{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}} {{Use American English|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox military unit |unit_name=368th Training Squadron [[File:Air Education and Training Command.svg|60px|center]]|image=3 aircraft formation B-47Es - 306th Bombardment Wing.jpg |image_size=300 |caption=[[B-47E Stratojet]]s of the 306th Bombardment Wing{{efn|Aircraft in foreground is Boeing B-47E-95-BW Stratojet, serial 52-545. That aircraft was retired to [[The Military Aircraft Storage and Disposition Center]] on 19 November 1965.}} |dates={{Hlist|1942–1946|1947–1974|2018–present}} |country={{USA}} |branch={{air force|USA}} |type= |role=Training |size= |command_structure=[[Air Education and Training Command]] |current_commander= |garrison=[[Fort Leonard Wood]] |nickname= |motto=Ready to Fight Tonight (after 2018) |colors= |march= |mascot= |battles=[[European Theater of Operations]]<ref name=Maurer368BS>Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 455-56</ref> |notable_commanders= |anniversaries= |decorations=[[Distinguished Unit Citation]]<br/>[[Air Force Outstanding Unit Award]]<ref name=Maurer368BS/> |battle_honours= <!-- Insignia --> |identification_symbol=[[File:368 Training Sq emblem.png|165px]] |identification_symbol_label=368th Training Squadron emblem |identification_symbol_2=[[File:368th Bombardment Squadron - Emblem.png|165px]] |identification_symbol_2_label=368th Bombardment Squadron emblem{{efn|Approved 26 August 1942. Description: On a white cloud the representation of the Norse mythological god Thor [[Attitude (heraldry)#Issuant|issuant]], [[habited]] in a red cloak, a gold cap with black horns, casting with his upraised right arm a black chain mace.}}<ref name=Maurer368BS/> |identification_symbol_3= <big>'''BO'''</big> |identification_symbol_3_label=World War II squadron fuselage code<ref name=Watkins>Watkins, pp. 56-57</ref>{{efn|The 368th emblem was designed by B-17 gunner Thomas Albert Donlon, Jr., of the bomber ''Lady Winifred''. {{citation needed|date=November 2018}}}} |identification_symbol_4=<big>'''Triangle H'''</big><ref name=Watkins/> |identification_symbol_4_label=World War II group tail marking }}
The '''368th Training Squadron''' is a [[United States Air Force]] ground training unit, located at [[Fort Leonard Wood]], Missouri. The squadron reports to the [[782d Training Group]], part of the [[82d Training Wing]], at [[Sheppard Air Force Base]], Texas and conducts training for airmen in civil engineering, (including Engineering Assistant, Pavement and Equipment, and Emergency Management) as well as in Logistics Readiness in Ground Transportation.
The [[squadron (aviation)|squadron]] was first activated in 1942 as the '''368th Bombardment Squadron'''. After training in the United States, it became one of the first units to deploy to the [[European Theater of Operations]] to participate in the [[strategic bombing in World War II#US bombing in Europe|strategic bombing campaign]] against Germany. earning two [[Distinguished Unit Citation]]s. After [[V-E Day]], the squadron remained in Europe and participated in the photographic mapping of Europe and Africa until it was inactivated in 1946.
The squadron was reactivated in 1947 and served as a medium bomber unit with [[Strategic Air Command]] (SAC) until inactivating in 1963, as SAC drew down its medium bomber force.
==History== ===World War II=== ====Initial organization and training==== The [[squadron (aviation)|squadron]] was first established in March 1942 at [[Gowen Field]], Idaho as the '''368th Bombardment Squadron''', one of the original four squadrons of the [[306th Bombardment Group]].<ref>Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 454-457, 519</ref><ref name=Maurer306BG>Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 179–180</ref> In April, its personnel moved to [[Wendover Field]], Utah, where it began training with [[Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress]] [[heavy bomber]]s.<ref name=Maurer368BS/> On 1 August 1942, the squadron's ground echelon began its deployment, spending a week at [[Richmond Army Air Base]], Virginia before moving to [[Fort Dix]], New Jersey at the Port of Embarkation. It sailed on the {{RMS|Queen Elizabeth}} on 30 August, arriving in Scotland on 5 September 1942. The air echelon departed for [[Westover Field]], Massachusetts, and began ferrying their B-17s to England via the [[North Atlantic air ferry route in World War II|North Atlantic ferrying route]].<ref name=Maurer306BG/><ref name=Freeman248>Freeman, p. 248</ref>
====Combat in Europe==== [[File:B-17g-44-6604-44-8676-306bg-thurleigh.jpg|thumb|left|B-17Gs of the 306th Bombardment Group]] The squadron settled into its combat station, [[RAF Thurleigh]], England, in early September. Although several bomber units arrived in England before the 368th, when these units left England to participate in [[Operation Torch]] it became, along with its companion squadrons of the 306th Group, the oldest bombardment squadrons of [[VIII Bomber Command]]. It few its first combat mission on 9 October 1942 against a steel factory near [[Lille]], France, but with poor results. This was the first mission on which VIII Bomber Command assembled a strike force of over 100 bombers.<ref name=Freeman248/><ref>Freeman, p. 18</ref>{{efn|With the departure of units to North Africa in Operation Torch, it would be six months before VIII Bomber Command could duplicate this feat. Freeman, p. 18.}} The squadron operated primarily against strategic targets, including the locomotive factory at Lille, [[marshalling yard]]s at [[Rouen]], France, and [[Stuttgart]], Germany. The squadron took part in the first strike into Germany by bombers of [[Eighth Air Force]] on 27 January 1943 when it struck [[U-boat]] yards at [[Wilhelmshaven]]. It struck [[shipbuilding]] yards at [[Vegesack]], ball bearing plants at [[Schweinfurt]], the aircraft factory at [[Leipzig]], Germany, and similar facilities.<ref name=Maurer306BG/>
On 11 January 1944, the squadron participated in an attack on an aircraft plant in central Germany, near [[Braunschweig|Brunswick]]. Extensive cloud cover had resulted in the recall of two of the three [[Air Division (United States)|bombardment divisions]] involved in the mission and made the rendezvous of the fighter groups scheduled to provide cover in the target area difficult. In contrast, clear weather to the east of the target permitted the Germans to assemble one of the largest fighter formations since October 1943, with 207 enemy fighters making contact with the strike force.<ref>Freeman, pp. 104-106</ref> For this mission, the squadron was awarded the [[Distinguished Unit Citation]] (DUC). The following month the squadron earned a second DUC for its performance during [[Big Week]], an intensive bombing campaign against the German aircraft industry. Despite adverse weather on 22 February that led supporting elements to abandon the mission the squadron and group effectively bombed the aircraft assembly plant at [[Bernburg]], Germany.<ref name=Maurer306BG/>
The squadron also performed in a tactical role, assisting ground forces [[Operation Cobra]], the [[St Lo]] breakthrough, [[Operation Market Garden]], the attempt to establish a bridgehead across the [[Rhine]] near [[Arnhem]] in the Netherlands, stopping German attacking forces in the [[Battle of the Bulge]], and bombing enemy positions during [[Operation Varsity]], the airborne assault across the Rhine in the spring of 1945.<ref name=Maurer306BG/>
After [[V-E Day]], the squadron became part of the [[military occupation|occupation]] forces and participated in Project Casey Jones, the photographic mapping of portions of Europe and North Africa.<ref name=Maurer306BG/> The 306th Group began to phase out of the project in July.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.airforcehistoryindex.org/data/001/114/094.xml |last1=|first1=|title=Abstract, Project Casey Jones, Post Hostilities Aerial Mapping |date=1988|publisher=Air Force History Index|access-date=August 6, 2012}}</ref> In February 1946, the squadron moved to [[Istres-Le Tubé Air Base]], France, where it absorbed elements of the inactivating [[92d Operations Group|92d]] and [[384th Bombardment Group]]s, returning to Germany in July.<ref name=Freeman248/> The squadron was inactivated in December 1946.<ref name=Maurer368BS/>
===Strategic Air Command=== Reactivated as a [[Strategic Air Command]] (SAC) [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress]] squadron at [[MacDill AFB]], Florida in 1948, the squadron began upgrading to the new [[Boeing B-50 Superfortress]], an advanced version of the B-29, in 1950. The B-50 gave the unit the capability to carry heavy loads of conventional weapons faster and farther; it was also designed for atomic bomb missions if necessary.
The squadron began receiving the first production models of the new [[Boeing B-47 Stratojet]] jet bomber in 1951 and despite initial difficulties, the Stratojet became the mainstay of the medium-bombing strength of SAC all throughout the 1950s. It began sending its B-47s to [[Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center]] at [[Davis-Monthan Air Force Base]] in 1963 when the aircraft was deemed no longer capable of penetrating Soviet airspace. The 368th was not operational from 3 January through 1 April 1963.
===Training unit=== The Air Force had begun training certain civil engineering skills at [[Fort Leonard Wood]], Missouri in the 1970s. After 1992, additional Air Force training in emergency management and ground transportation was moved to Fort Leonard Wood as well, with Detachment 1, 364th Training Squadron acting as the manager for this training. Eventually, the detachment became the largest in the Air Force, and in early 2018 [[Air Education and Training Command]] decided to expand the detachment and replace it with a full squadron. The squadron was redesignated the '''368th Training Squadron''' and absorbed the personnel and equipment of the detachment in a ceremony on 17 October 2018.<ref name=LargestDetachment>{{cite web |url= https://www.sheppard.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/1664964/368th-trs-replaces-largest-aetc-detachment-at-ceremony/ |last1=Ingle|first1=John|title=368th TRS replaces largest AETC detachment at ceremony|date=October 17, 2018|publisher=Air Force History Index|access-date=November 21, 2018}}</ref>
==Lineage== * Constituted as the '''368th Bombardment Squadron''' (Heavy) on 28 January 1942 : Activated on 1 March 1942 : Redesignated '''368th Bombardment Squadron''', Heavy on 20 August 1943<ref>''See'' {{cite web |url= https://www.dafhistory.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/432676/306-flying-training-group-aetc/ |last1=Haulman|first1=Daniel L.|title=Factsheet 306 Flying Training Group (AETC)|date=March 17, 2017|publisher=Air Force Historical Research Agency|access-date=November 21, 2018}} (date group redesignated)</ref> : Inactivated on 25 December 1946 : Redesignated '''368th Bombardment Squadron''', Very Heavy on 11 June 1947 : Activated on 1 July 1947 : Redesignated '''368th Bombardment Squadron''', Medium on 11 August 1948 : Inactivated on 1 April 1963<ref name=Maurer368BS2>Lineage information, including stations and aircraft, through March 1963 in Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 455-456, except as noted.</ref> : Redesignated '''368th Training Squadron''' : Activated c. 17 October 2018<ref name=LargestDetachment/>
===Assignments=== * 306th Bombardment Group, 1 March 1942 – 25 December 1946 * 306th Bombardment Group, 1 July 1947 (attached to [[306th Bombardment Wing]] after 10 February 1951)<ref Name=Ravenstein306SW>Ravenstein, pp. 151-153</ref> * 306th Bombardment Wing, 16 June 1952 – 1 April 1963<ref name=Ravenstein306SW/> * [[782d Training Group]], c. 17 October 2018 – present<ref>''See'' Ingle (782d Group requested upgrade of detachment to squadron)</ref>
===Stations=== {{Col-begin}} {{Col-break|width=50%}} * Gowen Field, Idaho, 1 March 1942 * Wendover Field, Utah, c. 6 April-1 August 1942 * RAF Thurleigh (Sta 111),<ref>Station number in Anderson, p. 68.</ref> England, c. 6 September 1942 (detachments operated from [[Gibraltar]], 18 August 1945 – January 1946; [[Port Lyautey Airfield]], French Morocco, February – 15 July 1946) * [[AAF Station Giebelstadt]] (Y-90),<ref name=Johnson>Station number in Johnson. p. 34.</ref> Germany, 25 December 1945 {{Col-break|width=50%}} * Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (Y-17),<ref>Station number in Johnson. p. 27.</ref> France, 24 February 1946 (detachment operated from: Dakar Airport, French West Africa, January–March 1946) * [[AAF Station Fürstenfeldbruck]] (R-72),<ref>Station number in Johnson. p. 40.</ref> Germany, 16 August 1946 * [[AAF Station Lechfeld]], Germany (R-71),<ref name=Johnson/> 13 September-25 December 1946 * [[Andrews Field]], Maryland, 1 July 1947 * [[MacDill Air Force Base]], Florida, 1 August 1948 – 1 April 1963<ref>Mueller, p. 352</ref> * Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, c. 17 October 2018 – present<ref name=LargestDetachment/> {{Col-end}}
===Aircraft=== * Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, 1942–1946 * [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress]], 1948–1951 * Boeing B-50 Superfortress, 1950–1951 * Boeing B-47 Stratojet, 1951–1963<ref name=Maurer368BS2/>
==References== ===Notes=== ; Explanatory notes {{Notelist}}
; Citations {{Reflist|30em}}
===Bibliography=== {{Air Force Historical Research Agency}} * {{cite book|last=Anderson|first=Capt. Barry|title= 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|url=http://www.afhra.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-081010-027.pdf |year=1985|publisher=Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center|location=Maxwell AFB, AL|url-status=dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160123155923/http://www.afhra.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-081010-027.pdf |archive-date=January 23, 2016|access-date=June 28, 2017}} * {{cite book|last=Freeman|first = Roger A. |author-link1=Roger A. Freeman|title=The Mighty Eighth: Units, Men and Machines (A History of the US 8th Army Air Force)|year=1970 |publisher=Macdonald and Company|location=London, England |isbn= 978-0-87938-638-2}} * {{cite book|editor=Maurer, Maurer|title=Air Force Combat Units of World War II|orig-year= 1961|url= http://media.defense.gov/2010/Sep/21/2001330256/-1/-1/0/AFD-100921-044.pdf|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161220180735/http://media.defense.gov/2010/Sep/21/2001330256/-1/-1/0/AFD-100921-044.pdf|url-status= dead|archive-date= 20 December 2016|access-date= December 17, 2016|edition=reprint|year=1983|publisher= Office of Air Force History|location=Washington, DC|isbn=0-912799-02-1|lccn=61060979}} * {{cite book|editor=Maurer, Maurer|title=Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II|orig-year=1969|url= http://media.defense.gov/2010/Dec/02/2001329899/-1/-1/0/AFD-101202-002.pdf |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161220180455/http://media.defense.gov/2010/Dec/02/2001329899/-1/-1/0/AFD-101202-002.pdf |url-status= dead |archive-date= 20 December 2016 |edition= reprint|access-date= December 17, 2016|year=1982|publisher=Office of Air Force History|location=Washington, DC|isbn=0-405-12194-6|oclc=72556|lccn=70605402}} * {{cite book|last=Mueller|first=Robert|title=Air Force Bases, Vol. I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982|url= https://media.defense.gov/2010/Sep/21/2001330255/-1/-1/0/AFD-100921-026.pdf |access-date=December 17, 2016|year=1989|publisher=Office of Air Force History|location=Washington, DC|isbn=0-912799-53-6}} * {{cite book|last=Ravenstein|first=Charles A.|title=Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977|url=https://archive.org/details/airforcecombatwi0000rave|access-date=December 17, 2016|year=1984|publisher=Office of Air Force History|location=Washington, DC|isbn=0-912799-12-9|url-access=registration}} * {{cite book|last=Watkins|first=Robert|title=Battle Colors: Insignia and Markings of the Eighth Air Force In World War II |volume=I (VIII) Bomber Command|year=2008|publisher=Shiffer Publishing Ltd.|location=Atglen, PA|isbn=978-0-7643-1987-7}}
==External links== * {{cite web |url= https://b-47.com/ |last1=|first1=|title=B-47 Stratojet Historical Website|date=|publisher=B-47 Association|access-date=14 May 2026}}
[[Category:Training squadrons of the United States Air Force]] [[Category:Military units and formations in Missouri]]