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Military unit From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 85th Flying Training Squadron is part of the 47th Flying Training Wing based at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas. It operates Beechcraft T-6 Texan II aircraft conducting flight training.
85th Flying Training Squadron | |
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Active | 1941–1962; 1972-present |
Country | United States |
Branch | United States Air Force |
Role | Pilot Training |
Part of | Air Education and Training Command |
Garrison/HQ | Laughlin Air Force Base |
Engagements | Battle of the Kasserine Pass Operation Husky Operation Avalanche Operation Dragoon[1] |
Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award[1] |
Insignia | |
85th Flying Training Squadron emblem (approved 2 January 1973)[1] | |
85th Bombardment Squadron emblem (approved 9 September 1944)[2] |
The current mission of the 85th Flying Training Wing is to take recent undergraduate pilots, from Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps or the United States Air Force Academy and qualify them to fly the T-6 Texan II aircraft.
The 85th was first activated as a bombardment squadron shortly before the United States entered World War II. Stationed at McChord Field, Washington it flew antisubmarine patrols following the attack on Pearl Harbor.[3]
The squadron was sent to North Africa to participate in Allied operations in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations in late 1942 where it specialized in conducting low-level bombing missions against Axis forces. The unit earned a Distinguished Unit Citation for actions against German forces at Kasserine Pass in February 1943.[3]
Following the Axis defeat in North Africa the 85th participated in the reduction of Pantellaria and Lampedusa and the invasion of Sicily in the summer of 1943. The squadron next supported the British Eighth Army during the invasion of Italy and continued to lead support combat support throughout the Italian Campaign, earning it a second Distinguished Unit Citation for actions in the Po Valley 21–24 April 1945. In August and September 1944 the 85th briefly broke off from the Italian Campaign to support the invasion of southern France.[3]
Following the Second World War the squadron remained an active bomber unit. It was the first squadron to operate the North American B-45 Tornado, the US Air Force's first jet bomber. It later transitioned to the Douglas B-66 Destroyer before being inactivated in May 1962.
The squadron was reactivated a decade later as a flying training squadron, replacing the 3645th Pilot Training Squadron at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas.[3]
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