413th Flight Test Squadron

The 413th Flight Test Squadron is part of the 96th Test Wing and is based at Duke Field, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. It performs flight testing on C-130 Hercules (to include AC-130, HC-130 and MC-130), CV-22 Osprey, MH-53 Pave Low, UH-1 Iroquois, and HH-60 Pave Hawk aircraft.
The first predecessor of the squadron was first activated during World War II as the 413th Bombardment Squadron. It served in the European Theater of Operations, where it earned two Distinguished Unit Citations for its combat actions. Following V-E Day, the squadron returned to the United States and was inactivated.
This squadron was again active from 1947 to 1949 in the reserves, although it was apparently never fully manned or equipped. It was active as a Boeing B-47 Stratojet squadron in Strategic Air Command from 1958 to 1962.
The second predecessor of the squadron, the 6513th Test Squadron was activated in 1977 at Edwards Air Force Base, California. In 1992, the two squadrons were consolidated as the 413th Test Squadron. The squadron was inactivated in 2004, but reactivated the following year at Hurlburt Field, Florida.
Overview.
The squadron planned, provided for, and conducted tests of electronic warfare and avionics systems and equipment, on aircraft assigned to the Air Force Flight Test Center between 1977 and 2004. It has planned, executed and managed Development and Qualification Test and Evaluation of fixed-wing aircraft assigned to Air Force Special Operations Command and of all Air Force helicopters since 2005.
History.
World War II.
Initially established as a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress reconnaissance squadron in early 1942, redesignated as a heavy bombardment squadron and activated in July. Trained under II Bomber Command in the northwestern United States, then moved to Texas for better flying weather in early 1943. Deployed to England and assigned to VIII Bomber Command.
Flew first combat mission over Occupied Europe on 14 May 1943, Participated in the famous Regensburg shuttle mission to North Africa. Took part in the Big Week Schweinfurt mission of 14 October 1943. In addition, the squadron attacked shipyards, harbours, railway yards, aerodromes, oil refineries, aircraft factories, and other industrial targets in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia.
Participated in very long-range mission through heavy clouds and intense anti-aircraft fire to raid important aircraft component factories in Poland on 9 April 1944. Other significant targets included airfields at Bordeaux and Augsburg; marshalling yards at Kiel, Hamm, Brunswick, and Gdynia; aircraft factories at Chemnitz, Hanover, and Diósgyőr; oil refineries at Merseburg and Brüx, and chemical works in Wiesbaden, Ludwigshafen, and Neunkirchen
In addition to strategic operations, missions included bombing coastal defences, railway bridges, gun emplacements, and field batteries in the battle area prior to and during the invasion of Normandy in June 1944; attacking enemy positions in support of the breakthrough at Saint-Lô in July 1944; aiding the campaign in France in August by striking roads and road junctions, and by dropping supplies to the Maquis; and attacking, during the early months of 1945, the communications supplying German armies on the western front.
After V-E Day, flew food missions to the Netherlands and hauled redeployed personnel to French Morocco, Ireland, France, and Germany. In November 1945 its aircraft were flown back to the United States, and was inactivated on 19 December 1945.
Reserves.
Was reactivated as a Boeing B-29 Superfortress reserve squadron in 1947 at Keesler Field (later Air Force Base), Mississippi. Unit may or may not have been equipped with aircraft, possibly was an administrative unit with no personnel assigned. Was inactivated on 27 June 1949 due to budget reductions.
Strategic Air Command.
From 1958, the Boeing B-47 Stratojet wings of Strategic Air Command (SAC) began to assume an alert posture at their home bases, reducing the amount of time spent on alert at overseas bases. The SAC alert cycle divided itself into four parts: planning, flying, alert and rest to meet General Thomas S. Power's initial goal of maintaining one third of SAC’s planes on fifteen minute ground alert, fully fueled and ready for combat to reduce vulnerability to a Soviet missile strike. To implement this new system B-47 wings reorganized from three to four squadrons. The 413th was activated at Dyess Air Force Base as the fourth squadron of the 96th Bombardment Wing. The alert commitment was increased to half the squadron's aircraft in 1962 and the four squadron pattern no longer met the alert cycle commitment, so the squadron was inactivated on 1 January 1962.
Flight testing.
The 6513th Flight Test Squadron (known as the "Red Hats") was activated at Edwards Air Force Base, California on 1 December 1977 as part of the USAF Flight Test Center. The squadron was assigned to Edwards, although it operated from Tonopah Test Range Airport, Nevada to perform technical evaluations of acquired Soviet Aircraft. A similar organization, the 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron ("Red Eagles") performed clandestine flight testing of the aircraft. In October 1992 at the end of the Cold War, the squadrons were inactivated with the 6513th being consolidated with the 413th Test Squadron which was reactivated. The Red Hats, however, possibly continued to conduct FME projects, apparently as an unnumbered squadron at an undisclosed location in Nevada.
The 413th performed flight testing of electronic warfare assets at Edwards. Inactivated in March 2004 as part of a consolidation and realignment of EW assets, remaining personnel and assets were transferred to Electronic Warfare Directorate North Base.
Reactivated at Hurlburt Field, Florida in February 2005, providing flight testing of special operations aircraft and helicopters under the 46th Test Wing. Moved to Duke Field in 2012 due to budget reductions and rreassigned to 96th Test Wing in July 2012.