131st Operations Group | |
|---|---|
 The B-2 "Spirit of Ohio" returns from a training mission, 27 June 2012[a] | |
| Active | 1943–1945; 1946–1952; 1952–1958; 1962–1974; 1993–present |
| Country |  United States |
| Allegiance |  Missouri |
| Branch |  Air National Guard |
| Role | strategic bomber |
| Part of | Missouri Air National Guard |
| Garrison/HQ | Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri |
| Motto | Parati ad Agendum (Latin for 'Ready for Action') |
| Engagements | World War II Operation Northern Watch Operation Odyssey Dawn[1] |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation[2] Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
| Battle honours | European Theater of Operations |
| Insignia | |
| 131st Operations Group emblem[b] |  |
The mission of the131st Operations Group,131st Bomb Wing, is to provide expeditionary, B-2 global strike combat support capabilities to geographic commanders and Commander,United States Strategic Command. This is done by training and equipping airmen to fly the aircraft of the509th Bomb Wing. The group also organizes, trains, and prepares a force of citizen airmen to defend and serve the people of Missouri.[3]
Thegroup was activated as the364th Fighter Group on 1 June 1943 atGrand Central Airport (California), with the383rd,384th and385th Fighter Squadrons assigned. The group trained withLockheed P-38 Lightnings in California through 1943 with each squadron flying from a different station. The group assembled atSanta Maria Army Air Field, California in December, and departed for theEuropean Theater of Operations in January 1944.[2][4][5][6]
It arrived at its combat station,RAF Honington, England in February 1944, where it became part ofVIII Fighter Command.[2] The group flew its first mission with its Lightnings on 3 March 1944.[7]However, during that month, engine problems plagued the group's P-38s, with 16 of them failing to return from missions during the month, including the group commander, Colonel Frederick C. Grambo, while he was flying an orientation mission with the20th Fighter Group.[8] While the group flewdive bombing,strafing and patrol missions in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, it initially operated primarily as an escort forBoeing B-17 Flying Fortress andConsolidated B-24 Liberatorheavy bombers.[2]
It patrolled theEnglish Channel during theD-Day landings in Normandy on 6 June 1944. While it continued flying bomber escort missions, it supported ground forces in France after the invasion by strafing and bombing locomotives,marshalling yards, bridges, barges and other targets. In July, it began to convert from its Lightnings toNorth American P-51 Mustangs, completing the switch in late July.[2][7] The 364th Group had lost almost as many Lightnings as its claims of enemy aircraft destroyed, with the majority of the losses due to accidents and engine failure, not enemy action.[9]
In the summer of 1944, and from then until the end of the war it flew many long-range missions with its Mustangs, escorting heavy bombers that attacked oil refineries, industries and other strategic objectives inBerlin,Regensburg,Merseburg,Stuttgart,Brussels and elsewhere. During a raid onFrankfurt on 27 December 1944, the group dispersed a large group ofLuftwaffeinterceptors attacking theMartin B-26 Marauder formation the group was escorting. For this action, the unit was awarded theDistinguished Unit Citation.[2][10]
In addition to its escort duties, the group also flewair sea rescue missions and carried out patrols. It continued to support ground forces as the battle line moved through France and into Germany. It participated inOperation Market Garden, the effort to secure a bridgehead across theRhine, in September 1944; theBattle of the Bulge in December 1944 and January 1945; andOperation Lumberjack, the assault across the Rhine in Germany in March 1945.[2] The group was credited with the destruction of 263 enemy aircraft during the war. On 27 December Capt Ernest E. Bankey, Jr. became and "ace in a day' when he destroyed five German aircraft.[11][e]
The squadron flew its last combat mission on 25 April 1945. FollowingV-E Day, the squadron remained at Honington, although many squadron members transferred to other units. In September, its remaining aircraft were transferred to depots. Its remaining personnel sailed for the United States on theRMS Queen Elizabeth, departing on 4 November. It arrived at the port of embarkation,Camp Kilmer, New Jersey on 9 November 1945 and was inactivated the following day.[6][7]
364th Ftr Gp
| Aerial Victories | Number | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Group Hq | 9.5 | [12] |
| 383d Fighter Squadron | 76 | [13] |
| 384th Fighter Squadron | 89 | [14] |
| 385th Fighter Squadron | 88.5 | [15] |
| Group Total | 263 |
The wartime 364th Fighter Group was allotted to the National Guard as the131st Fighter Group on 24 May 1946. It was organized atLambert Field, near St Louis, Missouri and was extended federal recognition on 15 July 1946. Assigned to theMissouri National Guard's57th Fighter Wing, the 131st Group controlled the110th Fighter Squadron in St. Louis and the180th Bombardment Squadron atRosecrans Memorial Airport, St Joseph. On 1 November 1950 the71st Fighter Wing was inactivated and its personnel and equipment were assigned to the new131st Composite Wing whenContinental Air Command reorganized its combat units under theWing Base organization. The 131st Wing has been the group's parent ever since.
On 1 March 1951 the 131st was federalized and brought to active duty due to theKorean War. It initially transferred toBergstrom Air Force Base, Texas as the131st Fighter-Bomber Group was composed of the 110th Fighter Squadron, the170th Fighter-Bomber Squadron (Illinois ANG) and the192d Fighter-Bomber Squadron (Nevada ANG).
In November when the group was transferred toTactical Air Command (TAC) and moved toGeorge Air Force Base, California. At George, the unit trained for deployment overseas. On 1 December 1952, its period of federal service terminated and the group was relieved from active duty and returned to theMissouri Air National Guard, while its personnel and equipment at George were transferred to the479th Fighter-Bomber Group.
Returning to Lambert Field, the 131st became a light bombardment group and came under TAC for mobilization. It receivedDouglas B-26 Invaders that returned from theKorean War and trained primarily in night bombardment missions. With the retirement of the B-26 in 1957, the 131st entered the "Jet Age." It received its first jet aircraft in the spring of 1957 when it received someLockheed F-80 Shooting Stars, then in June 1957, with a mission ofair defense. The group was inactivated in November 1958.
After the 131st Wing returned to St. Louis after mobilization for theBerlin Crisis of 1961, the group was reactivated as the131st Tactical Fighter Group and equipped withNorth American F-100C Super Sabres in late 1962. Although not activated during theVietnam War, many of the group's pilots were sent to F-100 squadrons in South Vietnam between 1968 and 1971. The group was again inactivated in 1974, when Air National Guard tactical groups on the same base as their parent wings were discontinued and their squadrons assigned directly to the wing.
The Air Force again reorganized under the Objective Wing model and in 1993, the group again activated as the131st Operations Group. Members were called into service to battle theGreat Flood of 1993. In the post-Cold War era, the unit deployed toIncirlik Air Base, Turkey in support ofOperation Northern Watch in 1996, 1997 and 1998.
On 16 March 2006, the Air Force announced that elements of the group would become an associate unit of the active duty509th Bomb Wing atWhiteman Air Force Base. Consequently, the group transitioned from flying and maintaining the F-15C Eagle fighter to theNorthrop Grumman B-2 Spirit bomber. The final flight of the F-15C Eagle by the 131st occurred in June 2009. The 509th and the 131st joined forces according to what is known as a "classic associate wing" structure. As a result, active duty and Air National Guard pilots and maintainers fly B-2 missions and sustain the aircraft as though they were one unit.[16][17]
The 131st Bomb Wing's transition toAir Force Global Strike Command occurred on 4 October 2008 when the 131st Bomb Wing held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Whiteman. The ceremony celebrated the first official drill for traditional guardsmen at Whiteman and the grand opening of building 3006, the 131st Bomb Wing's first headquarters there. On 16 June 2009, the last F-15 departed Lambert Field. In August 2013, the 131st Bomb Wing was deemed fully mission-capable, meaning that it fully completed the transition to Whiteman Air Force Base.
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency