| 52d Operations Group | |
|---|---|
 General Dynamics F-16C Fighting Falcon of the group | |
| Active | 16 Jan 1941 – 7 Nov 1945 9 Nov 1946 – 6 Feb 1952 18 Aug 1955 – 1 July 1963 30 Sep 1968 – 31 Dec 1969 1 Apr 1971 – 31 July 1972 31 Mar 1992 – present |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Type | Fighter |
| Part of | United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa 52d Fighter Wing |
| Garrison/HQ | Spangdahlem Air Base |
| Nickname | Yellow Tails (World War II) |
| Mottos | Seek, Attack, Destroy |
| Engagements | Mediterranean Theater of OperationsKosovo Campaign |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award withCombat "V" Device Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
| Insignia | |
| 52d Operations Gp emblem[note 1] |  |
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The52d Operations Group is the flying component of the52d Fighter Wing, assigned to theUnited States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA). The group is stationed atSpangdahlem Air Base, Germany.
The 52d Operations Group maintains, deploys and employsF-16 Falcon;MQ-9 Reaper aircraft andAN/TPS-75 radar systems in support ofNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and national defense directives. The 52 OG supports theSupreme Allied Commander Europe with mission-ready personnel and systems providingexpeditionary air power for suppression of enemyair defenses, close air support,air interdiction, counterair, air strike control, strategic attack, combatsearch and rescue, and theater airspace control.
The group also supports contingencies and operations other than war as required.
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The 52 OG (Tail Code: SP) commands one flying squadron, one air control and one support squadron
The unit was constituted as the52d Pursuit Group (Interceptor) on 20 November 1940, activated atSelfridge Field, Michigan on 15 January 1941 with the2d,[2]4th,[3] and5th Pursuit Squadrons[4] assigned as its originalsquadrons. It was redesignated as the52d Fighter Group in May 1942.[5] The group trained withBell P-39 Airacobra andCurtiss P-40 aircraft, and participated inmaneuvers with them until 1942 when it moved to the United Kingdom, the air echelon arriving in July 1942 and the ground echelon in August.[5]
Thegroup trained with theRoyal Air Force as part ofEighth Air Force, reequipped withSupermarine Spitfires and flew missions from England to France during August and September of that year.[5]
| RAF Code Letters[6] | |
|---|---|
| 2d Fighter Squadron | QP |
| 4th Fighter Squadron | WD |
| 5th Fighter Squadron | VF |
Group pilots flew Spitfires from Gibraltar to Algeria duringOperation Torch, the invasion of North Africa on 8 November 1942.[5] The remainder of the group arrived by ship after thecampaign in Algeria and Morocco had ended.[5] The group then operated as part ofTwelfth Air Force through April 1944, thereafter becoming a part ofFifteenth Air Force, serving in combat in the Mediterranean until the end ofWorld War II. It flew escort, patrol,strafing, andreconnaissance missions to help defeatAxis forces inTunisia.[5] InSicily, it attacked railroads, highways, bridges, coastal shipping and other targets to support theAllied operations. Having converted toNorth American P-51 Mustangs in April and May 1944, the group escortedbombers that attacked objectives in Italy, France, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Romania, and Yugoslavia.[5] It received aDistinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for a mission on 9 June 1944 when the group protected bombers that struck aircraft factories, communications centers, and supply lines in Germany.[5] The 52d flew one of the first shuttle missions to Russia from 4–6 August 1944, and received a second DUC for strafing attacks on a landing field in Romania on 31 August 1944, destroying a large number of enemyfighter and transport planes.[5] On 24 March 1945, the group's aircraft flew the longest escort mission ever flown in Europe—1600 miles round-trip to Berlin.[citation needed] By the end of the war, the group's Mustangs had adopted yellow markings that covered the entire tail of the aircraft, earning them the nickname of "Yellow Tails.[6] The 52d returned to the US in August 1945 and was inactivated on 7 November 1945.[5]
| Aerial Victories | Number | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Group Hq | 1 | [7] |
| 2d Fighter Squadron | 102.33 | [8] |
| 4th Fighter Squadron | 109 | [9] |
| 5th Fighter Squadron | 103.5 | [10] |
| 52d Group Total | 315.83 |
The 52d was reactivated in Germany on 9 November 1946 and was assigned toUnited States Air Forces Europe as the52d Fighter Group (All Weather).[5][note 2] It receivedNorthrop P-61 Black Widows in early 1947, From 1946 to 1947, the 52d served as part of theoccupation forces in Germany.
In June 1947 the group was transferred without personnel and equipment to the United States, and became the52d Fighter-Interceptor Group in May 1951 again flying P-61s and laterNorth American F-82 Twin Mustangs, receiving its first jets,Lockheed F-94 Starfires beginning in 1950. In 1947, the Air Force began a service test of what was called theHobson Plan[11] to unify control at air bases.[12] As a result of this test, the group was assigned to a provisional fighter wing atMitchel Air Force Base, New York. This test proved the wing-base plan to the satisfaction of the Air Force[11] and in 1948 group was assigned as the operational element of the52d Fighter Wing before moving with the wing toMcGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey.[13] In a major reorganization ofAir Defense Command (ADC) responding to ADC's difficulty under the existing wing base organizational structure in deploying fighter squadrons to best advantage.[14] the 52d was inactivated along with the 52nd Fighter-Interceptor Wing on 6 February 1952[5] and its two operational squadrons were transferred to the recently activated4709th Defense Wing.[15][16]
The 52d was redesignated the52d Fighter Group (Air Defense) and activated atSuffolk County Air Force Base, New York on 18 August 1955, replacing the519th Air Defense Group[17] as part of ADC's Project Arrow, a program to restore fighter units that had achieved distinction in the two World Wars.[5][18] Because one of the additional objectives of Project Arrow was to reunite groups with their traditional squadrons, the 2d[2] and 5th[4] Fighter-Interceptor Squadrons (FIS) moved to Suffolk County from McGuire and took over the personnel, equipment, andradar equipped androcket armedNorth American F-86D Sabre aircraft of the75th and331st FIS, which moved elsewhere.[19] It also became the USAF host organization for Suffolk County and was assigned several support units to fulfill this function.[20][21][22][23]
The 2d FIS converted toF-102 Delta Daggers in January 1957, followed by the 5th FIS in April.[24] In December 1959, the 2d FIS began to flyF-101 Voodoos, while the 5th FIS retained its F-102s until moving toMinot Air Force Base, North Dakota two months later.[4][24] The group served as an air defense unit in the New York/New Jersey area of the United States and also flewanti-submarine warfare missions until being inactivated in 1963 and replaced as the host unit at Suffolk County by the 52d Fighter Wing (Air Defense).[13][25] In 1968, as USAF operations at Suffolk County were reduced, it once again activated with F-101s to replace the 52d wing and close down USAF operations at the station in 1969.[13][25]
The 52d was redesignated the52d Tactical Fighter Group and activated atErding Air Base, West Germany underSeventeenth Air Force in 1971.[13] The group provided administrative and logistical support as the USAF host unit at Erding for F-102 Delta DaggerNATO air defense operations, but had no tactical units assigned. In 1972 the F-102s were withdrawn from Europe and the 52d FG was inactivated.[13]
On 31 March 1992, the group was redesignated the52d Operations Group (OG) and activated as a result of the USAF objective wing reorganization.[13] Upon activation, the 52d OG assumed responsibility for the 52 Fighter Wing's operational squadrons and the newly activated 52d Operations Support Squadron.
During the 1990s, the wing supported no-fly zone operations over Bosnia and northern Iraq and combat operations against Serbia during Operation Allied Force in 1999. After terrorist attacks on the United States in 2001, the wing supported OperationsEnduring Freedom andIraqi Freedom, deploying combat and support elements in support of US and NATO missions. Although the group has also provided forces forOperation Urgent Fury,Operation Just Cause,Operation Southern Watch, Operation Coronet Macaw,Operation Restore Hope, Operation Support Justice andOperation Uphold Democracy, its forces were organized into provisional organizations, rather than remaining under group control for operations.
On 9 November 2012, the 52nd OG formed a detachment atŁask Air Base in Poland – 52nd OG Det 1.[26]
The81st Fighter Squadron was inactivated at Spangdahlem on 18 June 2013, leaving the480th Fighter Squadron as the 52nd OG's sole flying unit.[27]
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Operational Squadrons
Support Organizations
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| Award streamer | Award | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Distinguished Unit Citation | 9 June 1944 | 52d Fighter Group, Munich[5] |
| Distinguished Unit Citation | 31 August 1944 | 52d Fighter Group, Rumania[5] |
 | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award withCombat "V" Device | 19 March 2003 – 16 April 2003 | 52d Operations Group[13] |
 | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | (31 March 1992) – 30 June 1993 | 52d Operations Group[13] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1993 – 30 June 1995 | 52d Operations Group[13] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 August 1995 – 31 July 1997 | 52d Operations Group[13] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1997 – 30 June 1999 | 52d Operations Group[13] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 24 March 1999 – 1 June 1999 | 52d Operations Group[13] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1999 – 30 June 2001 | 52d Operations Group[13] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 2001 – 30 June 2003 | 52d Operations Group[13] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 2003 – 30 June 2005 | 52d Operations Group[13] |
| Campaign or Service Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
.png) | American Theater without inscription | 7 December 1941-24 Jun 42 | 52d Fighter Group |
 | Air Offensive, Europe | 16 August 1942 – 5 June 1944 | 52d Fighter Group[5] |
| Air Combat, EAME Theater | 26 August-11 May 1945 | 52d Fighter Group[5] |
| Algeria-French Morocco | 9 November 1942 – 11 November 1942 | 52d Fighter Group[5] |
| Tunisia | 12 November 1942 – 13 May 1943 | 52d Fighter Group[5] |
| Sicily | 14 May 1943 – 17 August 1943 | 52d Fighter Group[5] |
| Naples-Foggia | 18 August 1943 – 21 January 1944 | 52d Fighter Group[5] |
| Rome-Arno | 22 January 1944 – 9 September 1944 | 52d Fighter Group[5] |
| Normandy | 6 June 1944 – 24 July 1944 | 52d Fighter Group[5] |
| Northern France | 25 July 1944 – 14 September 1944 | 52d Fighter Group[5] |
| Southern France | 15 August 1944 – 14 September 1944 | 52d Fighter Group[5] |
| North Apennines | 10 September 1944 – 4 April 1945 | 52d Fighter Group[5] |
| Rhineland | 15 September 1944 – 21 March 1945 | 52d Fighter Group[5] |
| Central Europe | 22 March 1944 – 21 May 1945 | 52d Fighter Group[5] |
| Po Valley | 3 April 1945 – 8 May 1945 | 52d Fighter Group[5] |
 | World War II Army of Occupation (Germany) | 9 November 1946 – 15 June 1947 | 52d Fighter Group |
 | Kosovo | 52d Operations Group[13] |
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This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
Further reading
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