34th Training Wing
Commandant of Cadets (formerly 34th Training Wing) | |
---|---|
Commanders | |
Current commander | Brig Gen Gavin Marks |
Notable commanders | Patrick K. Gamble Susan Y. Desjardins |
Insignia | |
Unofficial 34th Tactical Group emblem | |
World War II Tail Code[1] | Square S |
The Commandant of Cadets is a named organization of the United States Air Force based at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Until August 2006 the commander of the 34th Training Wing was "dual-hatted" as the Commandant of Cadets at the Academy. In that month the 34th Wing became a named organization.
The organization was first activated in 1941 as the 34th Bombardment Group. Following the
The 34th Tactical Group was activated in the early days of American participation in the
In 1984 the 34th Bombardment Group and the 34th Tactical Group were consolidated into a single unit. The consolidated unit was redesignated the 34th Training Wing and activated in October 1994 at the United States Air Force Academy, where it has served the Commandant of Cadets as the military training arm of the academy.
Mission
The mission of the Commandant of Cadets is to educate and train potential United States Air Force officers as the administrative organization responsible for cadet leadership and military training programs, instruction in military and airmanship courses, and general supervision of cadet life activities.[2]
History
World War II
The group was first activated at
After the
On 15 December 1942 the group moved to
The 34th began training with Consolidated B-24 Liberators for overseas combat operations on 5 January 1944. The ground echelon moved to the port of embarkation on 1 April 1944,[7][10] while the air echelon began its overseas movement on 31 May 1944, taking the southern ferry route, from Florida to Trinidad, Brazil, West Africa and Marrakesh, arriving at RAF Valley, Wales.[10] The group arrived at its permanent station, RAF Mendlesham, England, in April 1944 and entered combat on 23 May 1944.[7][10]
The 34th flew 170 operations from Mendlesham, the first sixty-two while flying B-24H and B-24J Liberators and the remainder with B-17G Flying Fortresses.
The mixture of B-24s and B-17s in the
During this period the group also supported ground forces during the Battle of the Bulge from December 1944 to January 1945. In March 1945, with few enemy industrial targets remaining and with Allied armies advancing across Germany, the 34th turned almost solely to interdicting enemy communications and supporting Allied ground forces.[7] As training programs in the States accelerated, replacement crews arriving later in the war tended to be younger than those arriving earlier. One 34th crew, that of 2d Lt Joe Novick, was claimed to be the youngest in VIII Bomber Command. Lt Novicki was the "old man" at 21 and all other crew members were 19 or 20 years old in 1945.[13] The 34th flew its last combat mission on 20 April 1945.[10]
After
Vietnam War
The 34th Tactical Group was activated in July 1963 to train
Plans had also been made to withdraw the 1st Air Commando Squadron and transfer its aircraft to the VNAF after replacing its AT-28s and B-26s with A-1Hs, but these plans were cancelled. Due to age and hard use in combat, two AT-28s lost their wings and crashed in March and April 1964, while in June all B-26s were grounded. The 1st only remained operational by borrowing nine T-28Bs from the VNAF. These incidents confirmed the plan to convert the squadron's attack aircraft to the Douglas A-1 Skyraider[17]
The 34th also flew combat missions, including
The group controlled its first jet aircraft in 1964 when
Aircrews of the 1st Air Commando Squadron performed the first combat tests of the FC-47 (later Douglas AC-47 Spooky) gunship beginning in December 1964. As more Air Force units moved to Bien Hoa,[20] the 6251st Tactical Fighter Wing replaced the group in July 1965, and the 34th was inactivated.[2]
Cadet training
In September 1985, the 34th Bombardment Group and the 34th Tactical Group were consolidated into a single unit. In late 1994, the consolidated unit was redesignated the 34th Training Wing and activated with two assigned groups as the administrative organization responsible for
Lineage
- 34th Bombardment Group
- Established as the 34th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 20 November 1940
- Activated on 15 January 1941
- Redesignated 34th Bombardment Group, c. 15 February 1944
- Inactivated on 28 August 1945
- Consolidated with the 34th Tactical Group as the 34th Tactical Group on 31 January 1984[22]
- 34th Training Wing
- Established as the 34th Tactical Group and activated, on 19 June 1963 (not organized)
- Organized on 8 July 1963
- Discontinued and inactivated on 8 July 1965
- Consolidated with the 34th Bombardment Group on 31 January 1984
- Consolidated unit
- Redesignated 34th Training Wing on 30 September 1994
- Activated on 31 October 1994
- Redesignated Commandant of Cadets on 30 August 2006[22]
Assignments
|
|
Components
Groups
- 34th Operations Group: 31 October 1994 – 4 October 2004[22]
- 34th Education Group: 7 November 1994 – 1 August 2006[21]
- 1st Cadet Group: 1 August 2006 – present[21]
- 2d Cadet Group: 1 August 2006 – present[21]
- 3d Cadet Group: 1 August 2006 – present[21]
- 4th Cadet Group: 1 August 2006 – present[21]
Squadrons
- 1st Reconnaissance (Squadron later 391st Bombardment Squadron): attached 15 January 1941 – 24 February 1942, assigned 25 February 1942 – 28 August 1945
- 1st Air Commando Squadron: 8 July 1963 – 8 July 1965
- 4th Bombardment Squadron: 15 January 1941 – 28 August 1945
- 7th Bombardment Squadron: 15 January 1941 – 28 August 1945
- 8th Bombardment Squadron: attached 5 August – 3 November 1964
- 13th Bombardment Squadron: attached 5 August – 3 November 1964; 17 February – 16 May 1965
- 18th Bombardment Squadron: 15 January 1941 – 28 August 1945
- 19th Tactical Air Support Squadron: 8 July 1963 – 8 August 1964; 21 October 1964 – 8 July 1965
- 602d Fighter Squadron (Commando): 18 October 1964 – 8 July 1965[22]
Stations
|
|
Aircraft
- Boeing B-17C Flying Fortress (1941–1942)
- Boeing B-17D Flying Fortress (1941–1942)
- Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress (1944–1945)[10]
- Douglas B-18 Bolo (1941)
- Consolidated B-24H Liberator (1942–1944)[10]
- Consolidated B-24J Liberator (1942–1944)[10]
- Douglas B-26 Invader (1963–1964)
- Martin B-57 Canberra (1964–1965)
- Cessna O-1 Bird Dog (1963–1965)
- Helio U-10 Courier (1963–1965)
- North American T-28 Trojan (1963–1964)
- Douglas C-47 Skytrain (1963–1965)
- Douglas AC-47 Spooky (1964–1965)
- Douglas A-1 Skyraider (1964–1965)[2]
- Cessna T-41 Mescalero, (1994–2004)[24][note 3]
- Cessna T-51, (1995–2004)[24]
- de Havilland Canada UV-18 Twin Otter (1994–2004)[25]
Awards and campaigns
Award streamer | Award | Dates | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
[8 July] 1963 – 31 Jul 1964 | 34th Tactical Group[2][note 4] | |
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 September 1994 – 31 October 1995 | 34th Training Wing[2] | |
Air Force Organizational Excellence Award |
1 January 2005 – 31 December 2006 | 34th Training Wing (later Commandant of Cadets)[2] |
Campaign Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Antisubmarine | 7 December 1941-c. 13 May 1942 | 34th Bombardment Group[2] | |
Air Offensive, Europe | 23 April 1944 – 5 June 1944 | 34th Bombardment Group[2] | |
Normandy | 6 June 1944 – 24 July 1944 | 34th Bombardment Group[2] | |
Northern France | 25 July 1944 – 14 September 1944 | 34th Bombardment Group[2] | |
Rhineland | 15 September 1944 – 21 March 1945 | 34th Bombardment Group[2] | |
Central Europe | 22 March 1944 – 21 May 1945 | 34th Bombardment Group[2] | |
Air Combat, EAME Theater | 7 December 1941 – 11 May 1945 | 34th Bombardment Group[2] | |
Vietnam Advisory | 8 July 1963 – 1 March 1965 | 34th Tactical Group[2] | |
Vietnam Defensive | 2 March 1965 – 8 July 1965 | 34th Tactical Group[2] |
See also
- Commandant of Cadets of the United States Air Force Academy
- B-17 Flying Fortress units of the United States Army Air Forces
- B-24 Liberator units of the United States Army Air Forces
- List of B-57 units of the United States Air Force
- List of Douglas A-1 Skyraider operators
- List of Douglas A-26 Invader operators
- List of Douglas C-47 Skytrain operators
References
Notes
- ^ The plane is Douglas-Tulsa B-24H-15-DT Serial 41-28851 of the 7th Bomb Squadron. This aircraft was damaged during a mission on 24 August 1944 and made an emergency landing in Sweden (MACR 8461). The aircraft was interned until the end of the war then repaired and flown back to the UK in 1945.
- ^ The aircraft is Lockheed/Vega B-17G-65-VE Serial 44-8457
- ^ This source fails to reflect the transfer of the 557th Flying Training Squadron from the 12th Operations Group to the 34th Operations Group in 1994. It was transferred from the 34th to the 306th Flying Training Group in 2004. Research Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, October 2004, Maxwell AFB, AL
- ^ Although this award was earned in combat, it predates the authorization of the Combat "V" device for wear on the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award ribbon.
Citations
- ^ Watkins, pp. 30–31
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Haulman, Daniel L. (25 April 2018). "Factsheet Commandant of Caders (USAFA)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
- ^ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 26–27
- ^ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 42
- ^ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 98
- ^ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 480
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Maurer, Combat Units, pp. 87–89
- ^ Craven & Cate (eds.), Vol. VI, p. xxxvi
- ^ Wilson, p. 128
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Freeman (1970), p. 240
- ^ Freeman (1970), p. 156
- ^ Freeman (1970), p. 172
- ^ Freeman (1970), p. 229
- ^ a b "1st SOS/ACS Squadron History". A-1 Skyraider Association. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- ^ "Factsheet: FAC in SEA: The Advisory Years". National Museum of the Air Force. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- ^ Momyer, p. 11
- ^ Berger, p. 29
- ^ Berger, pp. 29, 34
- ^ Berger, p. 34
- ^ Berger, p. 40
- ^ a b c d e f Research Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, August 2006, Maxwell AFB, AL
- ^ a b c d e f Lineage information, including assignments, stations, components, and aircraft, in Warnock, Factsheet 34 Training Wing, except as noted
- ^ Station number in Anderson
- ^ a b Robertson, Patsy (23 September 2010). "Factsheet 557 Flying Training Squadron (AETC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- ^ Robertson, Patsy (23 September 2010). "Factsheet 98 Flying Training Squadron (AETC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
Bibliography
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- Anderson, Capt. Barry (1985). Army Air Forces Stations: A Guide to the Stations Where U.S. Army Air Forces Personnel Served in the United Kingdom During World War II (PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
- Berger, Carl, ed. (1977). The United States Air Force in Southeast Asia, 1961–1973: An Illustrated History (PDF). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. LCCN 76608038. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- Craven, Wesley F; Cate, James L, eds. (1955). The Army Air Forces in World War II. Vol. VI, Men & Planes. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press. LCCN 48003657.
- Freeman, Roger A. (1970). The Mighty Eighth: Units, Men and Machines (A History of the US 8th Army Air Force). London, England, UK: Macdonald and Company. ISBN 978-0-87938-638-2.
- Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961]. Air Force Combat Units of World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. LCCN 61060979.
- Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. OCLC 72556.
- ISBN 978-0912799285. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- Watkins, Robert (2008). Battle Colors: Insignia and Markings of the Eighth Air Force in World War II. Vol. I (VIII) Bomber Command. Atglen, PA: Shiffer Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7643-1987-7.
- Wilson, Art (2008). Runways in the Sand: The History of Blythe Army Air Base. Blythe, California: Art Wilson.
- Further reading
- Freeman, Roger A. (1978) Airfields of the Eighth: Then and Now. After the Battle ISBN 0-900913-09-6
- Freeman, Roger A. (1991) The Mighty Eighth: The Colour Record. Cassell & Co. ISBN 0-304-35708-1
External links
"34th Bomb Group Mission Summary: May–August 1944". Col Bob Simpson. 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.