812th Fighter-Bomber Squadron 812th Fighter-Bomber Squadron The 812th Fighter-Bomber Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with 482d Fighter-Bomber Group stationed at Dobbins Air Force Base, Georgia. During World War II, the squadron was activated in England as the 812th Bombardment Squadron (Pathfinder). Its Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress aircraft were equipped with first generation radars to guide other bombardment units to targets obscured by cloud cover over Occupied Europe and Nazi Germany, earning a Distinguished Unit Citation in January 1944. In March 1944, it was removed from combat to focus on training pathfinder aircrews and develop tactics,
31st Flying Training Wing (World War II) for most of its operational service, it controlled contract pilot schools primarily in the Central United States. Until 1939, the Army Air Corps provided all flying training with military instructor pilots. Beginning in 1939, it contracted with nine civilian flying schools to provide primary flight training. Primary training consisted of a three-month course of 65 hours of flying instruction. As the United States prepared to enter World War II by expanding its number of flying squadrons, the number of contract primary schools increased. According to the contract, the government supplied students with training aircraft, flying clothes, textbooks, and equipment. The