33d Flying Training Squadron The 33d Flying Training Squadron is a United States Air Force squadron based out of Vance Air Force Base in Enid , Oklahoma . It is a part of the 71st Flying Training Wing . As Vance AFB is a joint specialized undergraduate pilot training ( JSUPT ) base , Navy and Marine Corps aviators as well as Air Force and Air National Guard pilots are trained there . The 33 FTS currently flies the T - 6A " Texan II " which has 1100 shaft horsepower and a maximum speed of 316 KIAS ( knots indicated airspeed ) . The 33 FTS mascot is the dragon and students use callsigns starting with " Hydra " when on station and " Hook " when off station . History . Established as a GHQ Air Force medium bomber squadron in 1940 as a result of the buildup of the Army Air Corps after the breakout of World War II in Europe . It trained with a mix of B - 18 Bolo s and B - 26 Marauder s . After the Pearl Harbor Attack , the squadron was transferred to the West Coast , flying anti - submarine patrols from Muroc AAF , California from December 1941 to the end of January 1942 . It was then assigned to the new Fifth Air Force , originally based on the Philippines , leaving the B - 18s at Muroc , being redesignated as the 408th Bombardment Squadron . By the time the squadron arrived in the theater the situation on the Philippines was desperate , and the squadron was based in Australia . From there it attacked Japanese targets on Papua New Guinea and New Britain . In October 1943 the B - 26 Marauders were joined by B - 25 Mitchell s , and for the rest of the year the group continued to operate in support of Allied troops on New Guinea . In February 1944 the unit was redesignated as a Heavy Bombardment Squadron , and was assigned very long range Consolidated B - 24 Liberator s , built by Ford and optimized for long range bombing missions in the Pacific . With its new heavy bombers the group attacked targets on Borneo , Ceram and Halmahera , amongst them the crucial oil fields of the Dutch East Indies . In September 1944 the squadron moved its attention to the Philippines , attacking targets on Leyte . It moved onto Leyte on 15 November 1944 . From then until August 1945 it flew against targets on Luzon , as well as supporting the campaign on Borneo and even ranging out as far as China . Finally , on 15 August 1945 the unit moved to Okinawa , from where it flew a number of armed reconnaissance missions over southern Japan to make sure the surrender terms were being obeyed . Most of the squadron ' s personnel were demobilized after the war ; the squadron being reassigned to the Philippines where it ' s B - 24s were sent to reclamation and it became a paper unit . The squadron was redesignated as a B - 29 Superfortress squadron on Okinawa in 1946 , receiving former Eighth Air Force B - 29s originally deployed from the United States for the planned Air Offensive as part of the Japanese Campaign . Became part of Twentieth Air Force , and flew training missions over the Southwest Pacific until being made non - operational in 1948 . Assigned to Strategic Air Command in 1948 , receiving B - 29s and operating from Smoky Hill AFB , Kansas ; later March AFB , California . Took part in SAC deployments and exercises . In 1950 was part of the Fifteenth Air Force SAC contingent of non - nuclear - capable B - 29 units deployed to Okinawa due to the breakout of the Korean War . Flew combat missions over North Korea during 1950 , returning to the United States in October . Upon return to the United States , trained with second - line B - 29s for training and organization . Replaced the propeller - driven B - 29s with new B - 47E Stratojet swept - wing medium bombers in 1953 , capable of flying at high subsonic speeds and primarily designed for penetrating the airspace of the Soviet Union . In the late 1950s , the B - 47 was considered to be reaching obsolescence , and was being phased out of SAC ' s strategic arsenal . Began sending aircraft to other B - 47 wings as replacements in late 1962 ; Inactivated in early 1963 when the last aircraft was retired . Reactivated under Air Training Command as a flying training squadron in 1990 . Inactivated in 1992 ; Reactivated in 1998 as part of AETC .