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53rd Electronic Warfare Group | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1941–1944; 1947–1949; 1952–1982; 1982–1991; 1993–1998; 1998–2021 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Mottos | Victoria per ObservatiamLatin Victory through Observation[1] Follow Me[2] |
| Engagements | American Theater of World War IIMediterranean Theater of Operations |
| Decorations | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Air Force Organizational Excellence Award |
| Insignia | |
| Patch with 53rd Electronic Warfare Group emblem[note 1] |  |
| Patch with 68th Electronic Warfare Group emblem |  |
| 68th Air Refueling Wing emblem(approved c. December 1986)[3][note 2] | .png) |
| 68th Air Refueling Group emblem(approved September 1982)[4] |  |
| Patch with 68th Bombardment Wing emblem(approved 3 October 1952)[2] |  |
| Emblem of the 68th Reconnaissance Group(approved 17 September 1942)[1] |  |
The53rd Electronic Warfare Group was a component of the53rd Wing of theAir Force Warfare Center,Air Combat Command, headquartered atEglin Air Force Base, Florida. It was active from 1998 to 2021.
Thegroup was responsible for providing operational, technical and maintenanceelectronic warfare (EW) expertise to USAF air combat forces, and for systems engineering, testing, evaluation, tactics development, employment, capability and technology assessment. This includes the wartime responsibility for emergency reprogramming and dissemination of EW system mission data software for combat aircraft. The group managed the Combat Shield Electronic Warfare Assessment Program for combat aircraft EW systems. Combat Shield provides operational units a system-specific capability assessment for their radar warning receivers, electronic attack pods, and integrated EW systems.
Tracing its history to the 1941 activation of the 68th Observation Group, the unit traces its lineage and heritage to the68th Strategic Reconnaissance Group; the68th Air Refueling Group; the68th Bombardment Wing, Heavy, and the68th Electronic Combat Group.
The68th Observation Group was established atBrownwood Army Air Field, Texas, on 1 September 1941. Its primary mission was observation aircraft training and antisubmarine patrols. The group moved to several different U.S. locations in preparation for overseas deployment in 1942.
It moved to theMediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO), October–November 1942, and became part ofTwelfth Air Force. Shortly after the group began operations most of itssquadrons were detached for separate duty in order to carry out diverse activities over a wide area. Operating from bases in North Africa until November 1943, the group, or elements of the group, engaged in patrolling the Mediterranean; strafing trucks, tanks, gun positions, and supply dumps to support ground troops in Tunisia; training fighter pilots and replacement crews; and flying photographic and visual reconnaissance missions in Tunisia, Sicily, and Italy to provide information needed to adjust artillery fire.
The group moved to Italy and became part ofFifteenth Air Force in November 1943. It continued visual and photographic reconnaissance and began flying weather reconnaissance missions in Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, and theBalkans. Also engaged in electronic-countermeasure activities, investigating radar equipment captured from the enemy, flying ferret missions along the coasts of Italy and southern France, and accompanying bomber formations to detect approaching enemy fighters. It was inactivated in 1944.
Theunit trained in the Reserve as the68th Reconnaissance Group atHamilton Field (later Hamilton AFB), California between 1947–1949. In 1949 it was inactivated, as a result ofContinental Air Command's reorganization of its flying units under the Wing-BaseHobson Plan. Its personnel were transferred to the349th Troop Carrier Wing.[5]
The68th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing was activated byStrategic Air Command (SAC) on 10 October 1951, with an initial cadre of 16 people from the44th Bombardment Wing. The group was assigned as a subordinate unit to the new wing atLake Charles Air Force Base, Louisiana. The wing was assigned to the37th Air Division ofSecond Air Force. The group was activated as the68th Strategic Reconnaissance Group, but it was a paper unit, with token personnel assigned on additional duty to keep it active and with its flying squadrons controlled by thewing. Support organizations for the wing were also activated, but they were located atLockbourne AFB, Ohio and were not controlled by the wing.
It was not until May 1952 that the wing receivedBoeing RB-29 Superfortress aircraft. Its primary mission was gathering intelligence on the Soviet Union. In June the group was discontinued entirely. Under SAC's new Dual Deputate organization,[note 3] squadrons all flying and maintenance squadrons were directly assigned to the wing, so no operational group element was needed. It added aBoeing KC-97 refueling mission in November 1953.
The wing replaced its propeller-driven RB-29s with newBoeing B-47E Stratojet swept-wing medium bombers in October 1953 and was redesignated as the68th Bombardment Wing. The B-47 was capable of flying at high subsonic speeds and primarily designed for penetrating the airspace of theSoviet Union. Becoming operationally ready with the B-47 in May 1954, the wing conducted strategic bombardment training and air refueling to meet SAC's global commitments. The wing performed deployments toRAF Fairford, from 14 June to 7 August 1954 and toRAF Brize Norton, both in the southernUnited Kingdom, from 27 September 1957 to 8 January 1958. The B-47s were reaching the end of their operational life in the late 1950s, and the wing's aircraft were sent toDavis-Monthan Air Force Base in April 1963 with the closure of Chennault AFB. With the closing of Chennault, and in order to retain the lineage of the wing, Headquarters SAC received authority from Headquarters USAF to move the 68th without personnel or equipment toSeymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina on 15 April where it replaced the4241st Strategic Wing, which could not carry a permanent history or lineage.[6]
4241st Strategic Wing
SAC had organized the4241st Strategic Wing at Seymour Johnson on 1 October 1958[7] and assigned it to Second Air Force as part of SAC's plan to disperse itsBoeing B-52 Stratofortress heavy bombers over a larger number of bases, thus making it more difficult for theSoviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike.[8] The wing remained aheadquarters only until 1 December 1959 when the911th Air Refueling Squadron, flyingBoeing KC-135 Stratotankers, three maintenance squadrons, and a squadron to provide security for special weapons were activated and assigned to the wing.[7]
On 5 January 1959 the73rd Bombardment Squadron, consisting of 15Boeing B-52 Stratofortresses moved to Seymour Johnson fromRamey Air Force Base, Puerto Rico where it had been one of the three squadrons of the72nd Bombardment Wing and the wing was transferred from Second Air Force to the822nd Air Division.[9] The wing was fully organized at the start of May when the 53rd Aviation Depot Squadron' moved fromBarksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana to oversee the wing's special weapons. Starting in 1960, one third of the squadron's aircraft were maintained on fifteen-minutealert, fully fueled and ready for combat to reduce vulnerability to a Soviet missile strike. This was increased to half the squadron's aircraft in 1962.[10] The 4241st (and later the 68th) continued to maintain an alert commitment until the end of theCold War. In 1962, the wing'sbombers began to be equipped with theGAM-77 Hound Dog and theGAM-72 Quail air-launchedcruise missiles, The 4134th Airborne Missile Maintenance Squadron was activated in November to maintain these missiles.
68th Bombardment Wing, HeavyWhen the 68th replaced the 4341st[note 4] the 53rd Munitions Maintenance Squadron and the 911th Air Refueling Squadron were reassigned to the 68th. The 4241st's maintenance and security squadrons were replaced by ones with the 68th numerical designation. Each of the new units assumed the personnel, equipment, and mission of its predecessor.
The wing continued to conduct strategic bombardment training and global refueling operations to meet SAC commitments. Wing aircraft, most aircrews and maintenance personnel, and other support personnel were loaned to other SAC units for combat operations in Southeast Asia, 27 May 1972 – 15 July 1973.
In 1982 the B-52Gs of the wing were retired and the 68th Wing became the68th Air Refueling Group. Elevated back to wing status in 1986, the 68th Air Refueling Wing participated in combat operations in Grenada (Operation Urgent Fury) in October 1983, in Libya (Operation Eldorado Canyon) in April 1986, and in Panama (Operation Just Cause) in December 1989. It deployed to Spain to provide airlift and air refueling during OperationDesert Shield/Desert Storm from August 1990 to March 1991.
The68th Air Refueling Wing was inactivated on 22 April 1991 as part of the objective wing reorganization of the Air Force, which called for one wing on a base. Its 911th Air Refueling Squadron was reassigned to the4th Wing. Its support organizations were inactivated and their personnel and equipment assigned to elements of the 4th Wing or transferred,
The group was activated again on 15 April 1993 as the68th Electronic Combat Group. It provided operational and technical electronic combat expertise for US combat air forces from 1993 to 1998 when it was inactivated and replaced by the53rd Electronic Warfare Group due to USAF policy that groups carry the same number as their parent wing.[11] Two years later the 68th was consolidated with the 53rd that had replaced it.[12] The group performedelectronic warfare technology assessments; tested, developed, managed, and maintained electronic warfare systems hardware and software to meet Combat Air Force mission requirements.[citation needed] In June 2021, the group was inactivated and its assets were used to form the350th Spectrum Warfare Wing.
68th Electronic Combat Group
68th Bombardment Wing
53rd Electronic Warfare Group
68th Group, 1941–1952
68th Wing, 1951–1982
Consolidated Organization
68th Group, 1941–1952
68th Wing, 1951–1982
Consolidated organization
68th Group
1941–1952: O-38, 1941–1942; O-46, 1941–1942; O-47, 1941–1942; O-49, 1941–1942; YO-50, 1941–1942; O-52, 1941–1942; O-57, 1941–1942; O-58, 1941–1942; O-59, 1941–1942; A-20, 1942–1943; DB-7, 1942; L-4, 1942; O-43, 1942; P-39, 1942–1943; P-40, 1942–1943; P-43, 1942; A-36, 1943; B-17, 1943–1944; P-38, 1943; P-38/F-4, 1943; P-51, 1943; P-51/F-6, 1943; Spitfire, 1943. A-6, 1947–1949; A-7, 1947–1949; A-11, 1947–1949.
68th Wing
1951–1982: B-29, 1952–1953; B-47, 1953–1963; KC-97, 1953–1957; B-52, 1963–1972, 1973–1982; KC-135, 1963–1972; 1973–1985.
Consolidated organization: KC-10, 1982–1991; KC-135, 1982–1991. None, 1993–1998
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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