54th Fighter Group | |
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Active | 1941–1944, 1955–1958, 2014-present |
Country | United States |
Branch | United States Air Force |
Role | Fighter Training |
Size | 800 people [1] |
Part of | Air Force Reserve Command |
Garrison/HQ | Holloman Air Force Base |
Engagements | American Theater of World War II Pacific Theater of Operations |
Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation |
Insignia | |
54th Fighter Group emblem [note 1] [2] | |
54th Fighter Group emblem as originally approved [3] |
The 54th Fighter Group is an active unit of the United States Air Force stationed at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico and assigned to the 49th Wing of Air Education and Training Command. The group was reactivated in March 2014.
The group was first activated as the 54th Pursuit Group during the buildup of the Air Corps just prior to World War II. It served in Alaska during the Aleutian Islands Campaign, earning a Distinguished Unit Citation. It then returned to the United States and served as a training unit.
The group was again activated in 1955 as part of Air Defense Command's Project Arrow, replacing the 500th Air Defense Group. It served in the air defense role until 1958 when it was inactivated.
The group was activated once again as a training unit for the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon in 2014. The group was part of the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona until October 2018 when it was transferred to the 49th Wing, the host unit of Holloman.
The group trains an average of 180 students per year. It has an extensive flying program, averaging more than 10,800 sorties and 14,600 hours per fiscal year. The group consists of approximately 800 personnel, maintains $2.2 billion in F-16 assets and executes a $144 million operations and maintenance budget to carry out F-16 training. [1]
The group was activated as the 54th Pursuit Group (Interceptor) at the beginning of 1941 at Hamilton Field, California. with the 42d, 56th, and 57th Pursuit Squadrons assigned. [3] [4] [5] [6] It trained with Curtiss P-36 Hawks and Curtiss P-40 Warhawks, then moved to Everett Army Air Field, where it served as a part of the air defense force for the northwest Pacific coast during the first few months of World War II. [4] The group and its squadrons were redesignated as fighter units in May 1942. [3] [4] [5] [6]
The air echelon, equipped with Bell P-39 Airacobras, served in Alaska against the Japanese forces that invaded the Aleutian Islands during the summer of 1942, and for these operations the group received a Distinguished Unit Citation. [4]
The air echelon returned to the US in December 1942 and rejoined the group, which had been assigned to Third Air Force in Louisiana, and became a Replacement Training Unit (RTU) for North American P-51 Mustang pilots. [4] RTUs were oversized units training individual pilots or aircrews. [7] In early May 1943, the group began a split operation, with headquarters and the 56th and 57th Fighter Squadrons relocating to Bartow Army Air Field, [3] [4] [6] Florida, while the 42d was at Hillsborough Army Air Field. [5] However, the AAF was finding that standard military units, based on relatively inflexible tables of organization were proving less well adapted to the training mission. Accordingly, a more functional system was adopted in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit. [8] As a result, in 1944 the group was disbanded as the AAF converted to the AAF Base Unit system. [4] The units at Bartow were replaced by the 340th AAF Base Unit (Replacement Training Unit, Fighter), [9] while those at Hillsborough transferred their mission, equipment, and personnel to the 343d AAF Base Unit (Replacement Training Unit, Fighter). [10]
In 1955, the group was redesignated as the 54th Fighter Group (Air Defense) and activated at Greater Pittsburgh Airport [4] to replace the 500th Air Defense Group [11] as part of ADC's Project Arrow, which was designed to bring back on the active list the fighter units which had compiled memorable records in the two world wars. [12] The group assumed host responsibilities for the USAF portion of the airport and was assigned a USAF Dispensary, [13] Air Base Squadron and Materiel Squadron [14] to fulfill this responsibility. Because Project Arrow was also intended to reunite fighter squadrons with their former groups, the 42d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, which was stationed at O'Hare Airport moved to Pittsburgh and assumed the personnel and equipment of the 500th group's 71st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, including its radar equipped and rocket armed North American F-86 Sabres. The squadron transitioned into data link equipped F-86Ls in the spring of 1957 for interception control through the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment system and flew them until the group and squadron were inactivated in early 1958. [15]
The group was reactivated in March 2014 at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. It is an F-16 Fighting Falcon training unit under the 49th Wing. [16]
Operational Squadrons
Support Units
Award streamer | Award | Dates | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Distinguished Unit Citation | (June 1942)-4 November 1942 | [2] | |
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 March-30 June 2014 | [2] | |
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 2014-30 June 2015 | [2] | |
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 2015-30 June 2016 | [2] | |
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 2016-30 June 2017 | [2] |
54th Fighter Group
See alsoRelated Research ArticlesThe 53d Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force based at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The wing reports to the United States Air Force Warfare Center at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, which in turn reports to Headquarters Air Combat Command. The 60th Fighter Squadron is a United States Air Force unit that is part of the 33d Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida; It is tasked with training pilots on the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II. The 61st Fighter Squadron is an active United States Air Force unit, assigned to the 56th Operations Group, at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. It operates the F-35 Lightning II aircraft, conducting Pilot training. The 62d Fighter Squadron is part of the United States Air Force 56th Operations Group at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. It operates the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II aircraft conducting advanced fighter training. The 63d Fighter Squadron is an active United States Air Force unit, assigned to the 56th Operations Group, at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. It operates the F-35A aircraft, and conducts advanced fighter training since its reactivation in 2016. When this Squadron was reactivated in 1975, their mission was to train pilots and weapons systems officers for the McDonnell F-4E Phantom II, and they switched to the F-4D in 1978. The 311th Fighter Squadron (Sidewinders) is part of the 54th Fighter Group at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico which is a geographically separated unit under the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. It operates the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft conducting advanced fighter training. The squadron previously operated the Fighting Falcon conducting advanced fighter training at Luke and was inactivated due to budget constraints after the end of the Cold War. It was recently reactivated at Holloman and the aircraft were received from the 309th Fighter Squadron. The 31st Combat Training Squadron is an active United States Air Force unit. It is currently assigned to the Nevada Test and Training Range at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The 57th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, also known as "The Black Knights of Keflavik", is an inactive United States Air Force unit. The 57 FIS was last stationed at Naval Air Station Keflavik, Iceland. It was inactivated on 1 March 1995. The 42d Flying Training Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit, last assigned to Air Training Command at Columbus AFB, Mississippi, where it was inactivated on 15 December 1991. The V Fighter Command is a disbanded United States Air Force headquarters. It was established as the 2nd Interceptor Command in June 1941, with responsibility for air defense of the northwest United States and training fighter units in its area of responsibility. Shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Army formed Western Defense Command, with responsibility for the entire Pacific coast. All air defense functions were transferred to 4th Interceptor Command, and the command was slated for transfer to the Southwest Pacific Theater as 5th Fighter Command. I Fighter Command was a United States Army Air Forces intermediate command responsible for command and control of the fighter operations within the First Air Force during World War II. It was initially established in June 1941 as the 1st Interceptor Command to provide air defense of the Northeastern United States. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the command's area of responsibility extended over the entire Atlantic coast and into Canada and Iceland. As the perceived threat of attack decreased, the command's responsibnility for training units and aircrews became its primary mission. The command continued its mission until March 1946, when it was inactivated. The IV Fighter Command is a disbanded United States Air Force unit. It was activated under Fourth Air Force at March Field, California in June 1941, when it replaced a provisional organization. It was responsible for training fighter units and for the air defense of the southern portion of the Pacific Coast. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the command's units were placed on alert. In 1942, its air defense responsibility was expanded to include the entire Pacific coast of the continental United States and the command moved its headquarters from southern California to Oakland Airport, California, which was more centrally located. As the threat to the Pacific decreased, it was disbanded on 31 March 1944. The 56th Training Squadron is an active United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 56th Operations Group at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. The 14th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 53d Fighter Group at Sioux City Municipal Airport, Iowa, where it was inactivated on 1 April 1960. The 33d Operations Group is the flying component of the 33d Fighter Wing, assigned to Air Education and Training Command of the United States Air Force. The group is stationed at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The 52d Operations Group is the flying component of the 52d Fighter Wing, assigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA). The group is stationed at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. The 14th Operations Group is the flying component of the 14th Flying Training Wing, assigned to the United States Air Force's Air Education and Training Command. The group is stationed at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi. The United States Air Force's 66th Weapons Squadron is a United States Air Force Weapons School Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II instructional flying unit, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The 37th Operations Group is an inactive unit of the United States Air Force. It was last active at Tonopah Test Range Airport, Nevada, where it operated F-117 Nighthawk fighters. Its history and honors have been temporarily bestowed upon the 37th Training Wing. The 337th Aeronautical Systems Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the Aeronautical Systems Center of Air Force Materiel Command at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, where it was inactivated in 2008. ReferencesNotes
BibliographyThis article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
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