53d Wing

53d Wing
53d Wing
	;
Active	November 20, 1940 – present
Country	United States
Branch	Air Force
Type	Operational Test and Evaluation
Size	2100
Part of	Air Combat Command
Garrison/HQ	Eglin Air Force Base
Decorations	AFOUA; AFOEA
Commanders
Current; commander	Colonel Michael Gantt
Notable; commanders	Paul V. Hester; Ronald Keys

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The 53d Wing (53 WG) is a wing of the United States Air Force based out of Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.

[edit] Mission

The 53d Wing serves as the focal point for the Combat Air Forces in electronic warfare, armament and avionics, chemical defense, reconnaissance, and aircrew training devices. The wing reports to the United States Air Force Warfare Center at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, a Direct Reporting Unit to Headquarters Air Combat Command. The wing is also responsible for Operational Testing and Evaluation (OT&E) of new equipment and systems proposed for use by these forces. Current wing initiatives include advanced self-protection systems for combat aircraft, aircrew life support systems, aerial reconnaissance improvements, new armament and weapons delivery systems, and improved maintenance equipment and logistics support. The 53d Wing, which consists of four groups, numbers almost 2,000 military and civilians at 17 various locations throughout the United States.

[edit] Units

53d Electronic Warfare Group (53 EWG)

16th Electronic Warfare Squadron (16 EWS)

36th Electronic Warfare Squadron (36 EWS)

68th Electronic Warfare Squadron (68 EWS)

453d Electronic Warfare Squadron (453 EWS)

513th Electronic Warfare Squadron (513 EWS)

53d Test and Evaluation Group (53 TEG)

31st Test and Evaluation Squadron (31 TES)

49th Test and Evaluation Squadron (49 TES)

72d Test and Evaluation Squadron (72 TES)

85th Test and Evaluation Squadron (85 TES)

88th Test and Evaluation Squadron (88 TES)

337th Test and Evaluation Squadron (337 TES)

422d Test and Evaluation Squadron (422 TES)

556th Test and Evaluation Squadron (556 TES)

53d Weapons Evaluation Group (53 WEG)

53d Test Support Squadron (53 TSS)

81st Range Control Squadron (81 RCS)

82d Aerial Targets Squadron (82 ATRS)

83d Fighter Weapons Squadron (83 FWS) Combat Archer

86th Fighter Weapons Squadron (86 FWS) Combat Hammer

53d Test Management Group (53 TMG)

28th Test and Evaluation Squadron (28 TES)

29th Training Systems Squadron (29 TSS)

53d Computer Systems Squadron (53 CSS)

59th Test and Evaluation Squadron (59 TES)

F-15 Operational Flight Program Combined Test Force (F-15 OFP CTF)

[edit] History

[edit] Lineage

Constituted as 53d Pursuit Group (Interceptor) on November 20, 1940

Activated on January 15, 1941

Redesignated 53d Fighter Group on May 15, 1942

Disbanded on May 1, 1944

Reconstitted and redesignated 53d Fighter Group (Air Defense), on June 20, 1955

Activated on August 18, 1955

Discontinued on April 1, 1960

Redesignated 53d Tactical Fighter Group on July 31, 1985

Consolidated (September 25, 1995) with the USAF Tactical Air Warfare Center, which was organized on November 1, 1963.

Redesignated: USAF Air Warfare Center on October 1, 1991

Redesignated: 53d Wing on October 1, 1995.

[edit] Assignments

22d Pursuit Wing, January 15, 1941
3d Interceptor (later III Fighter) Command, October 2, 1941
Caribbean (later, Sixth) Air Force, January 1, 1942
XXVI Interceptor (later, XXVI Fighter) Command, March 6, 1942
III Fighter Command, November 26, 1942 – May 1, 1944
31st Air Division, August 18, 1955
20th Air Division, March 1, 1956
Kansas City Air Defense Sector, January 1 – April 1, 1960
Tactical Air Command, November 1, 1963
Air Combat Command, June 1, 1992
United States Air Force Warfare Center, October 1, 1985 – present

[edit] Stations

MacDill Field, Florida (1941)
Tallahassee, Florida (1941)
Howard Field, Canal Zone, Panama (1942)
Dale Mabry Field, Florida (1942–1943)
Drew Field, Florida (1943)
Fort Myers Army Air Field, Florida (1943–1944)
Sioux City Municipal Airport, Iowa (1955–1960)
Eglin Air Force Base, Florida (1963 – present)

[edit] Components

Wing

4485th Test: 16 March 1964-30 June 1965

Groups

53d Test Management: 1 October 2002–present
57th Test: 1 October 1996-1 August 1997
68th Electronic Combat (later, 53d Electronic Warfare): 15 April 1993-Wing
475th (later, 53d) Weapons Evaluation: 23 January 1991–present
4441st Tactical Training (Blue Flag) [later, 41st Training]: 1 March 1977-15 April 1993
4442nd Tactical Control (later, 505th Air Control; 505th Command and Control Evaluation) Group: 1 March 1980-1 October 1997
4443rd (later, 79th; 53d) Test and Evaluation: 1 July 1988–present

Squadrons

13th Pursuit (later, 13th Fighter; 13th Fighter-Interceptor) Squadron: 15 January 1941-1 May 1944; 18 August 1955-1 July 1957.
14th Pursuit (later, 14th Fighter; 14th Fighter-Interceptor) Squadron: 15 January 1941-1 May 1944; 18 August 1955-1 April 1960.
15th Pursuit (later, 15th Fighter) Squadron: 15 January 1941-1 May 1944
31st Test and Evaluation Squadron: 1 June 1992-15 April 1993
49th Test: 1 June 1992-15 April 1993
438th Fighter Squadron: 20 February 1943-1 May 1944
513th Test: 1 June 1992-15 April 1993
727th Tactical Control (Test): 1 October 1979-1 March 1980
3907th Systems Evaluation: 1 June 1992-15 April 1993
4484th Fighter Weapons: 1 October 1978-1 June 1984
4484th Test: 15 October 1983-1 August 1988
4485th Test: 12 April 1971-1 August 1988
4486th Fighter Weapons: 1 October 1985-1 August 1988
4487th (later, 87th) Electronic Warfare Aggressor: 1 October 1990-15 April 1993

[edit] Aircraft flown

P-35 (1941)
P-39 Airacobra (1942–1943)
P-40 Warhawk (1941)
P-47 Thunderbolt (1943–1944)
P-51 Mustang (1943)
F-86 Sabre (1955–1959)
C-119 Flying Boxcar (1956, 1963–1973)
C-45 Expeditor (1957)
T-33 Shooting Star (1957, 1963–1973)
A-4 Skyhawk (1963–1973)
A-37 Dragonfly (1963–1973)
B-57 Canberra (1963–1973)
C-123 Provider (1963–1973)
C-124 Globemaster II (1963–1973)
H-3 Sea King (1963–1973)
CH-21 Shawnee (1963–1973)
F-100 Super Sabre (1963–1973)
F-101 Voodoo (1963–1973)
F-104 Starfighter (1963–1973)

F-105 Thunderchief (1963–1973)
O-1 Bird Dog (1963–1973)
OV-10 Bronco (1963–1973)
RB-66 Destroyer (1963–1973)
UH-1 Iroquois (1963–1973)
C-130 Hercules (1964–1974)
F-111 Aardvark (1968–1978)
RF-4 (1964–1994)
F-5 Freedom Fighter (1965–1978)
A-7 Corsair II (1972–1974)
AC-130 Spectre (1972–1978)
F-15 Eagle (1976–present)
F-16 Falcon (1978–present)
A-10 Thunderbolt II (1978–present)
E-3 Sentry (1980)
E-9 (1996–present)
F-117 Nighthawk (1996–2008)
HH-60 Pave Hawk (1996–present)

[edit] Oprational History

The 53d trained fighter pilots from January – December 1941. After the United States entered World War II the group moved to the Canal Zone to fly patrols in defense of the Panama Canal. The group returned to Florida in November 1942, where it trained replacement fighter pilots until was deactivated on May 1, 1944.

Between August 1955 and April 1960 the 53d served as an air defense unit, participating in NORAD exercises and testing automated air defense systems.

The group was reactivated as the USAF Tactical Air Warfare Center in 1963 to improve use of USAF tactical aviation in support of ground forces by operationally testing weapon systems and tactics for the joint U.S. Strike Command. It employed a cross-section of tactical aircraft from Tactical Air Command bases across the country. During the Vietnam War it tested tactical weapons systems and tactics for use in Southeast Asia. After the war it continued operational testing of new tactical aviation weapon systems. In 1977 the center began an annual series of Air Force-wide exercises to improve command, control, communications, and intelligence (C3I) techniques. Around the same time it embarked on the electronic warfare evaluation program, and continued OT&E of aviation weapon systems for Tactical Air Command and later Air Combat Command, the Department of Defense, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. From 1983 to present, responsible for the OT&E of all Air Force aircraft/weapons systems, and providing range control for live-firing missile programs on the Gulf range and aerial targets, using full scale and subscale drones.