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479th Flying Training Group
 | |
|---|---|
 Members of the 479th Flying Training Group salute during the playing of the National Anthem at the group's activation ceremony | |
| Active | 1943–1945; 1952–1957; 1991; 2000–2007; 2009–present |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Fighter/Fighter Training |
| Part of | Air Education and Training Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida |
| Motto(s) | Protectores Libartatis Latin Defenders of Liberty |
| Engagements | European Theater of Operations[1] |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Croix de Guerre with Palm[1] |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Colonel Shane "Shamus" Muscato[2] |
| Insignia | |
| 479th Flying Training Group emblem[note 1][1] |  |
| Patch with 479th Fighter-Bomber Group emblem[note 2][3] |  |
| 479th Fighter Group emblem (World War II)[4] |  |
The 479th Flying Training Group is a United States Air Force unit, stationed at Naval Air Station Pensacola. A component of Air Education and Training Command, the group was activated on 2 October 2009. The current commander of the 479th Flying Training Group is Colonel Shane “Shamus” Muscato.
The group was first activated during World War II in October 1943. After training with Lockheed P-38 Lightnings, it deployed to the European Theater of Operations, and began flying combat missions in late May 1944. It converted to the North American P-51 Mustang later in 1944. It flew escort missions and attacked ground targets, earning a Distinguished Unit Citation before flying its last operational mission in April 1945. The group remained in England following V-E Day, but returned to the United States in the fall and was inactivated at the port of embarkation in December 1945.
The group was again activated as the 479th Fighter-Bomber Group in December 1952, when it assumed the personnel and equipment of an Air National Guard unit that had been mobilized for the Korean War, but was being returned to state control, although it was not fully manned until January 1953. The group was inactivated in 1957, when Tactical Air Command reorganized under the dual deputy system. It was again activated in July 1991 to replace the 479th Tactical Training Wing, which was winding down its operations at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, inactivating six months later. The group was active as a flying training organization from 2000 until 2007.
- ^ a b c Robertson, Patsy (3 February 2010). "Factsheet 479 Flying Training Group (AETC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
- ^ "Colonel John R. Edwards". 479th Flying Training Group Public Affairs. November 2016. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
- ^ Maurer, Combat Units, pp. 351–352
- ^ Watkins, pp. 90-91
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