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| 451st Air Expeditionary Group | |
|---|---|
 AnMQ-1 Predator taxis for anOperation Enduring Freedom mission | |
| Active | 1943–1945; 1961–1965; 2002–c.2021 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Command of Air Expeditionary forces |
| Size | Wing |
| Part of | 9th Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force |
| Garrison/HQ | Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan |
| Engagements | World War II European Campaign (1943–1945) War in Afghanistan (2001-2021) |
| Insignia | |
| 451st Air Expeditionary Wing emblem |  |
| 451st Strategic Missile Wing emblem(Approved 29 June 1962)[1] |  |
| Unofficial 451st Bombardment Group emblem[2] |  |
The451st Air Expeditionary Group was a provisionalUnited States Air ForceUSAFCENT unit. It was assigned toKandahar Airfield and is also the host unit at Kandahar. It reported to the455th Air Expeditionary Wing atBagram Air Base.
Thegroup provided intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, command and control, remotely piloted aircraft operations, and airborne data link capabilities.
During theCold War, theStrategic Air Command451st Strategic Missile Wing was the first fully operationalHGM-25A Titan IICBM wing in 1962. During World War II, the wing's predecessor unit, the451st Bombardment Group was aConsolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bombardment organization, assigned toFifteenth Air Force in Italy.
The first predecessor of thegroup was activated on 1 May 1943 as the451st Bombardment Group atDavis–Monthan Field, Arizona, with the724th,725th,726th and727th Bombardment Squadrons assigned as its original elements.[4][5] Although original plans were for the group to be anOperational Training Unit at Davis–Monthan, instead acadre of the group moved toDyersburg Army Air Base, Tennessee, where it was filled out by personnel drawn from the346th Bombardment Group. Key group staff, plus the commanders and a model crew from each squadron received advanced tactical training with theArmy Air Forces School of Applied Tactics atOrlando Army Air Base, Florida. This cadre joined the remainder of the group atWendover Field, Utah for training with theConsolidated B-24 Liberator.[6] The group continued its training atFairmont Army Air Field, Nebraska, starting in September. On 18 November, the air echelon of the group departed Fairmont for staging atLincoln Army Air Field, Nebraska to ferry their aircraft via the Southern Ferrying Route to theMediterranean Theater of Operations. The ground echelon left on 26 November for the port of embarkation atCamp Patrick Henry, Virginia, for transportation by ship.[7]
The group arrived atGioia del Colle Airfield, Italy at the beginning of January 1944, although the air echelon remained atTelergma Airfield, Algeria until 20 January to conduct additional training.[8] The group functioned primarily as astrategic bombing unit, attacking targets like oil refineries,marshalling yards, aircraft factories andairfields in Italy, Germany, France, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Greece and Albania. It earned aDistinguished Unit Citation duringBig Week for an attack on aMesserschmitt aircraft factory atRegensburg, Germany on 25 February 1944. It added oak leaf clusters to this award for an attack on oil refineries and marshalling yards atPloesti, Romania on 5 April 1944 and onMarkersdorf-Haindorf Airfield nearVienna, Austria on 23 August 1944. On each of these missions the 451st was opposed by large numbers of enemyinterceptor aircraft and heavyflak, but fought its way through to inflict serious damage on the targets and destroy many enemy aircraft.[4]
When returning from the Regensburg attack, runway conditions at Gioia del Colle were so poor that the aircraft of the 451st Group were unable to land there, but spread out among a number of bases in Italy. These poor conditions continued and on 8 March groupheadquarters and the 724th and 726th Squadrons moved toSan Pancrazio Airfield, Italy, while the 725th and 727th Squadrons moved toManduria Airfield.[9]
On 6 April, the group assembled atCastelluccio Airfield. From its new base, the group also flewair support andinterdiction missions. It helped prepare the way forOperation Dragoon, the invasion of southern France in August 1944. The following month its bombers transported supplies to forces operating in Italy, It also supportedOperation Grapeshot, the final advance ofAllied armies in northern Italy.[4] The group's last mission was flown on 26 April 1945 against marshalling yards atSachsenburg, Austria.[10]
The group left Italy in June 1945, with the air echelon ferrying their planes, while most of the ground echelon sailed on theUSS General M. C. Meigs toNewport News, Virginia.[11] The group assembled later in the month atDow Field, Maine, where it was inactivated on 26 September 1945.[4] Personnel that were not discharged from the service on return to the United States were transferred toAir Transport Command units at Dow.[11]
The second predecessor of the group was organized atLowry Air Force Base, Colorado as the451st Strategic Missile Wing (ICBM-Titan) on 1 July 1961. Thewing assumed the missiles, personnel and equipment of the inactivating703d Strategic Missile Wing.[1] The 703d Wing had never achieved full operational status,[12] so 451st became the first fully operationalHGM-25A Titan I missile wing. Construction on all 18 silos at the six launch complexes was completed by 4 August 1961. On 18 April 1962, Headquarters SAC declared wing's the 724th Squadron operational, and two days later the first Titan Is went on alert status. A month later, the sister 725th Strategic Missile Squadron, which had replaced the849th Strategic Missile Squadron, declared it had placed all nine of its Titan Is on alert status, which marked a first inStrategic Air Command.[citation needed]
On 19 November 1964, Defense SecretaryRobert McNamara announced the phase-out of remaining first-generationSM-65 Atlas and Titan I missiles by the end of June 1965. This objective was met. All wing missiles went off alert status on 26 March 1965 and the wing phased down for inactivation. On 25 June 1965, the wing and the 724th and 725th Squadrons were inactivated.[1] SAC removed the last missile from Lowry on 14 April 1965.[citation needed]
The451st Air Expeditionary Group was activated in 2002, conducting operations from Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. The group was responsible for air control of the southern region of Afghanistan, launch and recovery operations for the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper aircraft, the employment of combat search and rescue forces throughout the entire country, and ground security and airfield defence. Included in the group were safety, logistics, communications, and civil engineer activities.
Due to the growth in size and requirements of the USAF mission at Kandahar, the 451 AEG was enlarged into the 451st Air Expeditionary Wing (451 AEW) and activated as such on 2 July 2009.[13]
The wing was downsized to a group in January 2014 as part of the Afghanistan drawdown.[14]
Former components:
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{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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