Marine Aircraft Group 53 (MAG-53) was a

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

night fighter A night fighter (also known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor for a period of time after the Second World War) is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility. Night fighters began to be used i ...

training

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...

that was commissioned during

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. It was the first night-fighter group in the Marine Corps. During the course of the war the group trained eight night fighting squadrons and sent seven of them into combat. The group was decommissioned after the war during the post-war drawdown of forces.

History

Marine Night Fighting Group 53 (MAG(N)-53) was formed on April 1, 1943 at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

. It was the first night fighter group in the Marine Corps and was responsible for the training of all VMF(N) squadrons. The group trained in

Vero Beach Vero Beach is a city in and the seat of Indian River County, Florida, United States. Vero Beach is the second most populous city in Indian River County. Abundant in beaches and wildlife, Vero Beach is located on Florida's Treasure Coast. It is thi ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

in the spring and summer of 1944 and moved to

Marine Corps Air Station Eagle Mountain Lake Marine Corps Air Station Eagle Mountain Lake (MCAS Eagle Mountain Lake) was a United States Marine Corps air station that was located northwest of Fort Worth, Texas during World War II. Commissioned on December 1, 1942, the air station was ori ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

in November 1944. MAG(N)-53 was re-designated Marine Night Fighter Group 53 (MNFG 53) in April 1945. The group remained in Texas until the end of the war. The group moved back to MCAS Cherry Point in February 1946 9th MAW Special Order 8-1946 directing MAG-53 Movement to MCAS Cherry Point, NC.
/ref> and changed its name again, this time to Marine Aircraft Group 53 (MAG-53) in November of that year. The group was decommissioned on May 31, 1947.

Notes

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from the

.''

References

;Bibliography * * * {{US Marine Corps navbox United States Marine Corps aircraft groups

History

See also

Notes

References