Active 1944–1945 Type Wing | Country United States Size Unit | |
Branch United States Army Air Forces Role Bombardier training, Flight and Technical training | ||
The 3030th AAF Base Unit (Pilot School, Specialized Very Heavy) was a United States Army Air Forces training unit. It specialized in training the crews of Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers, as well as pilot transition from twin-engine fighters to four-engine aircraft. It was one of the first established training schools of B-29s in the United States Military, and was essential in proving the effectiveness and versatility of the aircraft. The unit was formed on April 30, 1944, and was discontinued on November 1, 1945.
Operational History
The 3030th AAF Base Unit was formed on April 30, 1944, at Walker Air Force Base, as one of the very first training schools of B-29 Superfortress bombers in the United States. When performing drills on the bombing target adjacent to the runway, the B-29 bombers used sand and flour bags as makeshift bombs, instead of actual ammunition. When actual rounds of ammunition or bombs needed to be used, the practice bombing and gunnery ranges due south of the air field, and on Matagorda Island, were used. Since some of the aircraft that the unit used were experimental or prototype B-29s, the 3030th AAF Base Unit lost many men in malfunctions of equipment on the aircraft. Plane crashes, although infrequent, happened a number of times throughout the unit's history.