93d Operations Group

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93d Operations Group
Boeing E-8C J-Stars (707-300C), USA - Air Force AN0817823.jpg
Wing E-8 J-STARS aircraft
Active1942–1952; 1991–1995; 1996–2002
CountryFlag of the United States.svg  United States
BranchFlag of the United States Air Force.svg  United States Air Force
RoleAir control
Nickname(s)Traveling Circus (World War II) Blaze[ citation needed ]
Decorations Distinguished Unit Citation [1]
Insignia
93d Operations Group emblem [1] [note 1] 93d Air Control Wing.png
93d Bombardment Group emblem [2] 93d Bombardment Gp emblem.png

The 93d Operations Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 93d Air Control Wing, stationed at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. The unit was inactivated on 1 October 2002.

United States Air Force Air and space warfare branch of the United States Armed Forces

The United States Air Force (USAF) is the aerial and space warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the five branches of the United States Armed Forces, and one of the seven American uniformed services. Initially formed as a part of the United States Army on 1 August 1907, the USAF was established as a separate branch of the U.S. Armed Forces on 18 September 1947 with the passing of the National Security Act of 1947. It is the youngest branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, and the fourth in order of precedence. The USAF is the largest and most technologically advanced air force in the world. The Air Force articulates its core missions as air and space superiority, global integrated intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, rapid global mobility, global strike, and command and control.

Robins Air Force Base United States Air Force base near Warner Robins, Georgia, USA

Robins Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force installation located in Houston County, Georgia, United States. The base is located just east of and adjacent to the city of Warner Robins, 18 mi (29 km) south-southeast of Macon and approximately 100 mi (160 km) south-southeast of Atlanta, Georgia. The base is named in honor of Brig Gen Augustine Warner Robins, the Air Force's "father of logistics".

Contents

During World War II, the group's predecessor unit, the 93d Bombardment Group was the first VIII Bomber Command Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bombardment groups to carry out strategic bombardment operations against targets in Occupied Europe and Nazi Germany from RAF Alconbury, England. The group became operational with a mission over Occupied France on 9 October 1942.

Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber

The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models designated as various LB-30s, in the Land Bomber design category.

Nazi Germany The German state from 1933 to 1945, under the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler

Nazi Germany is the common English name for Germany between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party (NSDAP) controlled the country through a dictatorship. Under Hitler's rule, Germany was transformed into a totalitarian state that controlled nearly all aspects of life via the Gleichschaltung legal process. The official name of the state was Deutsches Reich until 1943 and Großdeutsches Reich from 1943 to 1945. Nazi Germany is also known as the Third Reich, meaning "Third Realm" or "Third Empire", the first two being the Holy Roman Empire (800–1806) and the German Empire (1871–1918). The Nazi regime ended after the Allies defeated Germany in May 1945, ending World War II in Europe.

RAF Alconbury airport in the United Kingdom

Royal Air Force Alconbury or more simply RAF Alconbury is an active Royal Air Force station in Huntingdon, England. The airfield is in the civil parish of The Stukeleys, close to the villages of Great Stukeley, Little Stukeley, and Alconbury.

In the postwar era, the 93d Bombardment Group was one of the original ten USAAF bombardment groups assigned to Strategic Air Command on 21 March 1946. Equipped with low-hour Boeing B-29 Superfortress surplus World War II aircraft, the group deployed to Far East Air Forces during the early part of the Korean War, and flew combat missions over Korea. The group was inactivated in 1952 when the parent wing adopted the dual deputy organization and assigned all of the group's squadrons directly to the wing.

Strategic Air Command 1946-1992 United States Air Force major command; predecessor of Air Force Global Strike Command

Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense (DoD) Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command (MAJCOM), responsible for Cold War command and control of two of the three components of the U.S. military's strategic nuclear strike forces, the so-called "nuclear triad," with SAC having control of land-based strategic bomber aircraft and intercontinental ballistic missiles or ICBMs.

Boeing B-29 Superfortress Four-engine heavy bomber aircraft

The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing, which was flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. It was one of the largest aircraft operational during World War II and featured state-of-the-art technology. Including design and production, at over $3 billion it was the single most expensive weapons project in World War II, exceeding the $1.9 billion cost of the Manhattan Project—using the value of dollars in 1945. Innovations introduced included a pressurized cabin, dual-wheeled, tricycle landing gear, and an analog computer-controlled fire-control system directing four remote machine gun turrets that could be operated by a single gunner and a fire-control officer. A manned tail gun installation was semi-remote. The name "Superfortress" continued the pattern Boeing started with its well-known predecessor, the B-17 Flying Fortress. Designed for the high-altitude strategic bomber role, the B-29 also excelled in low-altitude nighttime incendiary bombing missions. One of the B-29's final roles during World War II was carrying out the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Korean War 1950–1953 war between North Korea and South Korea

The Korean War was a war between North Korea and South Korea. The war began on 25 June 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea following a series of clashes along the border.

Reactivated as the 93d Operations Group in 1991 when the 93d Wing adopted the USAF Objective organization plan.

History

For related history and lineage, see 93d Air-Ground Operations Wing

World War II

328th Bomb Squadron Consolidated B-24D-1-CO Liberator Serial 41-23711 "'Jerks Natural". This aircraft was lost over Austria 1 October 1943. MACR 3301 93bg-alc-1942.jpg
328th Bomb Squadron Consolidated B-24D-1-CO Liberator Serial 41-23711 "'Jerks Natural". This aircraft was lost over Austria 1 October 1943. MACR 3301
328th Bomb Squadron Consolidated B-24J-55-CO Liberator Serial 42-99949 on a mission to Friedrichshafen Germany during August 1944. This aircraft was lost over Belgium on 21 September 1944, MACR 9662 93bg-b24.jpg
328th Bomb Squadron Consolidated B-24J-55-CO Liberator Serial 42-99949 on a mission to Friedrichshafen Germany during August 1944. This aircraft was lost over Belgium on 21 September 1944, MACR 9662
329th Bomb Squadron B-24D-5-CO 41-23809 "Hellsadroppin' II", landing at RAF Hardwick 21 December 1943. This plane was declared 'War Weary' and transferred to the 448th Bomb Group to be used as its formation assembly ship and was carried three different names during its time there and was painted with a black and yellow checkerboard pattern over the whole plane. Photo taken 15 December 1943. She was condemned as salvage on Jan. 15,1945. 329th Bombardment Squadron - B-24 Liberator.jpg
329th Bomb Squadron B-24D-5-CO 41-23809 "Hellsadroppin' II", landing at RAF Hardwick 21 December 1943. This plane was declared 'War Weary' and transferred to the 448th Bomb Group to be used as its formation assembly ship and was carried three different names during its time there and was painted with a black and yellow checkerboard pattern over the whole plane. Photo taken 15 December 1943. She was condemned as salvage on Jan. 15,1945.

The 93d Bombardment Group was activated on 1 March 1942. It initially prepared for combat with Consolidated B-24 Liberators. Engaged in antisubmarine operations over the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea as part of the III Bomber Command, May– July 1942.

The III Bomber Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Third Air Force stationed at MacDill Field, Florida. It was inactivated on 8 April 1946.

The group moved to England, August– September 1942, and was assigned to Eighth Air Force. It was assigned to the 20th Combat Bombardment Wing. The group flew its B-24 Liberator aircraft with a tail code of "Circle B". The 93d was the first Liberator-equipped bomber group to reach the Eighth Air Force. The group became operational with the B-24 on 9 October 1942 by attacking steel and engineering works at Lille France. Until December, the group operated primarily against submarine pens along the French coast along the Bay of Biscay.

Lille Prefecture and commune in Hauts-de-France, France

Lille is a city at the northern tip of France, in French Flanders. On the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the Nord department, and the main city of the European Metropolis of Lille.

Submarine pen

A submarine pen is a type of submarine base that acts as a bunker to protect submarines from air attack. The term is generally applied to submarine bases constructed during World War II, particularly in Germany and its occupied countries, which were also known as U-boat pens.

Bay of Biscay Gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea off the west coast of France and the north coast of Spain

The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Point Penmarc'h to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal.

While the 93d was at RAF Alconbury, His Majesty, King George VI paid his first visit to an Eighth Air Force base on 13 November 1942. During the visit, he was shown the B-24 "Teggie Ann", then considered to be the 93d's leading aircraft.

On 6 December 1942 most of the group was transferred to Twelfth Air Force in North Africa to support the Operation Torch landings. The group receiving a Distinguished Unit Citation for operations in that theatre, December 1942 – February 1943, when, with inadequate supplies and under the most difficult desert conditions, the detachment struck heavy blows at enemy shipping and communications. The detachment returned to England in February 1943, where its personnel were featured on the cover of the 26 July 1943 issue of Life Magazine and the unit dubbed "Ted's Traveling Circus" after its first commander, Col. Edward J. Timberlake.

The balance of the 93d BG was moved to RAF Hardwick (Station 104), in Norfolk where B-24 groups were being concentrated. From February 1943 and until the end of June the group bombed engine repair works, harbors, power plants, and other targets in France, the Low Countries, and Germany.

A detachment returned to the Mediterranean theatre during June and July 1943 to support the Allied invasion of Sicily and to participate in the famous low-level attack on enemy oil installations at Ploesti on 1 August. Having followed another element of the formation along the wrong course to Ploesti, the 93d hit targets that had been assigned to other groups, but it carried out its bombing of the vital oil installations despite heavy losses inflicted by attacks from the fully alerted enemy and was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for the operation.

After the detachment returned to England in August 1943, the group flew only two missions before the detachment was sent back to the Mediterranean to support the Fifth Army at Salerno during the invasion of Italy in September 1943.

The detachment rejoined the group in October 1943, and until April 1945 the 93d concentrated on bombardment of strategic targets such as marshalling yards, aircraft factories, oil refineries, chemical plants, and cities in Germany. In addition it bombed gun emplacements, choke points, and bridges near Cherbourg during the Normandy invasion in June 1944. It attacked troop concentrations in northern France during the Saint-Lô breakthrough in July 1944; transported food, gasoline, water, and other supplies to the Allies advancing across France, August – September 1944; dropped supplies to airborne troops in the Netherlands on 18 September 1944; struck enemy transportation and other targets during the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944 – January 1945; and flew two missions on 24 March 1945 during the airborne assault across the Rhine, dropping supplies to troops near Wesel and bombing a night-fighter base at Stormede.

The 93d Bombardment Group ceased combat operations in April 1945, and returned to Sioux Falls Army Air Field South Dakota during May/June for B-29 Superfortress transition training, prior to deployment to the Pacific Theater. However, the deployment never took place as the war in the Pacific ended. The group was demobilized and was eventually inactivated in December 1945.

Strategic Air Command

The 93d Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) was activated at Merced Field, California on 21 June 1946 which was assigned to Merced for Boeing B-29 Superfortress training. The 93d was one of SAC's first ten bomb groups. There were three initial operational squadrons (328th, 329th, and 330th Bombardment Squadrons) which absorbed the equipment and aircraft of the inactivated 444th Bombardment Group.

On 1 October 1946 the airfield was put on "minimal operations on caretaker status", with control of the facility under Colorado Springs AAF. The 93d Bomb Group, however remained active. It, along with the 509th Composite Group at Roswell Army Air Field, New Mexico, was all there was of Strategic Air Command at that time. The airfield remained in this status until 1 May 1947 when it was reactivated.

On 1 May 1947, Merced Army Air Field was reactivated under Strategic Air Command. On 28 July 1947, the group became the 93d Bombardment Wing, Very Heavy and took host unit responsibility from the group as part of the Wing Base organization plan. During 1947–1948, it flew Boeing B-29 Superfortresses, but soon received the upgraded version of the B-29, the Boeing B-50A Superfortress. In 1948, the entire group deployed to Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, becoming the first Strategic Air Command bomb group to deploy in full strength to the Far East.

Upon its return to Castle in 1951, the group was re-equipped with B-50s. In June 1952 the group was inactivated when Strategic Air Command reorganized its wings into the dual deputate system.

Reactivation

On 1 September 1991, the 93d Bombardment Wing was redesignated as the 93d Wing under the "Objective Wing" concept adopted by the Air Force. The flying components of the wing were reassigned to the newly renamed 93d Operations Group.

As part of their new mission, the 93d Group also gained the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress squadrons from the 93d Wing. However, the operations of the reestablished group was short, On 1 June 1992 the 93d was relieved from assignment to SAC and was reassigned to the newly formed Air Combat Command (ACC). Its B-52G aircraft given the ACC tail code of "CA" and carried blue tail stripes. The 328th Bomb Squadron was inactivated 3 May 1994, and the wing and group were placed on non-operational status. The group was inactivated on 31 October 1994.

Just four months later, however, it was reactivated as the operational arm of the 93d Air Control Wing and was reactivated at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia on 29 January 1996. It was equipped with the Boeing E-8 Joint STARS and it accepted its first production aircraft on 11 June 1996.

Some crews and aircraft deployed from Robins to Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1996 to support the Operation Joint Endeavor peacekeeping operation. Deployed to Southwest Asia in response to Iraq's refusal to cooperate with United Nations weapons inspectors, 18 February – 3 June 1998. Between 23 February – 28 June 1999, deployed aircraft and personnel to Ramstein Air Base, Germany to assist in monitoring Serbian withdrawal from Kosovo.

Upon inactivation on 1 October 2002; Georgia Air National Guard's 116th Air Control Wing assumed command responsibility for JSTARS mission.

Lineage

Activated on 1 March 1942
Redesignated 93d Bombardment Group, Heavy in c. 20 August 1943
Redesignated 93d Bombardment Group, Very Heavy c. 6 July 1945
Redesignated 93d Bombardment Group, Medium c. 28 May 1948
Inactivated on 16 June 1952 [3]
Activated on 1 September 1991
Inactivated on 31 October 1994
Inactivated on 1 October 2002

Assignments

Attached to: 201st Provisional Combat Bombardment Wing, 25 March-13 December 1943
20th Combat Bombardment Wing, 13 September 1943 – 12 June 1945

Components

Stations

Aircraft

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References

Notes
  1. ↑ The group uses the 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
Citations
  1. 1 2 Maurer, Combat Units, pp. 160-162
  2. ↑ Watkins, pp. 38-39
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lineage, including stations and components, through 1952 in Maurer, Combat Units, pp. 160-162
  4. 1 2 3 Robertson, Patsy (August 15, 2012). "Factsheet 93 Air Ground Operations Wing (ACC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved March 9, 2017.

Bibliography

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