563d Flying Training Squadron

563d Flying Training Squadron
563d Flying Training Squadron Patch
Active	24 December 1942 - 28 August 1945 12 June 1947 - 27 June 1949 23 November 1953 - 10 December 1957 1 May 1962 - 31 July 1972 31 July 1975 - 5 October 1989 14 May 1993 - 3 June 1996 30 April 1999 - 15 November 2010
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Type	Navigator Training
Part of	Air Education and Training Command Nineteenth Air Force 12th Flying Training Wing 12th Operations Group
Garrison/HQ	Randolph Air Force Base
Engagements	Schweinfurt–Regensburg mission Operation Rolling Thunder
Decorations	DUC AFOUA w/ V Device

The 563d Flying Training Squadron (563 FTS) was part of the 12th Flying Training Wing based at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. It operated the T-43 Bobcat conducting navigator training. It was most recently inactivated at a ceremony held at Randolph Air Force Base on November 15, 2010.

The 563d was first activated as a bombardment squadron in 1942 at Gowen Field, near Boise, Idaho. It transferred to Wendover Field, Utah in early 1943 to train in B-17 Flying Fortress aircraft. In the spring of 1943, the unit deployed to RAF Knettishall, England. As part of the Eighth Air Force, the unit flew several combat missions from 17 July 1943 to 21 April 1945 over Germany, France, Poland, Belgium, Norway, Romania and the Netherlands. While in combat, the unit received two Distinguished Unit Citations: one for the Regensburg raidon 17 August 1943, and another for separate attacks on Hanover, the Ruhr, and a "shuttle-bombing" raid. After V-E Day, the unit transferred back to the U.S. awaiting movement to the Pacific Theater of Operations, but the Japanese surrender altered these plans and the unit was inactivated in August 1945.