The 57th Operations Group (57 OG) is the operational component of the 57th Wing, assigned to the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, 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 ...

's Air Combat Command. The group is stationed at

Nellis Air Force Base Nellis Air Force Base ("Nellis" colloq.) is a United States Air Force installation in southern Nevada. Nellis hosts air combat exercises such as Exercise Red Flag and close air support exercises such as Green Flag-West flown in " Military ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

. The Group provides direct oversight of the Nellis flying mission through the 57th Operations Support Squadron. They manage the airfield, operate the

air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...

tower, and the Nellis Air Traffic Control Facility providing radar service to local flying operations and the National Airspace System. It is responsible for scheduling, training, life support, weapons, tactics and planning staff functions. In addition to these functions, it also maintains administrative oversight of the 57th ATG staff and the 57th Wing staff. The 57th OG also directs execution of two of the world's premier combat training exercises, Red Flag and Green Flag.

Units

the 57th Operations Group is made up of the below units. Unless otherwise stated, the units are based at Nellis AFB, Nevada. * 6th Combat Training Squadron * 12th Combat Training Squadron (

Fort Irwin Fort Irwin National Training Center (Fort Irwin NTC) is a major training area for the United States military in the Mojave Desert in northern San Bernardino County, California. Fort Irwin is at an average elevation of . It is located northeast o ...

, California) * 57th Information Aggressor Squadron * 57th Operations Support Squadron *

64th Aggressor Squadron The 64th Aggressor Squadron is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 57th Adversary Tactics Group at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The 64th AGRS is assigned 24 F-16C Fighting Falcon aircraft, painted in camouflage schemes i ...

( F-16 Fighting Falcon) *

65th Aggressor Squadron The 65th Aggressor Squadron is a United States Air Force unit currently operating the F-35A Lightning II. It is assigned to the 57th Operations Group at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. Overview The 65th Aggressor Squadron currently flies the F- ...

(

F-35 Lightning II The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both air superiority and strike missions. It is also able to provide elect ...

) *

414th Combat Training Squadron The 414th Combat Training Squadron (414 CTS) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the 57th Wing at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The 414th is a non-flying organization charged with hosting Red Flag exercises, Air Combat Command's la ...

* 507th Air Defense Aggressor Squadron * 548th Combat Training Squadron (Green Flag East) (

Fort Polk Fort Polk is a United States Army installation located in Vernon Parish, Louisiana, about 10 miles (15 km) east of Leesville and 30 miles (50 km) north of DeRidder in Beauregard Parish. It was named to honor Leonidas Polk, the firs ...

, Louisiana) *

549th Combat Training Squadron The 549th Combat Training Squadron is a non-flying United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 57th Operations Group, and is stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. It conducts air support and air interdiction sorties in "Green Fl ...

(Green Flag West)

History

:''See 57th Wing for associated lineage and timeline information.''

World War II

The group was first activated as the 57th Pursuit Group in January 1941, flying

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 ...

s as part of the Army Air Corps Northeast Defense Sector (later assigned to the

I Fighter Command I Fighter Command was a United States Army Air Forces intermediate command responsible for command and control of the fighter operations within the First Air Force during World War II. It was initially established in June 1941 as the 1st Inte ...

) at

Mitchel Field Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territor ...

, New York. It trained in New England and provided air defense of the northeast after the Japanese attack on

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...

. It was redesignated as the 57th Fighter Group (FG) in May 1942. The 57th FG was reassigned to the U.S. Army Middle East Force in Egypt. In June 1942 the pilots and 72 new P-40Fs loaded aboard the aircraft carrier at Quonset Point, Rhode Island, sailing 1 July. On 19 July, off the Gold Coast, they launched in four sections of 18 aircraft and flew to Accra, thence across Equatorial Africa to Palestine, officially becoming part of

IX Fighter Command The IX Fighter Command was a United States Army Air Forces formation. Its last assignment was with the Ninth Air Force, based at Erlangen, Germany, wheret was inactivated on 16 November 1945. IX Fighter Command was the primary tactical fighter ...

. However, prior to the group officially commencing operations, individual 57th FG pilots were attached to, and flew combat sorties with, P-40 squadrons of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

(RAF),

South African Air Force "Through hardships to the stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

(SAAF) and

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

(RAAF), belonging to No. 211 Group,

Desert Air Force The Desert Air Force (DAF), also known chronologically as Air Headquarters Western Desert, Air Headquarters Libya, the Western Desert Air Force, and the First Tactical Air Force (1TAF), was an Allied tactical air force created from No. 204 ...

. In October 1942, the 57th FG officially began combat operations as a formation. The group took part in the

Battle of El Alamein There were two battles of El Alamein in World War II, both fought in 1942. The Battles occurred in North Africa, in Egypt, in and around an area named after a railway stop called El Alamein. * First Battle of El Alamein: 1–27 July 1942 * Secon ...

and, as part of

Ninth Air Force The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint De ...

, supported the Commonwealth Eighth Army's drive across Egypt and Libya, escorting

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an air ...

s and flying

strafing Strafing is the military practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons. Less commonly, the term is used by extension to describe high-speed firing runs by any land or naval craft such ...

and dive-bombing missions against

airfield An aerodrome ( Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for pub ...

s, communications, and troop concentrations until

Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis * Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...

defeat in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

in May 1943. The unit participated in the reduction of

Pantelleria Pantelleria (; Sicilian: ''Pantiddirìa'', Maltese: ''Pantellerija'' or ''Qawsra''), the ancient Cossyra or Cossura, is an Italian island and comune in the Strait of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, southwest of Sicily and east of the Tunisi ...

(May–June 1943) and the conquest of

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

(July–August 1943). For front-line operations in direct support of the Eighth Army from the Battle of El Alamein to the capitulation of enemy forces in Sicily, the group received a Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC). In an aerial battle over the Gulf of Tunis at Cape Bon in April 1943, the group destroyed approximately 74 of the enemy's transport and fighter aircraft while sending an equal number down to the sea and beaches to escape by crash landing. The 57th lost just six aircraft in this melee. Forever known by the 57th as the ''18 April 1943 Goose Shoot – "The Palm Sunday Massacre,"'' it received another DUC and it added four newly created aces. This action broke the German's aerial supply line and they surrendered Tunisia thirty days later. The 57th supported the British Eighth Army's landing at

Termoli Termoli ( Molisano: ''Térmëlë'') is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south Adriatic coast of Italy, in the province of Campobasso, region of Molise. It has a population of around 32,000, having expanded quickly after World War II, ...

and subsequent operations in Italy, being reassigned to Twelfth Air Force in August 1943. It flew dive-bombing, strafing, patrol, and escort missions. Early in 1944, the group converted to

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 ...

aircraft and flew interdiction operations in Italy. The group moved to Corsica on 30 March 1944 to operate as a separate task force. It flew interdiction missions against railroads, communication targets, and motor vehicles behind enemy lines, providing a minimum of 48 fighter-bomber sorties per day. During 9 days of combat operations during early April 1944, the 57th exceeded 50 sorties per day. While the group was stationed on Corsica, director

William Wyler William Wyler (; born Willi Wyler (); July 1, 1902 – July 27, 1981) was a Swiss-German-American film director and producer who won the Academy Award for Best Director three times, those being for '' Mrs. Miniver'' (1942), ''The Best Years of ...

made a 45-minute long

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

documentary film, '' Thunderbolt!''. filming combat missions of the 57th. The film concentrated on Operation Strangle. The film was released for the military in 1945 and for general release in 1947. The group earned a third DUC c. 14 April 1944 for attacks in the

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

- Arezzo area. The group participated in the French campaign against

Elba Elba ( it, isola d'Elba, ; la, Ilva) is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano Nationa ...

in June 1944 and in the

invasion An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity aggressively enter territory (country subdivision), territory owned by another such entity, gen ...

of Southern France in August. It engaged in interdiction and support operations in northern Italy from September 1944 to May 1945. For its operations in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, the 57th earned the French Croix de Guerre with Palm (awarded in late 1967). It was inactivated on 13 April 1953. The group remained in northern Italy after the end of the European War, demobilizing throughout the summer of 1945. It was reassigned to the United States in August 1945 and was inactivated at the end of August.

Cold War

The group was reactivated in August 1946 and assigned to

Alaskan Air Command Alaskan Air Command (AAC) is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command originally established in 1942 under the United States Army Air Forces. Its mission was to organize and administer the air defense system of Alaska, exercise dire ...

as part of the air defense forces in the northwest Pacific. The group assumed the mission, personnel and equipment of the 343d Fighter Group, which was simultaneously inactivated at Shemya Army Air Base. It provided air defense initially in the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a chain of 14 large v ...

, then moved in 1947 to

Elmendorf Air Force Base Elmendorf Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) facility in Anchorage, Alaska. Originally known as Elmendorf Field, it became Elmendorf Air Force Base after World War II. It is the home of the Headquarters, Alaskan Air Command (AL ...

. In 1948, as a result of the wing/base reorganization of the Air Force (

Hobson Plan The Hobson Plan was an organizational structure established by the United States Air Force (USAF) in 1948, following experimental organization in 1947. Known as the "Wing-Base Organization," it replaced the organization used by the United States A ...

), the group became part of the

57th Fighter Wing The 57th Wing (57 WG) is an operational unit of the United States Air Force (USAF) Warfare Center, stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The 57 WG's mission is to provide well trained and well equipped combat forces ready to depl ...

, which included three support groups in addition to the group. In January 1950, it was redesignated as the 57th Fighter-Interceptor Group. In January 1951, its parent 57th Fighter-Interceptor Wing inactivated, although the group remained active as part of the AAC air defense until 1 November 1952 when its personnel were reassigned and it became a paper unit. It was inactivated on 13 April 1953. The group was reactivated at

Paine Field Paine Field , also known as Snohomish County Airport, is a commercial and general aviation airport serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located in unincorporated Snohomish County, Washington, between the ...

, WA as the 57th Fighter Group (Air Defense) and assigned to Air Defense Command's Seattle Air Defense Sector, assuming the equipment and personnel of the 326th Fighter Group, which was simultaneously inactivated. It was assigned the 64th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, which was already at Paine with the 326th flying

Convair F-102 Delta Dagger The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was an American interceptor aircraft designed and manufactured by Convair. Built as part of the backbone of the United States Air Force's air defenses in the late 1950s, it entered service in 1956. Its main purpos ...

s as its operational element and also several support units as it assumed USAF host unit duties at Paine.Cornett & Johnson, p. 137Cornett & Johnson, p. 145 It provided air defense over the Pacific Northwest. In June 1966, it briefly became non-operational when its 64th Squadron moved to

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

and was assigned away from the group. However, after two weeks, the

498th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron The 498th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command stationed at Hamilton Air Force Base, California. It was inactivated on 30 September 1968. History World Wa ...

, flying

Convair F-106 Delta Dart The Convair F-106 Delta Dart was the primary all-weather interceptor aircraft of the United States Air Force from the 1960s through to the 1980s. Designed as the so-called "Ultimate Interceptor", it proved to be the last specialist interceptor i ...

s, moved to Paine and became the group's new operational squadron. It was inactivated 30 September 1968 when Air Defense Command closed its facilities at Paine AFB.

From 1991

On 1 November 1991, the group was redesignated the 57th Operations Group and activated as a result of the 57th Fighter Wing implementing the USAF objective wing organization. The 57 OG was assigned control of the wing's tactical units. Upon activation, the 57th OG managed Air Force tactical training through Red Flag and Air Warrior exercises. Between July 1995 and March 2002, the group gained the three

MQ-1 Predator The General Atomics MQ-1 Predator (often referred to as the predator drone) is an American remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) built by General Atomics that was used primarily by the United States Air Force (USAF) and Central Intelligence Agency ...

reconnaissance squadrons. The Group deployed the Predator elements of the 11th and 15th Squadrons in support of operations in Bosnia (April 2000), Kuwait (October 2000), and Pakistan, September 2001 – January 2002 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The 57th Group's 66th Helicopter Squadron also deployed for operations in Northern Watch and Enduring Freedom. While at Nellis, the Group continued to provide air combat units for US and Allies with realistic, large force combat training at Red Flag. From 1 July 2005 to 1 March 2018 the group was non-flying as the flying squadrons of the 57th were split off into the new 57th Adversary Tactics Group, which consolidated all Aggressor activities under one group to provide the Combat Air Forces with the opportunity to train against a realistic, fully integrated threat array during large- and small-scale exercises such as Red Flag – Nellis, Red Flag – Alaska, Maple Flag, Green Flag and dissimilar air combat training deployments. On 2 March 2017 the group activated the

24th Tactical Air Support Squadron The 24th Tactical Air Support Squadron (24 TASS) was a ground attack squadron (aviation), squadron of the United States Air Force. It was last active at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, prior to being inactivated during December 2020. Proving gr ...

and once again is flying the F-16. On 31 March 2020, the 57th Adversary Tactics Group merged back into the 57th Operations Group, bringing the

and its F-16s with it.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 57th Pursuit Group (Interceptor) on 20 November 1940 : Activated on 15 January 1941 : Redesignated as 57th Fighter Group (Single Engine) on 15 May 1942 : Inactivated on 7 November 1945 * Activated on 15 August 1946 : Redesignated as 57th Fighter-Interceptor Group on 20 January 1950 : Inactivated on 13 April 1953 * Redesignated as 57th Fighter Group (Air Defense) and activated on 24 February 1961 (not organized) : Organized on 1 April 1961 : Discontinued and inactivated on 30 September 1968 : Redesignated as 57th Fighter Weapons Group on 31 July 1985 (remained inactive) * Redesignated as 57th Operations Group on 1 November 1991 and activated

Assignments

* 7th Pursuit Wing, 15 January 1941 * I Interceptor Command (later

, 1 September 1941 *

, c. 16 July 1942 * U.S. Army Middle East Force, July 1942 : Attached to Desert Air Task Force, 22 October 1942 * IX Fighter Command, 12 November 1942 : Attached to: Western Desert Air Force, 21 February 1943 : Attached to: Desert Air Force, c. April 1943 : Attached to: 7 South African Air Force No. 7 (South African) Wing?, 21 May 1943 : Attached to: XII Air Support Command, 22 August 1943 *

Twelfth Air Force The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The command is the air component to ...

, 30 August 1943 * XII Air Support Command, 1 September 1943 * 57th Bombardment Wing, 1 November 1943 * Unknown (probably XII Air Support Command), 2 January – 4 March 1944 : Attached to 64th Fighter Wing, 2 March 1944 * XII Air Support Command (later XXII Tactical Air Command), 5 March 1944 : Remained attached to 64th Fighter Wing] until 28 March 1944 * 87th Fighter Wing, 23 April 1944 * XII Tactical Air Command, 10 September 1944 * XII Fighter (later, XII Tactical Air) Command, 15 September 1944 *

, 7 June – 7 August 1945 * Unknown, 8–22 August 1945 *

Third Air Force The Third Air Force (Air Forces Europe) (3 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA). Its headquarters is Ramstein Air Base, Germany. It is responsible for all U.S. air forces in ...

, 23 August – 7 November 1945 *

, 15 August 1946 : Attached to Yukon Sector, Alaskan Air Command, 16–21 April 1947 * Headquarters, Fort Richardson, Alaska (later 57th Fighter Wing, Provisional), 20 November 1947 – 19 April 1948) *

, 20 April 1948 : Attached to 10th Air Division efense 10 December 1950 * Alaskan Air Command, 1 January 1951 : Remained attached to 10th Air Division efenseuntil 1 March 1951 * 10th Air Division (Defense), 1 November 1952 – 13 April 1953 * Air Defense Command, 24 February 1961 * Seattle Air Defense Sector, 1 April 1961 – 30 September 1968 * 57th Fighter Wing, 1 November 1991–present

Components

Operational Squadrons * 11th Reconnaissance Squadron: 29 July 1995 – 1 May 2007 * 12th Combat Training Squadron: ? - present *

15th Reconnaissance Squadron 15 (fifteen) is the natural number following 14 and preceding 16. Mathematics 15 is: * A composite number, and the sixth semiprime; its proper divisors being , and . * A deficient number, a smooth number, a lucky number, a pernicious n ...

: 1 August 1997 – 1 May 2007 * 17th Reconnaissance Squadron: 8 March 2002 – 1 May 2007 *

: 2 March 2018 – 23 December 2020 * 58th Rescue Squadron: 14 June 2002 – 1 October 2003 * 64th Fighter (later 64th Fighter-Interceptor, 64th Aggressor) Squadron: 15 January 1941 – 7 November 1945; 15 August 1946 – 13 April 1953; 1 April 1961 – 10 June 1966; 3 October 2003 – 15 September 2005; 31 March 2020 - present * 65th Fighter (later, 65th Fighter-Interceptor, 65th Aggressor) Squadron: 15 January 1941 – 7 November 1945; 15 August 1946 – 13 April 1953; 9 June 2022 - present * 66th Fighter (later 66th Fighter-Interceptor) Squadron: 15 January 1941 – 7 November 1945; 15 August 1946 – 13 April 1953 * 57th USAF Dispensary: 1 April 1961 – 30 September 1968 * 57th Air Base Squadron (later 57th Combat Support Squadron): 1 April 1961 – 30 September 1968 * 57th Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Squadron: 1 April 1961 – 30 September 1968 * 57th Materiel Squadron: 1 April 1961 – 1 August 1964 * 57th Operations Support Squadron: 1 November 1991 – present * 57th Supply Squadron 1 August 1964 – 30 September 1968 *

66th Rescue Squadron The 66th Rescue Squadron is stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, where it operates HH-60 Pave Hawk aircraft conducting search and rescue and combat search and rescue missions. It is geographically separated unit of the 563rd Rescue Grou ...

: 1 February 1993 – 1 October 2003 *

: 4 October 2007 – present * 498th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron: 25 June 1966 – 30 September 1968 * 547th Intelligence Squadron, 1 November 1991 – 15 September 2005 * 548th Combat Training Squadron: 4 October 2007 – present *

: 4 October 2007 – present * 561st Fighter Squadron: 1 February 1993 – 1 October 1996.

Stations

, New York, 15 January 1941 * Bradley Field, Connecticut], 19 August 1941 * Boston Airport, Massachusetts, 8 December 1941-c. 1 July 1942 *

Fort Dix Army Air Field McGuire AFB/McGuire, the common name of the McGuire unit of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, is a United States Air Force base in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States, approximately south-southeast of Trenton. McGuire is under the ju ...

, New Jersey, 5 July 1942 *

New York Port of Embarkation The New York Port of Embarkation (NYPOE) was a United States Army command responsible for the movement of troops and supplies from the United States to overseas commands. The command had facilities in New York and New Jersey, roughly covering the ...

, New York, 15–16 July 1942 * Muqeible Airfield,

British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to: * Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan. * Mandatory P ...

, c. 20 July 1942 * Landing Ground 174, Egypt, 16 September 1942 * RAF El Daba, Egypt, 5 November 1942 *

Sidi Haneish Airfield Sidi Haneish Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield complex in Egypt, in the western desert, about 376 km (235 miles) west-northwest of Cairo. The airfield, known as Haggag el Qasaba by the German Luftwaffe, was the loca ...

, Egypt, 8 November 1942 * Sidi Azeiz Airfield, Libya, 12 November 1942 *

RAF Gambut RAF Gambut (or RAF Kambut) is a complex of six abandoned military airfields in Libya, located about north-northeast of the village of Kambut, and east-south-east of Tobruk. During World War II, the complex was an important facility, used by ...

, Libya, 13 November 1942 * Martuba Airfield, Libya, 16 November 1942 * Belandah Airfield, Libya, 3 December 1942 * Hamraiet Airfield, Libya, 3 January 1943 * Darragh Airfield, Libya, 19 January 1943 * Ben Gardane Airfield, Tunisia, 9 March 1943 * Soltane Airfield, Tunisia, 21 March 1943 * Hazbub Airfield, Tunisia, 4 April 1943 * Chekira Airfield, Tunisia, 10 April 1943 * El Djem Airfield, Tunisia, 14 April 1943 * Hani Airfield, Tunisia, 21 April 1943 *

Bou Grara Airfield Bou Grara Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield in Tunisia, which was located near Golfe de Bou Grara (Madanin); about 360 km south-southeast of Tunis. It was a temporary airfield built by the United States Army Corps of ...

, Tunisia, May 1943 *

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, 27 June 1943 * Pachino Airfield, Sicily, 19 July 1943 * Scordia Airfield, Sicily, August 1943 * Milazzo Airfield, Sicily, 12 September 1943 * Messina Airfield, Sicily, 15 September 1943 * Reggio Airfield, Italy, 16 September 1943 * Rocca Bernardo Airfield, Italy, 17 September 1943 * Gioia del Colle Air Base, Italy, c. 25 September 1943 *

Foggia Airfield The Foggia Airfield Complex was a series of World War II military airfields located within a radius of Foggia, in the Province of Foggia, Italy. The airfields were used by the United States Army Air Force Fifteenth Air Force as part of the str ...

, Italy, 30 September 1943 * Amendola Airfield, Italy, c. 27 October 1943 * Cercola Airfield, Italy, 1 March 1944 * Alto Airfield, Corsica, 30 March 1944 * Ombrene Airfield, Italy, 9 September 1944 *

Grosseto Airfield Grosseto Airport ( it, Aeroporto di Grosseto) is an airport in central Italy, located west of Grosseto in the Italian region of Tuscany. Although it is classified as a "joint use" facility, Grosseto Airport is primarily an Italian Air Force (A ...

, Italy, 24 September 1944 * Villafranca di Verona Airfield, Italy, 29 April 1945 *

, Italy, 7 May 1945 *

Bagnoli Airfield Bagnoli Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield in northeast Italy, which is located approximately 4 km south of Conselve in the Province of Padua in the Italian region of Veneto. It was an all-weather temporary field built ...

, Italy, 15 July 1945 * Naples Capodichino Airport, Italy, 5–6 August 1945 *

Camp Miles Standish Camp Myles Standish was a U.S. Army camp located in Taunton, Massachusetts during World War II. It was the main staging area for the Boston Port of Embarkation, with about a million U.S. and Allied soldiers passing through the camp on their way ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, 18 August 1945 * Drew Field, Florida, 23 August – 7 November 1945 * Shemya Army Air Base,

, Alaska, 15 August 1946 * Elmendorf Field, Alaska, 25 March 1947 – 13 April 1953 *

, Washington, 1 April 1961 – 30 September 1968 *

, Nevada, 1 November 1991 – present

Aircraft assigned

* Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, 1941–1944 * Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, 1944–1945 * Lockheed P-38 Lightning, 1946 *

North American 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 ...

, 1946–1948 * Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star, 1948–1951 *

Lockheed F-94 Starfire The Lockheed F-94 Starfire was a first-generation jet powered all-weather, day/night interceptor of the United States Air Force. A twin-seat craft, it was developed from the Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star trainer in the late 1940s. It reached o ...

, 1951–1952 * Convair F-102 Delta Dagger, 1961–1966 * Convair F-106 Delta Dart, 1966–1968 *

McDonnell F-4 Phantom II 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 Bow ...

, 1993–1996 *

Sikorsky 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 ...

, 1993–2003 * General Atomics MQ-1 Predator, 1995–2005 * General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, 2003–2005, 2018–present *

Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather Stealth aircraft, stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both Air superiority fighter, air superiority and attack ...

, 2022–present

Awards

* Distinguished Unit Citation * North Africa and Sicily, 24 October 1942 – 17 August 1943 * Tunis and Cape Bon Area, 18 April 1943 * Italy, 14 April 1944 Air_Force_Outstanding_Unit_Award_Streamer

Air_Force_Outstanding_Unit_Award_Streamer

* Air Force Outstanding Unit Award * 1 January 1995 – 31 May 1997 * 1 June 1998 – 31 May 2000 * 1 June 2001 – 31 May 2003 * 1 June 2003 – 31 May 2004 * 1 June 2004 – 31 May 2006 * French Croix de Guerre with Palm, October 1942 – May 1945

European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal streamer

* European-African-Middle Eastern Theater * Campaigns : Air Combat, EAME Theater : Egypt-Libya : Tunisia : Sicily : Naples-Anzio : Rome-Arno : Southern France : Northern Apennines : Po Valley

References

Footnotes

Citations

Bibliography

* * * \

External links

Nellis AFB Home Page57th WingOfficial website of the 57th Fighter Group
* {{Navboxes , list = {{Aerospace Defense Command {{USAAF 1st Air Force World War II {{USAAF 9th Air Force UK {{USAAF 12th Air Force World War II {{USAAF 1st Air Force World War II 057 Military units and formations in Nevada