463rd Operations Group
463rd C-130 Hercules aircraft on aMinimum Interval Takeoff at the start of a mass airdrop exercise at Dyess
Active	1943–1945; 1953–1957; 1991–1993
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Airlift
Part of	Air Mobility Command
Nickname	The Swoose Group (World War II)[1]
Motto	Turris in CoelisLatin Fortress in the Sky (World War II)[1]
Decorations	Distinguished Unit CitationAir Force Outstanding Unit Award
Insignia
463rd Operations Group emblem
463rd Bombardment Group emblem[1]
World War II tail marking[1]	Y on an inverted, arced triangle, yellow rudder

TheUnited States Air Force's463rd Operations Group was a tacticalairlift unit last stationed atDyess Air Force Base, Texas. It was inactivated on 1 October 1993.

DuringWorld War II as the 463rd Bombardment Unit, it was second-to-lastB-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber group trained in the United States. It was deployed toSouthern Italy as part of theFifteenth Air Force in March 1944.

Constituted as463rd Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 19 May 1943. Activated on 1 August 1943. Trained withBoeing B-17 Flying Fortresses for duty overseas. Moved toItaly, February–March 1944, and assigned toFifteenth Air Force. Operational squadrons were the 772nd, 773rd, 774th and 775th Bombardment Squadrons.

Entered combat on 30 March 1944 and operated chiefly against strategic objectives. Attacked such targets as marshaling yards, oil refineries, and aircraft factories in Italy, Germany, Austria,Czechoslovakia, Romania,Yugoslavia, andGreece.

The group received aDistinguished Unit Citation for bombing oil refineries inPloiești on 18 May 1944: when clouds limited visibility to such an extent that other groups turned back, the 463rd proceeded to Ploiești and, though crippled by opposition from interceptors and flak, rendered destructive blows to both the target and the enemy fighters.

Received a second Distinguished Unit Citation for leading the wing through three damaging enemy attacks to bomb tank factories in Berlin on 24 March 1945. Also engaged interdiction and support missions. Bombed bridges during May and June 1944 in the campaign for the liberation of Rome.

Participated in theinvasion of Southern France in August 1944 by striking bridges, gun positions, and other targets. Hit communications such as railroad bridges, marshalling yards, and airdromes in theBalkans. Operated primarily against communications in northern Italy during March and April 1945.

The "Swoose" Group was commanded by Col.Frank Kurtz, a pre-war Olympic swimmer and pilot of the famed B-17 "The Swoose" in the Pacific during 1941–42.

AfterV-E Day, transported personnel from Italy toCasablanca for return to the US. Inactivated in Italy on 25 September 1945. Flew 222 combat missions; 91 aircraft lost.

The group was redesignated463rd Troop Carrier Group in 1952 and activated atMemphis Airport, Tennessee on 16 January 1953. The group was assigned to the463rd Troop Carrier Wing and equipped withFairchild C-119 Flying Boxcars. It received its personnel and aircraft from the516th Troop Carrier Group, a reserve unit that had been called to active duty for theKorean War, which was simultaneously inactivated. On 1 September, the wing moved toArdmore Air Force Base, Oklahoma. In 1957 it began replacing its C-119s with the newLockheed C-130A Hercules turboprop transport. In September 1957 the group was inactivated and its squadrons assigned directly to the 463rd Wing.

The group was redesignated463rd Operations Group and reactivated atDyess Air Force Base, Texas in November 1991 as part of the Air Force's Objective Wing reorganization. The group was inactivated on 1 October 1993 and its personnel and equipment were transferred to the incoming7th Operations Group

• Constituted as the463rd Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 19 May 1943

Activated on 1 August 1943

Redesignated463rd Bombardment Group, Heavy on 29 September 1944

Inactivated on 25 September 1945

• Redesignated463rd Troop Carrier Group, Medium on 1 December 1952

Activated on 16 January 1953

Inactivated 25 September 1957

• Redesignated463rd Tactical Airlift Group on 31 July 1985^[2]
• Redesignated463rd Operations Group

Activated on 1 November 1991

Inactivated on 1 October 1993

• Fourth Air Force, 1 August – 5 November 1943
• Third Air Force, 5 November 1943 – 1 February 1944
• 5th Bombardment Wing, 9 March 1944 – 25 September 1945
• 463rd Troop Carrier Wing, 16 January 1953 – 25 September 1957
• 463rd Airlift Wing, 1 November 1991 – 1 October 1993

• 772nd Bombardment Squadron (later 772nd Troop Carrier Squadron, 772nd Airlift Squadron): 1 August 1943 – 25 September 1945; 16 January 1953 – 25 September 1957, 1 November 1991 – 1 October 1993
• 773rd Bombardment Squadron (later 773d Troop Carrier Squadron, 773rd Airlift Squadron): 1 August 1943 – 25 September 1945; 16 January 1953 – 25 September 1957, 1 November 1991 – 1 October 1993
• 774th Bombardment Squadron (later 772nd Troop Carrier Squadron, 774th Airlift Squadron): 1 August 1943 – 25 September 1945; 16 January 1953 – 25 September 1957, 1 November 1991 – 1 October 1993
• 775th Bombardment Squadron (later 775th Troop Carrier Squadron): 1 August 1943 – 25 September 1945; 8 June 1955 – 1 August 1957

• Geiger Field, Washington, 1 August 1943
• Rapid City Army Air Base, South Dakota, August 1943
• MacDill Field, Florida, 5 November 1943
• Lakeland Army Air Field, Florida, 1 January – February 1944
• Celone Airfield, Italy 9 March 1944 – 25 September 1945
• Memphis Municipal Airport, Tennessee, 16 January 1953
• Ardmore Air Force Base, Oklahoma, 1 September 1953 – 25 September 1957
• Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, 1 November 1991 – 1 October 1993

 This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• Endicott, Judy G. (1998).Active Air Force Wings as of 1 October 1995 and USAF Active Flying, Space, and Missile Squadrons as of 1 October 1995(PDF). Air Force History and Museums Program. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.ASIN B000113MB2. Retrieved2 July 2014.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961].Air Force Combat Units of World War II(PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.ISBN 0-912799-02-1.LCCN 61060979. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 20 December 2016.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969].Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II(PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.ISBN 0-405-12194-6.LCCN 70605402.OCLC 72556. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 20 December 2016.
• Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984).Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947–1977. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.ISBN 0-912799-12-9.
• Rogers, Brian. (2005).United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978. Hinkley, UK: Midland Publications.ISBN 1-85780-197-0.
• Watkins, Robert A. (2009).Insignia and Aircraft Markings of the U.S. Army Air Force in World War II. Vol. IV, European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations. Atglen, PA: Shiffer Publishing, Ltd.ISBN 978-0-7643-3401-6.

• Little Rock AFB Official Website
• Joe's USAF Blue Book
• 463rd Bomb Group Historical Society Website
• "C-130 Dyess timeline". Abilene Reporter News. 23 April 2011. Archived fromthe original on 12 August 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2014.

• Military units and formations established in 1943
• Operations groups of the United States Air Force

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