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306th Flying Training Group | |
|---|---|
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| Active | 1942–1946; 1947–1952; 2004–present |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Type | Airmanship Training |
| Part of | United States Air Force Academy |
| Nickname | Reich Wreckers (World War II)[1] |
| Motto | Abundance of Strength |
| Engagements | European theater of World War II |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Colonel Nancy E. Taylor |
| Insignia | |
| 306th Flying Training Group Emblem(approved 21 October 2004)[2] |  |
| World War II Group Tail Code[1] | Triangle H |
The306th Flying Training Group (306 FTG) is a unit of theUnited States Air Force, assigned toAir Education and Training Command (AETC). Thegroup is stationed at theUnited States Air Force Academy (USAFA) nearColorado Springs, Colorado.
The 306 FTG is the airmanship training unit of the USAFA. The group replaced the 34th Operations Group in 2004. The designation "306th" was deliberately selected by the historian of AETC to connect the training mission of the current group with its relationship to the book and movieTwelve O'Clock High.[3]
During World War II, the group, as the306th Bombardment Group, was the first operational bombardment group in theVIII Bomber Command. It was stationed atRAF Thurleigh, England from 6 September 1942 until 25 December 1945, the longest tenure at one station for any one Eighth Air Force group.[4]
Staff SergeantMaynard H. Smith of the 423d Bomb Squadron was awarded theMedal of Honor for his actions that helped save the lives of six of his wounded comrades on 1 May 1943.
The 306th was the firstEighth Air Force heavybombardment group to complete 300 missions overOccupied Europe andNazi Germany and also was the firstUnited States Army Air Forces heavy bombardment group to attack a strategic target located in Nazi Germany when the group, led by ColonelFrank A. Armstrong, attackedWilhelmshaven on 27 January 1943. Colonel Armstrong's experiences with the 97th and 306th groups became the basis ofSy Bartlett andBeirne Lay Jr.'s novel and filmTwelve O'Clock High.
The group was reactivated as aStrategic Air Command (SAC) group during theCold War atMacDill AFB, Florida in 1947. The group was initially equipped withBoeing B-29 Superfortresses, and was upgrading toBoeing B-47 Stratojets when it was inactivated in 1952 when SAC transferred its operational squadrons to its parent306th Bombardment Wing. Although the group remained inactive until 2004, from 1954 to 1992 its history and honors were temporarily bestowed on the306th Bombardment Wing (Medium) atMacDill AFB, Florida; the306th Bombardment Wing (Heavy) atMcCoy AFB, Florida; and the306th Strategic Wing atRAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom.[5]
The group consists of the following squadrons:
The group was activated 1 March 1942 atSalt Lake City Army Air Base, Utah. Personnel moved toWendover Army Air Field, Utah on 6 April 1942 and began flying training, where it trained for bombardment operations using 40B-17E aircraft. Group left Wendover 1 August 1942 to begin movement to the United Kingdom. The Ground unit first moved to Richmond AAB, Virginia and remained a week before leaving forFort Dix, New Jersey. On 13 August 1942, the Group's personnel sailed on theRMS Queen Elizabeth on 30 August 1942 and arrived 5 September 1942 at Greenock, Scotland. The aircraft flew from Wendover toWestover Field, Massachusetts on 2 August 1942. The remainder of the Group departed for the United Kingdom on 1 September 1942 via Gander-Prestwick ferry route.
Based atRAF Thurleigh, Bedfordshire, in south-central England, as part of theEighth Air Force, the 306th was the longest continuously-serving bomb group of the Eighth Air Force during World War II, and led the first mission against a target in Germany. The novel and filmTwelve O'Clock High were based in large part on incidents occurring in the group in 1942 and 1943.
Between October 1942 and April 1945, the Group bombed a variety of enemy targets in Europe, including railroad facilities and submarine pens in France and ball-bearing works, oil plants, marshaling yards, chemical plants, aircraft factories, and foundries in Germany. Took part in the first penetration into Germany by heavy bombers of the Eighth Air Force on 27 January 1943 by attacking theU-boat yards atWilhelmshaven.
SergeantMaynard Harrison Smith received theMedal of Honor for his actions on 1 May 1943. When the aircraft on which he was a gunner was hit by the enemy and set on fire, the sergeant threw explosive ammunition overboard, manned a gun until the German fighters were driven off, administered first aid to the wounded tail gunner, and extinguished the fire.
The 306th was the center of media attention on 6 July 1944, when Thurleigh was visited by the BritishRoyal Family. As cameras rolled,King George VI, his wife Queen Elizabeth, and their daughter Heiress Presumptive Princess Elizabeth (the futureQueen Elizabeth II) were led to a new B-17G of the 367th Bomb Squadron. The new replacement aircraft had been namedRose of York in honor of the 18-year-old Princess, who ceremonially christened the bomber. On her 50th mission on 3 February 1945,Rose of York was hit by flak over Berlin; she disappeared over the English Channel or North Sea while returning home.[6][note 1][note 2]
Without fighter escort and in the face of powerful opposition, the group completed an assault against aircraft factories in central Germany on 11 January 1944, earning aDistinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for the mission. The group participated in theBig Week intensive campaign against the German aircraft industry, 20–25 February 1944. The group earned another DUC for effectively bombing an aircraft assembly plant at Bernberg,Gummersbach, Germany on 22 February, even thoughescort fighters had abandoned the mission because of weather. Often supported ground forces and attacked interdictory targets in addition to its strategic operations. Hit airfields and marshaling yards in France,Belgium, and Germany in preparation forNormandy. OnD-Day, 6 June 1944, the unit raided railroad bridges and coastal guns in support of the assault. Assisted ground forces during theSaint-Lô breakthrough in July, then participated in the airborne portion ofOperation Market Garden, the invasion of theNetherlands in September. During theBattle of the Bulge, December 1944 – January 1945, the 306th attacked airfields and marshaling yards to help stop the German advance. Bombed enemy positions in support of the airborne assault across theRhine River in March 1945, theOperation Varsity portion of theWestern Allied invasion of Germany.
Selected for duty with occupational air forces in Germany. The unit engaged in the "Casey Jones" mapping photography project. Group then moved to Giebelstadt, Germany on 1 December 1945, and on 28 February 1946 to Istres, France, where it absorbed the remnants of the 92nd and 384th Bomb Groups. In August 1946 the unit was re-established in Germany at Furstenfeldbruck, and in September 1946 located at Lechfeld. The unit was inactivated on 25 December 1946, although the group had virtually ceased to exist as a flying unit in the late summer of that year. Inactivated December 1946, the group received theDistinguished Unit Citation with oneOak Leaf Cluster and sixcampaign stars.
The group was reactivated as aStrategic Air Command (SAC)Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bombardment group but was redesignated in 1948 as a medium bombardment group when the B-29 was reclassified as a medium bomber. The group trained in the United States for strategic bombardment operations.
Deliveries of the newBoeing B-47 Stratojet to the USAF began in December 1950, and the aircraft entered service in May 1951 with the group atMacDill AFB, Florida. The 306th was intended to act as a training organization in to prepare future B-47 crews and the 306th's B-47As were primarily training aircraft and not considered as being combat ready; none of the B-47As ever saw any operational duty.
On 19 November 1951, the 306th received its first operational Boeing B-47B and christened it "The Real McCoy" in honor ofColonel Michael N. W. McCoy,[7] the 306th's wing commander, who flew it from the Boeing Wichita plant to MacDill AFB.
In 1950 the group added theair refueling mission when the306th Air Refueling Squadron was activated and assigned to the group. The firstBoeing KC-97E Stratofreighter tanker aircraft assigned to Strategic Air Command was delivered to this squadron in 1951. In February 1951, the group became non-operational and its squadrons were attached to the306th Bombardment Wing atMacDill AFB, Florida.[8] The 306th was inactivated as a group on 16 June 1952 and its operational squadrons were reassigned to the306th Bombardment Wing as SAC converted its bomb groups to the dual deputy organization.[note 3]
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The 306th was redesignated the306th Flying Training Group and reactivated in October 2004 as part ofAir Education and Training Command's (AETC)Nineteenth Air Force (19 AF) at theUnited States Air Force Academy. In addition to operating the USAF Academy Airfield and the associated aviation training activities for USAFA Cadets at that facility, the 306 FTG also has oversight of the Initial Flight Screening (IFS) program for USAF commissioned officer aviation candidates, including pilots and combat systems officers commissioned throughAir Force ROTC andOfficer Training School as well as the USAF Academy. IFS is performed under a civilian contract program atPueblo Memorial Airport, Colorado and the 306 FTG provides a contingent of Air Force personnel to oversee the students and provide military training, supervision, and rigor to the course. With the inactivation of 19 AF in July 2012, the 306th reported toheadquarters, AETC. With the reactivation of 19 AF, the group is now a geographically separated unit (GSU) of the12th Flying Training Wing atRandolph Air Force Base, Texas, which then reports to 19 AF and HQ AETC.
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| COMMANDING OFFICERS: | ||
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| (1 April 1942 – June 1946) | ||
| Col Charles B Overacker Jr. | 16 March 1942 – 3 January 1943 | |
| ColFrank A Armstrong Jr. | 3 January 1943 – 17 February 1943 | |
| Col Claude E Putnam | 17 February 1943 – 20 June 1943 | |
| Col George L Robinson | 20 June 1943 – September 1944 | |
| Col James S Sutton | September 1944 – 16 April 1945 | |
| Col Hudson H Upham | 16 April 1945 – May 1946 | |
Finally another bomber crew reported hearing its last distress signals from an area over the Frisian Islands in the North Sea.
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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