394th Combat Training Squadron


The 394th Combat Training Squadron was a United States Air Force unit assigned to the 509th Operations Group until inactivated on 13 April 2018. It was stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. The mission of the squadron was to train Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit aircrews, a mission now executed by the 13th Bomb Squadron. The 394th is the fourth oldest squadron in the United States Air Force. Its history dated to 5 May 1917 as the 4th Aero Squadron.
The 394th Combat Training Squadron provided the 509th Bomb Wing with qualified, mission-ready B-2 and Northrop T-38 Talon pilots to support worldwide Joint Chiefs of Staff taskings until its inactivation in 2018. The 394th was also responsible for implementing all B-2 and T-38 formal training courses. The unit supervised and oversaw all T-38 operations and performed quality assurance for all maintenance and aircrew training devices, including weapon system trainers. Upon the 394th Combat Training Squadron's inactivation in 2018, its mission and responsibilities were transferred to the 13th Bomb Squadron.

History

World War I

The squadron was originally activated as the 4th Aero Squadron on 5 May 1917 during World War I at Dodd Field Texas. but within a month was transferred to Kelly Field. The unit remained there until 24 September 1917 when it transferred to Post Field, on Fort Sill, Oklahoma. During World War I, the 4th operated as an observer training unit for the Army field artillery training school at Fort Sill. The squadron's pilots began flying the Curtiss R-4, the Curtiss JN-4, and Curtiss JN-6. The unit remained in Oklahoma until 2 January 1919 the unit was demobilized when all flying squadrons at Post were consolidated into the Flying School Detachment, Post Field.

Inter-War period

After World War I the second predecessor of the unit, also named the 4th Aero Squadron was activated at Hazelhurst Field, New York, on 23 June 1919 and after reorganization moved to its permanent station in Hawaii on 8 January 1920 The squadron stayed there throughout the 1920s and 1930s as part of the Hawaiian Department.
On 14 March 1921, the unit became known as the 4th Squadron. Less than two years later, on 25 January 1923, the Army Air Service renamed the unit the 4th Observations Squadron. During this period, the squadron took to building airfields. A lieutenant and twenty enlisted persons from the 4th began construction of Wheeler Field. Within a month, the group had completed the landing strip. The Hawaiian era also found the 4th moving several times. The squadron transferred to Schofield Barracks, back to Luke Field , and to Hickam Field. The squadron originally reported directly to the Hawaiian Department, but was assigned to the 5th Composite Group. During its Hawaiian days, the squadron was involved in an unusual mission. In 1926 it sowed seeds from the air for the U.S. Forestry Division.
In the late 1930s and early 1940s, the squadron received three more name changes as well as new aircraft. On 25 January 25 the Army Air Corps renamed the unit the 4th Reconnaissance Squadron. Later, on 6 December 1939, the unit
became the 4th Reconnaissance Squadron and, on 20 November 1940, the organization became the 4th Reconnaissance Squadron. The squadron also received new aircraft to accompany its new name. In 1938,
the squadron began operating with the Douglas B-18 Bolo medium bomber.

World War II

The squadron suffered devastating casualties and equipment damage during the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hickam Field and other targets on the island of Oahu on 7 December 1941. For weeks after the attack, the squadron responded by patrolling the area around Hawaii to prevent another attack. The 4th also began gearing up for combat when it received its first Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. The unit also had several LB-30 Liberators assigned at this time and was redesignated the 394th Bombardment Squadron.
The squadron left Hawaii in November 1942 and operated in the South Pacific Theater with a mix of B-17C/D Flying Fortresses and early LB-30 aircraft. It converted to very long-range Liberators in 1943 when the B-17s were withdrawn from combat in the Pacific and sent to Egypt for use in the Western Desert Campaign. It Served in combat during the Allied drive from the Solomons to the Philippines. The unit flew long patrol and photographic missions over the Solomon Islands and the Coral Sea, attacked Japanese shipping off Guadalcanal, and raided airfields in the northern Solomons until August 1943. It then struck enemy bases and installations on Bougainville, New Britain, and New Ireland.
The squadron raided the heavily defended Japanese base on Woleai during April and May 1944 and received a Distinguished Unit Citation for the action. It helped to neutralize enemy bases on Yap and in the Truk and Palau Islands in June through August 1944, preparatory to the invasion of Peleliu and Leyte. The 394th flew missions to the Netherlands Indies. Completed a variety of missions from October 1944 until the end of the war, these operations including raids on enemy bases and installations on Luzon, Ceram, Halmahera, and Formosa; support for ground forces in the Philippines and Borneo; and patrols off the China coast. Moved to Clark Field, Philippines where it was inactivated on 29 April 1946.

Modern era

For the next 41 years, the 394th waited for the chance to serve again. That opportunity arose in 1996 when the Air Force redesignated the squadron as the 394th Combat Training Squadron and turned it over to Air Combat Command for activation. On 7 November 1996, the squadron was activated at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, as part of the 509th Operations Group of the 509th Bomb Wing.
Since then, the 394th has supported the 509th in a myriad of ways including Operation Allied Force. From 23 March through 22 May 1999, the squadron sent its aircrews and aircraft almost nightly into harm’s way attempting to end the strife in the
Kosovo region.
Members of the 394th participated in Operation Enduring Freedom by flying the first of a series of long duration missions. Two B-2s, the Spirit of Georgia and the Spirit of America, departed Whiteman on 7 October 2001, bombed targets in Afghanistan, and then went on to land at a forward location following missions lasting 40.3 and 44.3 hours, respectively. Following engine running crew changes, the B-2s and crews returned to Whiteman on 9 October after sorties lasting 29 hours each for the two bombers. Total engine run time for the two B-2s was 69.3 and 73.3 hours, respectively. The sortie accomplished in the Spirit of America was the longest combat sortie in the history of the Air Force to date.

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