Role Flight Testing | Type Flight | |
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Active 3 February 1942 - Present Part of Air Force Reserve Command | ||
The 415th Flight Test Flight (415 FLTF) is a United States Air Force Reserve squadron. It is assigned to the 413th Flight Test Group, Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at Randolph Field, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas.
Contents
Overview
The unit provides flight testing for T-38 Talon jet and T-6 Texan II turboprop trainers carried out at Randolph Field. The unit performs functional check flights, making sure the aircraft are ready to fly after undergoing modifications and repairs.
The 575th AMXS, a unit of the 309th Maintenance Wing at Hill AFB, Utah, performs T-38 overhauls at Randolph AFB and handles depot maintenance of all T-38s in the Air Force, as well as some Navy T-38s.
The 415th FLTF is a small unit, consisting of seven test pilots, a command support staff NCO in charge and a cadre of other senior NCOs who specialize in aviation resource management and aircrew flight equipment. Every plane - except for those with minor modifications - requires a functional check flight before it's delivered to the field... each FCF lasts about an hour; the unit shuts down the engine and tests all the controls. It takes an un-airworthy aircraft and certifies it for flight.
World War II
Established as a B-24 Liberator reconnaissance squadron in early 1942. Engaged initially in antisubmarine patrols over the Gulf of Mexico; redesignated as a heavy bomb squadron and trained by Third Air Force. Deployed to Egypt in June 1942 over South Atlantic Transport Route transiting from Morrison Field, Florida though the Caribbean to Brazil; performed trans-Atlantic crossing from Brazil to Liberia, then transited east across central Africa to Sudan. Lastly the group reformed with the ground echelon which traveled by ship around the Cape of Good Hope, joining with air echelon in British Palestine.
Assigned to the newly formed IX Bomber Command, the squadron operated from airfields in Egypt; Libya and Tunisia supporting the British Eighth Army in the Western Desert Campaign. Also staged long-range strategic bombardment of enemy military and industrial targets in Sicily; Italy and the Southern Balkans, including attacking the Nazi-controlled oilfields at Ploiești, Romania.
Reassigned to Fifteenth Air Force in southern Italy; continuing strategic bombardment raids on Occupied France; Southern Germany; Austria and targets in the Balkans. In the summer of 1944, the squadron participated in the invasion of southern France, assisted in the Soviet advance into the Balkans, and supported the partisans and guerrillas in Yugoslavia and neighboring countries.
The squadron returned to the United States in May 1945; being re-designated as a B-29 Superfortress heavy bomb squadron and began training for deployment to the Central Pacific Area and conduct strategic bombardment raids over the Japanese Home Islands. Training continued until the unit was inactivated at the end of July, its equipment and personnel being merged into the other three squadrons of its host group.
Cold War
The squadron was activated in 1959 as a result of Strategic Air Command phasing out the B-47 Stratojet, and additional squadrons were activated as part of the consolation of Stratojet wings, and the replacement of the B-47 by B-52 Stratofortresses. In March 1961, President John F. Kennedy directed that the phaseout of the B-47 be accelerated. and the squadron was inactivated on 1 January 1962 as part of the drawdown of the USAF B-47 force, with the aircraft were sent to AMARC storage at Davis-Monthan.
Reactivated in 1989 as part of an Air Force Systems Command reorganization at Edwards AFB, California. Assumed F-15 Eagle Test Flight mission evaluating modifications prior to them being sent into the field as changes to the aircraft. Inactivated in 1994 as part of the Cold War drawdown, mission consolidated into the 419th Flight Test Squadron.
Air Force Reserve
Reactivated and reduced from a squadron to a flight organization in 2001 as a T-38 Talon Functional Check Flight organization at Randolph AFB designed to extend the service life of the Air Force's fleet of T-38C Talon aircraft through the year 2020.
Air Combat Command uses the aircraft as a companion trainer to provide pilots additional flying time at a lower cost. Air Force Materiel Command flies the aircraft for test support and flight test training. AETC uses the T-38 as an advanced trainer to train pilots selected to fly fighters and bombers.
AETC is the lead command responsible for sustainment and modernization of all T-38s in the Air Force inventory. The T-38 System Program Office at the Ogden Air Logistics Center, Hill AFB, Utah, provides primary field support for the aircraft. AFMC has direct operational control of the 415th FLTF mission, while Air Force Reserve Command maintains administrative control of the unit.
In addition to modifying the propulsion system, the Air Force is also involved in a program to upgrade T-38 avionics systems. This upgrade is designed to improve the training capabilities of the T-38 and provide one design/configuration for all training roles envisioned for the system. Once completed, the program will make it easier for pilot trainees to transition from the T-38 to a front-line fighter or bomber aircraft.
Lineage
415th Bombardment Squadron
415th Flight Test Flight