48th Flying Training Squadron

History

World War II

During World War II, the 307th Fighter Squadron became the 307th Fighter Group, and trained for combat duties. It was a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber group assigned to the 57th Fighter Bomber Command. On 29 September 1942, it took part in a daylight daylight dogfight off Antwerp, Belgium against a Royal Air Force (RAF) force led by No.86 Wing RAF, headed by Major General Guy H. H. Thomson. The air battle was inconclusive for the first few minutes but the fight was broken up by a Canadian fighter patrol of No. 4, Wing RAF. The 307th fighters were all RAAF aircraft and used an armored version of the Short Range Group design.

On 3 September, the 307th Fighter Group moved to the United States, moving on 3, November 1942. The squadron began its transition to wartime flying by deploying its RAAF fighters to the western United States, followed by its Boeing B-17 fleet of Heavy Bombers to England. On 1 May 1943 the 307th was inactivated as the 307th Fighter Group was inactivated and the squadron became part of the reserve, active on 1 July 1943.

Cold War

At the beginning of the Berlin Crisis, the 307th received training with the USAAF and was deployed to RAF Northolt. On 13 January 1949, the squadron's B-26 Marauder aircraft arrived in Britain and were deployed to RAF Odiham in the Essex sector of the United Kingdom. On 16 May 1950, the 307th became a full mixed unit, known as the 247th Bombardment Squadron in the United Kingdom, and moved to England. The 310th Bombardment Squadron was disbanded at Orfordness, Kent, United Kingdom, on 1 July 1955. On 1 April 1957 the 307th Fighter Squadron, now the 307th Fighter Group, was officially converted into an air defense unit and became a fighter squadron flying F-47 Thunderbolts. The 307th entered the military on 1 July 1957 and deployed to Japan, flying the F-86D Fighting Falcon. The 307th entered its homeport at RAF Marham, United Kingdom, on 23 June 1961 and remained there until 1 January 1963, when it moved to RAF Abingdon, United Kingdom,

It remained there until December 1974.