79th Flying Training Wing (U.S. Army Air Forces)


The 79th Flying Training Wing was a unit of the United States Army Air Forces. It was last assigned to the Eastern Flying Training Command, and was disbanded on 16 June 1946 at Midland Army Airfield, Texas.
There is no lineage link between the United States Air Force 79th Medical Wing, established on 13 January 1942 as the 79th Pursuit Group at Dale Mabry Army Airfield, Florida, and this organization.

History

As a gunnery training wing, both enlisted flexible gunnery schools for bomber crew defensive gunners, and pilot training fixed gunnery schools were included. After graduation Air Cadets were commissioned as Second Lieutenants, received their "wings" and were reassigned to Operational or Replacement Training Units operated by one of the four numbered air fores in the zone of interior.

Lineage

The schools of the wing used Beechcraft AT-11 and Lockheed AT-18s for airborne gunnery trainers. Trainee gunners fired at modified AT-6s and Bell RP-39Qs with non-piercing ammunition that would break apart on contact. Also, older, non-combat suitable B-24 Liberators and B-17 Flying Fortresses were used in the latter part of training.
Fixed gunnery training at Matagorda Island used North American AT-6s to attack fixed targets on the range with machine guns and concrete practice bombs.

Assigned Schools

; Harlingen Army Airfield, Harlingen, Texas
; Laredo Army Airfield, Laredo, Texas
; Matagorda Island General Bombing and Gunnery Range, Matagorda Island, Texas

Stations