History 4th Operations Group

1 history

1.1 world war ii
1.2 cold war
1.3 modern era
1.4 global war on terrorism

history

for additional history, see eagle squadrons , 4th fighter wing

world war ii

spitfire mk v of 334th fighter squadron, 4th fighter group in 1942. note raf 71 eagle squadron markings on fuselage usaaf emblem overlaid on raf roundrel.



north american p-51d mustangs of 335th fighter squadron, 1944



335th fs p-51d, 1944

the unit activated in england in september 1942. initial cadre group former u.s. members of raf eagle squadrons had served in combat on europe october 1942 april 1945.

the american fliers of eagle squadrons, had begun fighting ten months before attack on pearl harbor, taken u.s. army air forces form 4th fighter group (fg)- based upon viii fighter command order of 12 september 1942. viii fighter command order originated based upon recommendation , urgent requirements provided brigadier general hunter , usaaf staff @ raf bushey hall. official joint raf/usaaf ceremony conducted @ raf north weald, near town of epping, essex, @ noon, tuesday, 29 september 1942. held after typical brisk english rainstorm left misty, overcast sky , wet grounds remainder of day. ceremony held adjacent airfield administration building on concrete parking area. present @ ceremony included usaaf leaders brigadier general frank o driscoll hunter , major general carl a. spaatz, brigadier general ira c. eaker, u.s. , english war correspondents, air marshal harold edwards (rcaf officer), along air chief marshal sir sholto douglas, raf. ceremony officiated both commissioning of 4th fighter group under command of colonel edward w. anderson (manhattan, kansas) usaaf, , establishment of airfield new airbase of 4th fighter group. such ceremonies presentation of awards conducted. along colonel anderson, brigadier general hunter stepped forward , awarded these combat-experienced american pilots. squadron commander william james daley (hemphill, texas) made major in usaaf , given usaaf pilot wings, commencing command of 335th fs afternoon. 2 other squadron commanders promoted major , given usaaf pilot wings of usaaf carroll warren mccolpin (buffalo new york) of 336th fs, , gregory agustus gus daymond (great falls, montana) of 334th fs. remaining 31 american pilots received usaaf wings, well.

following award presentation, air marshal douglas, had earlier complained lieutenant general henry h. arnold accusing these same combat-experienced american pilots prima donnas, stepped forward bbc , u.s. microphones typed-speech in hand , spoke assembled joint air force officers , enlisted personnel standing @ attention on wet concrete flightline. paying tribute these american pilots in typical clipped, political speech said:

want wish on that, first opportunity of addressing eagle squadrons, on 1 station, words should have been other words of farewell. of fighter command regret parting. u.s. army air corps- gain royal air force s loss. loss luftwaffe no doubt continue before. vanguard of great host of compatriots helping make these islands base launch great offensive desire. goodbye , thank eagle squadrons, numbers 71, 121 , 133, , hunting you.

douglas followed general spaatz gave official welcome battle-proven american fighter pilots:

men of eagle squadrons, welcome eighth air force. before turning on new commanding officer, general hunter, must express appreciation contribution ranks of royal air force have filled splendid organization. s pleasure , pride welcome viii fighter command- united states army air forces.

after these 2 speeches, royal air force , newly established 4th fighter group personnel marched in pass & review . following closing of ceremony, pilots , guests shown new usaaf star (refer to: usaaf unit identification aircraft markings) earlier painted on raf emblem on spitfire v aircraft of newly created 334th, 335th , 336th usaaf squadrons.

the 4th fighter group began historic rise fame following appointment of donald blakeslee group s commander on january 1, 1944. blakeslee had group re-equipped mustangs, , on march 6, 1944, first american plane on berlin in mustang. fourth destroyed more enemy planes in air , on ground other fighter group of eighth air force. group operated first spitfires changed p-47s in march 1943 , p-51s in late february march 1944.

on numerous occasions 4 fg escorted b-17/b-24 bombers attacked factories, submarine pens, v-weapon sites, , other targets in france, low countries, or germany. group went out small force of bombers draw enemy s fighters destroyed in aerial combat. @ other times 4th attacked enemy s air power strafing , dive-bombing airfields. hit troops, supply depots, roads, bridges, rail lines, , trains.

the unit participated in intensive campaign against german air force , aircraft industry during big week, 20–25 february 1944. received distinguished unit citation aggressiveness in seeking out , destroying enemy aircraft , in attacking enemy air bases during period 5 march – 24 april 1944.

the 4 fg flew interdiction , counter-air missions during invasion of normandy in june 1944 , supported airborne invasion of netherlands in september. participated in battle of bulge, december 1944 – january 1945, , provided cover airborne assault across rhine in march 1945.

cold war

4th fighter-interceptor group north american f-86 sabres, south korea, 1951

the 4th fighter group inactivated @ camp kilmer, new jersey, on 10 november 1945. unit reactivated @ selfridge field, michigan, 9 september 1946, united states began rearm due cold war pressures.

on 15 august 1947, under wing/base (hobson) reorganization plan, 4th fighter wing formed, , 4th fighter group became subordinate operational flying component. following period of training f-80 shooting star aircraft, 4th fighter group transitioned f-86 sabre jets in march 1949, in time advanced training , entry korean war.

in december 1950, 4th fighter wing s flying component (now 4th fighter-interceptor group) first unit commit f-86 sabre jets conflict. lt col bruce h. hinton shot down mig-15 on 17 december during first sabre mission of war. 4 days later, lt col john c. meyer, world war ii ace, led flight of 8 sabres against 15 migs in first major all-jet fighter battle in history. flight downed 6 migs without sustaining losses.

by end of war airmen of 4th fighter-interceptor group had destroyed 502 enemy aircraft (54 percent of total), becoming top fighter unit of korean war. twenty-four pilots achieved ace status. 4th fighter-interceptor wing, group moved japan following korean armistice in 1953, continuing training , tours korea. group inactivated on 8 december 1957 component squadrons assigned directly wing air force reorganized wings tri-deputate structure.

modern era

4th operations group mcdonnell douglas f-15e strike eagles 89-0495 (336 fs), 88-1704 (334 fs) , 89-0485 (333 fs)

on 22 april 1991, 4th operations group activated result of 4th tactical fighter wing implementing usaf objective wing organization. upon activation, 4 og retained lineage , history of 4th fighter group. 4 og assigned 334th, 335th , 336th fighter squadrons upon activation, equipped f-15e strike eagle.

in addition objective wing organization, 4 tfw became air force s first composite wing , redesignated 4th wing. 4th wing incorporated under people, kc-10 aircraft, , assets of 68th air refueling wing, strategic air command unit, 344th , 911th air refueling squadron (ars) being assigned 4 og.

with reorganization of usaf major command structure, unit s parent organization became part of new air combat command on 1 june 1992.

more changes occurred in 1990s. 911 ars reassigned air mobility command bases in 1994 , 1995 , f-15e formal training unit moved seymour johnson in 1994 , 1995. 333d fighter squadron returned seymour johnson accommodate training mission , assigned 4 og. accommodate need train more f-15e aircrews, 334th fighter squadron became training squadron on 1 january 1996.

fewer resources , need use air force assets meet increased operational commitments called yet reorganization 20th century came close. expeditionary aerospace force concept implemented conform air force vision organize, train, equip, deploy , sustain in 21st century global security environment. under concept, 4 og 1 of 2 on-call rapid response aerospace expeditionary groups. fourth first assume on-call mission on 1 october 1999.

global war on terrorism

in october 2001, in response 11 september terrorist attacks on united states, 4 og began flying operation noble eagle sorties, first of kind wing, providing coastal protection homeland defense.

in january 2002, 4 og arrived in kuwait in support of operations southern watch , enduring freedom, flying missions on iraq , afghanistan. on 1 march 2002, operation anaconda launched, , group s mission provide close air support afghanistan. operation anaconda ended 21 march 2002 4 og s greatest highlight being performance @ roberts ridge. members of 335th fighter squadron suppressed enemy fire al-qaida troops, army , air force personnel retrieved stranded , fallen comrades.

in january , february 2003, 4th operations group joined other operational units in southeast asia. 2 f-15e fighter squadrons deployed southwest asia in support of osw, later transition support operation iraqi freedom. on 18 april 2003, members of 4th operations group returned seymour johnson afb after contributing initial u.s. led coalition invasion in operation iraqi freedom.