| 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group | |
|---|---|
 BQM-167 Streaker of the group's 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron | |
| Active | 1943–1949; 1955–1958; 1983–1998; 1998–present |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Weapons Evaluation |
| Nickname(s) | Satan's Angels (World War II) |
| Motto(s) | In Proelio Gaudete Latin Be Joyful in Battle[1] |
| Engagements | Asiatic-Pacific Theater |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Air Force Organizational Excellence Award Philippine Presidential Unit Citation |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Colonel Scott Crowell |
| Notable commanders | Colonel Charles H. MacDonald Lieutenant Colonel (later Colonel) John S. Loisel |
| Insignia | |
| 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group emblem[note 1] |  |
| 475th Fighter Group emblem (Approved 26 November 1956)[1] |  |
The 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group is a United States Air Force unit that reports to the 53rd Wing. It is stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. The unit is part of Air Combat Command.
The unit was known as the 475th Fighter Group during World War II, when it operated primarily in the Southwest Pacific Theater. The 475th was perhaps the best known of the theater's Lockheed P-38 Lightning groups since its personnel included the top flying aces in the Pacific: Richard I. Bong (40 kills) and Thomas B. McGuire, Jr. (38 kills), both Medal of Honor recipients.
By the war's end, 38 other pilots from the 475th had achieved ace status in P-38s. The group's commander for 20 months, Colonel Charles H. MacDonald, scored 27 kills in his famous "Putt Putt Maru" and was the seventh-ranking American ace.
The group remained in the Far East until 1949 as part of the occupation forces.
From 1955 to 1956, the group was an Air Defense Command interceptor group stationed at Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport. It was inactivated in 1958 when the United States Air Force withdrew its regular units from this civilian field.
As the 475th Weapons Evaluation Group, then the 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group, the group has performed its current mission at Tyndall since 1983.
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