| abstract | - The 56th Fighter Wing (56 FW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Education and Training Command's Nineteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona where it also is the host unit. The 56th FW trains F-16 fighter pilots and maintainers, qualifies instructors, conducts conversion pilot training, and instructs forward air controllers, all while deploying mission-ready combat pilots. The wing is home to nearly 140 F-16 aircraft and 24 squadrons, six of which are F-16 fighter squadrons, making it the largest fighter wing in the Air Force. The 56th Fighter Wing graduated 430 basic, instructor, and upgrade F-16 pilots and 650 crew chiefs in Fiscal Year 2010. The wing also trains personnel and maintains resources to meet contingency and wartime tasking. The wing is one of the most highly decorated aviation units in history, traces its history to the 56th Fighter Group which was a World War II P-47 Thunderbolt fighter group. Assigned to the Eighth Air Force in England, the 56th FG flew its first combat missions of World War II on 13 April 1943. During its two-year involvement in the air war in Europe, the group damaged or destroyed 1,598.5 enemy aircraft, while losing only 25 fighters in air-to-air combat. The 56th FG also produced 39 fighter aces. The 56th Fighter Wing was activated on 15 August 1947. The wing's mission was air defense. The unit wrote another chapter in aviation history 14 July 1948, when its F-80 Shooting Stars made the first ever west-to-east crossing of the Atlantic by military jets. The flight was a month after the Soviets set up their blockade of Berlin, and put the Soviets on notice that this nation had the capability to deploy a large package of military aircraft across the Atlantic in minimum time. The 56th was reassigned to Thailand on 16 March 1967. While deployed to Southeast Asia, the 56th not only supported but also conducted unconventional combat operations against an opposing armed enemy force in Laos. The commander of the 56th Fighter Wing since September 2010 is Brig. Gen. Jerry D. Harris, Jr.. The Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sgt. David R. Staton.
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