41st Flying Training Squadron

41st Flying Training Squadron "Flying Buzzsaws" [1]
41st Flying Training Squadron Patch
Active	1 February 1940 - 8 March 1960 10 January 1990 - 15 May 1997 1 October 1998 - Present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Type	Pilot Training
Part of	Air Education and Training Command 19th Air Force 14th Flying Training Wing 14th Operations Group
Garrison/HQ	Columbus Air Force Base
Engagements	World War II
Decorations	DUC AFOUA PPUC ROK PUC
Commanders
Current commander	Lt Col. Kirby "Gat" Ensser

41st FIS F-86D 52-9989 over Japan, 1955

F-80s - Johnson Air Base - (Deployed at Misawa AB, Japan), January 1951

Emblem of the World War II 41st Fighter Squadron

The 41st Flying Training Squadron (41 FTS) is part of the 14th Flying Training Wing based at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi. It operates T-6 Texan II aircraft conducting flight training.

Mission

The 41st Flying Training Squadron's mission is to train future Air Force military aviators in Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training Phase 2 in the T-6A. Additionally, the 41 FTS trains several foreign military pilots each year in the T-6, through both Foreign Military Sales program and the international Aviation Leadership Program. To accomplish its mission, the 41 FTS annually flies over 17,200 sorties and 22,000 flight hours. The squadron also qualifies and sustains 80-90 mission-ready T-6 instructor pilots. The 41 FTS is renowned for the quality of their instructor force and are the Air Force's premier T-6 flying squadron. The "Flying Buzzsaws" are currently commanded by Lt Col Kirby "GAT" Ensser ^[2]

History

The 41st flew antisubmarine patrols off the coast of Washington from, 14 December 1941-21 January 1942. It then went on to fly combat sorties including patrol, escort, and close air support in Southwest and Western Pacific areas from, 23 July 1942-14 August 1945. The squadron also flew air defense of Japan during the Korean War. It conducted academic training for pilots and managed the accelerated copilot enrichment training program from, 1990–1991 and has conducted student flight training since 1998.^[1]

Lineage^[1]

1st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron - Emblem

• Constituted 41st Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor) on 22 Dec 1939

Activated on 1 Feb 1940

Re-designated: 41st Fighter Squadron on 15 May 1942

Re-designated: 41st Fighter Squadron, Single-Engine on 14 Feb 1944

Re-designated: 41st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron on 20 Jan 1950

Re-designated: Discontinued, and inactivated, on 8 Mar 1960

• Re-designated 41st Flying Training Squadron on 1 Jan 1990

Activated on 10 Jan 1990

Inactivated on 15 May 1991

• Activated on 1 Oct 1998.

Assignments^[1]

• 31st Pursuit Group, 1 Feb 1940
• 35th Pursuit (later, 35th Fighter; 35th Fighter-Interceptor) Group, 15 Jan 1942

Attached to 6162d Air Base Wing, 1 Dec 1950-25 Jun 1951

• 327th Air Division, 1 Oct 1957-8 Mar 1960
• 64th Flying Training Wing, 10 Jan 1990-15 May 1991
• 14th Operations Group, 1 Oct 1998-Present

Stations^[1]

• Bolling Field, Washington, D.C. (1940)
• Selfridge Field, Michigan (1940–1941)
• Baer Field, Indiana (1941)
• Paine Field, Washington (1941–1942)
• Archerfield Airport (Brisbane), Australia, (1942)
• Ballarat Airport, Ballarat, Australia, (1942)
• Mount Gambier Airfield, Mount Gambier, Australia, (1942)
• Bankstown Airfield, Bankstown, Australia, (1942)
• Rogers (Rarona) Airfield (30 Mile Drome), Port Moresby, New Guinea, (1942–1943)
• Tsili Tsili (Tsile-Tsile) Airfield, New Guinea, (1943)
• Nadzab Airfield Complex, New Guinea, (1943–1944)
• Gusap Airfield, New Guinea, (1944)
• Kornasoren (Yebrurro) Airfield Noemfoor, Schouten Islands, New Guinea, (1944)
• Owi Airfield, Schouten Islands, Netherlands East Indies, (1944)
• Wama Airfield, Morotai, Netherlands East Indies, (1944–1945)
• Mangaldan Airfield, Mangaldan, Luzon, Philippines, (1945)
• Lingayen Airfield, Lingayen Luzon, Philippines, (1945)
• Clark Field, Luzon, Philippines, (1945)
• Yontan Airfield, Okinawa, (1945)
• Irumagawa Air Base, Japan (1945–1950)
• Yokota Air Base, Japan (1950)
• Johnson Air Base, Japan (1950–1954)
  • Detachment: Misawa Air Base, Japan (6 September 1950-August 1951)
  • Detachment: Niigata Air Base, Japan (c. 25 May 1951-31 October 1954)
• Yokota Air Base, Japan (1954–1956)
• Andersen Air Force Base, Guam (1956–1960)
• Reese Air Force Base, Texas (1990–1997)
• Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi (1998–Present)

Aircraft operated^[1]

P-35 Guardsman (1940–1941) P-39 Airacobra (1941–1943) P-400 (1942–1944) P-38 Lightning (1943) P-47 Thunderbolt (1944–1945) P-51 Mustang (1945–1950)

F-80 Shooting Star (1950–1953) F-86D Sabre Interceptor (1953–1960) T-38 Talon (1990–1991) T-37 Tweet (1998–2008) T-6 Texan II (2006–present)

Operations^[1]

• World War II

References

Notes

1. "Factsheets : 41 Flying Training Squadron (AETC)". af.mil.
2. "Factsheets : 41st Flying Training Squadron". af.mil.

Bibliography

• 41st Flying Training Squadron History
• 41st Flying Training Squadron Website

See also