Mission:
Train undergraduate aircrew members in all aspects of helicopter operations for follow-on training in special operations, combat search and rescue (CSAR), missile support and distinguished visitor airlift missions.
Unit History:
Lineage: Constituted as the 76th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) on 20 Nov 1940 and activated on 15 Jan 1941. It was re-designated as the 23d Antisubmarine Squadron (Heavy) on 3 Mar 1943 and disbanded on 6 Feb 1944. Reconstituted as the 23d Troop Carrier Squadron on 11 Nov 1944, the unit transported cargo and personnel throughout the European Theater of Operation until its inactivation on 7 Sep 1946. The Air Force revived the unit on 9 Jul 1956 as the 23d Helicopter Squadron at Stewart AFB, Tennessee where they served at Phalsbourg France, RAF Wethersfield UK, and Wheelus AB Libya until their inactivation on 8 Jan 1958.
The Vietnam War saw the unit's reconstitution as the 23d Tactical Air Support Squadron operating from Hakhon Phanom Royal Thailand Air Force Base (RTAFB), Thailand, from 15 April 1966 to 22 Sep 1975. They inactivated on 22 Sep 1975 only to be reactivated on 30 Nov 1975 at Bergstrom AFB, Texas to train forward air controllers. They then moved to Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona on 1 Jul 1980 until their deactivation on 1 Nov 1991.
On 15 Jan 1994, the Air Force reactivated the unit with its current name at Fort Novosel, Alabama to train future helicopter pilots in the UH-1H “Huey”. Adopted from the Army, the UH-1H served as the 23 FTS’s only training aircraft for many years until a modernized TH-1H “Huey II” was introduced in 2008. In 2012 the UH-1H was retired and the TH-1H assumed sole responsibility for the Air Force’s only undergraduate helicopter training program and continues this role today.