131st Operations Group

The mission of the 131st 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 the 509th Bomb Wing. The group also organizes, trains, and prepares a force of citizen airmen to defend and serve the people of Missouri. ==Units==

• 110th Bomb Squadron • 110th Operations Support Flight ==History==

World War II The group was activated as the 364th Fighter Group on 1 June 1943 at Grand Central Airport (California), with the 383rd, 384th and 385th Fighter Squadrons assigned. The group trained with Lockheed P-38 Lightnings in California through 1943 with each squadron flying from a different station. The group assembled at Santa Maria Army Air Field, California in December, and departed for the European Theater of Operations in January 1944. It arrived at its combat station, RAF Honington, England in February 1944, where it became part of VIII Fighter Command. 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 the 20th Fighter Group. While the group flew dive bombing, strafing and patrol missions in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, it initially operated primarily as an escort for Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bombers. 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 in Berlin, Regensburg, Merseburg, Stuttgart, Brussels and elsewhere. During a raid on Frankfurt on 27 December 1944, the group dispersed a large group of Luftwaffe interceptors attacking the Martin B-26 Marauder formation the group was escorting. For this action, the unit was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation. In addition to its escort duties, the group also flew air 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 in Operation Market Garden, the effort to secure a bridgehead across the Rhine, in September 1944; the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944 and January 1945; and Operation Lumberjack, the assault across the Rhine in Germany in March 1945. The squadron flew its last combat mission on 25 April 1945. Following V-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 the , 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. Global Strike Command The 131st Bomb Wing's transition to Air 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. ==Lineage==

• Constituted as the 364th Fighter Group on 25 May 1943 : Activated on 1 June 1943 : Inactivated on 10 November 1945 • Redesignated 131st Fighter Group and allotted to the Air National Guard on 24 May 1946 : Federal recognition on 15 July 1946 : Redesignated 131st Composite Group on 1 November 1950 : Redesignated: 131st Fighter Group on 1 February 1951 : Called to active duty on 1 March 1951 : Redesignated 131st Fighter-Bomber Group on 9 April 1951 : Inactivated and returned to Missouri state control, 1 December 1952 : Redesignated 131st Bombardment Group, Light on 1 December 1952 : Redesignated 131st Bombardment Group, Tactical in 1955 : Redesignated 131st Fighter-Interceptor Group on 15 June 1957 : Inactivated 1 November 1958 • Redesignated 131st Tactical Fighter Group : Activated 1 August 1962 : Inactivated 30 September 1974 : Redesignated 131st Operations Group : Activated 1 January 1993 Assignments • IV Fighter Command, 1 June 1943 – 11 January 1944 • 67th Fighter Wing, 10 February 1944 (attached to: 1st Bombardment Division (later 1st Air Division), 15 September 1943 – 3 November 1945 • Army Service Forces, 9–10 November 1945 • 66th Fighter Wing, 15 July 1946 • 71st Fighter Wing, 1 January 1947 • 131st Composite Wing (later 131st Fighter Wing, 131st Fighter-Bomber Wing), 1 November 1951 – 1 December 1952 • 131st Bombardment Wing (later 131st Fighter-Interceptor Wing), 1 December 1952 – 1 November 1958 • 131st Tactical Fighter Wing, 1 October 1962 – 30 September 1974 • 131st Fighter Wing (later 131st Bomb Wing), 1 January 1993 – present Components • 110th Fighter Squadron (later 110th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 110th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 110th Fighter Squadron, 110th Bomb Squadron), 23 September 1946 – 1 November 1952, 1 November 1952 – 1 November 1958, 1 October 1962 – 30 September 1974, 1 January 1993 – present • 122d Bombardment Squadron, 1 January 1953 – 15 June 1957 :: New Orleans Lakefront Airport • 169th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 1 August 1962 – 15 October 1962 :: Greater Peoria Airport • 170th Fighter-Bomber Squadron (later 170th Tactical Fighter Squadron), 1 February 1951 – 1 December 1952, 1 August 1962 – 15 October 1962 • 180th Bombardment Squadron, 1 November 1950 – 1 February 1951; 1 January 1953 – 10 April 1958 :: Rosecrans Memorial Airport • 192d Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 1 February 1951 – 1 September 1952 • 383d Fighter Squadron: 1 June 1943 – 10 November 1945 England, February 1944 – c. November 1945 • Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, 9–10 November 1945 • Lambert Field, Missouri, 15 July 1946 : Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas, 1 March 1951 : George Air Force Base, California, July 1951 – 1 December 1952 • Lambert Field, Missouri, 1 December 1952 – 1 November 1958 • Robertson Air National Guard Base, Missouri, 1 January 1993 • Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, 4 Oct 2008 – present Aircraft • Lockheed P-38J Lightning. 1943–1944 • North American P-51D (later F-51D) Mustang, 1944–1945, 1946–1952 • North American P-51K Mustang, 1944–1945 • Douglas B-26 Invader, 1946–1957 • Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star, 1957 • Republic F-84 Thunderjet, 1957–1958 • Republic F-84F Thunderstreak, 1957–1958 • North American F-100C Super Sabre, 1962–1971 • North American F-100D Super Sabre, 1971–1974 • North American F-100F Super Sabre, 1962–1974 • McDonnell Douglas F-15A Eagle, 1993–2004 • McDonnell Douglas F-15B Eagle, 1993–2004 • McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagle, 2004–2009 • McDonnell Douglas F-15D Eagle, 2004–2009 • Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit, 2009–present ==References==