306th Flying Training Group
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| 306th Flying Training Group | |
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 306th Flying Training Group Emblem |
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| Active | 1 March 1942 — present |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Type | Aircraft Flight Training |
| Part of | United States Air Force Academy |
The 306th Flying Training Group is a unit of the United States Air Force. During the Second World War it was designated as the 306th Bomb Group and flew bombing missions against Nazi Germany using the B-17 Flying Fortress. Redesignated the 306th Bombardment Wing, Heavy and then the 306th Strategic Wing as part of the Strategic Air Command (SAC) during the Cold War, it later flew the B-47 Stratojet, KC-97 Stratotanker, B-52 Stratofortress and KC-135 Stratotanker. It also flew the latter two aircraft during the war in Vietnam.
In its present capacity, the 306th serves as the airmanship training unit of the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA), having replaced the 34th Operations Group in 2004. The designation "306th" was deliberately selected by the historian of the Air Education and Training Command (AETC) to connect the training mission of the Group with its relationship to the book and movie Twelve O'Clock High (AETC News Service release 100104308, October 1, 2004).
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[edit] Lineage
- Constituted as 306th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on January 28, 1942, and activated on March 1, 1942, then re-designated 306th Bombardment Group, Heavy, on August 20, 1943.) Inactivated on December 25, 1946.
- Redesignated 306th Bombardment Group, Very Heavy, on June 11, 1947 and activated on July 1, 1947, then re-designated 306th Bombardment Group, Medium, on August 11, 1948). Inactivated on June 16, 1952.
- Redesignated as 306th Bombardment Wing.
- Redesignated 306th Bombardment Wing, Heavy. Inactivated July 1974.
- Reconstituted, redesignated and activated as 306th Strategic Wing on 15 Aug 1976. Inactivated 1 Feb 1992.
- Redesignated 306th Flying Training Group on 30 September 2004 and activated on 4 October 2004.
[edit] Assignments
Second Air Force, 1 March 1942; 1st Bombardment Wing, 6 September 1942; 40th Combat Bombardment Wing, Sep 1943; 9th Air Division, 16 May 1945; 98th Bombardment Wing, Sep 1945; 40th Bombardment Wing, 15 November 1945; 128th Replacement Battalion (AAF/ET Replacement Depot), 22 August 1946; 40th Bombardment Wing, 13 September 1946; European Air Materiel Command, 20-25 December 1946. Strategic Air Command, 1 July 1947; Fifteenth Air Force, 16 December 1948; Second Air Force, 1 April 1950; 306th Bombardment Wing, 1 September 1950-1 Jul 1974; Eighth Air Force, 15 Aug 1976 - 1 Feb 1992; Nineteenth Air Force, 4 October 2004-.
[edit] Components
- 34th Reconnaissance Squadron (later, 423d Bombardment): 1 March 1942-25 December 1946.
- 94th Flying Training Squadron: 4 October 2004-.
- 98th Flying Training Squadron: 4 October 2004-.
- 306th Air Refueling Squadron: 1 September 1950-16 June 1952.
- 367th Bombardment Squadron: 1 March 1942-25 December 1946; 1 July 1947-16 June 1952.
- 368th Bombardment Squadron: 1 March 1942-25 December 1946; 1 July 1947-16 June 1952.
- 369th Bombardment Squadron: 1 March 1942-29 June 1946; 1 July 1947-16 June 1952.
- 367th Bombardment Squadron: 1 Sep 1950 - 1 Jul 1974
- 306th Air Refueling Squadron: 1 Sep 1950 - 1 Jul 1974
- 557th Flying Training Squadron: 4 October 2004-.
[edit] Aircraft
B-17, 1942-1946. B-29, 1948-1951; B-50, 1950-1951; B-47, 1951-1963; KC-97, 1951-1963; B-52, 1963-1974; KC-135, 1963-1974, 1976-1992; UV-18, TG-10B/C/D, TG-14, TG-15A/B, T-41 2004-
[edit] Operations
[edit] USAAF Service / World War II
The 306th Bombardment Group was activated on March 1, 1942, at Gowen AAB, Idaho, as a B-17 Flying Fortress bomb group, with four squadrons assigned: 367th Bomb Squadron (H), 368th Bomb Squadron (H), 369th Bomb Squadron (H), and 423d Bomb Squadron (H).
Moved on 6 April 1942, to Wendover Army Air Field, Utah, where it trained for bombardment operations using 40 B-17E aircraft ferried from Westover Army Air Field, Massachusetts. Moved to England, August-September 1942 and entered combat in October 1942.
Based in Thurleigh, Bedfordshire, in south-central England, as part of the Eighth Air Force, the 306th was the longest continuously-serving bomb group of the Eighth Air Force during World War II, and led the first mission against a target in Germany. The novel and film Twelve O'Clock High were based in large part on incidents occurring in the group in 1942 and 1943.
Between October 1942 and April 1945, the group bombed a variety of enemy targets in Europe, including railroad facilities and submarine pens in France and ball-bearing works, oil plants, marshaling yards, chemical plants, aircraft factories, and foundries in Germany. Took part in the first penetration into Germany by heavy bombers of the Eighth Air Force on 27 January 1943 by attacking U-boat yards at Wilhelmshaven. Sergent Maynard Harrison Smith received the Medal of Honor for his actions on 1 May 1943. When the aircraft on which he was a gunner was hit by the enemy and set on fire, the sergeant threw explosive ammunition overboard, manned a gun until the German fighters were driven off, administered first aid to the wounded tail gunner, and extinguished the fire. Without fighter escort and in the face of powerful opposition, the group completed an assault against aircraft factories in central Germany on 11 January 1944, earning a Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for the mission. The group participated in the Big Week intensive campaign against the German aircraft industry, 20-25 February 1944. The group earned another DUC for effectively bombing an aircraft assembly plant at Bernberg, Gummersbach, Germany on 22 February, even though escort fighters had abandoned the mission because of weather. Often supported ground forces and attacked interdictory targets in addition to its strategic operations. Hit airfields and marshaling yards in France, Belgium, and Germany in preparation for Normandy. On D-Day, 6 June 1944, the unit raided railroad bridges and coastal guns in support of the assault. Assisted ground forces during the Saint-Lô breakthrough in July, then participated in the airborne portion of Operation Market Garden, the invasion of Holland in September. During the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944-January 1945, the 306th attacked airfields and marshaling yards to help stop the German advance. Bombed enemy positions in support of the airborne assault across the Rhine River in March 1945, the Operation Varsity portion of the Western Allied invasion of Germany.
Remained in the theater after VE Day and engaged in special photographic mapping duty in western Europe and North Africa, 1945-1946.
Inactivated December 1946, the group received the Distinguished Unit Citation with one Oak Leaf Cluster and six campaign stars.
[edit] Decorations
- Distinguished Unit Citations:
- Germany - 11 January 1944
- Germany - 22 February 1944
[edit] Campaigns
- Europe Air Offensive
[edit] Commanding officers
| COMMANDING OFFICERS: | ||
|---|---|---|
| (1 April 1942 – June 1946) | ||
| Col Charles B Overacker Jr. | 16 March 1942 -- 3 January 1943 | |
| Col Frank A Armstrong Jr. | 3 January 1943 - 17 February 1943 | |
| Col Claude E Putnam | 17 February 1943 – 20 June 1943 | |
| Col George L Robinson | 20 June 1943 – Sep 1944 | |
| Col James S Sutton | Sep 1944 – 16 April 1945 | |
| Col Hudson H Upham | 16 April 1945 – May 1946 | |
[edit] USAAF stations
| Station | State/Country | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Gowen Field | Idaho | March 1, 1942 — April 6, 1942 |
| Wendover Field | Utah | April 6, 1942 — August 1, 1942 |
| RAF Thurleigh | England | September 7, 1942 — December 1, 1945 |
| Giebelstadt | Germany | December 1, 1945 — February 28, 1946 |
| Istres | France | February 28, 1946 — August 16, 1946 |
| Fürstenfeldbruck | Germany | August 16, 1946 — September 13, 1946 |
| Lechfeld (Augsburg) | Germany | September 13, 1946 — December 25, 1946 |
[edit] USAF Service / Cold War and Vietnam
Between Jul 1947 and Jun 1952, the group trained in the United States for strategic bombardment operations. The group was reactivated in Jul 1947 at Andrews Air Force Base (AFB) in Maryland, as the 306th Bombardment Wing, and became part of Strategic Air Command (SAC). The 306th switched to B-29s when it moved to MacDill AFB, Florida in 1948. In November 1951, the unit transitioned to the jet-powered B-47, and two years later it was the first operational B-47 wing. The B-47s of the 306th, along with their KC-97 refueling tanker aircraft, became SAC's number one line of defense in their Nuclear Deterrence strategy. For its role in advancing jet bombardment tactics, the wing was awarded the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award citation (OUC). During this period, the 306th also figured prominently in the filming of the 1955 Jimmy Stewart and June Allyson film, Strategic Air Command, a portion of which was filmed in and around the 306th Bomb Wing and its B-47 aircraft at MacDill AFB.
As B-52s replaced the B-47, the 306th was inactivated at MacDill AFB in April 1963 and immediately reactivated the same day at McCoy AFB, Florida as the 306th Bombardment Wing, Heavy (SAC), where it replaced the former 4047th Strategic Wing. Transitioning to the B-52D Stratofortress and KC-135A Stratotanker aircraft during the spring and summer of 1963, the 306th assumed strategic nuclear alert duties under SAC's "Chrome Dome" airborne alert program. Under this program, each SAC bomb wing was periodically tasked, for a specified period of time, to maintain a portion of its bombers airborne and ready to strike. On 16 Nov 1963, two of eight ground alert lines maintained by the wing's 367th Bombardment Squadron (367 BS) were converted to airborne alert lines. Two B-52Ds were flown in cell along the southern "Chrome Dome" route across Spain to the Mediterranean every day until 31 Dec 1963. Each B-52D required two air refuelings inbound to Spain and two more outbound over the Mediterranean, with mission duration averaging 25 to 27 hours in length. The 306th Air Refueling Squadron (306 ARS) ground alert was also degraded to support "Chrome Dome" refueling along the southern route. The 306 BW was tasked to maintain airborne alert several more times until the wing deployed to support conventional bombing operations in Southeast Asia in 1966. Ground alert was reinstated at the SAC directed 50 percent of aircraft assigned rate after each "Chrome Dome" period. In January 1964, KC-135 tanker crews changed to seven day alert tours while B-52 bomber crews maintained a three-four day cycle. One additional tanker alert line was added for a total of nine.
Beginning in 1966, the 306 BW also began routinely deploying to Southeast Asia as part of Arc Light and Linebacker operations in Vietnam, deploying at various times to Andersen AFB, Guam; Kadena AB, Okinawa and U Tapao Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand. During the 1960s and 1970s, the 306th also served as the host wing for numerous iterations of the annual SAC Bombing and Navigation Competition held at McCoy AFB. The 306th Bombardment Wing (Heavy) inactivated in July 1974 as part of a post-Vietnam reduction in force and the related base closure process for McCoy AFB. Its B-52D and KC-135A aircraft assets were redistributed to other SAC wings. In 1984, a B-52D, on loan from the National Museum of the United States Air Force, was flown to the former McCoy AFB, now Orlando International Airport, for permanent static display at the airport's McCoy AFB / B-52 Memorial Park.
On 15 August 1976, the 306th was activated once again as the 306th Strategic Wing (SAC) at Ramstein AB, West Germany. The 306 SW assumed operational control for SAC air refueling and reconnaissance resources in the European Theater. On 1 July 1978, the 306 SW’s headquarters moved to RAF Mildenhall, England. For most of this period the 306 SW operated KC-135s and RC-135s from RAF Mildenhall, Zaragoza AB, Spain and Helinikon AB, Greece. In 1985, KC-10A Extender aircraft were assigned to Zaragoza. The 306th supported air refueling requirements for a variety of aircraft in the European Theater including USAF EC-135s, RC-135s, USAF & NATO E-3As, USAF F-111s, F-4s, C-141s, KC-10s, B-52s, B-1s, SR-71s, C-5s and RAF Lightning F6 aircraft. The 306 SW operated at RAF Mildenhall until 1 February 1992 when it was inactivated concurrent with SAC's disestablishment and the establishment/activation of the 100th Air Refueling Wing (USAFE). With its tanker mission transferred to United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), the 100 ARW assumed the previous responsibilities of the 306 SW at RAF Mildenhall and became Headquarters, European Tanker Task Force.
The 306th was redesignated the 306th Flying Training Group and reactivated in October 2004 as part of the Nineteenth Air Force of the Air Education and Training Command, headquartered in Randolph AFB, Texas in order to serve as the airmanship training unit for the Cadet Wing of the United States Air Force Academy.
| WING COMMANDERS: | ||
|---|---|---|
| Col Robert F Harris | May 1946 – Jun 1946 | |
| Lt Col Earl W Kesling | Jun 1946 - 13 August 1948 | |
| Lt Col Charles R Heffner | 13 August 1948 - 1 November 1948 | |
| Lt Col Loran D Briggs | 1 November 1948 - 30 August 1949 | |
| Col John A Hilger | 1 September 1949 - Mar 1950 | |
| Col Michael N W McCoy | Mar 1950 - 16 June 1952 | |
[edit] USAF Stations
| Station | State/Country | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Andrews Air Force Base | Maryland | 1 July 1947 — 31 July 1948 |
| MacDill Air Force Base | Florida | 1 August 1948 — April 1963 |
| McCoy Air Force Base | Florida | April 1963 — July 1974 |
| Ramstein Air Base | Germany | 15 August 1976 — 30 June 1978 |
| RAF Mildenhall | United Kingdom | 1 July 1978 — 1 February 1992 |
| U. S. Air Force Academy | Colorado | October 2004 — Present |
[edit] Emblem
Original emblem approved on 6 January 1943; modified version approved on 21 October 2004.
[edit] External links
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