12th Flying Training Wing

On 8 November 1965 the wing was assigned to Cam Ranh Bay Air Base, South Vietnam.[2]^: 27 The 12th TFW was the first permanently assigned F-4 Phantom II wing assigned to Southeast Asia. Operational squadrons of the wing at Cam Ranh were:

• 557th Tactical Fighter Squadron 1 December 1965 – 31 March 1970 (F-4C Tail Code: XC)[2]^: 27[3]^: 86
• 558th Tactical Fighter Squadron 8 November 1965 – 31 March 1970 (F-4C Tail Code: XD/XT)[2]^: 27[3]^: 86
• 43rd Tactical Fighter Squadron 8 November 1965 – 4 January 1966 (F-4C)[2]^: 27
•  : Replaced by: 559th Tactical Fighter Squadron 1 January 1966 – 31 March 1970 (F-4C Tail Code: XN)[2]^: 27[3]^: 87
• 391st Tactical Fighter Squadron 26 January 1966 – 22 July 1968 (F-4C Tail Code: XT)[2]^: 27 diverted from the still incomplete Phan Rang Air Base[3]^: 87

From Cam Ranh Bay AB the wing carried out close air support, interdiction and combat air patrol activities over South Vietnam, North Vietnam and Laos.[3]^: 87

On 31 March 1970, as part of the Vietnamization process the wing was reassigned without personnel or equipment to Phù Cát Air Base taking over the assets of the inactivated 37th Tactical Fighter Wing.[2]^: 65 On 17 November 1971 the 12th TFW was inactivated.[2]^: 27

The wing was redesignated the 12th Flying Training Wing and activated on 1 May 1972, when the personnel, mission and equipment of the 3510th Flying Training Wing were assumed by the wing, while the 3510th was simultaneously inactivated[1]

In 1992, due to the impending closure of Mather Air Force Base, California, the 12 FTW also assumed responsibility for Undergraduate Navigator Training (UNT) and Interservice Undergraduate Navigator Training (IUNT) from the 323d Flying Training Wing (323 FTW) at Mather when that organization inactivated, with most T-43A aircraft and some of the 323 FTW squadrons reforming at Randolph AFB under the 12 FTW. In 2009, with the transition of UNT to undergraduate Combat Systems Officer training (UCSOT) and pursuant to earlier Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) directives, the 12 FTW established a new organization, the 479th Flying Training Group (479 FTG), with two new flying training squadrons and an operations support squadron, as a GSU at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. Although NAS Pensacola is the principal base for student Naval Flight Officer (SNFO) training for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, the 479 FTG operates independently of this program with its own USAF T-6 Texan II and T-1 Jayhawk aircraft. Upon establishment of the 479 FTG at NAS Pensacola, the remaining "legacy" navigator training squadrons that had relocated from the former Mather AFB to Randolph AFB in 1992 were inactivated.

In the second decade of the 21st century, the wing's mission is to provide instructor pilot training in the Raytheon-Beech T-6A Texan II, the Northrop T-38 Talon and the Beech T-1A Jayhawk jet trainers. Previously, the wing also conducted Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals (IFF) in the Northrop AT-38 Talon, a role now performed with T-38s.

Until late 2010, the wing also conducted Joint Specialized Undergraduate Navigator Training (JSUNT) and electronic warfare officer (EWO) training in the T-1A Jayhawk and Boeing T-43A medium-range turbofan jet at Randolph AFB. With the retirement of the T-43 in September 2010, this training merged with extant USAF weapons systems officer (WSO) training that had been conducted jointly with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida since 1990. The navigator, EWO and WSO training tracks were then merged and all three specialties (which wear the same type of uniform insignia wings upon completion of flight training) became known as Combat Systems Officer (CSO). This updated CSO training is now conducted by the 479th Flying Training Group as a Geographically Separated Unit (GSU) of the 12 FTW at NAS Pensacola utilizing T-6 Texan II and T-1A Jayhawk aircraft.[4]

The wing is responsible for numerous aviation training programs. These programs include Pilot Instructor Training, Combat Systems Officer Training, Remotely Piloted Aircraft Pilot Indoctrination, Basic Sensor Operator Qualification, Airmanship programs for U.S. Air Force Academy cadets, and Introductory Flight Screening.

Groups

• 12th Air Base Group (later 12th Combat Support Group, 12th Support Group, 12th Mission Support Group): 1 November 1950 – 6 August 1951, 14 February 1952 – 16 June 1952, 8 Novemb er 1965 – 17 November 1971; 1 May 1972 – 1 August 2009
• 12th Fighter-Escort Group (later 12th Operations Group): 1 November 1950 – 16 June 1952; 15 December 1991 – present[1]
• 12th Maintenance & Supply Group (later 12th Logistics Group, 12th Maintenance Group): 1 November 1950 – 10 February 1951, 14 February 1952 – 16 June 1952; 15 December 1991 – 18 May 2004; 2 January 2017 – present
• 306th Flying Training Group: 1 June 2012 – present[1]
• 479th Flying Training Group: 2 October 2009 – present[1]

Squadrons

• 1st Flight Screening Squadron: 15 July-15 December 1991
• 27th Air Refueling Squadron: attached 1 April-1 September 1955
• 43d Tactical Fighter: attached 8 November 1965-c. 4 January 1966
• 45th Tactical Fighter: attached 8 May-1 July 1962
• 389th Tactical Fighter: 31 March 1970 – 15 October 1971
• 391st Tactical Fighter: attached 26 January-22 June 1966, assigned 23 June 1966 – 22 July 1968
• 480th Tactical Fighter: 31 March 1970 – 17 November 1971
• 506th Air Refueling Squadron: attached 8 August 1955 – 1 July 1957
• 555th Tactical Fighter: 8 January 1964 – 25 March 1966 (detached 8 December 1964 – 18 March 1965, 6 November 1965 – 25 March 1966)
• 557th Tactical Fighter: 25 April 1962 – 8 November 1965; 1 December 1965 – 31 March 1970
• 558th Tactical Fighter: 25 April 1962 – 31 March 1970 (detached 9 March-16 June 1965, 3 February-22 July 1968)
• 559th Fighter-Escort (later, Strategic Fighter; Fighter-Day; Tactical Fighter): attached 10 February 1951 – 15 June 1952, assigned 16 June 1952 – 8 January 1958; assigned 25 April 1962 – 8 November 1965 (detached 9 June-7 September 1965); assigned 27 December 1965 – 31 March 1970; assigned 1 May 1972 – 15 December 1991
• 560th Fighter-Escort (later, Strategic Fighter; Fighter-Day): attached 10 February 1951 – 15 June 1952, assigned 16 June 1952 – 8 January 1958; 1 May 1972 – 15 December 1991
• 561st Fighter-Escort (later, Strategic Fighter; Fighter-Day; Tactical Fighter): attached 10 February 1951 – 1 April 1952; assigned 16 June 1952 – 8 January 1958 (detached 16 June-16 December 1952)

School

• USAF Navigator School: 14 May 1993 – Nov 2010
  • Assumed role from inactivated 323rd Flying Training Wing
  • Role assumed by 479th Flying Training Group as a GSU of 12 FTW, Nov 2010
    • USAF Navigators now known as USAF Combat Systems Officers

• Turner Air Force Base, Georgia, 1 November 1950
• Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas, 5 December 1950 – 8 January 1958
• MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, 25 April 1962 – 31 October 1965
• Cam Ranh AB, South Vietnam, 8 November 1965
• Phù Cát Air Base, South Vietnam, 31 March 1970 – 17 November 1971
• Randolph AFB, Texas, 1 May 1972–present
  • Additional GSU at NAS Pensacola, Florida, November 2009–present
  • Additional GSU at USAF Academy, Colorado, July 2013 – present

Explanatory notes

Citations

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

• Martin, Patrick (1994). Tail Code: The Complete History of USAF Tactical Aircraft Tail Code Markings. Schiffer Military Aviation History. ISBN 0-88740-513-4.
• Maurer, Maurer (1983) [1961]. Air Force Combat Units of World War II (PDF). Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
• McLaren, David (1998) Republic F-84 Thunderjet, Thunderstreak & Thunderflash: A Photo Chronicle. New York: Schiffer Military/Aviation History, 1998. ISBN 0-7643-0444-5.
• Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947–1977 (PDF). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-12-9.
• Rogers, Brian (2005). United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978. Hinkley, England: Midland Publications. ISBN 1-85780-197-0.