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126th Operations Group | |
|---|---|
 126th Air Refueling WingKC-135 Stratotanker taking off to support Joint Task ForceOdyssey Dawn[a], 24 March 2011 | |
| Active | 1942–1946; 1947–1953, 1953–1974, 1993–present |
| Country |  United States |
| Allegiance |  Illinois |
| Branch |  Air National Guard |
| Role | Air refueling |
| Part of | Illinois Air National Guard |
| Garrison/HQ | Scott Air Force Base, Belleville, Illinois |
| Nickname | The Silver Streaks (World War II)[1] |
| Mottos | We Win or Die (World War II)[1] Anytime, Anywhere |
| Engagements | European Theater of Operations[2] |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Col Jeanette A. Moore[3] |
| Insignia | |
| 126th Operations Group emblem[b] |  |
| 344th Bombardment Group emblem[c][2] |  |
| Tail stripe |  |
| World War II tail marking[d][1] | White triangle |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Tanker | KC-135R |
The126th Operations Group is an air refuelling group of theUnited States Air Force and theIllinois Air National Guard. While its primary task is to refuel aircraft in flight, it can transport, airlift, supplies and personnel. The unit is also tasked with supporting the nuclear strike missions of theSingle Integrated Operational Plan.[citation needed]
During peacetime, the group receives direction through the adjutant general of Illinois, the governor of Illinois and theNational Guard Bureau. Upon federal mobilization, the wing is assigned toAir Mobility Command and the15th Expeditionary Mobility Task Force.
Thegroup was activated in September 1942 atMacDill Field, as the344th Bombardment Group, with the494th,495th,496th and497th Bombardment Squadrons assigned. In December, the group moved to nearbyDrane Field, Florida. At Drane, the unit served as aReplacement Training Unit (RTU) forMartin B-26 Marauders.[2][4] RTUs were oversized units that trained individualpilots oraircrews prior to their deployment to overseas theaters.[5]
In July 1943, the group stopped training other crews and began training to enter combat. It completed its training atHunter Field, Georgia, and departed for theEuropean Theater of Operations on 26 January 1944.[2]
The group arrived at its first combat station,RAF Stansted Mountfitchet, on 8 February 1944. It began operations withIX Bomber Command in March. It attacked targets in France, Belgium and the Netherlands, including airfields,marshalling yards,submarine pens andcoastal defenses. After a poor bombing performance by the 344th on 10 April, the group was taken off operations for a week for additional training.[6] It returned to operations, participating inOperation Crossbow, the attacks onV-1 flying bomb andV-2 rocket launch sites. Starting in May, it concentrated on attacks on bridges in France, preparing forOperation Overlord, the forthcoming invasion in Normandy.[2]
OnD Day, 6 June 1944, it attacked coastal batteries atCherbourg. During the remainder of the month it supported thedrive to seize the Cotentin Peninsula and bombed German defensive positions to support British forces nearCaen. On 24 July, the group attacked a bridge across theLoire nearTours. An intenseflak barrage dispersed the lead flight of the 344th Group, but the remainder of the formation held and destroyed the bridge. It attacked troop concentrations the next day and supply dumps on 26 July to assist advancing ground forces inOperation Cobra, the breakout atSaint Lo.[7] For these actions, it was awarded aDistinguished Unit Citation.[2]
It knocked out bridges to hinder German forces'withdrawal through the Falaise Gap and bombed strong points and vessels in the harbor ofBrest in July and August. For the next two months, it concentrated on attacking rail lines, bridges, supply dumps and ordnance depots in Germany, moving to the European Continent andCormeilles-en-Vexin Airfield, France in September. From December through January 1945, it supported ground forces in theBattle of the Bulge. Until April 1945, it continued combat operations against supply points, communications centers, marshalling yards, roads, and oil storage centers.[2] The squadron flew its last mission on 25 April, an attack onErding Airfield. During this raid, one of its Marauders was shot down by aMesserschmitt Me 262 jet fighter.[8]
FollowingV-E Day, the group flew training flights and participated in air demonstrations. It moved toSchleissheim Airfield, nearMunich, Germany in September as part of theUnited States Air Forces in Europe'soccupation forces. There, the group began training on theDouglas A-26 Invader, but continued to fly Marauders as well. On 15 February 1946, the squadron's personnel and aircraft were withdrawn and it moved on paper toBolling Field, District of Columbia, where it inactivated at the end of March.[2]
The group was redesignated the126th Bombardment Group and allotted to theNational Guard on 24 May 1946. It was activated atChicago Midway Airport, Illinois on 11 February 1947 and federally recognized on 19 June.[2] It was assigned the107th Bombardment Squadron of the Michigan National Guard and the168th and108th Bombardment Squadrons at Midway. The squadron was once again equipped with Invaders, now called B-26s.
In November 1950, the National Guard reorganized under theWing Base Organization used by the regular Air Force and the group became the operational element of the new126th Composite Wing as the126th Composite Group, adding afighter squadron, but losing its Michigan squadron. In February, the group became a bombardment unit again. It wasmobilized for theKorean War in April, adding the115th Bombardment Squadron when it moved toLangley Air Force Base, Virginia. It moved to France at the end of the year to reinforceNATO. On 1 January 1953, it was inactivated and returned to the National Guard. Its personnel and equipment were transferred to the38th Bombardment Group, which was simultaneously activated.[2][9]
The group was activated the same day in the Guard at Midway Airport as the126th Fighter-Bomber Group.[2] The group moved toO'Hare International Airport, Illinois in 1954 It continued to fly fighters until 1961 as the126th Fighter-Interceptor Group and126th Fighter Group (Air Defense) until 1961, when it became the126th Air Refueling Group. In 1974, the Air Force inactivated Air National Guard groups located on the same base as their parent wing, and the group inactivated on 9 December, transferring its units to the 126th Air Refueling Wing.
In 1992, the Air Force began to implement its Objective Wing organization with National Guard units, and the group was activated at O'Hare International Airport, Illinois as the126th Operations Group with the 108th Air Refueling Squadron and 126th Operations Support Squadron. In 1999, following the recommendations of the1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission it moved toScott Air Force Base, Illinois.
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