78th Flying Training Wing (U.S. Army Air Forces)


The 78th Flying Training Wing was a wing of the United States Army Air Forces. It was last assigned to the Central Flying Training Command, and was disbanded on 30 June 1945 at the San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center, Texas.
The wing was a World War II unit for the classification and preflight testing of aviation cadets. It was one of three such centers, the others being at Maxwell Field, Alabama and Santa Ana Army Air Base, California.
There is no lineage between the current United States Air Force 78th Air Base Wing, established on 24 September 1948 at Hamilton Air Force Base, California, and this organization.

History

The mission of the wing was to provide both Classification and Preflight stage training to air cadets which had completed Training Command basic indoctrination training.Classification Stage processed the cadet and issued him his equipment. This was the stage where it would be decided whether the cadet would train as a navigator, bombardier, or pilot.Pre-Flight Stage taught the mechanics and physics of flight and required the cadets to pass courses in mathematics and the hard sciences. Then the cadets were taught to apply their knowledge practically by teaching them aeronautics, deflection shooting, and thinking in three dimensions.
Once the cadet successfully completed the training at the center, they would be assigned to one of the AAF primary flight schools for initial flying training.

Lineage

  • Established as 78th Flying Training Wing on 14 August 1943

Assignments

Units

Squadrons re-designated as squadrons "E", "F", "G", 2535th AAFBU, 1 May 1944
Squadrons re-designated as squadrons "A", "B", "C", "D", 2535th AAFBU, 1 May 1944

Stations