| Unit Name: | 54th Fighter Group |
| Dates: | 1941–1944, 1955–1958, 2014-present |
| Role: | Fighter Training |
| Size: | 800 people[1] |
| Command Structure: | Air Force Reserve Command |
| Garrison: | Holloman Air Force Base |
| Battles: | American Theater of World War II Pacific Theater of Operations |
| Decorations: | Distinguished Unit Citation |
| Identification Symbol Label: | 54th Fighter Group emblem[2] [3] |
| Identification Symbol 2 Label: | 54th Fighter Group emblem as originally approved[4] |
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.[4] [5] [6] [7] 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.[5] The group and its squadrons were redesignated as fighter units in May 1942.[4] [5] [6] [7]
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.[5]
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.[5] RTUs were oversized units training individual pilots or aircrews.[8] 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,[4] [5] [7] Florida, while the 42d was at Hillsborough Army Air Field.[6] 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.[9] As a result, in 1944 the group was disbanded as the AAF converted to the AAF Base Unit system.[5] The units at Bartow were replaced by the 340th AAF Base Unit (Replacement Training Unit, Fighter),[10] while those at Hillsborough transferred their mission, equipment, and personnel to the 343d AAF Base Unit (Replacement Training Unit, Fighter).[11]
In 1955, the group was redesignated as the 54th Fighter Group (Air Defense) and activated at Greater Pittsburgh Airport[5] to replace the 500th Air Defense Group[12] 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.[13] The group assumed host responsibilities for the USAF portion of the airport and was assigned a USAF Dispensary,[14] Air Base Squadron and Materiel Squadron[15] 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.[16]
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.[17]
Redesignated as 54th Fighter Group (Single Engine) on 15 May 1942
Disbanded on 1 May 1944.
Reconstituted and redesignated 54th Fighter Group (Air Defense), on 20 June 1955
Inactivated on 8 January 1958
Redesignated 54th Fighter Group on 20 February 2014[18]
Operational Squadrons
Support Units
54th Fighter Group
| Aerial Victories | Number | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group Hq | 0 | ||
| 42d Fighter Squadron | 7 | [26] | |
| 56th Fighter Squadron | 0 | ||
| 57th Fighter Squadron | 3 | [27] | |
| Group Total | 10 |
| Campaign Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Theater without inscription | 7 December 1941 – 1 May 1944 | 54th Fighter Group | ||
| Aleutian Islands | 3 June 1942 – 30 November 1942 | 54th Fighter Group |
Further reading