14th Flying Training Wing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| 14th Flying Training Wing | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Active | 20 November 1940 — present |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | Air Force |
| Type | Training |
| Part of | Air Education and Training Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Columbus Air Force Base |
| Nickname | Blaze |
| Motto | Day and Night - Peace and War |
| Decorations | Presidential Unit Citation Distinguished Unit Citation Meritorious Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross With Palm |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Colonel David Gerber |
| Notable commanders |
Robert H. Foglesong |
The 14th Flying Training Wing (14 FTW) is a wing of the United States Air Force based out of Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi.
Contents |
[edit] Mission
Building the World's Best Warriors, Leaders and Professional Military Pilots.
[edit] History
The 14th trained for fighter operations and patrolled west coast of United States, 1941-1942. It moved to England in summer 1942 and began escorting bombers to targets in France. The group deployed to North Africa in November 1942 and performed escort, strafing, and reconnaissance missions. During the Allied assault on Pantelleria Island in the Mediterranean Sea, the group flew dive-bombing missions. It provided air support during the Allied invasions of Sicily and Italy. The group moved to Italy in December 1943 and flew primarily escort missions for bombers attacking enemy targets in Italy, France, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Romania, and Bulgaria. On 2 April 1944, the 14 Fighter Group earned a Distinguished Unit Citation for escorting bombers attacking ball-bearing and aircraft production facilities at Steyr, Austria. The group provided air support for the Allied invasion of southern France in August 1944. Besides escorting bombers, the group also flew reconnaissance, strafing, and dive-bombing missions against various enemy targets in southern Europe. The 14th was inactivated in Italy in Sep 1945.
The 14th was reactivated in Maine and trained for fighter operations, 1946-1949, and for interception of enemy aircraft, 1955-1960, converting to jet aircraft between 1957 and 1958.
The 14th performed combat operations in Southeast Asia, March 1966-September 1971, operating from numerous locations in South Vietnam and Thailand. Operations included close and direct air support, interdiction, combat airlift, aerial resupply, visual and photographic reconnaissance, unconventional warfare, counterinsurgency operations, psychological warfare (including leaflet dropping and aerial broadcasting), forward air control operations and escort, search and rescue, escort for convoy and defoliation operations, flare drops, civic actions, and humanitarian actions. The wing also operated Nha Trang Air Base, South Vietnam, March 1966-October 1969, and provided maintenance support for a number of tenants. The wing trained Vietnam Air Force (VNAF) personnel in AC-119 operations and maintenance, February-August 1971, and transferred some of its AC-119s to the VNAF, August-September 1971 as part of a phase-down for inactivation.
The 14th replaced, and absorbed resources of, the 3650th Pilot Training Wing in June 1972 at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi, and assumed an undergraduate pilot training program, plus base operations and maintenance. From 1993 to 2000, the wing also trained pilots in fighter fundamentals, using AT-38 aircraft. Fighter fundamentals training at Columbus resumed on May 10, 2007 with the reassignment of the 49th Fighter Training Squadron from Moody AFB. On 27 January 1995, Second Lieutenant Kelly Flinn graduated from pilot training with the 14th Flying Training Wing on her way to becoming the first woman to enter B-52 Stratofortress combat crew training.
[edit] Operations
[edit] Previous designations
- 14th Pursuit Group (1940 – 1942)
- 14th Fighter Group (1942 – 1947)
- 14th Fighter Wing (1947 – 1966)
- 14th Air Commando Wing (1966 – 1968)
- 14th Special Operations Wing (1968 – 1972)
- 14th Flying Training Wing (1972 – Present)
[edit] Assignments
[edit] Major command
- Northwest African Training Command (1943)
- Pacific Air Forces (1966 – 1971)
- Air Education and Training Command (1972 - Present)
[edit] Numbered Air Force
- Fifteenth Air Force (1945)
- First Air Force (1946 – 1949)
- Seventh Air Force (1966 – 1971)
- Nineteenth Air Force (1993 – Present)
[edit] Subordinate organizations
|
14th Operations Group (14 OG)
|
14th Mission Support Group (14 MSG)
|
14th Medical Group (14 MDG)
Additionally, the 14th Comptroller Squadron (14 CPTS) reports directly to the 14 TFW.
[edit] Bases stationed
- Hamilton Field, California (1941)
- March Field, California (1941 – 1942)
- Hamilton Field, California (1942)
- RAF Atcham, England (1942)
- Algeria (1942 – 1943)
- French Morocco (1943)
- Tunisia (1943)
- Italy (1943 – 1945)
- Dow Air Force Base, Maine (1946 – 1949)
- Nha Trang Air Base, South Vietnam (1966 – 1969)
- Phan Rang Air Base, South Vietnam (1969 – 1971)
- Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi (1972 – Present)
[edit] Aircraft operated
|
1940s
|
Vietnam War
|
Flying Training
|
[edit] Unit shields
[edit] External links
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
