53d Weapons Evaluation Group
| 53d Weapons Evaluation Group | |
|---|---|
BQM-167 Streaker of the group's 82d Aerial Targets Squadron
|
|
| Active | 1943–1949; 1955–1958; 1983–1998; 1998–present |
| Country |
 United States
|
| Branch |
 United States Air Force
|
| Role | Weapons Evaluation |
| Nickname(s) | Satan's Angels (World War II) |
| Motto(s) | In Proelio Gaudete Latin Be Joyful in Battle |
| Engagements | Asiatic-Pacific Theater |
| Decorations |
Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Air Force Organizational Excellence Award Philippine Presidential Unit Citation |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Colonel Charles H. MacDonald Lieutenant Colonel (later Colonel) John S. Loisel |
| Insignia | |
| 53d Weapons Evaluation Group emblem |  |
| 475th Fighter Group emblem (Approved 26 November 1956) | |
The 53d Weapons Evaluation Group is a United States Air Force unit that reports to the 53d Wing. It is stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. The unit is part of Air Combat Command.
During World War II the unit, then known as the 475th Fighter Group, operated primarily in the Southwest Pacific Theater. The 475th Fighter Group was perhaps the best known of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning groups in the theater since it contained among its personnel the top scoring flying aces in the Pacific--Richard I. Bong (40 kills) and Thomas B. McGuire, Jr. (38 kills), both Medal of Honor recipients.
By the war's end, no fewer than 38 other pilots from the 475th had achieved ace status while flying exclusively P-38s. The group's commander for 20 months, Colonel Charles H. MacDonald, scored 27 kills in his famous aircraft, the "Putt Putt Maru" and was the seventh-ranking American ace.
The group remained in the Far East until 1949 as part of the occupation forces.
From 1955 to 1956 the group was an Air Defense Command interceptor group, stationed at Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport. It was inactivated in 1958 when the United States Air Force withdrew its regular units from this civilian field.
As the 475th Weapons Evaluation Group, then the 53d Weapons Evaluation Group, the group has performed its current mission at Tyndall since 1983.
The 53d Weapons Evaluation Group is made up of five squadrons and two detachments and conducts the Air Force's air-to-air weapon system evaluation program, known as Combat Archer, and the Air Force's air-to-ground weapon system evaluation program, known as Combat Hammer. It also supports weapons instructor air-to-air training. Unit personnel provide all Air Force aerial target support for United States Department of Defense (DoD) users in the Gulf Ranges and targets for testing at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The group also plans, manages and executes the United States Air Force (USAF) air-to-air Weapons Meet, William Tell.
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