersonic trainer and is also the most produced. The T-38 remains in service as of 2011 in air forces throughout the world....

     (1998–Present, 1998–Present)
  • T-37 Tweet (1998 - )
  • AT-38 Talon (1998–2006)
  • T-6 Texan II
    T-6 Texan II
    The Beechcraft T-6 Texan II is a single-engined turboprop aircraft built by the Raytheon Aircraft Company . Based on the Pilatus PC-9, the T-6 is used by the United States Air Force for basic pilot training and by the United States Navy for Primary and Intermediate Joint Naval Flight Officer and...

    (2006–Present)

External links


See also

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