The squadron was first activated during World War II and served as a fighter replacement training unit until it was disbanded in 1944 in a reorganization of Army Air Forces training units. It was reconstituted and activated once again in 1984.
History
World War II
P-39 Airacobras of the 338th Fighter Group at Dale Mabry Field in 1942
The squadron's mission was to act as a Replacement Training Unit (RTU). RTUs were oversized units that trained individual pilots or aircrews following their graduation from flight school.[3] In June 1943, the 338th Group began a split organization and the 312th and 441st Fighter Squadrons moved to Perry Army Air Field, Florida,[1][4] while group headquarters and the other two squadrons remained at Dale Mabry Field.[2][5][6] After September 1943, the group focused on Republic P-47 Thunderbolt training, although the squadron had some P-40s in 1944.[1][2]
However, the Army Air Forces was finding that standard military units, based on relatively inflexible tables of organization were not proving well adapted to the training mission. Accordingly, it adopted a more functional system for its training bases in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit.[7]
The squadron was disbanded in May 1944,[1] and its personnel, equipment and mission transferred to the 342d AAF Base Unit (Replacement Training Unit, Fighter).
Tactical Air Command
The 312th was reconstituted, designated the 312th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron and reactivated by Tactical Air Command at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona in October 1984[8] as the first General Dynamics F-16C Fighting Falcon training squadron in the USAF. The squadron once again acted as a replacement training unit. It was initially equipped with new Block 25 Fighting Falcons, but it converted to new Block 42 planes in 1990. Its aircraft carried "LF" tail code with a black tail stripe outlined in red. It was inactivated in 1991[8] and most of its aircraft reassigned to 308th, 309th and 310th Fighter Squadrons.
General Dynamics F-16C/D Fighting Falcon, 1984–1991
Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II, 2023 -
References
Notes
Explanatory notes
^Aircraft is General Dynamics F-16D Block 25 Fighting Falcon, serial 83-1175. Although marked as "F-16D No. 1", it was the second Block 25 F-16D. The plane was later transferred to the Arizona Air National Guard. Baugher, Joe (10 June 2023). "1983 USAF Serial Numbers". Joe Baugher. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
^Approved 17 February 1944. Description: On a medium blue disc, border yellow, edged black, a caricatured red scorpion, holding and firing forward three aerial machine gunsproper while leaving a curved vapor trail light turquoise blue stretching back to sinisterchief, all in front of a large white cloud formation, edged black in chief and a smaller white cloud formation in sinister base.
Goss, William A. (1955). "The Organization and its Responsibilities, Chapter 2 The AAF". In Craven, Wesley F.; Cate, James L. (eds.). The Army Air Forces in World War II(PDF). Vol. VI, Men & Planes. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. LCCN48003657. OCLC704158. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
Martin, Patrick (1994). Tail Code: The Complete History of USAF Tactical Aircraft Tail Code Markings. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Military Aviation History. ISBN0-88740-513-4.
