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| 94th Flying Training Squadron | |
|---|---|
 94th Flying Training Squadron emblem | |
| Active | 1943-1946; 1949-1951; 1983-present |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Flying Training |
| Part of | Air Education and Training Command |
| Garrison/HQ | United States Air Force Academy |
| Engagements | Operation Overlord Operation Dragoon Operation Market Garden Operation Varsity[1] |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation French Croix de Guerre with Palm French Fourragère[1] |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Lt Col Collin O'Bryant |
The94th Flying Training Squadron is part of the306th Flying Training Group based atUnited States Air Force Academy, Colorado. It conductsglider training for Air Force Academy cadets. The 94 FTS conducts thousands of sorties every year at the world's busiest VFR airfield. It is the parent squadron of theAir Force Academy's advanced soaring teams: the Aerobatic Demonstration Team and the elite Sailplane Racing Team. The squadron is augmented by the reserve70th Flying Training Squadron.[2]
Activated in June 1943 underI Troop Carrier Command and equipped withDouglas C-47 Skytrains. Trained in various parts of the eastern United States until the end of 1943. Deployed to England and assigned toIX Troop Carrier Command.
Prepared for theinvasion of Nazi-occupied Europe. Beganoperations by droppingparatroops of the101st Airborne Division inNormandy onD-Day (6 June 1944) and releasinggliders with reinforcements on the following day. The unit received aDistinguished Unit Citation and a French citation for these missions. After the Normandy invasion the squadron ferried supplies in the United Kingdom.
After moving to France in September, the unit dropped paratroops of the82nd Airborne Division nearNijmegen and towed gliders carrying reinforcements during theairborne attack on the Netherlands. In December, it participated in theBattle of the Bulge by releasing gliders with supplies for the 101st Airborne Division nearBastogne.
When theAllies made the air assault across theRhine River in March 1945, each aircraft towed two gliders with troops of the17th Airborne Division and released them nearWesel. 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 converted from C-47s toCurtiss C-46 Commandos and the new aircraft to transport displaced persons from Germany to France andBelgium afterV-E Day.
Returned to the U.S. during the period July–September 1945, and trained with C-46 aircraft until inactivated.
The squadron was activated in the reserves in 1949. It wasmobilized in 1951, but immediately inactivated and its personnel used as fillers for other units.
The squadron has taught soaring to cadets at theUnited States Air Force Academy since October 1983.[1]
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Located in:Air Force Academy, Colorado | ||
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This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)