 | This article'slead sectionmay be too short to adequatelysummarize the key points. Please consider expanding the lead toprovide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article.(August 2018) |
5th Flying Training Squadron | |
|---|---|
 5th Flying Training SquadronT-1 Jayhawk | |
| Active | 1941–1945; 1946–1988; 1990–1991; 1997–present |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Pilot Training |
| Part of | Air Force Reserve Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma |
| Nickname | Spittin' Kittens |
| Motto | Isti Non PenetrabuntLatin They Shall not Penetrate[note 1] |
| Engagements |
|
| Decorations |
|
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Jacksel M. Broughton |
| Insignia | |
| 5th Flying Training Squadron emblem[1][note 2] |  |
| 5th Fighter-All Weather Sq emblem(approved 16 January 1951)[2] |  |
| 5th Fighter Squadron emblem(World War II)[3] |  |
The5th Flying Training Squadron is part of theUnited States Air Force'sAir Force Reserve Command serving as areserve associate squadron operating with the71st Flying Training Wing atVance Air Force Base, Oklahoma. It operates theRaytheon T-1 Jayhawk,Northrop T-38C Talon, andBeechcraft T-6A Texan II aircraft conducting flight training in support of the71st Operations Group.
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(August 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Thesquadron was established atSelfridge Field, Michigan as the5th Pursuit Squadron anArmy Air Corpsfighter squadron in January 1941. It was assigned to theNortheast Air District withCurtiss P-40 Warhawks andBell P-39 Airacobras as part of the defense buildup prior to the United States entry into World War II.
It deployed to theEuropean Theater of Operations, assigned toVIII Fighter Command in August 1942. Its Airacobras were deemed unsuitable for the environment for escort duty. It was re-equipped withSupermarine Spitfires and was trained by theRoyal Air Force. It flew some escort missions withVIII Bomber CommandBoeing B-17 Flying Fortresses andConsolidated B-24 Liberators during the fall of 1942.
It was sent to North Africa in late 1942 as part of theOperation Torch invasion forces, and took up station in Algeria. It was reassigned toTwelfth Air Force and flew both fighter escort missions for the Flying Fortresses operating from Algeria and tacticalinterdiction strikes on enemy targets of opportunity in Algeria and Tunisia during theNorth African Campaign.
Following the German defeat and withdrawal from North Africa the squadron participated in the Allied invasion ofSicily and invasion of Italy and subsequent drive of theUnited States Fifth Army up the Italian Peninsula. Engaged primarily in tactical operations after November 1943, supporting ground forces and attacking enemy targets of opportunity such as railroads, road convoys, bridges, strafing enemy airfields and other targets. It deployed toCorsica in 1944 to attack enemy targets in support of Free French forces in the liberation of the island and to support Allied Forces in the invasion of Southern France. It continued offensive operations until the German capitulation in May 1945. It returned to the United States and was inactivated during the fall of 1945.
It was reactivated in 1946 as aUnited States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) fighter squadron. It was primarily anoccupation unit atSchweinfurt Airfield andBad Kissingen Airfield in Germany. It was reassigned from USAFE toAir Defense Command (ADC) in June 1947, equipped withNorthrop P-61 Black Widows, and stationed atMitchel Field, New York, to performair defense of the eastern United States.
In June 1948 the unit transitioned intoNorth American F-82 Twin Mustangs. In the fall of 1949 the unit moved toMcGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey. In August 1955 the 5th moved on paper toSuffolk County Air Force Base, New York. In the spring of 1957 the unit transitioned intoConvair F-102 Delta Daggers.
In February 1960 the 5th moved toMinot Air Force Base, North Dakota, and transitioned into theConvair F-106 Delta Dart under the32d Fighter Wing.[4] Although the number of ADC interceptor squadrons remained almost constant in the early 1960s, attrition (and the fact that production lines closed in 1961) caused a gradual drop in the number of planes assigned to typical fighter squadrons, from 24 to typically 18 by 1964 and 12 by 1967. These reductions resulted in the squadron's parent 32d Fighter Wing's inactivation and the transfer of Minot toStrategic Air Command in July 1962.[4][5]
On 22 October 1962, beforePresidentJohn F. Kennedy told Americans that missiles were in place in Cuba, the squadron dispersed one third of its force, equipped with nuclear tipped missiles toHector Field at the start of theCuban Missile Crisis.[6][7] These planes returned to Minot after the crisis. In late 1962 the 5th acquired two livelynx kittens ("Spitten" and "Kitten") as mascots, with the assistance of theMinot Daily News, after a farmer had killed their mother.[8][9]
In the mid-1980s the 5th converted to theMcDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagles. The F-15s only flew over Minot until the spring of 1988, when the FIS was inactivated. The lynx den in the squadron was one of the few places whereCanada lynx had bred in captivity in the U.S.,[9] prompting both theSt. Louis andSan Diego Zoos to copy it in an attempt to get their own lynx inhabitants to produce offspring. Several generations of lynx flourished there, and after the unit was inactivated, Delta and Dart, twin kitten descendants of the original two Lynx kitten mascots were donated to theRoosevelt Park Zoo inMinot.
It was reactivated in 1990 as anAir Training Command (later Air Education and Training Command) undergraduate pilot Training squadron atVance Air Force Base, Oklahoma, but was inactivated in December of the following year. The squadron was activated again at Vance in 1997, but this time as areserve unit. As anassociate unit, it trains pilots and pilot instructors alongside the active duty members of the71st Flying Training Wing.[1]
|
|
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
| Air Forces | | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bases | |||||||||
| Command | |||||||||
| Wings/Groups |
| ||||||||
| Leadership |  | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Structure |
| ||||||||||
| Personnel and training | |||||||||||
| Uniforms and equipment | |||||||||||
| History and traditions |
| ||||||||||
