91st Operations Group

The 91st Operations Group is a United States Air Force operational unit assigned to the 91st Missile Wing, Air Force Global Strike Command, and Twentieth Air Force. Based at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, it operates and supports a portion of the United States' land-based intercontinental ballistic missile deterrent. Its current missile force is based on the LGM-30G Minuteman III, with personnel responsible for maintaining launch facilities, missile alert facilities, command-and-control readiness, security, and the continuous availability of the assigned weapons system. The group is organized around three missile squadrons—the 740th Missile Squadron, 741st Missile Squadron, and 742d Missile Squadron—and the 91st Operations Support Squadron. Each missile squadron is responsible for a defined network of launch facilities and missile alert facilities. Missile operations flights are staffed by missile officers who perform alert duties and remain prepared to execute launch procedures if directed through authorized national command channels. Support personnel include facility managers, security and maintenance specialists, and alert-facility food-service staff. Together, these functions keep the missile complex operational around the clock. Although the present-day group is primarily associated with Minuteman III operations, its lineage reaches back to the Second World War. Established in 1942 as the 91st Bombardment Group, Heavy, it became one of the early United States heavy-bomber groups deployed to the European theater. Flying Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses from RAF Bassingbourn in England, the group attacked submarine facilities, airfields, industrial sites, ports, transportation targets, and aircraft-related manufacturing. It received Distinguished Unit Citations for difficult missions against German industrial and transportation targets. The group is also associated with the B-17 Memphis Belle, one of the most widely recognized American heavy bombers of the war, although the aircraft's fame represents only one element of the unit's broader combat history. After returning to the United States and being inactivated in 1945, the organization was reconstituted in the postwar period as a reconnaissance group. Under Strategic Air Command, the 91st conducted long-range photographic, electronic, and battle-damage assessment missions. During the Korean War it operated a diverse fleet that included RB-29, RB-50, RB-45, WB-26, KB-29, and RB-36 aircraft. Its missions included aerial photography, targeting support, electronic intelligence, reconnaissance near the Soviet Far East, psychological leaflet distribution, and early air-to-air refueling activity. The reconnaissance organization was inactivated in 1952. The modern operational group was redesignated and activated in 1991. It was briefly inactivated from July 1994 to February 1996, after which it returned to active service at Minot. Since then, its principal role has been the maintenance and operational readiness of assigned intercontinental ballistic missiles. The current organization therefore combines a historic bomber and reconnaissance lineage with a contemporary nuclear-deterrence mission. Its function is not commercial production or consumer branding; its institutional identity reflects military lineage, operational responsibility, and the continuous readiness requirements of the United States strategic force.

The organization was established as the 91st Bombardment Group, Heavy, on 28 January 1942 and activated on 15 April of that year. It trained with B-17 Flying Fortress aircraft before deploying to England between August and October 1942. From November 1942 through the end of the European war, the group conducted heavy-bomber missions against submarine pens, airfields, factories, communications centers, shipyards, ports, rail facilities, oil installations, chemical plants, ball-bearing works, and aircraft factories. It took part in major phases of the Allied campaign, including the Normandy invasion, the advance at Saint-Lô, the Battle of the Bulge, and the Allied crossing of the Rhine. It received Distinguished Unit Citations for missions against the marshalling yards at Hamm on 4 March 1943 and German aircraft factories on 11 January 1944. After Germany's defeat, the group helped evacuate prisoners from German camps before returning to the United States in June and July 1945. It was inactivated on 7 November 1945. The lineage was reactivated in the postwar period as the 91st Reconnaissance Group on 1 July 1947 and redesignated the 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Group in November 1948. In July 1950 it became the 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Group, Medium. During the Korean War, the group supported bombing and ground forces through aerial photography, battle-damage assessment, targeting information, electronic intelligence, and reconnaissance missions. Its aircraft included RB-29 and RB-50 reconnaissance versions, RB-45 Tornadoes, WB-26 weather aircraft, KB-29 tankers, and other assigned platforms. It conducted surveillance over the Korean theater and the Sea of Japan, including missions near Soviet-controlled areas in the Far East. The unit also performed leaflet drops and participated in early operational air-to-air refueling. It was inactivated on 28 May 1952 during a Strategic Air Command reorganization. The organization was redesignated the 91st Operations Group on 29 August 1991 and activated on 1 September 1991 as part of the 91st Missile Wing at Minot Air Force Base. It operated in the Minuteman III mission until being inactivated on 1 July 1994. The group was activated again on 1 February 1996 and has remained associated with the 91st Missile Wing since then. Its three missile squadrons—740th, 741st, and 742d—operate geographically distributed launch facilities, while the 91st Operations Support Squadron provides the organizational support required for missile operations. The present group is thus a successor in lineage to earlier bomber and reconnaissance organizations, but its missile squadrons do not represent a direct historical continuation of the original 91st Bombardment Group's operational units; they previously belonged to formations associated with the 455th Strategic Missile Wing and 455th Bomb Group.

• 1996

  Return to active missile operations

  [1]91st Operations Groupen.wikipedia.org

  After a temporary inactivation from 1994, the group was activated again on 1 February 1996 and resumed its Minuteman III mission at Minot.

• 1991

  Activation as the 91st Operations Group

  [1]91st Operations Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The organization was redesignated on 29 August and activated on 1 September as an operational component of the 91st Missile Wing.

• 1952

  Inactivation of the reconnaissance organization

  [1]91st Operations Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The strategic reconnaissance group was inactivated on 28 May during a Strategic Air Command reorganization.

• 1950

  Korean War reconnaissance operations

  [1]91st Operations Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group operated a broad collection of reconnaissance and support aircraft during the Korean War, providing photography, electronic intelligence, targeting, and battle-damage assessment.

• 1947

  Reactivation as a reconnaissance group

  [1]91st Operations Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The lineage returned to active service on 1 July as the 91st Reconnaissance Group under Strategic Air Command.

• 1945

  End of bomber-group service

  [1]91st Operations Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Following the end of the war in Europe, the group assisted with prisoner evacuation and was inactivated on 7 November.

• 1944

  Second Distinguished Unit Citation

  [1]91st Operations Groupen.wikipedia.org

  A second citation recognized the group's 11 January attack on central German aircraft factories under difficult weather and combat conditions.

• 1943

  First Distinguished Unit Citation

  [1]91st Operations Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group received a Distinguished Unit Citation for its attack on the marshalling yards at Hamm on 4 March despite poor weather and intense opposition.

• 1942

  Establishment as a heavy bombardment group

  [1]91st Operations Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The 91st Bombardment Group, Heavy, was established on 28 January and activated on 15 April to operate B-17 heavy bombers.

• 1942

  Deployment to the European theater

  [1]91st Operations Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group trained in the United States and moved to England between August and October, beginning combat operations in November.

A United States Air Force strategic deterrence organization focused on the safe, secure, and continuously ready operation of land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles.

• Intercontinental ballistic missile · 1991

  LGM-30G Minuteman III

  The Minuteman III is the group's current strategic weapons system. The 740th, 741st, and 742d Missile Squadrons support and maintain geographically distributed missile launch facilities and missile alert facilities, keeping the force ready for authorized employment and ensuring the safety, security, and operational status of the assigned ICBMs.

• Heavy bomber · 1942

  B-17 Flying Fortress

  The B-17 was the principal aircraft of the group's Second World War bomber period. From England, the group used the aircraft for daylight heavy-bomber attacks against German military, industrial, transportation, and port targets. The unit is particularly associated with the Memphis Belle, a famous B-17 that served with the group.

• Reconnaissance and support aircraft · 1947

  Strategic reconnaissance aircraft

  During its postwar and Korean War reconnaissance period, the organization operated or was assigned aircraft including the RB-29, RB-50, RB-45, WB-26, KB-29, and RB-36. These platforms supported photographic reconnaissance, electronic intelligence, weather observation, psychological operations, battle-damage assessment, and air-to-air refueling.

1. 191st Operations Groupen.wikipedia.org