35th Flying Training Squadron


The 35th Flying Training Squadron was a United States Air Force unit, last assigned to the 64th Operations Group at Reese Air Force Base, Texas. The squadron was inactivated in 1996 as the 64th Flying Training Wing began drawing down in preparation for the closing of Reese the following year. The squadron had performed Undergraduate pilot training at Reese since 1972.
The squadron was first activated as the 64th Transport Squadron in 1942. As the 64th Troop Carrier Squadron it participated in combat in the European, Mediterranean and China-Burma-India Theaters, earning a Distinguished Unit Citation. Following VE Day, the squadron moved to Trinidad, where it was inactivated in July 9145.

History

World War II

The squadron was first activated in February 1942 as the 35th Transport Squadron at Olmsted Field, Pennsylvania and equipped with military models of the Douglas DC-3, primarily the C-47 Skytrain, for training. In June, the squadron moved to Westover Field, Massachusetts, where it was assigned to the 64th Transport Group and prepared for overseas movement, which occurred the following month, after it was redesignated the 35th Troop Carrier Squadron.
Upon its arrival overseas, the squadron trained with paratrooper and glider units in airborne operations for Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa. On 10 November the air echelon flew from England via Gibraltar and on the following day landed personnel of the British 3rd Parachute Battalion at Maison Blanche, near Algiers. By mid-December, the squadron's ground echelon joined the air echelon at Blida Airfield, Algeria.
The group dropped paratroops to capture airfields and destroy bridges, during the battle for Tunisia; Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily in July 1943; and Operation Avalanche, the invasion of Italy in September 1943.
In April 1944, most of the squadron was detached to India where it aided in the Allied offensive in Burma, where it earned a Distinguished Unit Citation. The squadron returned to Sicily in mid-Jun 1944. It moved to Italy the following month and participated in Operation Dragoon, the assault on southern France in August 1944, releasing gliders and paratroops. It moved to Waller Field, Trinidad without aircraft, in June 1945 and inactivated there in July 1945.

Cold War and War in Vietnam

The squadron was again activated at Donaldson Air Force Base, South Carolina in July 1952, assuming the Fairchild C-82 Packets and personnel of the 57th Troop Carrier Squadron, an Air Force Reserve unit that had been called to active duty for the Korean War. In 1953, the 35th replaced its C-82s with newer Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcars. The squadron transported personnel and equipment worldwide and participated in joint training operations with the 82nd Airborne Division until it was inactivated in July 1954.
The squadron transported cargo and personnel in the Far East and Southeast Asia, 1963–1971

Pilot training

The squadron was redesignated the 35th Flying Training Squadron and activated at Reese Air Force Base, Texas in 1972. It conducted undergraduate pilot training at Reese until it was inactivated in 1996.

Lineage

Campaign StreamerCampaignDatesNotes
American Theater without inscription4 June 1945 – 31 July 194535th Troop Carrier Squadron
Tunisia12 November 1942 – 13 May 194335th Troop Carrier Squadron
Sicily14 May 1943 – 17 August 194335th Troop Carrier Squadron
Naples-Foggia18 August 1943 – 21 January 194435th Troop Carrier Squadron
Rome-Arno22 January 1944 – 9 September 194435th Troop Carrier Squadron
Southern France15 August 1944 – 14 September 194435th Troop Carrier Squadron
North Apennines10 September 1944 – 4 April 194535th Troop Carrier Squadron
Po Valley3 April 1945 – 8 May 194535th Troop Carrier Squadron
India-Burma7 April 1944 – 15 June 194435th Troop Carrier Squadron

Citations