394th Combat Training Squadron

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"4th Observation Squadron" redirects here. For the 4th Observation Squadron of 1941-1943, see 4th Reconnaissance Squadron.
This article is about the 4th Reconnaissance Squadron of 1938-1942. For other uses of 4th Reconnaissance Squadron, see 4th Reconnaissance Squadron (disambiguation).

394th Combat Training Squadron
Distinguished Unit Citation
Insignia
394th Combat Training Squadron emblem

The 394th Combat Training Squadron was a United States Air Force unit assigned to the 509th Operations Group until inactivated on 13 April 2018. It was stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. The mission of the squadron was to train Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit aircrews, a mission now executed by the 13th Bomb Squadron. The 394th is the fourth oldest squadron in the United States Air Force. Its history dated to 5 May 1917 as the 4th Aero Squadron.

The 394th Combat Training Squadron provided the 509th Bomb Wing with qualified, mission-ready B-2 and Northrop T-38 Talon pilots to support worldwide Joint Chiefs of Staff taskings until its inactivation in 2018. The 394th was also responsible for implementing all B-2 and T-38 formal training courses. The unit supervised and oversaw all T-38 operations and performed quality assurance for all maintenance and aircrew training devices, including weapon system trainers. Upon the 394th Combat Training Squadron's inactivation in 2018, its mission and responsibilities were transferred to the 13th Bomb Squadron.

History

World War I

The squadron was originally activated as the 4th Aero Squadron on 5 May 1917 during

Curtiss JN-6(multi-purpose aircraft that were outfitted for a variety of duties). The unit remained in Oklahoma until 2 January 1919 the unit was demobilized[2]
when all flying squadrons at Post were consolidated into the Flying School Detachment, Post Field.

Inter-War period

After World War I the second predecessor of the unit, also named the 4th Aero Squadron was activated at

Hawaiian Department
.

On 14 March 1921, the unit became known as the 4th Squadron (Observation). Less than two years later, on 25 January 1923, the Army Air Service renamed the unit the 4th Observations Squadron. During this period, the squadron took to building airfields. A lieutenant and twenty enlisted persons from the 4th began construction of

5th Composite Group (later, 5th Bombardment Group). During its Hawaiian days, the squadron was involved in an unusual mission. In 1926 it sowed seeds from the air for the U.S. Forestry Division.[2]

In the late 1930s and early 1940s, the squadron received three more name changes as well as new aircraft. On 25 January 1935 long range observation units that were part of

General Headquarters Air Force policy that each bombardment group would be assigned a long range reconnaissance squadron, the 4th was attached to the group.[3]

World War II

The squadron suffered devastating casualties and equipment damage during the

LB-30 Liberators assigned at this time and was redesignated the 394th Bombardment Squadron.[2]

The squadron left Hawaii in November 1942 and operated in the

Western Desert Campaign. It served in combat during the Allied drive from the Solomons to the Philippines. The unit flew long patrol and photographic missions over the Solomon Islands and the Coral Sea, attacked Japanese shipping off Guadalcanal, and raided airfields in the northern Solomons until August 1943. It then struck enemy bases and installations on Bougainville, New Britain, and New Ireland
.

The squadron raided the heavily defended Japanese base on

Clark Field
, Philippines where it was inactivated on 29 April 1946.

Modern era

For the next 41 years, the 394th waited for the chance to serve again. That opportunity arose in 1996 when the Air Force redesignated the squadron as the 394th Combat Training Squadron and turned it over to Air Combat Command for activation. On 7 November 1996, the squadron was activated at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, as part of the 509th Operations Group of the 509th Bomb Wing.[2]

Since then, the 394th has supported the 509th in a myriad of ways including

Operation Allied Force
. From 23 March through 22 May 1999, the squadron sent its aircrews and aircraft almost nightly into harm’s way attempting to end the strife in the Kosovo region.[2]

Members of the 394th participated in Operation Enduring Freedom by flying the first of a series of long duration missions. Two B-2s, the Spirit of Georgia and the Spirit of America, departed Whiteman on 7 October 2001, bombed targets in Afghanistan, and then went on to land at a forward location following missions lasting 40.3 and 44.3 hours, respectively. Following engine running crew changes, the B-2s and crews returned to Whiteman on 9 October after sorties lasting 29 hours each for the two bombers. Total engine run time for the two B-2s was 69.3 and 73.3 hours, respectively. The sortie accomplished in the Spirit of America (73.3 hours) was the longest combat sortie in the history of the Air Force to date.[2]

Lineage

Emblem of the 4th Aero Squadron
  • Organized as the 4th Aero Squadron on 5 May 1917
Redesignated Squadron B, Post Field, OK, on 22 July 1918
Demobilized on 2 January 1919
  • Reconstituted and consolidated (1924) with the 4th Aero Squadron which was organized on 23 June 1919
Redesignated 4th Squadron (Observation) on 14 March 1921
Redesignated 4th Observation Squadron on 25 January 1923
Redesignated 4th Reconnaissance Squadron on 25 January 1938
Redesignated 4th Reconnaissance Squadron (Medium Range) on 6 December 1939
Redesignated 4th Reconnaissance Squadron (Heavy) on 20 November 1940
Redesignated 394th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 22 April 1942
Redesignated 394th Bombardment Squadron, Heavy by September 1944
Inactivated on 29 April 1946
  • Redesignated 394th Combat Training Squadron on 22 October 1996
Activated on 6 November 1996
Inactivated c. 13 April 2018[4]

Assignments

  • Eastern Department, 23 June 1919
  • 2d Observation Group, 15 December 1919 (attached to the Eastern Department until 8 January 1920)
  • Hawaiian Department, 31 January 1922 (Divisional aviation for the Hawaiian Division, February 1922 – January 1927)
  • 5th Composite Group (later 5th Bombardment) Group, assigned 11 January 1927, attached 12 October 1938, assigned 25 February 1942 – 29 April 1946
  • 509th Operations Group, 6 November 1996 – c. 13 April 2018[4]

Stations

Aircraft

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ History of Henry Post Army Airfield – oldest airfield in the Army
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Brief History of the 394th Combat Training Squadron" (PDF). Whiteman Air Force Base Office of History. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 December 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
  3. ^ Maurer (A(*&), p. 341
  4. ^ a b c d Staff writer, no byline (13 April 2018). "Whiteman's esteemed B-2 Spirit pilots merged into single squadron". 509th Bomb Wing Public Affairs. Retrieved 10 May 2018.

Bibliography

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

External links
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