History 

Tailcodes 

History 

Training Squadron TWO was established on 1 May 1960 at Naval Air Station Whiting Field, near Milton, Florida. VT-2’s mission is to provide primary and intermediate stage flight training to selected student aviators of the United States Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and several allied nations.

The syllabus completed by VT-2 "Doerbirds" consists of approximately 85 hours of instructional flight time in the T-34C "Turbo Mentor" aircraft and 21 hours in the 2B37 motion-based flight simulator. During this time each student becomes thoroughly trained in the contact, basic instruments, precision aerobatics, radio instruments, formation, and day and night navigation.

The "Contact" syllabus consists of flights in which the student learns to conduct a proper pre-flight inspection of the aircraft, take-off and land, recover from stalls and spins, deal with emergencies, and generally maneuver the aircraft skillfully and confidently. Upon completion of his/her first solo flight, the student aviator progresses to precision aerobatics, or PA. The aircraft is flown through maneuvers outside the normal range of flight, including loops, wingovers, and barrel rolls. During formation training the student works on improving his/her skills while flying in a two plane formation. Navigation training includes both day and night visual navigation instructions. The student also undergoes training in the basic and radio instruments. Here the student learns to maneuver the aircraft under actual or simulated instrument conditions, having to rely solely on cockpit instrumentation. Electronic flight simulators are integrated into the instrument flight training syllabus to assist the student in developing the required knowledge and skills.

The student aviator, upon completion of all these stages of training, is selected to undergo further training in the propeller, helicopter, jet or E-2/C-2 pipeline. The helicopter students report to South Whiting Field for training in the TH-57. The propeller selectees report to Corpus Christi, Texas for training in the T-44 and students who select the jet pipeline receive intermediate training in either Mississippi or Texas flying the T-45. Those who select the E-2/C-2 pipeline will finish their training in the T-45, located in Florida and Texas.

This complex training evolution requires the coordinated efforts of approximately 67 Naval Officer Instructor Pilots and 9 civilian personnel to produce approximately 210 "completers" each year. Logging nearly 2,000 flight hours each month, Training Squadron TWO has flown in excess of 1,800,000 flight hours and trained more than 19,000 students since commissioning 50 year ago.