459th Operations Group

World War II The group was first activated as the 459th Bombardment Group on 1 July 1943 at Alamogordo Army Air Field, along with its component 756th, 757th, 758th, and 759th Bombardment Squadrons. The group trained with Consolidated B-24 Liberators under Second Air Force Until October, when it moved to Westover Field, Massachusetts. The group flew long-range convoy escort missions over area between the Newfoundland Banks and Long Island Sound in November and December 1943 while Giulia Airfield, its station in Italy, was being constructed. In January 1944, the group began its overseas movement. The group returned to the United States in August 1945, earmarked to conduct strategic air raids on Japan with Boeing B-29 Superfortresses. A cadre reformed at Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota in the middle of the month. The Japanese surrender in August led to the inactivation of unit on 28 August. Also located at Davis–Monthan and assigned to the group was the 57th Fighter Squadron. Although nominally a heavy bomber unit, the group trained with North American T-6 Texans and Beechcraft T-7 Navigators and T-11 Kansans In July 1948, Continental Air Command (ConAC) assumed responsibility for managing reserve and Air National Guard units from ADC. President Truman’s reduced 1949 defense budget required reductions in the number of units in the Air Force. ConAC also reorganized its reserve units under the wing base organization system in June 1949, The group's 756th Squadron moved on paper to Smoky Hill Air Force Base, Kansas, where it was reassigned and became a corollary of Strategic Air Command's 301st Bombardment Wing. Once the group was mobilized in May 1951 SAC reassigned its personnel to other units and the unit inactivated the following month. In the summer of 1956, the group participated in Operation Sixteen Ton during its two weeks of active duty training. Sixteen Ton was performed entirely by reserve troop carrier units and moved United States Coast Guard equipment From Floyd Bennett Naval Air Station to Isla Grande Airport in Puerto Rico and San Salvador in the Bahamas. After the success of Operation Sixteen Ton, the group began to use inactive duty training periods for Operation Swift Lift, transporting high priority cargo for the air force and Operation Ready Swap, transporting aircraft engines, between Air Materiel Command's depots. The Joint Chiefs of Staff were pressuring the Air Force to provide more wartime airlift. At the same time, about 150 Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcars became available from the active force. A third squadron of the group, the 758th Troop Carrier Squadron, was activated at Greater Pittsburgh Airport, Pennsylvania in November 1957, while the 757th Squadron simultaneously moved without personnel or equipment to Youngstown Municipal Airport, Ohio. Both were equipped with the C-119, while the 756th Squadron had begun its own conversion from the C-46. In April 1959 as Continental Air Command converted its operational wing to the dual deputy organization, in which flying and maintenance squadrons were assigned directly to wing headquarters and the group inactivated. Activation as operations group The group was redesignated the 459th Operations Group and reactivated in August 1992 as part of Air Force Reserve Command's reorganization of its units under the Objective Wing model. The group was equipped with the Lockheed C-141B Starlifter. Until September 1994, it participated in contingency and humanitarian airlift operations, training exercises, Air Mobility Command channel flights, and aeromedical evacuation missions. It also provided airlift for the deployment of other units. From October 2001 until September 2003, it supported Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom with intertheater airlift. In 2003, the group mission changed from airlift to air refueling and replaced its Starlifters with Boeing KC-135R Stratotankers. It deployed aircraft and crews in 2005 to provide air refueling support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, adding global air refueling missions to its airlift capabilities. ==Lineage==

• Established as the 459th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 19 May 1943 : Activated on 1 July 1943 : Redesignated 459th Bombardment Group, Heavy on 20 August 1943 : Inactivated on 28 August 1945 • Redesignated 459th Bombardment Group, Very Heavy on 11 March 1947 : Activated in the reserve on 19 April 1947 : Redesignated 459th Bombardment Group, Medium on 27 June 1949 : Ordered to active service on 1 May 1951 : Inactivated on 16 June 1951 : Redesignated 459th Troop Carrier Group, Medium, on 30 December 1954 : Activated in the reserve on 26 January 1955 : Inactivated on 14 April 1959 : Redesignated 459th Tactical Airlift Group on 31 July 1985 (remained inactive) : Redesignated 459th Operations Group and activated in the reserve on 1 August 1992 Assignments • Second Air Force, 1 July 1943 • First Air Force, 31 October 1943 • 304th Bombardment Wing, 25 January 1944 • Second Air Force, 13–28 August 1945 • 304 Bombardment Wing (later 304th Air Division), 19 April 1947 • Eighth Air Force, 27 June 1949 (attached to 43d Bombardment Group) • Fifteenth Air Force, 1 April 1950 – 16 June 1951 (attached to 43d Bombardment Group until 10 February 1951, then to 43d Bombardment Wing) • 459th Troop Carrier Wing, 26 January 1955 – 14 April 1959 • 459th Airlift Wing (later 459th Air Refueling Wing), 1 August 1992 – present Components • 57th Fighter Squadron: 15 May 1947 – 27 June 1949 • 459th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron: 1 October 1994 – present • 459th Operations Support Squadron (later 459th Operations Support Flight): 1 August 1992 – present • 756th Bombardment Squadron (later 756th Troop Carrier Squadron, 756th Airlift Squadron, Air Refueling) Squadron: 1 July 1943 – 28 August 1945; 19 April 1947 – 26 June 1949; 26 January 1955 – 14 April 1959; 1 August 1992 – present • 757th Bombardment Squadron (later 757th Troop Carrier Squadron): 1 July 1943 – 28 August 1945; 12 July 1947 – 27 June 1949; 8 April 1955 – 14 April 1959 • 758th Bombardment Squadron (later 758th Troop Carrier Squadron): 1 July 1943 – 28 August 1945; 12 July 1947 – 27 June 1949; 16 November 1957 – 14 April 1959 • 759th Bombardment Squadron: 1 July 1943 – 28 August 1945; 12 July 1947 – 16 June 1951 • 459th Airlift Control Flight: c. 1 August 1992 – c. 1 October 2003 Stations • Alamogordo Army Air Field, New Mexico, 1 July 1943 • Davis–Monthan Field, Arizona, 28 July 1943 • Kearns Army Air Field, Utah, c. 31 August 1943 • Davis–Monthan Field, Arizona, c. 21 September 1943 • Westover Field, Massachusetts, 31 October 1943 – 3 January 1944 • Giulia Airfield, Italy, c. 12 February 1944 – c July 1945 • Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota, c. 16–28 August 1945 • Long Beach Army Air Field, California, 19 April 1947 • Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, 27 June 1949 – 16 June 1951 • Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, 26 January 1955 – 14 April 1959 • Andrews Air Force Base (later Joint Base Andrews), Maryland, 1 August 1992 – present Aircraft • Consolidated B-24 Liberator, 1943–1945 • Curtiss C-46 Commando, 1955–1957 • Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar, 1957–1959 • Lockheed C-141 Starlifter, 1992–2003 • Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, 2003–present Awards and campaigns ==References==