563rd Flying Training Squadron

The 563d was first activated as the 563d Bombardment Squadron at Gowen Field, Idaho, one of the four original squadrons of the 388th Bombardment Group, in December 1942.[1][4] The cadre that formed at Gowen moved to Wendover Field, Utah in February 1943, where the unit was fully manned and squadron training with Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers began. Training continued until June 1943, when it deployed to England. The air echelon ferried its B-17s to England via the northern ferry route, while the ground echelon departed for Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, the port of embarkation, sailing in the RMS Queen Elizabeth on 1 July.[5]

388th Group B-17 in England[note 3]

The squadron assembled at RAF Knettishall, its combat station, and flew its first combat mission on 17 July, when it attacked an aircraft factory in Amsterdam. The squadron primarily engaged in the strategic bombing campaign against Germany, attacking industrial sites, oil refineries and storage facilities, communications centers and naval targets on the European Continent.[4]

The squadron was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for attacking an aircraft factory at Regensburg, Germany, on 17 August 1943, withstanding heavy resistance to reach the target. It was awarded a second DUC for three separate missions: an earlier attack on a tire and rubber factory in Hanover, Germany on 26 July 1943 and two missions in 1944, one against synthetic oil refineries near Brüx, Germany[note 4] on 12 May and at Ruhland, Germany on 21 June. This last attack was on a shuttle bombing mission from England to Germany to Poltava, USSR,[note 5] to Foggia, Italy, and back to England.[4] Other strategic targets included aircraft factories at Brunswick, Kassel, and Reims; airfields at Paris, Berlin and in Bordeaux; naval installations at Emden, Kiel and La Pallice, chemical works in Ludwigshafen; ball bearing factories at Schweinfurt and rail marshalling yards in Bielefeld, Brussels, and Osnabruck.[4]

The squadron was occasionally diverted from the strategic campaign to perform air support and air interdiction missions. It attacked military installations in France in early 1944 to help prepare the way for Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy, and on D Day hit coastal defenses, artillery batteries and transportation targets. It attacked troop concentrations and supply depots. In July 1944, it supported Operation Cobra at Saint Lo and the following month attacked targets in Caen. It struck military installations and airfields near Arnhem during Operation Market Garden, the unsuccessful attempt to secure a bridgehead across the Rhine in the Netherlands. It attacked transportation targets to support the final drive through Germany in early 1945.[4]

The squadron flew its last combat mission in April 1945. After V-E Day, the squadron flew missions to the Netherlands to drop food in flooded areas. It then began redeploying to the United States. Its aircraft left Knettishall between 9 June and 5 July 1945. The ground echelon sailed again on the Queen Elizabeth on 5 August. The squadron inactivated at Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota on 28 August 1945.[1][4][5][6]

The squadron was activated in the reserves at Orchard Place Airport, Illinois on 12 June 1947 and assigned to the 338th Bombardment Group. The squadron trained under the supervision of Air Defense Command (ADC)'s 141st AAF Base Unit (Reserve Training) (later the 2471st Air Force Reserve Flying Training Center), although it does not appear that it was fully manned or equipped.[1][7] Although nominally a bombardment unit, the squadron was equipped with North American AT-6 Texan and Beechcraft AT-11 Kansan trainers.[1]

In July 1948 Continental Air Command (ConAC) assumed responsibility for managing reserve and Air National Guard units from ADC.[8] In 1949, the 563nd began to fly a few Curtiss C-46 Commando and Douglas C-47 Skytrain troop carriers and Douglas B-26 Invader light bombers, but it was inactivated in June when ConAC reorganized its reserve units under the wing base organization system. President Truman's reduced 1949 defense budget also required reductions in the number of units in the Air Force,[9] At O'Hare, the 338th Group and its squadrons were inactivated, and most of its personnel transferred to the 437th Troop Carrier Wing.[7][10]

563rd F-86F Sabre[note 6]

The squadron was redesignated the 563d Fighter-Bomber Squadron and activated at Clovis Air Force Base, New Mexico in November 1953.[1] The squadron was equipped with North American F-86F Sabres, with a capability of carrying nuclear weapons.[11] A year after activation, in November 1954, the squadron was transferred to United States Air Forces Europe and departed, along with other elements of the 388th Fighter-Bomber Wing, for Étain-Rouvres Air Base, France. However, construction at Etain was not far enough advanced to permit it to accept fighter aircraft, and only the wing headquarters settled in to the base.[12][13] Instead, the squadron ferried their Sabres to Bitburg Air Base, Germany, arriving the following month.[1][14]

Little flying was done in the squadron's first winter in Europe due to weather. It deployed to Wheelus Air Base, Libya in April 1955, where it was able to train in gunnery and bombing for the first time since arriving in Europe. The squadron rejoined the wing at its permanent base in France in July 1955, the first of the wing's squadrons to arrive. Starting in November 1955, it began deployments to Detachment 1 of the 388th Wing at Hahn Air Base, Germany to stand nuclear alert. The detachment moved to Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany in February 1956.[15]

The unit flew support for the Suez Canal and Hungarian crises. In August 1956, the squadron began training to convert to the North American F-100 Super Sabre. The conversion was completed by 2 April 1957.[6][16] However, the squadron flew the "Hun" for less than a year. On 10 December 1957, the 49th Fighter-Bomber Wing moved from Japan on paper to replace the 388th Wing, The 563d was inactivated and its mission, personnel and aircraft transferred to the 9th Fighter-Bomber Squadron.[1][17][18]

563rd TFS F-105 Thunderchief at Yokota AB[note 7]

The squadron was redesignated the 563d Tactical Fighter Squadron, organized at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas in October 1962 and assigned to the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing. The 563d was equipped with the Republic F-105 Thunderchief, although it initially flew F-100s as well until becoming an all Thunderchief unit. In February 1964, the 388th was replaced at McConnell by the 23d Tactical Fighter Wing.[19] The squadron conducted tactical operations and training in preparation for global deployment. In April 1965, the 563d deployed to Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, where it participated in combat operations in the Vietnam War under the control of the 6235th Tactical Fighter Wing[note 8][6][20] On 27 July 1965, the unit participated in the first destruction of a surface-to-air missile site in North Vietnam in Operation Iron Hand. It participated in the first increment of Operation Rolling Thunder, and in several attempts to destroy the Thanh Hoa and Paul Doumer Bridges.[6]

The squadron returned to McConnell after earning two Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards with Combat "V" Device during its combat tour in Thailand.[1][21] It had flown more than 1500 sorties over North Vietnam and Laos and lost ten of the F-105Ds it originally deployed with. Two squadron pilots were killed in action and three became Prisoners of War.[6] In 1966, the squadron focused on training replacement F-105 pilots for units in Southeast Asia. It continued this mission until August 1970, when the need for "Thud Drivers" diminished with the withdrawal of the United States from Southeast Asia. The squadron continued to fly the F-105 until inactivated in July 1972.[1][6]

563rd TFS F-4E Phantom II[note 9]

On 31 July 1975, the 563rd was again activated at George Air Force Base, California as the 563d Tactical Fighter Training Squadron and assigned to the 35th Tactical Fighter Wing. It initially flew Thunderstick II aircraft but replaced them with McDonnell F-4 Phantom IIs in September 1975. In October 1978, the 563rd received new aircraft from Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, and was the first operational squadron to fly the advanced F-4G Wild Weasel. The unit served with this electronic warfare aircraft in many exercises until it was inactivated in October 1989.[1][6]

On 14 May 1993, the 563rd was redesigned the 563d Flying Training Squadron and activated at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. The squadron was assigned to the 12th Flying Training Wing under Air Education and Training Command. In conjunction with the 562nd Flying Training Squadron, it operated the Boeing T-43 Bobcat aircraft conducting electronic warfare officer and combat systems officer training in electronic attack, threat reaction, and electronic surveillance. The 563rd also operated the T-25 Simulator.[6] In 1996, its mission transferred to Pensacola Naval Air Station and Corry Station, Florida as the Air Force and the Navy combined their training activities and the squadron was inactivated in June 1996.[22] The Air Force resumed training electronic warfare officers in 1999 and the squadron was reactivated in April.[23] This training moved again to Pensacola and became the responsibility of the 479th Flying Training Group[24] and the squadron was inactivated in November 2010.[25]

Explanatory notes

Citations

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

• Anderson, Capt. Barry (1985). Army Air Forces Stations: A Guide to the Stations Where U.S. Army Air Forces Personnel Served in the United Kingdom During World War II (PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL yes: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 January 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
• Freeman, Roger A. (1970). The Mighty Eighth: Units, Men and Machines (A History of the US 8th Army Air Force). London, England, UK: Macdonald and Company. ISBN 978-0-87938-638-2.
• Knaack, Marcelle Size (1978). Encyclopedia of US Air Force Aircraft and Missile Systems (PDF). Vol. 2, Post-World War II Bombers 1945-1973. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-59-5. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961]. Air Force Combat Units of World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-02-1. LCCN 61060979.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556.
• McAuliffe, Lt Col Jerome J. (2005). U.S. Air Force in France 1950-1967. San Diego, CA: Milspec Press. ISBN 978-0-9770371-1-7.
• Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-12-9. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
• Watkins, Robert (2008). Battle Colors: Insignia and Markings of the Eighth Air Force In World War II. Vol. I (VIII) Bomber Command. Atglen, PA: Shiffer Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7643-1987-7.
• Anonymous. A Brief History of Randolph Air Force Base and the 12th Flying Training Wing (PDF). Randolph AFB, TX: 12th Flying Training Wing Office of History. Retrieved 19 October 2018.