32d Flying Training Squadron

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 Holland. 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. 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

 * Combat Operations. World War II: Included airborne assaults on Sicily, Normandy, Holland, and Germany, as well as aerial transportation in the Mediterranean and European Theaters of Operation (MTO and ETO).


 * Campaigns. World War II: Sicily; Naples-Foggia; Rome-Arno; Normandy; Northern France; Rhineland; Central Europe.


 * Decorations. Distinguished Unit Citations: Sicily, 11 Jul 1943; France, [6-7] Jun 1944. Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards: 1 Jul 1995-30 Jun 1996; 1 Jul 1996-30 Jun 1997; 1 Jul 1997-30 Jun 1998; 1 Jul 1998-30 Jun 1999; 1 Jul 1999-30 Jun 2000; 1 Jul 2000-30 Jun 2001; 1 Jul 2001-30 Jun 2002; 1 Jul 2001-30 Jun 2003; 1 Jul 2003-30 Jun 2004; 1 Jul 2004-30 Jun 2005.

Lineage

 * Constituted as 32d Transport Squadron on 28 Jan 1942
 * Activated on 2 Mar 1942
 * Re-designated as: 32d Troop Carrier Squadron on 4 Jul 1942
 * Inactivated on 30 Sept 1946


 * Re-designated as: 32d Tactical Airlift Squadron on 18 Jun 1973
 * Activated on 1 Sep 1973
 * Inactivated on 30 Jun 1979


 * Re-designated as: 32d Airlift Flight on 1 May 1993
 * Activated on 31 May 1993
 * Inactivated on 1 Oct 1993


 * Re-designated as: 32d Flying Training Squadron on 3 Mar 1995
 * Activated on 1 Jun 1995
 * Inactivated on 14 Sep 2012.

Assignments

 * 314th Transport Group, 2 Mar 1942
 * 50th Transport Wing, 31 Mar 1942
 * 314th Troop Carrier Group, 19 Aug 1942
 * 441st Troop Carrier Group
 * Attached in Sep 1945
 * Assigned Dec 1945-30 Sep 1946


 * 314th Tactical Airlift Wing, 1 Sep 1973
 * 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


 * 314th Tactical Airlift Group, 1 Nov 1978-30 Jun 1979
 * Attached to: 313th Tactical Airlift Group, 17 Feb-14 Apr 1979


 * 46th Test Wing, 31 May-1 Oct 1993
 * 71st Operations Group, 1 Jun 1995–14 Sep 2012

Stations

 * Drew Field, Florida, 2 Mar 1942
 * Bowman Field, Kentucky, 24 Jun 1942
 * Army Air Base, Knob Noster, Missouri, 4 Nov 1942
 * Lawson Field, Georgia, 22 Feb-4 May 1943
 * Berguent Airfield, French Morocco, May 1943
 * Kairouan Airfield, Tunisia, 26 Jun 1943
 * Castelvetrano Airfield, Sicily, 1 Sep 1943-13 Feb 1944
 * RAF Saltby (AAF-538), England, 20 Feb 1944
 * Poix Airfield (B-44), France, 28 Feb 1945


 * AAF Station Frankfurt, Germany, 23 Sep 1945-30 Sep 1946
 * Little Rock AFB, Arkansas, 1 Sep 1973-30 Jun 1979
 * 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


 * Eglin AFB, Florida, 31 May-1 Oct 1993
 * Vance AFB, Oklahoma, 1 Jun 1995-14 Sep 2012

Aircraft

 * C-47 Skytrain (1942–1946)
 * C-130 Hercules (1973–1979)
 * T-1 Jayhawk (1995–2012)