47th Operations Group: Difference between revisions

47th Operations Group
Emblem of the 47th Operations Group
Active	1941-1949; 1951-1955; 1991-Present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Type	Training
Part of	47th Flying Training Wing
Garrison/HQ	Laughlin Air Force Base

The 47th Operations Group (47 OG) is the flying component of the 47th Flying Training Wing, assigned to the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command. The group is stationed at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas.

The 47th Operations Group contains five flying squadrons, one support squadron, and a maintenance flight. The Operations Group is responsible for training US Air Force and allied nation pilots under the Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training Program (SUPT).

The group provides management, control, and standardization/evaluation of all aspects of flying training operations, aircraft maintenance, and airfield management at Laughlin AFB, Texas.

Squadrons of the 47th Operations Group (Tail Code: XL) are:

• 47th Operations Support Squadron
• 84th Flying Training Squadron, T-6 Texan II, Red Tail Stripe, "Panthers"
• 85th Flying Training Squadron, T-6 Texan II, Yellow Tail Stripe, "Tigers"
• 86th Flying Training Squadron, T-1 Jayhawk, Black Tail Stripe, "Rio Lobos"
• 87th Flying Training Squadron, T-38 Talon, "Red Bulls"
• 96th Flying Training Squadron, T-1A, T-6, T-38 (AFRES)
• 434th Fighter Training Squadron, T-38 Talon, Red Tail Stripe

• Established as 47 Bombardment Group (Light) on 20 Nov 1940

Activated on 15 Jan 1941

Redesignated: 47 Bombardment Group, Light (Night Attack) on 1 May 1946

Redesignated: 47 Bombardment Group, Light, on 22 Aug 1948

Inactivated on 2 Oct 1949

• Activated on 12 Mar 1951

Inactivated on 8 Feb 1955

• Redesignated 47 Operations Group on 9 Dec 1991

Activated on 15 Dec 1991

• General Headquarters Air Force (later, Air Force Combat Command), 15 Jan 1941

Attached to: Northwest Air District [later, Second Air Force], 15 Jan-14 Aug 1941

• 15th Bombardment Wing (Light), 14 Aug 1941
• IV Air Support Command, 1 Sep 1941

Attached to: IV Bomber Command, 17 Dec 1941-15 Feb 1942

• Second Air Force, 15 Feb 1942
• III Bomber Command, 1 May 1942

Attached to: III Ground Air Support Command, 29 Jun-10 Aug 1942

• III Ground Air Support Command, 10 Aug 1942
• XII Air Support Command, 27 Sep 1942

Moroccan Composite Wing, 31 Dec 1942

• XII Air Support Command, 22 Jan 1943
• Twelfth Air Force, 18 Feb 1943

Attached to: Northwest African Tactical Air Force, 18 Feb-20 Mar 1943

Attached to: Northwest African Tactical Bomber Force, 20 Mar-1 Sep 1943

Attached to: XII Air Support Command, 1 Sep-6 Oct 1943

Attached to: 57th Bombardment Wing [Medium], 6 Oct-10 Dec 1943

Attached to: XII Air Support [later, XII Tactical Air] Command, 10 Dec 1943-20 Jul 1944

Attached to: 87th Fighter Wing, 20 Jul-7 Sep 1944

Attached to: XII Tactical Air Command, 7-15 Sep 1944

Attached to: XII Fighter Command [later, XXII Tactical Air Command] , 15 Sep 1944-7 Jun 1945

• I Bomber Command, 11 Jul 1945;
• Third Air Force, 7 Feb 1946;
• Tactical Air Command, 21 Mar 1946;
• Ninth Air Force, 29 May 1946;
• Twelfth Air Force, 1 Nov 1946;
• 47th Bombardment Wing, Light, 15 Aug 1947-2 Oct 1949; 12 Mar 1951-8 Feb 1955.
• 47th Flying Training Wing, 15 Dec 1991-Present

• 20 Reconnaissance (later, 97 Bombardment): attached 15 Jan-14 Aug 1941, assigned 14 Aug 1941-31 Mar 1946
• 84 Bombardment: 15 Jan 1941-2 Oct 1949; 12 Mar 1951-8 Feb 1955 (detached 17 Nov 1952-8 Feb 1955)
• 84th Flying Training Squadron: 15 Dec 1991-1 Oct 1992; 1 Oct 1998-Present
• 85 Bombardment (later, 85 Flying Training): 15 Jan 1941-2 Oct 1949; 12 Mar 1951-8 Feb 1955 (detached 17 Nov 1952-8 Feb 1955); 15 Dec 1991-Present
• 86 Bombardment (later, 86 Flying Training): 15 Jan 1941-2 Oct 1949; 23 Mar 1954-8 Feb 1955 (detached 23 Mar 1954-8 Feb 1955); 15 Dec 1991-15 Sep 1992; 1 Dec 1993-Present
• 87th Flying Training Squadron: 15 Dec 1991-Present
• 115 Bombardment: attached 17 May 1951-12 Feb 1952
• 422 Bombardment: 8 Feb-23 Mar 1954 (detached 8 Feb-23 Mar 1954)
• 434th Fighter Training Squadron: 19 Jul 2007-Present

• Primarily B-18 Bolo, but included DB-7 Boston and LB-30 Liberator, 1941-1942
• A-20 Havoc, 1941-1945
• A-26 (later, B-26) Invader, 1945-1949
• B-45 Tornado, 1949
• Primarily B-45 Tornado, 1951-1952, but included B-26 Invader and F-84 Thunderstreak, 1951
• T-37 Tweet, 1972-2004
• T-38 Talon, 1972-Present
• T-1 Jayhawk, 1993-Present
• T-6 Texan II, 2002-Present

Constituted as 47th Bombardment Group (Light) on November 20, 1940, and activated on January 15, 1941. Operational squadrons of the group were:

• 84th Bomb Squadron 1941–1949
• 85th Bomb Squadron 1941–1949
• 86th Bomb Squadron 1941–1949
• 97th Bomb Squadron 1941–1946

Initially based at McChord Field, Washington, the group's mission was to perform anti-submarine patrols along the Pacific coast with the Douglas B-18 Bolo its primary aircraft. This was a short-lived mission, however, as after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the group began training for duty overseas when it was assigned Douglas A-20Cs which were taken over by the USAAF from Lend-Lease contracts.

Training at several bases in the midwest and southeast, it was first believed that the 47th would be sent to the South Pacific. However shortly after Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of North Africa in November 1942, the 47th became the first USAAF A-20 group to participate in large-scale combat in the North African Campaign, being assigned to Twelfth Air Force.

Flying to a former Vichy French Air Force base at Mediouni, French Morocco. the aircrews used ferry tanks on their A-20s to cross the North Atlantic. The group began operations by flying low-level missions against the enemy in North Africa flying its first combat mission from Youks-les-Bains, Algeria on December 13, 1942.

47th Group A-20s provided valuable tactical support to US and British ground forces, especially during and after the allied defeat at the Battle of the Kasserine Pass. Though undermanned and undersupplied, the group flew eleven missions on February 22 to attack the advancing Nazi armored columns and thus to help stop the enemy’s offensive-an action which helped save the day, and eventually the Germans were forced back into a small perimeter in Tunisia. For these actions, the group was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation.

The 47th remained active in combat during March and April 1943 while training for medium level bombardment. In 1943 the group was upgraded to the A-20G, which increased their forward firepower during low-level strafing missions. Moving to Malta, the group participated in the reduction of Pantelleria and Lampedusa (Operation Corkscrew) in June 1943 and the invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky) in July. The group also bombed German evacuation beaches near Messina in August.

The group supported the British Eighth Army during the invasion of Italy in September. Moving to Italy as part of the Italian Campaign, the group assisted the Allied advance toward Rome, September 1943 – June 1944 at the battles of the Bernhardt Line, Monte Cassino, and Operation Shingle. The 47th began flying numerous night intruder missions after June 1944, and supported the invasion of Southern France from bases in Corsica and also in France during August–September 1944.

Returning to Italy, the group attacked German communications in northern Italy, September 1 – April 4, 1945. Received a second DUC for performance from to April 21–24, 1945 when, in bad weather and over rugged terrain, the group maintained operations for 60 consecutive hours, destroying enemy transportation in the Po Valley to prevent the organized withdrawal of German forces.

After January 1945, the 47th received some new Douglas A-26Cs which flew alongside its A-20s during the last four months of the war for specialized night attacks. The group flew support and interdictory operations attacking such targets as tanks, convoys, bivouac areas, troop concentrations, supply dumps, roads, pontoon bridges, rail lines, and airfields. The A-26 was regarded as being the USAAF's best twin-engined bomber, and plans were being made for the conversion of the 47th to the type.

The 47th Bombardment Group returned to the United States in July 1945 and was reassigned to Seymour Johnson Field, North Carolina. Its mission was to prepare for redeployment to the Pacific Theater for night pathfinder operations against Japan. Its black-painted A-26Cs were equipped with radar however the surrender by Japan in August, 1945, cancelled all redeployment plans.

With the closing of Seymour Johnson in August 1945, the group was reassigned to Lake Charles AAF, Louisiana and was fully equipped with the Douglas A-26 Invader (renamed B-26 in June 1948). The A-26 was selected as the standard light bomber and night reconnaissance aircraft of the postwar USAAF, primarily as the main offensive light bomber of the Tactical Air Command which was created in 1946 out of the remnants of the wartime 9th and 12th Air Forces. At Lake Charles, the unit trained in night tactical operations, conducted firepower demonstrations, and participated in tactical exercises.

The group was moved Biggs Field, Texas in October 1946 when Lake Charles became a Strategic Air Command (SAC) base. At Biggs, the Group was reduced from four to three tactical squadrons when the 97th Bombardment Squadron was deactivated. On July 28, 1947, the 47th Bombardment Wing was established, with the 47th Bombardment Group as its operational unit. The wing became active on August 15, 1947.

On February 1, 1948 Biggs was also turned over to SAC, forcing a relocation of the Wing to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana in November. The 47th moved into the jet age in 1949, when the North American B-45 Tornado, bomber replaced the B-26s. The 47th was the first USAF wing equipped with the B-45.

The 47th was inactivated at Barksdale October 2, 1949 as a result of budgetary reductions. However the 84th and 85th Squadrons continued with the B-45's and moved to Langley AFB, Virginia where they were attached to the 363d Tactical Reconnasance Wing.

On March 12, 1951, the 47th Bombardment Wing was reactivated at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, with tactical squadrons the 84th and 85th. The Wing was the only Jet-Medium Bomber Wing in the Air Force. The new Wing was assigned to Tactical Air Command.

After becoming proficient in the handling and use of nuclear weapons, moved to RAF Sculthorpe, United Kingdom where it began operations there on June 1, 1952. Operational squadrons of the wing were:

• 84th Bombardment Squadron (B-45A, B-66B) (November 17, 1952 – June 22, 1962) (red tail stripe)
• 85th Bombardment Squadron (B-45A, B-66B) (November 17, 1952 – June 22, 1962) (yellow tail stripe)
• 86th Bombardment Squadron (B-45A, B-66B) (March 23, 1954 – June 22, 1962) (blue tail stripe)

For nearly three years, the 47th Wing provided an in-place Atomic Air Strike Force to back up NATO Ground Forces in Europe. In England, the wing was attached to the USAFE Third Air Force 49th Air Division, but remained assigned to Tactical Air Command. The wing provided combat crew training and operated USAF Air Crew School (Light Bombardment and Tactical Reconnaissance). Operational missions of the wing were training for tactical bombardment training operations, including participation in exercises and firepower demonstrations in support of NATO.

Owing to the size of Sculthorpe, the wing operated two B-45A jet bomber squadrons (84th and 85th) from Sculthorpe. In March 1954, a third B-45A jet bomber squadron (86th) was assigned to the wing, but operated from RAF Alconbury in order to accommodate the additional aircraft.

A few months after moving to England that year, the group ceased operations and remained a paper organization until inactivation again in 1955 as a result of the Air Force tri-deputate reorganization.

The group was reactivated in on 9 December 1991 as the 47th Operations Group and assigned to the 47th Flying Training Wing as part of the "Objective Wing" concept adapted by the Air Force. The 47th OG was bestowed the lineage, honors and history of the 47th Bombardment Group and its predecessor units.

The 47OG was assigned the flying components of the wing, and since its reactivation has USAF and Allied pilots using various types of trainer aircraft.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0892010924.
• Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947-1977. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0912799129.