563d Flying Training Squadron 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 . History . 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 Citation s : one for the Regensburg raid on 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 Japan ese surrender altered these plans and the unit was inactivated in August 1945 . The squadron was reactivated in the Reserves from 12 June 1947 to 27 June 1949 , flying the AT - 6 Texan , AT - 11 Kansan , C - 46 Commando , C - 47 Skytrain , and A - 26 Invader at Orchard Place Airport , Chicago , Illinois . The 563d was reactivated again in 1953 following Secretary of State John Foster Dulles ' promise to provide NATO with four fighter wings . The unit became a fighter - bomber squadron at Clovis Air Force Base , New Mexico , 23 November 1953 , where its members trained in F - 86 Sabre aircraft . The squadron moved to Bitburg Air Base , Germany , in 1954 , and then to Étain - Rouvres Air Base , France , in the summer of 1955 . The unit flew support for the Suez Canal and Hungarian crises . It converted to F - 100 Super Sabre aircraft on 2 April 1957 and was inactivated shortly after on 10 December 1957 . The squadron was reactivated 1 May 1962 , with the 23d Wing ( the famous Flying Tigers ) as the 563d Tactical Fighter Squadron , at McConnell Air Force Base , Kansas , again flying the F - 100 Super Sabre and then the F - 105 Thunderchief by the end of 1963 . In April 1965 , the unit was sent into combat in Southeast Asia . The 563d deployed to Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base , Thailand , and flew 1508 combat sorties over North Vietnam and Laos . On 27 July 1965 , the unit participated in the first destruction of a surface - to - air missile site in North Vietnam . In addition , there were several attacks as part of the first increment of Operation Rolling Thunder , and other Operation Iron Hand missions , and several dangerous attempts to destroy the Thanh Hoa and Paul Doumer bridges . The 563d lost 10 of its original 18 F - 105Ds . Two pilots were killed by enemy action and three became POW s in that five month tour . The 563d was awarded two Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards with Combat " V " for Valor for this tour , and was the most experienced Squadron in the U . S . Air Force . ( The 563rd never received its Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm citation though because it ' s mission was classified . ) In 1966 , the squadron became a Replacement Training Unit back at McConnell . The unit trained ten classes of pilots for the F - 105D between 1966 and 1970 and later transitioned to the F - 105 " Thunderstick II " until its inactivation , 31 July 1972 . On 31 July 1975 , the 563d TFS was reactivated for the fifth time at George Air Force Base , California . The unit initially flew " Thunderstick II " ' s but added F - 4 Phantom II in September 1975 . In October 1978 , the 563d received new aircraft from Nellis Air Force Base , Nevada , to become the first operational squadron to fly the advanced F - 4G Wild Weasel . The unit served with this electronic warfare aircraft in many exercises until it was inactivated in October 1989 . On 14 May 1993 , the 563d was redesigned as a flying training squadron and reactivated at Randolph Air Force Base , Texas . The squadron was assigned to the 12th Flying Training Wing under the Air Education and Training Command . In conjunction with the 562d Flying Training Squadron , it currently operates the T - 43 Bobcat aircraft conducting Electronic Warfare Officer ( EWO ) , or , Combat Systems Officer ( CSO ) training in electronic attack , threat reaction , and electronic surveillance . The 563d also operates the state of the art T - 25 Simulator , aiding the Air Force in creating some of the most technically skilled Airmen the United States has to offer .