The 53d Wing is a

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is exp ...

of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army S ...

based at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The

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 53d Wing serves as the focal point for the combat air forces in

electronic warfare Electronic warfare (EW) is any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM spectrum) or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponen ...

, armament and avionics,

chemical A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., wit ...

defense,

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops ( skirmishe ...

, and aircrew training devices. The wing is also responsible for operational testing and evaluation (OT&E) of new equipment and systems proposed for use by these air forces. Current wing initiatives include advanced self-protection systems for combat aircraft, aircrew life support systems,

aerial reconnaissance Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance for a military or strategic purpose that is conducted using reconnaissance aircraft. The role of reconnaissance can fulfil a variety of requirements including artillery spotting, the collection of image ...

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 locations throughout the United States.

Units

* 53d Test and Evaluation Group : 28th Test and Evaluation Squadron : 59th Test and Evaluation Squadron :

85th Test and Evaluation Squadron The 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron is part of the 53d Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. It conducts testing and evaluation for the F-15 Eagle, F-15E Strike Eagle, and F-16 Fighting Falcon airframes. Mission The 85th Test and Evaluation ...

: 88th Test and Evaluation Squadron : 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron : 556th Test and Evaluation Squadron : Operational Flight Program Combined Test Force * 53d Weapons Evaluation Group : 53d Test Support Squadron : 81st Air Control Squadron :

82d Aerial Targets Squadron The 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group and stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. The squadron was first activated as the 82nd Pursuit Squadron in 1942. ...

83d Fighter Weapons Squadron The 83d Fighter Weapons Squadron is a United States Air Force unit, assigned to the 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group and stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. Mission The 83d Fighter Weapons Squadron is a non-flying unit that conducts th ...

''Combat Archer'' :

86th Fighter Weapons Squadron The United States Air Force's 86th Fighter Weapons Squadron conducts the Air Force air-to-ground weapon system evaluation program (COMBAT HAMMER). The 86th evaluates the total air-to-ground precision guided munitions process including weapon b ...

''Combat Hammer'' * 753d Test and Evaluation Group : 15th Test and Evaluation Squadron : 29th Training Systems Squadron : 31st Test and Evaluation Squadron :

49th Test and Evaluation Squadron The 49th Test and Evaluation Squadron is an active United States Air Force unit. Its current assignment is with the 53d Wing, based at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The 49th Test and Evaluation Squadron is an Air Combat Command (ACC) u ...

: 53rd Computer Systems Squadron :

72d Test and Evaluation Squadron The 72d Test and Evaluation Squadron is part of the 53d Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The squadron is geographically separated but operated from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. It conducts testing and evaluation of the B-2 S ...

: 337th Test and Evaluation Squadron : 410th Test and Evaluation Squadron : 417th Test and Evaluation Squadron

History

World War II

The group was activated in 1941 as the 53d Pursuit Group with the

13th In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the note thirteen scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the thirteenth. The interval can be also described as a compound sixth, spanning an octave pl ...

,Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 73

14th 14 (fourteen) is a natural number following 13 (number), 13 and preceding 15 (number), 15. In relation to the word "four" (4), 14 is spelled "fourteen". In mathematics * 14 is a composite number. * 14 is a square pyramidal number. * 14 is a s ...

,Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 78 and 15th Pursuit Squadrons assigned.Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 115–116 The 53d trained fighter pilots with Seversky P-35 and

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and ...

aircraft from its activation until December 1941. After the United States entered

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

the group moved to the

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...

to fly

patrols A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as law enforcement officers, military personnel, or security personnel, that are assigned to monitor or secure a specific geographic area. Etymology From French ''patrouiller'', from Old Fren ...

in defense of the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a Channel ( ...

. In conjunction with the move, the group converted to

Bell P-39 Airacobra The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by ...

aircraft. There it was redesignated as the 53d Fighter Group. The group returned to Florida in November 1942, where it became a Replacement Training Unit (RTU) training replacement fighter pilots. RTUs were oversized units whose mission was to train individual pilots or aircrews. It used P-39s until June 1943 and

Republic P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bom ...

s thereafter. In early 1943, the group added a fourth squadron, the

438th Fighter Squadron 438th may refer to: *438th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group (438 AEAG), assigned to the 438th Air Expeditionary Wing of USAFCENT, stationed at Kabul Airport, Afghanistan *438th Air Expeditionary Group, provisional unit assigned to United States Air ...

. The AAF found 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. The group was disbanded in as a result of this reorganization in 1944 and its personnel, equipment and mission were assumed by the 338th AAF Base Unit (Replacement Training Unit, Fighter).

Cold War Air Defense

The group was reconstituted, redesignated as the 53d Fighter Group (Air Defense) and activated to replace the

521st Air Defense Group The 521st Air Defense Group is a disbanded United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with the 31st Air Division at Sioux City Municipal Airport, Iowa, where it was inactivated in 1955. The group was originally activated as a ...

Sioux City Municipal Airport Sioux Gateway Airport , also known as Colonel Bud Day Field, is a public and military use airport in Woodbury County, Iowa, United States. It is located six nautical miles (7 mi, 11 km) south of the central business district of Sioux ...

as part of

Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command of the United States Air Force, responsible for continental air defense. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was established in 1946, briefly ina ...

's Project Arrow to bring back on the active list fighter units that had achieved memorable records in the two World Wars.Buss (ed), Sturm, Volan & McMullen, p. 6 The 14th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron (FIS), already at Sioux City transferred from the 521st, while the 13th FIS moved to Sioux City to replace the 519th FIS. Both squadrons flew

rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entire ...

armed and

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

equipped F-86D Sabres.Cornett & Johnson, p. 114 Between August 1955 and April 1960 the 53d served as an

air defense Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based ...

unit, participating in North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) exercises and testing automated air defense systems. It also was the host organization for the USAF and was assigned several support units to carry out this function.''See'' Cornett & Johnson, p. 136Cornett & Johnson, p. 145 In the fall of 1957 both of the group's squadrons upgraded their Sabres to F-86L models with data link for interception control through the

Semi-Automatic Ground Environment The Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) was a system of large computers and associated networking equipment that coordinated data from many radar sites and processed it to produce a single unified image of the airspace over a wide area. SA ...

system. In July 1959 the 13th FIS moved to Glasgow AFB, Montana and was reassigned. The group and its remaining components were inactivated in 1960. In 1985, the group was redesignated as the 53d Tactical Fighter Group, but it was never active under that designation.

Test and Evaluation

The USAF Tactical Air Warfare Center was activated 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 Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. It was inactivated on 1 J ...

(TAC) bases across the country. During the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

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 Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It can be described as the ...

(C3I) techniques. Around the same time it embarked on the electronic warfare evaluation program, and continued OT&E of aviation weapon systems for TAC and later

Air Combat Command Air Combat Command (ACC) is one of nine Major Commands (MAJCOMs) in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force (HAF) at the Pentagon. It is the primary provider of air combat forces for the Air Force, and i ...

, the Department of Defense, and the

North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

. From 1983 to present, responsible for the operational testing and evaluation (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 Drone most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...

. In September 1995, the 53d Tactical Fighter Group and USAF Air Warfare Center were consolidated and the consolidated unit was redesignated as the 53d Wing the following month. In 2021 on the activation of the 350th Spectrum Warfare Wing, the

53rd Electronic Warfare Group The 53rd Electronic Warfare Group was a component of the 53rd Wing of the Air Force Warfare Center, Air Combat Command, headquartered at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The group was responsible for providing operational, technical and maintenan ...

was inactivated, broken up, and its units transferred to the new wing.

Lineage

Group * Constituted as the 53d Pursuit Group (Interceptor) on 20 November 1940 : Activated on 15 January 1941 : Redesignated as the 53d Fighter Group on 15 May 1942 : Disbanded on 1 May 1944 * Reconstituted and redesignated as the 53d Fighter Group (Air Defense), on 20 June 1955 : Activated on 18 August 1955 : Discontinued on 1 April 1960 : Redesignated as the 53d Tactical Fighter Group on 31 July 31, 1985 : Consolidated with the USAF Air Warfare Center on 25 September 1995 (consolidated unit designated the USAF Air Warfare Center) Center * Designated and organized as the USAF Tactical Air Warfare Center on 1 November 1963 : Redesignated as the USAF Air Warfare Center on 1 October 1991 : Consolidated with the 53d Tactical Fighter Group on 25 September 1995 Consolidated Wing * Redesignated as the 53d Wing on 1 October 1995

Assignments

* 22d Pursuit Wing, 15 January 1941 * 3d Interceptor (later III Fighter) Command, 2 October 1941 * Caribbean (later, Sixth) Air Force, 1 January 1942 * 26th Interceptor (later, 26th Fighter, XXVI Fighter) Command, 6 March 1942 * III Fighter Command, 26 November 1942 – 1 May 1944 *

31st Air Division The 31st Air Division (31st AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command, assigned to Tenth Air Force, being stationed at Sioux City Municipal Airport, Iowa. It was inactivated on 31 ...

, 18 August 1955 * 20th Air Division, 1 March 1956 * Kansas City Air Defense Sector, 1 January 1960 – 1 April 1960 * Tactical Air Command, 1 November 1963 * Air Combat Command, 1 June 1992 * United States Air Force Warfare Center, 1 October 1985 – present

Stations

MacDill Field MacDill Air Force Base (MacDill AFB) is an active United States Air Force installation located 4 miles (6.4 km) south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida. The "host wing" for MacDill AFB is the 6th Air Refueling Wing (6 ARW), assi ...

, Florida, 15 January 1941 * Dale Mabry Field,

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the populatio ...

, 8 May 1941 – 8 December 1941 * Howard Field,

, 1 January 1942 – 10 November 1942 * Dale Mabry Field, Florida, 26 November 1942 * Drew Field,

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough C ...

, 7 January 1943 * Fort Myers Army Air Field (later Page Field, Florida, 6 February 1943 – 1 May 1944 * Sioux City Municipal Airport, Iowa, 18 August 1955 – 1 April 1960) * Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, 1 November 1963 – present

Components

Wing

* 4485th Test Wing: 16 March 1964 – 30 June 1965

Groups

* 41st Training Group (see 4441st Tactical Training Group) *

: November 1998 - 25 June 2021 (formed from personnel and assets of 68th Electronic Combat Group) * 53d Test and Evaluation Group (see 4443d Test and Evaluation Group) * 53d Test Management Group: 1 October 2002 – 1 October 2021 * 53d Weapons Evaluation Group (See 475th Weapons Evaluation Group) * 57th Test Group: 1 October 1996 – 1 August 1997 * 68th Electronic Combat Group: activated 15 April 1993, inactivated on 20 November 1998 (personnel and assets to 53rd Electronic Warfare Group) * 79th Test and Evaluation Group (see 4443d Test and Evaluation Group) * 475th Weapons Evaluation Group (later 53d Weapons Evaluation) Group: 23 January 1991 – present * 505th Air Control Group (see 4442nd Tactical Control Group0 * 753d Test and Evaluation Group: 1 October 2021 – present * 4441st Tactical Training Group (Blue Flag) (later 41st Training Group): 1 March 1977 – 15 April 1993 * 4442nd Tactical Control Group (later 505th Air Control Group, 505th Command and Control Evaluation Group): 1 March 1980 – 1 October 1997 * 4443d Test and Evaluation Group (later 79th Test and Evaluation Group, 53d Test and Evaluation Group): 1 July 1988 – present

Squadrons

; Fighter Squadrons * 13th Pursuit Squadron (later 13th Fighter Squadron, 13th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron): 15 January 1941 – 1 May 1944; 18 August 1955 – 1 July 1957. * 14th Pursuit Squadron (later 14th Fighter Squadron, 14th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron): 15 January 1941 – 1 May 1944; 18 August 1955 – 1 April 1960. * 15th Pursuit Squadron (later 15th Fighter Squadron): 15 January 1941 – 1 May 1944 * 438th Fighter Squadron: 20 February 1943 – 1 May 1944 ; Test Squadrons * 31st Test and Evaluation Squadron: 1 June 1992 – 15 April 1993 * 49th Test Squadron: 1 June 1992 – 15 April 1993 * 513th Test Squadron: 1 June 1992 – 15 April 1993 * 727th Tactical Control Squadron (Test): 1 October 1979 – 1 March 1980 * 3907th Systems Evaluation Squadron: 1 June 1992 – 15 April 1993 * 4484th Fighter Weapons Squadron: 1 October 1978 – 1 June 1984 * 4484th Test Squadron: 15 October 1983 – 1 August 1988 * 4485th Test Squadron: 12 April 1971 – 1 August 1988 * 4486th Fighter Weapons Squadron: 1 October 1985 – 1 August 1988, later 86th Fighter Weapons Squadron * 4487th Electronic Warfare Aggressor (later 87th Electronic Warfare Aggressor) Squadron: 1 October 1990 – 15 April 1993

Flight

15th Test Flight The 15th Test and Evaluation Squadron is a United States Air Force unit, stationed at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida and assigned to the 753rd Test and Evaluation Group. It was first activated in the expansion of the United States military forc ...

: 1 March 2016 – 1 October 2021

Support Units

* 53d USAF Infirmary (later 53d USAF Dispensary), 18 August 1955 – 1 April 1960 * 53d Air Base Squadron, 18 August 1955 – 1 April 1960 * 53d Materiel Squadron, 18 August 1955 – 1 April 1960 * 53d Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, 8 July 1957 – 1 May 1959

Aircraft flown

* P-35 (1941) * P-39 Airacobra (1942–1943) * P-40 Warhawk (1941) * P-47 Thunderbolt (1943–1944) *

P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...

(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 The Fairchild C-123 Provider is an American military transport aircraft designed by Chase Aircraft and then built by Fairchild Aircraft for the U.S. Air Force. In addition to its USAF service, which included later service with the Air Force ...

(1963–1973) *

C-124 Globemaster II The Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, nicknamed "Old Shaky", is an American heavy-lift cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California. The C-124 was the primary heavy-lift transport for United States Air Force (USA ...

(1963–1973) *

H-3 Sea King The Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King (company designation S-61) is an American twin-engined anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter designed and built by Sikorsky Aircraft. A landmark design, it was one of the first ASW rotorcraft to use turboshaft engin ...

(1963–1973) * CH-21 Shawnee (1963–1973) * F-100 Super Sabre (1963–1973) *

F-101 Voodoo The McDonnell F-101 Voodoo is a supersonic jet fighter which served the United States Air Force (USAF) and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Initially designed by McDonnell Aircraft Corporation as a long-range bomber escort (known as a ...

(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 The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally des ...

(1964–1974) * F-111 Aardvark (1968–1978) *

RF-4 The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and ...

(1964–1994) * F-5 Freedom Fighter (1965–1978) * A-7 Corsair II (1972–1974) * AC-130 Spectre (1972–1978) *

McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force selected McDonnell Douglas's ...

(1976–present) *

General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a success ...

(1978–present) *

Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is a single-seat, twin-turbofan, straight-wing, subsonic attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Republic for the United States Air Force (USAF). In service since 1976, it is named for the Republic ...

(1978–present) * Boeing E-3 Sentry (1980) * SR-71 Blackbird (1986–89) *

F-15 Strike Eagle The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F-15E Strike Eagle is an American all-weather multirole strike fighter derived from the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. The F-15E was designed in the 1980s for long-range, high-speed interdiction without rel ...

(1988-present) * E-9 (1996–present) * F-117 Nighthawk (1996–2008) *

HH-60 Pave Hawk The Sikorsky MH-60G/HH-60G Pave Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift utility military helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. It is a derivative of the UH-60 Black Hawk and incorporates the US Air Force PAVE electronic systems ...

(1996–present) * HC-130J Combat King II (2010–present) *

F-22A Raptor The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is an American single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). As the result of the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, ...

(2010-present) * F-35A Lightning II (2014-present) *

F-15EX Eagle II The Boeing F-15EX Eagle II is an American all-weather multirole strike fighter derived from the McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle. Development In 2018, the United States Air Force (USAF) and Boeing discussed the ''F-15X'' or ''Advanced ...

(2021-present)

Awards and campaigns

References

Notes

; Explanatory notes ; Citations

Bibliography

* Buss, Lydus H.(ed), Sturm, Thomas A., Volan, Denys, and McMullen, Richard F., History of Continental Air Defense Command and Air Defense Command July to December 1955, Directorate of Historical Services, Air Defense Command, Ent AFB, CO, 1956. * * * * * *

External links

53d Wing Home Page
{{USAAF 3d Air Force World War II Military units and formations in Florida 0053 Military units and formations established in 1941