32d Flying Training Squadron

32d Flying Training Squadron [1]

32d Flying Training Squadron Patch
Active 2 March 1942 - 30 September 1946
1 September 1973 - 30 June 1979
31 May 1993 - 1 October 1993
1 June 1995 - 14 September 2012
Country United States
Branch United States Air Force
Type Pilot Training
Part of Air Education and Training Command
19th Air Force
71st Flying Training Wing
71st Operations Group
Garrison/HQ Vance Air Force Base
Engagements Operation Husky
Operation Overlord
Operation Market Garden
Operation Varsity
Decorations DUC
T-1 Jayhawk from Vance AFB
32d Troop Carrier Squadron Douglas C-47A-15-DK Skytrain 42-92862 taking off from Poix Airfield (B-44), France, during Operation Varsity, 24 March 1945.

The 32d Flying Training Squadron (32 FTS) was last part of the 71st Flying Training Wing based at Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma. It operated T-1 Jayhawk aircraft conducting flight training. It was inactivated for unknown reasons on 14 September 2012.

History

Activated in late 1942 under I Troop Carrier Command and equipped with C-47 Skytrains. Trained in various parts of the eastern United States until the end of 1943. Deployed to French Morocco in May 1943 and assigned to Twelfth Air Force to support combat operations in the North African Campaign. Remained with Twelfth Air Force, moving to Tunisia and Sicily providing transport and resupply operations as well as casualty evacuation of wounded personnel in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO). Reassigned to IX Troop Carrier Command, Ninth Air Force in England during early 1944 as part of the build-up of Allied forces prior to the D-Day invasion of France.

Began operations by dropping paratroops into Normandy on D-Day (6 June 1944) and releasing gliders with reinforcements on the following day. The unit received a Distinguished Unit Citation and a French citation for these missions.

After the Normandy invasion the squadron ferried supplies in the United Kingdom. The squadron also hauled food, clothing, medicine, gasoline, ordnance equipment, and other supplies to the front lines and evacuated patients to rear zone hospitals. It dropped paratroops near Nijmegen and towed gliders carrying reinforcements during the airborne attack on the Netherlands. In December, it participated in the Battle of the Bulge by releasing gliders with supplies for the 101st Airborne Division near Bastogne.

Moved to Belgium in early 1945, and participated in the Western Allied invasion of Germany, participating in the air assault across the Rhine River in March 1945, each aircraft towed two gliders with troops of the 17th Airborne Division and released them near Wesel.

After V-E Day, became part of the United States Air Forces in Europe, being assigned to AAF Station Frankfurt and was part of the USAFE European Air Transport System (EATS), supporting the occupation forces in Germany as well as carrying supplies and personnel between various stations in Western Europe. Inactivated on 30 September 1946 in Germany.

The squadron conducted worldwide airlift operations between 1973 and 1979 and provided pilot training from 1995-2012.[1] Due to a lack of a relevant mission for a lesser known sister squadron, the 32d was inactivated in an attempt to save the heritage of the 3rd Fighter Training Squadron. The 32d was officially inactivated on 14 Sep 2012 despite the fact that it was consistently ranked the base's top squadron in athletics, pilot production, morale, and other metrics.

Operations and Decorations

Lineage

Activated on 2 Mar 1942
Re-designated as: 32d Troop Carrier Squadron on 4 Jul 1942
Inactivated on 30 Sept 1946
Activated on 1 Sep 1973
Inactivated on 30 Jun 1979
Activated on 31 May 1993
Inactivated on 1 Oct 1993
Activated on 1 Jun 1995
Inactivated on 14 Sep 2012.

Assignments

Attached in Sep 1945
Assigned Dec 1945-30 Sep 1946
Attached to: 513th Tactical Airlift Wing, 5 Nov 1973-16 Jan 1974, 3 Sep-14 Nov 1975
Attached to: 322d Tactical Airlift Wing, 3 Feb-16 Apr 1975
Attached to: 435th Combat Support Group, 3 Jun-14 Aug 1976, 13 Feb-13 Apr 1977
Attached to: 435th Tactical Airlift Group, 9 Sep-14 Nov 1977
Attached to: 313th Tactical Airlift Group, 17 Feb-14 Apr 1979

Stations
Deployed at: RAF Mildenhall, England, 5 Nov 1973-16 Jan 1974, 3 Sep-14 Nov 1975, 9 Sep-14 Nov 1977, 17 Feb-14 Apr 1979;
Deployed at: Rhein-Main AB, West Germany, 3 Feb-16 Apr 1975, 3 Jun-14 Aug 1976, 13 Feb-13 Apr 1977

Aircraft

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

  1. 1 2 AFHRA 32 FTS Page

See also

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