108th Operations Group
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108th Operations Group
Latin for 'Through the Skies to Victory') (later Victory Through the Sky) | |
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Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Neel E. Kearby |
Insignia | |
108th Operations Group emblem[1][a] | ![]() |
Tail stripe | Blue stripe "New Jersey" in yellow |
The 108th Operations Group is a unit of the
Its
Overview
The 108th Group mission is
In addition to their primary air refueling mission, the group also supports an Intelligence Squadron and a Contingency Response Group
Units
The 108th Operations Group consists of the following units:[2]
- 108th Operations Support Squadron
- KC-46A) "New Jersey", Orange Fin Flash
- 140th Cyber Operations Squadron
- The 140th Cyber Operations Squadron is one of the twelve Air National Guard Cyber Protection Teams that defend networks and systems against threats.
- 150th Special Operations Squadron (C-32B)
- 170th Air Refueling Squadron(KC-46A)
- 204th Intelligence Squadron
- The 204th Intelligence Squadron is the first Air National Guard squadron that is solely dedicated to providing intelligence instruction and training products to the Air Mobility Command. It is also the first course of its kind in the intelligence community that integrates active duty, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve students.
During
On 24 May 1946, the group was redesignated the 108th Fighter Group and allotted to the National Guard.
History
World War II
The 348th Fighter Group was activated at
1943
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Oneill-348fg.jpg/220px-Oneill-348fg.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/de/P-47d-42-75332-348FG.jpg/220px-P-47d-42-75332-348FG.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/P-47d-42-8053-348FG.jpg/220px-P-47d-42-8053-348FG.jpg)
After an extended period of training in the northeast United States, the personnel boarded the
The group's P-47D Thunderbolts began to arrive in Brisbane in the same month, and by the end of July after they had "run in" their engines on local training flights, the group began long-range missions to strike at Japanese targets in
The arrival of the 348th as the first P-47 group in the Southwest Pacific area coincided with the opening of the Allied offensive in New Guinea. During the summer of 1943 the P-47 missions were chiefly as cover for bombers in the Lae-Salamaua area, and for transports carrying supplies to the new mountain locked airstrip at Tsili, only a few miles from the Japanese held Markham Valley. The group met its first air combat over Tsili on 16 August 1943, when two squadrons tangled with the fighter cover of an enemy bomber formation, and shot down three aircraft.
In September the 348th's planes provided cover for the paratroop landing at Nadzab in the Markham valley, and with the capture of Nadzab and Lae the group entered into one of the most spectacular phases of its overseas career, in a series of fighter sweeps, generally by flights of four planes, over the Japanese stronghold of Wewak.
1944
In 1944 the group began to attack airfields, installations, and shipping in western New Guinea, Ceram, and Halmahera to aid in neutralizing those areas preparatory to the US invasion of the Philippines. The group's pilots shot down 100 Japanese planes without the loss of a single pilot in aerial combat. From Finschhafen the group flew its first fighter-bomber missions. In the early spring of 1944, while the group was at Saidor, fighter-bomber work began in earnest with attacks on the Japanese concentrations in the Hansa Bay region just ahead of the advancing Australian troops
After 18 months in New Guinea the 348th boarded ship and plane for the Philippines. One squadron, the 460th, arrived several weeks before the other three, and proceeded to roll up an imposing score of enemy planes, shipping, and personnel destroyed, providing cover for convoys, flying patrols, escorted bombers, attacked enemy airfields, and supporting ground forces. During a three-week period it sank 50,000 tons of enemy shipping, which was slightly more than one-tenth of all the shipping sunk by the entire
The group's greatest day, in point of total of enemy planes destroyed, was 14 December 1944 when, in protection of the invasion fleet heading to
In aerial combat at the 348th's best day came on 24 December 1944 when its planes escorting
Early in December 1944, while the group's planes were operating from Taoloban strip, the majority of group personnel were camped inland near Burauen when the Japanese landed several hundred paratroops on an uncompleted airstrip less than a quarter of a mile from the group's camp, cutting the only road leading from the camp. For several days the camp was isolated between the paratroops on the East and the Japanese patrols on the West. Two men on guard post were surprised and killed by an enemy patrol, but the camp defense's prevented any breakthrough and the paratroops were finally wiped out by infantry and tanks.
When U.S. troops landed on
1945
At the time the 348th began ground support operations from San Marcelino, the infantry had taken Subic Bay and
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/P-51d-DirtyOldMan-342dfs.jpg/220px-P-51d-DirtyOldMan-342dfs.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/16/348th_lt_michalowski_standing.jpg/220px-348th_lt_michalowski_standing.jpg)
On Leyte the 348th had done experimental bombing with a new and highly effective
Occasionally the curtain of "unobserved results" would lift. One strike, directed by Filipino guerrillas who set off smoke pots to mark tan enemy bivouac area, was later found to have caused 700 Japanese casualties.
After another strike west of Fort Stotsenburg, ground troops were able to move in quickly and found 574 Japanese, all killed by the single air attack. Neigher of those missions involved more than 32 sorties and 30 missions a day. It would be impossible to estimate how many other thousands of enemy dead were covered with the phrase "results unobserved".
During the month of April 1945 the 348th net a record for tonnage of bombs dropped on the enemy, with a total of 2091.5 tons. Total ammunition expended was just under two million rounds. So far as is known, this bomb tonnage is the greatest every dropped in one month by any group, either fighter or bomber, and the accuracy of the bombing attested repeatedly by reports from ground observers. Most of the record tonnage was dropped in the Ipo Dam area northeast of
In May 1945 the group moved to Floridablanca airfield, west of Fort Stotsenburg, and from there continued attacks on Japanese ground troops, chiefly in the Cagayan Valley in northern Luzon. By the middle of June the enemy forces had disintegrated and scattered so that profitable targets were hard to find, So operations of the 348th were redirected to the
Contrary to expectations the Japanese air forces did not choose to fight, and in the following month only 15 enemy planes were shot down without loss to the 348th in air combat. However, there was an abundance of ground and shipping targets in
In the immediate postwar era, the group moved to Itami Airfield, Japan in October 1945 as part of
Summary of Victories
Colonel Kearby went on to score 22 aerial victories. Other aerial aces of the group were Lt. Colonel
Air National Guard
The 348th Fighter Group was redesignated as the
Initially, the group reported to the
Mobilization for the Korean War
In March 1951, the group was called to active duty and moved to
Air defense
With return to state control, the group assumed the
Tactical fighter
The 108th Wing had been mobilized during the Berlin Crisis of 1961. This mobilization demonstrated that although mobilizing a wing with dispersed flying units was not a problem when the entire wing was called to active service, mobilizing individual flying squadron and elements to support it proved difficult.[7] To resolve this, the Air Force determined to reorganize its National Guard wings by establishing groups with support elements for each of its squadrons to facilitate mobilization of elements of wings in various combinations when needed.[8] Shortly after the 108th Wing returned to state control in July, the group was again activated as this plan was implemented. The group remained active until December 1974, when the Air Force inactivated groups located on the same station as the wing to which they were assigned.
Objective wing
In 1973 the group was activated again as the 108th Operations Group as the Air Force implemented the Objective Wing organization in the Air National Guard. It once again became the flying organization of the 108th Wing, equipped with Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers.
The 150th Special Operations Squadron was later added to the group, flying Boeing C-32s. On 20 September 2023, the group flew its last mission with the KC-135R, as it transitioned to becoming an associate squadron of the 305th Air Mobility Wing, flying Boeing KC-46 Pegasus tankers.[9]
Lineage
- Constituted as the 348th Fighter Group on 24 September 1942
- Activated on 30 September 1942
- Inactivated on 10 May 1946
- Redesignated 108th Fighter Group, Single Engine and allotted to the National Guard on 24 May 1946
- Activated on 15 August 1946
- Federally recognized on 16 October 1946
- Federalized and called to active duty, 1 March 1951
- Redesignated 108th Fighter-Bomber Group on 16 May 1951
- Released from active duty and returned to New Jersey state control on 1 December 1952[10]
- Redesignated 108th Fighter-Interceptor Group on 1 July 1955
- Inactivated on 1 July 1958
- Redesignated: 108th Tactical Fighter Group
- Activated on 1 July 1958
- Federalized and called to active duty, 1 October 1961
- Released from active duty and returned to New Jersey state control on 30 August 1962
- Inactivated on 9 December 1974
- Redesignated 108th Operations Group
- Activated c. 1 January 1993
Assignments
- Boston Fighter Winguntil 9 May 1943)
- 309th Bombardment Winguntil 25 September 1945, 310th Bombardment Wing until 25 March 1946)
- New Jersey National Guard, 15 August 1946
- 52d Fighter Wing, c. 1 October 1947
- 108th Fighter Wing (later 108th Fighter-Bomber Wing), 1 November 1950 – 1 December 1952
- 108th Fighter-Bomber Wing (later 108th Fighter Interceptor Wing), 1 December 1952 – 1 October 1958
- 108th Tactical Fighter Wing, 1 October 1962 – 9 December 1974
- 108th Air Refueling Wing (later 108th Wing), c. 1 January 1993 – present
Components
- 119th Fighter Squadron (later 119th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 119th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron), 28 December 1946 – c. 1950, c. March 1953 - 1 October 1958, 1 October 1961 – 15 October 1962
- 141st Tactical Fighter Squadron (later 141st Air Refueling Squadron): 8 September 1973 – 9 December 1974, 1 October 1993 – present[g]
- 149th Fighter Squadron, 28 February 1951 – 1 December 1951
- 150th Air Refueling Squadron(later 150th Special Operations Squadron), 1 October 1993 – 31 March 2008, unknown – present
- 153d Fighter Squadron(later 153d Fighter-Bomber Squadron), 28 February 1951 – 1 December 1952
- 170th Air Refueling Squadron, 11 March 2023 - present
- 340th Fighter Squadron: 30 September 1942 – 10 May 1946
- 341st Fighter Squadron (later 141st Fighter Squadron, 141st Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 141st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron: 30 September 1942 – 10 May 1946, c. 26 May 1949 – 1 December 1952, 1 December 1952 – 1 October 1958, 1 October 1962 – 8 September 1973
- 342d Fighter Squadron (later 142d Fighter Squadron): 30 September 1942 – 10 May 1946, 6 September 1946 – 1 November 1950
- 460th Fighter Squadron: 23 September 1944 – 10 May 1946
Stations
- Mitchel Field, New York, 30 September 1942
- Bradley Field, Connecticut, 4 October 1942
- Westover Field, Massachusetts, 29 October 1942
- Providence Airport, Rhode Island, c. 3 January 1943
- Westover Field, Massachusetts, 28 April-9 May 1943
- Jackson Airfield (7 Mile Drome), Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, 23 June 1943
- Finschhafen Airfield, New Guinea, 16 December 1943
- Saidor Airfield, New Guinea, 29 March 1944
- Wakde Airfield, Netherlands East Indies, 22 May 1944
- Schouten Islands, New Guinea, 26 August 1944
- Tacloban Airfield, Leyte, Philippines, 16 November 1944
- Tanauan Airfield, Leyte, Philippines, 4 February 1945
- Floridablanca Airfield, Luzon, Philippines, 15 May 1945
- Okinawa, 9 July 1945
- Itami Airfield, Japan, October 1945 – 10 May 1946
- Newark Municipal Airport, New Jersey, 15 August 1946
- Turner Air Force Base, Georgia, 1 March 1951
- Godman Air Force Base, Kentucky, 11 December 1951 – 1 December 1952[10]
- McGuire Air Force Base (became part of Joint Base McGuire Dix Lakehurst), New Jersey, 1 December 1952 – present
Aircraft
- Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, 1942–1945, 1946–1952
- North American P-51 Mustang, 1945, 1952–1955
- North American F-86 Sabre, 1955–1958, 1962–1965
- Republic F-105 Thunderchief, 1965–1974
- Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, 1993–2023
- Boeing KC-46 Pegasus, 2023–present
See also
References
Notes
- Explanatory notes
- ^ The group uses the 108th Wing emblem with the group designation on the scroll. Air Force Instruction 84-105, Organizational Lineage, Honors and Heraldry, 19 March 2013, para 3.3.3.
- ^ Aircraft is Republic P-47D-11-RA Thunderbolt, serial 42-22903, Kathy/Veni Vidi Vici. O'Neill survived the war and reached ace status with a total of 5 aerial victories.
- ^ Aircraft is Republic P-47D-11-RE Thunderbolt, serial 42-75332.
- ^ Aircraft is Republic P-47D-2-RE Thunderbolt. serial 42-8053. This plane was destroyed in a ground collision on 18 June 1943. Baugher, Joe (2 June 2023). "1942 USAF Serial Numbers". Joe Baugher. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ Aircraft is North American P-51D-10-NA, serial 44-14175 Dirty Old Man.
- ^ The group's 142d Squadron was also mobilized, but was transferred to Air Defense Command, becoming an interceptor unit.
- ^ On 8 September 1973, the 141st Tactical Fighter Squadron was withdrawn from the National Guard and inactivated, redesignated the 341st Fighter Squadron and disbanded. The 141st Aero Squadron (Pursuit), which had been demobilized on 19 July 1919 was reconstituted, redesignated the 141st Tactical Fighter Squadron, allotted to the Air National Guard and activated in its place. DAF/PRM Letter 719p, Subject: Organization Actions Affecting Certain Air National Guard units, 31 July 1973.
- Citations
- ^ a b c Maurer, Combat Units, pp. 226-228
- ^ Harbison, TSG Barb (2010). "What's in a Name?". GuardLife. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
- ^ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 423
- ^ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 424-425
- ^ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 590
- ^ See Cantwell, p. 148 for the same mission performed by reserve units.
- ^ Cantwell, pp. 189-191
- ^ See Cantwell, p. 156 (similar problem with reserve units)
- ^ German, Howard (2 October 2023). "JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst's KC-135R Final Salute". The Aviationist. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ^ a b Lineage, including stations, through 1952 in Maurer, Combat Units, pp. 226-228
Bibliography
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961]. Air Force Combat Units of World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. LCCN 61060979. Retrieved 17 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. OCLC 72556. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
- Oleson, James. In Their Own Words: the Final Chapter. True Stories From American Fighter Aces., iUniverse, 2011 ISBN 1450290469, 9781450290463
- Stanaway, John C. Kearby's Thunderbolts: A History of the 348th Fighter Group. St. Paul, Minnesota: Phalanx Publishing Company, 1992. 108 pages.
- Stanaway, John C. Kearby's Thunderbolts: The 348th Fighter Group in World War II. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing, 1997. ISBN 0-7643-0248-5. 220 pages.
- Wistrand, R. B. Pacific Sweep: A Pictorial History of the Fifth Air Force Fighter Command. F.H. Johnson, 1945. ASIN: B000ZUS7DW.
- Wyper, W. W. The Youngest Tigers in the Sky. California: the Author, 1980.