445th Operations Group

The 445th Operations Group is a United States Air Force Reserve flying organization based at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. It is the operational component of the 445th Airlift Wing and is assigned to Fourth Air Force within Air Force Reserve Command. If mobilized, the group would come under the operational control of Air Mobility Command. Its principal responsibilities are maintaining aircrew and unit readiness, conducting strategic airlift, transporting personnel and equipment, supporting aeromedical evacuation, and recruiting and training reservists for those missions. The organization has a long lineage that reaches back to World War II. It was first activated in 1943 as the 445th Bombardment Group, a Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy-bomber formation assigned to VIII Bomber Command in the European Theater. After training in the United States, the group moved to England and began combat operations from RAF Tibenham in December 1943. It attacked industrial, transportation, aircraft-production, petroleum, communications, and military targets in German-occupied Europe. The group received a Distinguished Unit Citation for its attack on a Messerschmitt aircraft assembly plant at Gotha on 24 February 1944, a mission in which 13 of the 25 attacking aircraft were lost. It also received the French Croix de Guerre with Palm for operations connected with the liberation of France. Actor Jimmy Stewart served with the group during its formation and wartime service. The group’s World War II record also included support for the Normandy campaign, the Battle of Saint-Lô, the Battle of the Bulge, and Operation Varsity, the airborne crossing of the Rhine. One of its most severe losses occurred during a September 1944 mission associated with Kassel, when the formation became separated from the main bomber stream and was attacked by a large German fighter force. In total, the group flew 280 missions during the war and lost 138 B-24 aircraft. It returned to the United States in 1945 and was inactivated in September of that year. The organization was reactivated in the Air Force Reserve in 1947 as a B-29 Superfortress very-heavy bombardment group, but it was inactivated in 1949 during the transition to the wing-base organizational structure. It returned in 1952 as the 445th Fighter-Bomber Group, initially operating from western New York with a mixture of training and fighter aircraft. In 1957, as reserve fighter resources were increasingly concentrated in the Air National Guard, the group changed to a troop-carrier mission and began operating Fairchild C-119 aircraft. The group was inactivated in 1958 when its squadrons were assigned directly to the wing. The 445th lineage was revived in the modern objective-wing reorganization in 1992. It became an associate organization of the active-duty 63d Operations Group and moved with its parent organizations from Norton Air Force Base to March Air Reserve Base. That arrangement ended in 1994, when the 445th was reactivated at Wright-Patterson as a Lockheed C-141 Starlifter organization. The group later transitioned to C-5 Galaxy operations and then to the McDonnell Douglas C-17 Globemaster III. Its current structure includes the 89th Airlift Squadron, 445th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, 445th Operations Support Squadron, and 445th Airlift Control Flight. The group conducts worldwide airlift, channel and special-assignment missions, contingency support, humanitarian operations, exercises, and specialized testing such as evaluation of laser detection and ranging equipment.

The 445th Operations Group traces its lineage to the 445th Bombardment Group, established on 20 March 1943 and activated on 1 April at Gowen Field, Idaho. Its original bombardment squadrons were the 700th, 701st, 702d, and 703d. The group trained on Consolidated B-24 Liberators at Wendover Army Air Field and Sioux City Army Air Base before deploying to England in the autumn of 1943. Its ground personnel crossed the Atlantic aboard the RMS Queen Mary, while the air echelon flew by a southern route through the Caribbean, Brazil, and West Africa. Based at RAF Tibenham, the group entered combat on 13 December 1943 against U-boat facilities at Kiel. During the strategic bombing campaign, the group attacked German aircraft factories, synthetic-fuel facilities, chemical works, rail yards, airfields, ammunition plants, and underground petroleum installations. It participated in the Allied offensive against the German aircraft industry known as Big Week. On 24 February 1944, its attack on the aircraft assembly plant at Gotha resulted in a Distinguished Unit Citation despite the loss of 13 of the 25 aircraft dispatched. The group also conducted missions supporting the invasion of Normandy, including attacks on airfields and rocket-launch sites, flew sorties against German defenses near Saint-Lô, struck communications during the Battle of the Bulge, and delivered supplies to airborne forces during Operation Varsity. Its French decoration recognized both combat and logistical support for resistance operations. The group suffered especially heavy losses during the September 1944 mission associated with Kassel and Göttingen. A navigation error separated the formation from the main bomber stream, leaving it exposed to a concentrated attack by German fighters. Only a small number of the group’s aircraft returned directly to its English base. Despite such losses, the group continued operations until the end of the European war. It later flew low-level orientation missions over Germany, returned to the United States, and was inactivated on 12 September 1945. Across the war it flew 280 missions and lost 138 B-24s. The unit was reactivated in the reserve on 12 July 1947 as the 445th Bombardment Group, Very Heavy, and was associated with B-29 operations. Continental Air Command’s 1949 reorganization led to its inactivation on 27 June. It returned on 8 July 1952 as the 445th Fighter-Bomber Group at Buffalo Municipal Airport, later moving to Niagara Falls Municipal Airport and transitioning toward Republic F-84 Thunderjets. In 1957 the group became the 445th Troop Carrier Group as the reserve system shifted fighter aircraft toward the Air National Guard. It operated Fairchild C-119s, moved to Memphis Municipal Airport, and was inactivated on 25 September 1958 when its squadrons were placed directly under the wing. The lineage was redesignated the 445th Military Airlift Group in 1985 while inactive. On 1 August 1992, the organization was reactivated as the 445th Operations Group under the objective-wing structure. It initially served as an associate of the active-duty 63d Operations Group at Norton Air Force Base, then moved to March Air Reserve Base after Norton closed. The group was inactivated in 1994 during a broader reorganization of airlift and air-refueling units, but was reactivated later that year at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. It absorbed the 89th and 356th Airlift Squadrons and operated C-141 aircraft. The 356th Airlift Squadron was inactivated in 2006. The remaining organization transitioned from C-141s to C-5 Galaxies and, in 2011, to C-17 Globemaster IIIs. Today the group supports the 445th Airlift Wing’s readiness, strategic transport, aeromedical evacuation, training, contingency response, humanitarian missions, exercises, and specialized aviation testing. Its assigned elements are the 89th Airlift Squadron, 445th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, 445th Operations Support Squadron, and 445th Airlift Control Flight.

• 2011

  Transition to C-17 operations

  [1]445th Operations Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group completed its transition from C-5 Galaxy operations to McDonnell Douglas C-17 Globemaster III operations.

• 1994

  Reactivation at Wright-Patterson

  [1]445th Operations Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group was reestablished in Ohio as a C-141 airlift organization after the reorganization of airlift units in California.

• 1992

  Reactivation as the 445th Operations Group

  [1]445th Operations Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group resumed its role as the operational component of the 445th Airlift Wing under the objective-wing structure.

• 1957

  Conversion to troop carrier operations

  [1]445th Operations Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The organization converted from reserve fighter operations to tactical airlift with C-119 aircraft.

• 1952

  Return as a fighter-bomber group

  [1]445th Operations Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group was reactivated in New York as the operational element of the 445th Fighter-Bomber Wing.

• 1947

  Reserve reactivation as a B-29 group

  [1]445th Operations Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The organization returned to the Air Force Reserve as a very-heavy bombardment group.

• 1945

  World War II inactivation

  [1]445th Operations Groupen.wikipedia.org

  After returning to the United States, the wartime bombardment group was inactivated on 12 September.

• 1944

  Gotha Distinguished Unit Citation mission

  [1]445th Operations Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group attacked a German aircraft assembly plant at Gotha and received a Distinguished Unit Citation despite severe aircraft and crew losses.

• 1943

  Activation as a heavy bombardment group

  [1]445th Operations Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The 445th Bombardment Group was activated in Idaho and began training with B-24 Liberators for service in the European Theater.

• 1943

  Arrival in England

  [1]445th Operations Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group deployed to RAF Tibenham and entered combat against German targets in December.

A reserve military aviation organization focused on ready, globally deployable strategic airlift and aeromedical evacuation capabilities.

• Strategic airlift aircraft · 2011

  McDonnell Douglas C-17 Globemaster III

  The group’s current airlift platform, used to transport personnel, equipment, and cargo over intercontinental distances and to support contingency, training, and humanitarian missions. The group is described as having nine assigned aircraft.

• Military medical transport

  Aeromedical evacuation

  The group provides organized aeromedical evacuation capability for moving patients by air. This mission is supported by the 445th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron and forms part of the wing’s broader readiness and mobility role.

• Military air transport · 1943

  Strategic airlift

  The group conducts worldwide transport of military personnel and equipment, including channel flights, special-assignment airlift, contingency operations, exercises, and humanitarian missions.

• 2011

  Transition to C-17 Globemaster III aircraftGeneration change

  Background

  After operating C-141 and then C-5 airlift aircraft, the group modernized its fleet and mission platform.

  Action taken

  The organization converted to McDonnell Douglas C-17 Globemaster III operations.

  Aftermath

  The C-17 became the group’s principal platform for global strategic airlift, readiness, contingency response, and humanitarian transport.

  Source

• 1957

  Conversion from fighter-bomber to troop-carrier operationsStrategy

  Background

  The Air Force reorganized reserve aviation so that fighter resources were concentrated increasingly in the Air National Guard.

  Action taken

  The group was redesignated as a troop carrier organization and began training with Fairchild C-119 aircraft.

  Aftermath

  The group moved to Memphis and was later inactivated in 1958 when its squadrons were assigned directly to the wing.

  Source

1. 1445th Operations Groupen.wikipedia.org