48th Operations Group

The 48th Operations Group (48 OG) is the flying component of the 48th Fighter Wing, assigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa. The group is stationed at RAF Lakenheath, England.

Assigned Units

The 48th Operations Group (Tail Code: LN) consists of four flying squadrons of F-15C/D/E and F-35A aircraft capable of accomplishing fighter operations worldwide and one operations support squadron.

* 48th Operations Support Squadron
The 48th Operations Support Squadron, “Eagles”, provides the operational foundation for three squadrons of F-15C/D/Es, capable of providing fighter operations in support of war plans and contingency operations for USEUCOM, USAFRICOM, and NATO. Support provided by the 48th OSS includes flight and airfield management, air traffic control, weather, intelligence, weapons and tactics, scheduling, training, life support, operational plans and group administration.

* 492nd Fighter Squadron
The 492nd Fighter Squadron, nicknamed ''the Madhatters'' and ''the Bolars'', employs the F-15E Strike Eagle and is capable of executing strategic attack, interdiction, and counter air missions in support of USAFE, USEUCOM and NATO operations. Employs the full array of air superiority and surface attack munitions to include the most advanced precision-guided weapons in the USAF inventory. Capable of deploying to any theater of operations in the world.
* 493rd Fighter Squadron
The 493rd Fighter Squadron, nicknamed ''the Grim Reapers'', is the only F-15C/D Eagle fighter squadron assigned to USAFE. The 493rd FS is capable of executing air superiority and air defense missions in support of USAFE, USEUCOM and NATO war plans and contingency operations. Employs the world's finest air-to-air weapons and electronic identification systems. Maintains the ability to rapidly generate, deploy, and sustain operations to execute wartime and peacetime tasking in any theater of operations in the world. The unit has flown the F-15C Eagles at Lakenheath since 1994 and is due to convert to the F-35A.
* 494th Fighter Squadron
The 494th Fighter Squadron, nicknamed ''the Panthers'', also employs the F-15E Strike Eagle and is capable of executing strategic attack, interdiction, and counter air missions in support of USAFE, USEUCOM and NATO war plans and contingency operations. Employs the full array of air superiority and surface attack munitions to include the most advanced precision-guided weapons in the USAF inventory. Capable of deploying to any theater of operations in the world.
* 495th Fighter Squadron
The 495th Fighter Squadron, nicknamed ''the Valkyries'', is the USAF's first overseas F-35A Lightning II squadron. It was reactivated on 1 October 2021 and will eventually operate 24 F-35As.

History

: ''For additional history and lineage, see 48th Fighter Wing''

World War II

On 15 January 1941, the United States Army Air Corps activated the 48th Bombardment Group (Light) at Hunter Field, Savannah, Georgia. On the same date, the Air Corps assigned the group's operational units: the 55th, 56th, and 57th Bombardment Squadrons (Light) and the 9th Reconnaissance Squadron (Light). These activations resulted from the buildup of military forces known as the "First Aviation Objective," in which the Air Corps activated 54 combat groups to prepare for the looming Second World War.

Initially the 48th and its four flying squadrons served as a training unit, preparing its pilots and maintenance crews for eventual combat. After training, many of the group's members went on to serve in squadrons stationed in Europe and the Pacific, while the 48th remained in the states. Over the next two years the group moved from Hunter Field to Will Rogers Field, Oklahoma, back to Savannah, Georgia, then on to Key Field, Mississippi; William Northern Field, Tennessee; and Walterboro Army Airfield, South Carolina. Initially the men of the 48th trained with A-20 and A-18 twin-engine attack, light bombers. After moving to Key Field, the group used A-24, A-31, A-35, and A-36 aircraft for training.

While at Key Field, on 15 August 1943, the group was redesignated the 48th Fighter-Bomber Group. The flying squadrons were redesignated the 492d, 493d, 494th, and 495th Fighter-Bomber Squadrons. Five days after these organizational changes, the 48th moved again, this time back to William Northern Field, Tennessee. With this move, the 48th abandoned its training mission and served strictly as an operational unit, flying in maneuvers with its first fighters, the P-39 Airacobra and P-40 Warhawk.

In early 1944, after years of training and flying across the US, the 48th returned to the East Coast. At first the group conducted coastal patrol missions and training in the single-seat fighter it would use throughout World War II, the P-47 Thunderbolt. After three months in South Carolina, the group moved up to Camp Shanks, New York and prepared for its embarkation to Europe. On 21 March 1944, the men of the 48th Fighter-Bomber Group boarded the RMS Queen Mary, bound for an unknown and uncertain service in World War II. After a week of sea travel, the contingent arrived at Gourock, Scotland. From there they traveled by train for two days to their first overseas base, RAF Ibsley in Southern England and was assigned to the Ninth Air Force.

The 48th flew the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and had the following fighter squadrons and fuselage codes:
* 492d Fighter Squadron (F4)
* 493d Fighter Squadron (I7)
* 494th Fighter Squadron (6M)

Almost immediately after their arrival, members of the 48th began a rigorous training program, flying dive-bombing, glide bombing, night flying, low-level navigation, smoke laying, reconnaissance, and patrol convoy sorties. Over the next two months, the number of sorties steadily increased and the group flew its first combat missions on 20 April 1944—an uneventful fighter sweep of the occupied French coast. The group and squadrons underwent another name change on 30 May 1944, dropping the designation "bomber." Thus, the names that would remain with the units until their inactivation were the 48th Fighter Group and the 492d, 493d, and 494th Fighter Squadrons.

Unknown at the time to the pilots of the 48th, all of their training was specifically designed for a campaign against the German positions in Normandy. On 6 June 1944, the 48th participated in a massive invasion of France, which included more than 14,000 sorties flown by the allied air forces. The three squadrons assisted the Normandy invasion by dropping bombs on bridges and gun positions, attacking rail lines and trains, and providing visual reconnaissance reports. Over the course of the Normandy campaign, the 48th flew nearly 2,000 sorties, dropping nearly 500 tons of bombs and fired more than 160,000 rounds of ammunition

With the pocket in Northern France secured, the group quickly moved into the recently conquered territory. On 18 June, the 48th moved its operations, along with the 492d and 493d Fighter Squadrons to Deux Jumeaux Airfield (A-4), France. The 494th Fighter Squadron followed on 4 July. From Deux Jumeaux, the 48th began a mission it would continue throughout the war: providing support for the United States First Army.

In late July 1944, attacks from the air helped the First Army break through the German positions at Saint-Lô

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