| 496th Fighter Training Group | |
|---|---|
 AP-38 Lightning of the group in flight | |
| Active | 1943–1945 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Army Air Forces |
| Role | Fighter training, support services |
| Part of | Eighth Air Force |
The496th Fighter Training Group (FTG) was aUnited States Army Air Forces unit, serving with theEighth Air Force in the United Kingdom duringWorld War II. Activated in December 1943, the unit trained replacement pilots on theLockheed P-38 Lightning and later theNorth American P-51 Mustang. In October 1944 its training mission was ended when the Eighth Air Force decided to instead train pilots inoperational training units that were part of combat fighter groups. For the remainder of its service, the group provided support services for units atRAF Halesworth, including an air-sea rescue squadron. The group was inactivated in April 1945; its attached units were directly subordinated to the65th Fighter Wing and remaining personnel transferred to an air service squadron.
The group was activated on 11 December 1943 atGreencastle (Army Air Forces Station 237)[1] inCounty Down, Northern Ireland. The group was part ofVIII Composite Command, which had been formed in August 1942 to provide operational training. On 27 December the 496th was moved without personnel toGoxhill (AAF Station 345) inLincolnshire. The group operated Combat Crew Replacement Center #8. Colonel Harold W. McGee, Goxhill station commander, took command of the 496th FTG. Support units at Goxhill formerly attached to the67th Fighter Wing were consolidated into the 496th. The group included the 554th Fighter Training Squadron, which conducted P-38 training, and the 555th Fighter Training Squadron, which conducted P-51 training. The 2d and 3d Tow Target and Gunnery Flights were responsible for gunnery services, both ground-based and aerial.[2] On 14 August 1944, the495th Fighter Training Group took over all P-38 training, and the 554th Squadron's P-38s were transferred to the 495th FTG; the 554th switched to P-51 training.[3]
On 1 October, the group was transferred toVIII Fighter Command, along with the 495th FTG. On 26 October, training responsibilities ceased for both the 495th and 496th Groups, as the Eighth Air Force re-establishedoperational training units within combat fighter groups. During the months of its operation of the CCRC, the group graduated 2,434 out of 2,481 trainees.[4] Seven students were seriously injured and 23 were killed in 117 major accidents, with 53 aircraft lost.[5] On 18 November, the 2d Tow Target and Gunnery Flight was transferred toLeiston (AAF Station 373). In early December, the 554th Squadron was transferred toRaydon (AAF Station 157) with the353d Fighter Group. The detachments from the 333d Service Group and the 1148th Quartermaster Company were transferred to the1st Bombardment Division, but remained with the 496th. The group itself was reassigned to the65th Fighter Wing of the2d Bombardment Division (renamed the 2d Air Division in February 1945). On 15 December, the group completed its move toHalesworth (AAF Station 365), replacing the489th Bombardment Group there.[6]
Until its inactivation in April 1945, the group provided manpower, maintenance, and support services for units based at Halesworth. Units based at Halesworth included the5th Emergency Rescue Squadron, an air-sea rescue unit, the 1st Tow Target and Gunnery Flight, a target towing unit, and the 2d Weather and Relay Flight, a weather observation unit. On 26 April, the 496th was inactivated. The rescue squadron and the other units were directly subordinated to the 65th Fighter Wing. Remaining personnel were transferred to the 332d Air Service Squadron pending the end of combat in theEuropean Theater of Operations and reassignment or discharge.[7]
