45th Operations Group

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45th Operations Group
Cassini-Huygens launch.jpg
Cassini–Huygens spacecraft launch, 15 October 1997
Active1941–1942, 1991–2021
CountryFlag of the United States.svg United States
BranchFlag of the United States Space Force.svg  United States Space Force
Type Space Group
Role Space launch
Part of Space Operations Command
Garrison/HQ Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
Motto(s)Ad Astra Latin To the Stars (1942)
Insignia
Patch with 45th Operations Group emblem (Approved 19 July 1967 for Air Force Eastern Test Range) [note 1] 45th Operations Group - Emblem.png
45th Bombardment Group emblem (Approved 6 January 1942) [1] [note 2]
45 bombardment gp-emblem.jpg

The 45th Operations Group was a United States Space Force unit. It was assigned to 45th Space Wing, stationed at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. In May 2021, it was inactivated upon the redesignation of the 45th Space Wing to Space Launch Delta 45.

Contents

Up until 2003, the 45th Operations Group was responsible for program management and operation of up to five squadrons which perform all Eastern Range launch operations including Delta II, Delta III, Atlas II, Atlas III, Titan IV, Space Shuttle, Pegasus, and Athena space launch vehicles.[ citation needed ]

The Operations Group provides support to Naval Ordnance Test Unit operations. In support of space launch operations, the Operations Group coordinates training for the wing, manages all wing spacecraft services systems and facilities, and manages the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Skid Strip and the Patrick Space Force Base air traffic complex, handling more than 24,000 aircraft operations annually.

Components

History

World War II

The group was organized at Army Air Base, Savannah, Georgia in January 1941 as the 45th Bombardment Group and equipped with Douglas A-20 Havocs (along with a few DB-7s, an export version of the A-20). [note 3] Its original assigned squadrons were the 78th, 79th and 80th Bombardment Squadrons. The 17th Reconnaissance Squadron was attached to the group. In June the group moved to Army Air Base, Manchester, New Hampshire, where the 17th Reconnaissance Squadron was assigned to the group as the 92d Bombardment Squadron. [1] [5] [6] [7] [8]

Douglas B-18B equipped for antisubmarine warfare Douglas B-18B (SN 37-530, originally a B-18A) with the MAD tail boom 061128-F-1234S-023.jpg
Douglas B-18B equipped for antisubmarine warfare

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor the squadron began flying antisubmarine patrols off the Atlantic coast. In 1942, it converted to various medium bombers, primarily the Douglas B-18 Bolo, which was equipped with radar for the antisubmarine mission. The group moved to Dover Army Air Field, Delaware in May 1942 and to Miami Army Air Field, Florida in August. Its squadrons were dispersed to various bases along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts [1] [5] [6] [7] [8]

In October 1942, the Army Air Forces organized its antisubmarine forces into the single Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command, which established the 26th Antisubmarine Wing the following month to control its forces operating over the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. [9] [10] The command's bombardment group headquarters, including the 45th, were inactivated and the squadrons, now designated the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th Antisubmarine Squadrons, were assigned directly to the 26th Wing. [1] [5] [6] [7] [8]

Space operations

See Space Launch Delta 45 and 45th Launch Group for related lineage and history information

Reactivated as the 45th Operations Group in November 1991 under Air Force Space Command. Operated "Down-Range" facilities at Antigua, Ascension Island, and Cape Canaveral, Florida; launched DOD payloads into orbit; and collected flight data for evaluation of ballistic missile systems launched from Eastern Launch sites for DOD, NASA, and commercial customers. Provided support for DOD, NASA, and commercial manned and unmanned space programs.

There were several organizational changes in the wing in 1997 and 1998. Detachments 1 and 2 of the 45th Operations Group were inactivated on Antigua and Ascension on 1 June 1997, but they were replaced by Detachments 1 and 2 of the 45th Logistics Group on the same day. The 5th Space Launch Squadron was inactivated at Cape Canaveral Air Station on 29 June 1998, and its resources were absorbed by the 3rd Space Launch Squadron.

Launch operations were reassigned to the 45th Launch Group on 1 December 2003.

Lineage

Activated on 15 January 1941
Redesignated 45th Bombardment Group (Medium) in December 1941
Inactivated on 8 December 1942
Activated on 12 November 1991 [11]

Assignments

Squadrons

World War II
Since 1991

Stations

List of commanders

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References


Notes

Explanatory notes
  1. Based on the emblem for the 45th Space Wing. The group uses the wing emblem with the group designation on the scroll. Robertson, Factsheet 45 Space Wing (AFSPC).
  2. Heraldry: Azure, three aerial bombs or, a chief potentee of the last. Motto: De Astra Latin From the Stars.
  3. The United States impounded 356 DB-7s ordered for France or Great Britain Baugher, Joseph (27 October 2001). "Douglas DB-73". Joe Baugher. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
Citations
  1. 1 2 3 4 Maurer, Combat Units, p. 103
  2. Wallace, 1 Lt Alicia (13 July 2015). "45th SW says Farewell to Antigua Air Station". 45th Space Wing Public Affairs. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : "Crew Dragon | Launch Escape Demonstration". YouTube .
  4. "45th OG, Detachment 3; Making Sure an Astronaut's Worst Day Isn't Theirs". Air Force Space Command.
  5. 1 2 3 Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 781–782
  6. 1 2 3 Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 776
  7. 1 2 3 Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 775
  8. 1 2 3 Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 789–790
  9. Maurer, Combat Units, p. 437
  10. Maurer, Combat Units, p. 389
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Robertson, Patsy (9 September 2008). "Factsheet 45 Operations Group (AFSPC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Archived from the original on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  12. Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 789
  13. Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 120
  14. 1 2 "Col. Doug Schiess Assumes Command of 45th Operations Group". 45th Space Wing Public Affairs. 2 August 2012. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  15. "45th OG change of command". 45th Space Wing Public Affairs. 15 July 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2016.

Bibliography

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency