The 434th Flying Training Squadron at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas, along with the 85th FTS, conducts primary flight training in the T-6A Texan II as part of the Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training program.
The 434th FTS traces its lineage to the 434th Fighter Squadron which was activated on Oct. 15, 1943 during a buildup of Army Air Forces. The squadron was activated at Grand Central Air Terminal, California when it came under control of the 479th Fighter Group. Initial manning consisted of six officers, one warrant officer, and 16 enlisted men. Equipped with the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, pilots trained for combat. Incidentally, the German's called the P-38 the "Gabelschwanzteufel," translated as the fork-tailed or twin-tailed devil. That could be the reason the squadron has two devils on its emblem. In April 1944 they departed California for their base in England and arrived almost a month later.
On May 25, 1944, eleven days after the squadron's arrival in England, pilots flew their first combat mission. In the early hours of D-Day, nearly 120,000 Allied troops approached the French coast. Over 12,000 aircraft flew cover to provide support for interdiction and other support missions. The 434th pilots involved in this flew as many as three missions, returning to base only long enough to refuel and rearm. It wasn’t until July 29, 1944 that the 434 Fighter Squadron shot down its first aircraft. First Lt. Arthur F. Jeffrey, one of the original six pilots assigned to the squadron, bagged an Me-163 Komet. Over the next nine months squadron members flew bomber escort missions, attacked airfields, and even supported the beleaguered ground forces involved in the Battle of the Bulge. On April 25, 1945, pilots flew their last combat mission and 1st Lt. Hilton O. Thomas shot down the last aircraft credited to an Eighth Air Force pilot - an Arado 234 Blitz. Of the four aces produced by the 479th Fighter Group, three came from the 434th Fighter Squadron: Arthur F. Jeffery, Robin Olds, and George W. Gleason. Rapid demobilization took place as the war wound down, and by Dec. 1, 1945 the squadron had returned to the United States and was deactivated.
Seven years year later, as the US started rebuilding its armed forces due to the Korean War and increased tensions with the Soviet Union, the 434th was reactivated as the 434th Fighter-Bomber Squadron. Equipped with the P-51 Mustang, pilots trained for interdiction and close air support missions. By July 1953, the squadron became an all-jet unit, flying the F-86F Sabre and the F-100A Super Sabre. The squadron participated in Exercise SAFE BRUSH, the largest joint exercise since the end of World War II. During this exercise, the 434th trained to deliver conventional and nuclear weapons. Four years after the introduction of the F-100A, the 434th received the Lockheed F-104C Starfighter. Soon the 434th started rotating to Spain where they augmented North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces countering the Warsaw Pact and assisted Air Defense Command by sitting alert in the US. While deployed to Spain in 1961, the squadron moved to Bitburg, Germany during the Berlin Crisis.
Shortly after their return to the US in December 1961, nearly all squadron personnel went to other units. The 434th remained unmanned until November 1966, at which time it gained the F-4C Phantom II and trained both US and foreign combat crews. The squadron became operational again in 1969, and deployed to Southeast Asia in 1972 where they flew combat missions over North and South Vietnam. In 1975, the squadron again reverted to an F-4 training squadron. In December 1976, all squadron personnel were once again reassigned.
In January 1977, the now, 434th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron moved to Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. There it performed the lead-in fighter training mission in the T-38 Talon, similar to today's introduction to fighter fundamentals. Squadron personnel trained US and foreign pilots, in addition to weapons system officers, bound for fighter and attack aircraft, as well as acting as aggressor forces for students in the A-10 flying training unit.
The squadron was once again deactivated from May 3, 1991 until 21 Jun 2007 when it was reactivated as the 434th Flying Training Squadron at Laughlin AFB, Texas. It’s mission was once again teaching Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals in the T-38 to new pilot training graduates before they moved on to fighter aircraft. It was reassigned on 24 August 2012 to begin instructing primary flight training in the T-6 Texan II. Today the 434th supports the second largest flying hour program and flies over 35,000 hours annually. The instructors develop fundamental skills critical to combat pilots, officers, and leaders by preparing students for follow-on training.
434th Flying Training Squadron Motto:
“Give ‘em Hell!” Made famous August 25th 1944 by 479th Fighter Group Commander Colonel Hubert “Hub” Zemke in the pre-mission briefing that would see 434th pilot 1st Lt Robin Olds become the 479th’s first ACE. It stuck as the motto of the 434th.
“Tutor El Ultor” Meaning ‘Protect and Avenge’; this unofficial motto was made famous by the Robin Olds patch worn by the 434th Fighter Squadron beginning with the P-38 to P-51 transition.
84th Flying Training Squadron
The 84th Flying Training Squadron, formerly based at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas, partnered with the 85th Flying Training Squadron to conduct the T-37 flying training portion of Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training. The squadron's lineage stretches back to World War II, where it played a crucial role in the Allied war effort.
Constituted as the 84th Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor) on January 13, 1942, and activated on February 9, 1942, the unit began its journey flying the P-38 “Lightning.” After several relocations within the U.S., the squadron was redesignated the 84th Fighter Squadron and deployed to England. It later transitioned to the P-47 “Thunderbolt” and saw its first combat in April 1943. Throughout the war, the squadron executed a variety of missions, from bomber escort to ground attack operations. In September 1944, the 84th played a key role in the Arnhem-Nijmegen airborne landings, attacking ground positions and earning a Distinguished Unit Citation for saving numerous Allied transport aircraft. By December 1944, the squadron had switched to flying the P-51 “Mustang,” and on April 10, 1945, it destroyed 58 aircraft on the ground in a single day, earning its second Distinguished Unit Citation. The squadron’s final combat mission was flown in April 1945, escorting British bombers to Hitler’s “Eagle’s Nest.” Over the course of the war, the 84th was credited with destroying 260 German aircraft.
Following its return to the U.S. in October 1945, the squadron was inactivated but reactivated again in August 1946 under the Air Defense Command. During the Cold War, the 84th flew a variety of interceptors including the F-84 “Thunderjet,” F-94 “Starfire,” F-89 “Scorpion,” F-101 “Voodoo,” and F-106 “Delta Dart.” It played a notable role during the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962 by dispersing nuclear-armed aircraft to Kingsley Field. The squadron remained part of continental air defense until it was inactivated in 1981.
In July 1981, the unit was redesignated as the 84th Fighter Interceptor Training Squadron and flew T-33s to provide electronic counter-countermeasures (ECCM) training, often serving as targets for air defense divisions and F-15 Eagles from the 49th Tactical Fighter Wing. This mission continued until the squadron’s inactivation in February 1987.
To meet increased pilot production demands, the squadron was reactivated once again on April 2, 1990, as the 84th Flying Training Squadron, resuming its role training pilots in the T-37 at Laughlin AFB. However, the squadron was inactivated in October 1992 due to changes in Air Force pilot production needs. It returned to service on October 1, 1998, and continued training until its final inactivation on August 24, 2012. That same day, the 434th Flying Training Squadron took up its mission, continuing the legacy of training the next generation of Air Force pilots.
(Current as of April 2025)