The group trains an average of 180 students per year. It has an extensive flying program, averaging more than 10,800 sorties and 14,600 hours per fiscal year. The group consists of approximately 800 personnel, maintains $2.2 billion in F-16 assets and executes a $144 million operations and maintenance budget to carry out F-16 training.[1]
The air echelon, equipped with Bell P-39 Airacobras, served in Alaska against the Japanese forces that invaded the Aleutian Islands during the summer of 1942, and for these operations the group received a Distinguished Unit Citation.[4]
54th Fighter Group P-51 at Hillsborough AAF
The air echelon returned to the US in December 1942 and rejoined the group, which had been assigned to Third Air Force in Louisiana, and became a Replacement Training Unit (RTU) for North American P-51 Mustang pilots.[4] RTUs were oversized units training individual pilots or aircrews.[7] In early May 1943, the group began a split operation, with headquarters and the 56th and 57th Fighter Squadrons relocating to Bartow Army Air Field,[3][4][6] Florida, while the 42d was at Hillsborough Army Air Field.[5]
However, the AAF was finding 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.[8] As a result, in 1944 the group was disbanded as the AAF converted to the AAF Base Unit system.[4] The units at Bartow were replaced by the 340th AAF Base Unit (Replacement Training Unit, Fighter),[9] while those at Hillsborough transferred their mission, equipment, and personnel to the 343d AAF Base Unit (Replacement Training Unit, Fighter).[10]
Cold War
54th Fighter Group F-86 Sabre at Greater Pittsburgh Apt
In 1955, the group was redesignated as the 54th Fighter Group (Air Defense) and activated at Greater Pittsburgh Airport[4] to replace the 500th Air Defense Group[11] as part of ADC's Project Arrow, which was designed to bring back on the active list the fighter units which had compiled memorable records in the two world wars.[12] The group assumed host responsibilities for the USAF portion of the airport and was assigned a USAF Dispensary,[13] Air Base Squadron and Materiel Squadron[14] to fulfill this responsibility. Because Project Arrow was also intended to reunite fighter squadrons with their former groups, the 42d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, which was stationed at O'Hare Airport moved to Pittsburgh and assumed the personnel and equipment of the 500th group's 71st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, including its radar equipped and rocket armed North American F-86 Sabres. The squadron transitioned into data link equipped F-86Ls in the spring of 1957 for interception control through the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment system and flew them until the group and squadron were inactivated in early 1958.[15]
3rd Interceptor Command (15 May 1942 - 3rd Fighter Command; 18 September 1942 - III Fighter Command), 18 April 1942 – 1 May 1944 (Air echelon deployed to Eleventh Air Force, 1 June 1942 – 30 November 1942)
^On 31 July 1985, the group was redesignated the 364th Tactical Fighter Group. This action was revoked on 19 February 2014 without the group ever being active. DAF/MPM Ltr 648q, 31 July 1985; DAF/A1M Ltr 648q-2, 19 February 2014.
Craven, Wesley F; Cate, James L, eds. (1955). The Army Air Forces in World War II. Vol. VI, Men & Planes. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press. LCCN48003657.
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