56th Pursuit Group
| 56th Operations Group | |
|---|---|
21st Fighter Squadron F-16A
|
|
| Active | 1941–1945, 1946-1952, 1955-1961, 1991-present |
| Country |
 United States
|
| Branch |
 United States Air Force
|
| Type | Training wing operations group |
| Role | Fighter crew training |
| Size | 6 F-16 Fighting Falcon squadrons 1 ground training squadron 1 operations support squadron 170 F-16 aircraft 200 instructor pilots |
| Part of |
56th Fighter Wing Nineteenth Air Force Eighth Air Force |
| Garrison/HQ | Luke Air Force Base, Arizona |
| Motto(s) | Cave Tonitrum Latin Beware the Thunderbolt |
| Engagements | 447 group missions |
| Decorations |
Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Col. William C. Bailey |
| Insignia | |
| 56th Operations Gp emblem |  |
| 56th Fighter Group emblem (approved 4 April 1942) |  |
The 56th Operations Group is a unit of the United States Air Force, and the flying component of the 56th Fighter Wing.
The group is the direct descendant of the World War II 56th Fighter Group of the United States Army Air Forces. The 56th Fighter Group is credited by the Air Force Historical Research Agency with the destruction of 665.5 aircraft in air-to-air combat, the 56th Fighter Group had more air-to-air kills than any other fighter group in the Eighth Air Force, was the top-scoring Republic P-47 Thunderbolt group during World War II, and recorded the second-highest number of air-to-air kills of any USAAF fighter group. The 56th also claimed 311 fighters destroyed on the ground.
The 56th Operations Group is the second largest Operations Group in the United States Air Force with 13 separate reporting organizations (second only to the 55th Operations Group in Offutt Air Force Base, NE).
In fiscal year 2006, the 56th Operations Group flew 37,000 sorties and 50,000 hours while graduating 484 F-16 students. With huge spaces in the western Arizona desert and clear weather skies for most of the year, Luke AFB and its ranges have been an important training asset for the United States Air Force for many years. This is likely to remain the case for the foreseeable future.
Aircraft assigned to the 56 OG are tail coded "LF", for "Luke Falcon"
The mission of the 56 OG is to train F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-35A Lightning II fighter pilots. About 130 F-16s and 27 F-35As are assigned to the group's six operational squadrons, and daily launches can easily reach triple figures on a routine training day.
(Except where noted, this material prior to 1958 is extracted from Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961]. Air Force Combat Units of World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN . ).
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