1st Operations Group


The 1st Operations Group is the flying component of the 1st Fighter Wing, assigned to the USAF Air Combat Command. The group is stationed at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. The 1st Operations Group is the oldest major air combat unit in the United States Air Force, being the successor organization of the 1st Pursuit Group. The 1st Pursuit Group was the first air combat group formed by the Air Service, American Expeditionary Force, on 5 May 1918.
The Group was first organized at Croix de Metz Aerodrome, near Toul, France, as a result of the United States entry into World War I. As the 1st Pursuit Group it saw combat on the Western Front in France, and during World War II as the 1st Fighter Group combat in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. Pilots of the 1st Group are credited by the USAF with destroying 554.33 aircraft and 50 balloons, and 36 pilots are recognized as being aces.
The pilots of the 1st Group included Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, credited as the top scoring American ace in France during World War I. During World War II, the 1st FG was among the first groups deployed overseas in the summer of 1942. The group flew missions in England as part of the Eighth Air Force, then was transferred to North Africa in November 1942. It experienced significant combat as part of the Twelfth Air Force, moved to Italy, and became part of the fighter force of the Fifteenth Air Force. The 1st FG was equipped with the first operational U.S. jet fighter aircraft, the P-80A Shooting Star, in 1946.
Inactivated in 1961, after 30 years the group was renamed the 1st Operations Group and activated on 1 October 1991 as a result of the 1st Fighter Wing implementing the USAF objective wing organization. In 2005, the 1st OG was the first operational combat unit to receive the F-22A Raptor, a fifth generation fighter aircraft that uses stealth technology.

Overview

The 1st OG directs the training and employment of two F-22A Raptor air dominance squadrons and an operations support squadron. The group's flying squadrons maintain 36 F-22 air superiority fighter aircraft.
The group is responsible for 300 people and $3 billion in resources.
In addition to carrying out local training requirements, the group deploys personnel and equipment on a regular basis to support air expeditionary operations worldwide as part of the global war on terrorism.

Units

The 1st Operations Group consists of the following component squadrons:

World War I

When first deployed to France, the Aero Squadrons of the American Expeditionary Force were dispersed among the various army organizations. This made it difficult, however, to coordinate aerial activities. Some higher organization was required.

Origins

The 94th and 95th Aero Squadrons had trained and traveled together since their organization on 20 August 1917 at Kelly Field, Texas. When the two squadrons boarded a train at Kelly Field on 20 September 1917 for the trip to Mineola, New York, they consisted entirely of the enlisted echelon that would form the squadron's ground support element. Arriving at Mineola on 5 October, the squadrons reported directly to Aviation Mobilization Camp No. 2. Each unit completed training there in about three weeks and proceeded to Pier No. 45, Hoboken, New Jersey where, on 27 October 1917, it boarded the Cunard liner for the trip to Europe.
The two squadrons arrived at Liverpool on 10 November, spent about fourteen hours in a rest camp, boarded a steamer at Southampton, and sailed for France on 12 November. The 94th and 95th entered camp at Le Havre the next day, but their travels were not quite over. On 15 November the 95th moved to the 3d Aviation Training Center at Issoudun Aerodrome.
On 18 November the 94th moved to the 1st Aviation Training Center at Paris, where it divided into seven detachments that immediately began advanced maintenance training in the region's airframe and aero-engine plants. The 94th reassembled in Paris and departed for Issoudun on 24 January 1918.
After the 95th's personnel arrived at Issoudun in November, they received advanced training on the same types of aircraft they would operate at the front. The 95th thus found itself well along in its training when the 1st Pursuit Organization and Training Center announced its readiness to receive units in mid-February, and it became the first unit to be attached to the center. The 94th made good progress at Issoudun, however, and it reported to
Villeneuve not long after the 95th.

1st Pursuit Organization Center

On 16 January 1918, Brig. General Benjamin Foulois, Chief of Air Service, AEF, assigned Major Bert M. Atkinson to command of the 1st Pursuit Organization and Training Center, a temporary administrative and training organization for arriving U.S. pursuit squadrons on 16 January 1918 in Paris. Headquarters for the new unit was designated to be located at Villeneuve-les-Vertus Aerodrome. The command staff left Paris and selected a site for its headquarters adjoining that of the Groupe de Combat No 12 of the French Aeronautique Militaire at Vertus, near the airfield.
The initial task of the unit was to erect barracks for arriving personnel from the United States; obtaining hangar space from the French; and obtaining airplanes. The 95th Aero Squadron arrived on 19 February from the 3d Instructional Center at Issoudun Aerodrome, however the squadron's aircraft had not yet arrived. On 28 February word was received that the 94th Aero Squadron would be leaving Issoudun on 1 March. Bad weather with heavy sleet and snow inhibited the arrival of Nieuport 28 airplanes for the group, and the first elements of the 94th Squadron arrived on 5 March. The next day, two Nieuports arrived and by 8 March a total of sixteen aircraft were at the airfield and the squadrons began training and familiarization flights. The planes received, however, were unarmed due to a lack of machine guns due to the difference of American ammunition, which was 3mm longer than the French.
The first combat patrol by the 95th Squadron was made on 15 March, consisting of three unarmed Nieuport 28 planes and one French pilot in a SPAD took off from the airfield at 11:30. A second patrol was carried out in the afternoon to carry out a barrage of the Marne between Chalons and Eppernay. Continuous German air raids in the vicinity of Vetrus led to the digging of zigzag trenches on the Aerodrome and falling shrapnel was a hazard from the French anti-aircraft guns. Patrols continued to be carried out by the French, but none of the accompanying American planes were armed.
Due to the lack of armed aircraft, sixteen pilots of the 95th were ordered back to Issoudun to take the course in aerial gunnery. On 30 March orders were received that both squadrons were to proceed at once to Epiez Aerodrome where the squadrons flew combat patrols, although bad weather limited the number of patrols carried out. On 9 April the 94th was detached from the group and was moved to Toul where it acted independently until it became part of the 1st Pursuit Group on 4 May. On 14 April, the first of many enemy aircraft was brought down by the 94th Squadron, being the first American Air Service organization to bring down an enemy plane. Combat patrols by the 94th on 23 and 25 April also shot down one enemy aircraft on each. On 29 April, Captain Hall and Lt. Rickenbacker attacked and brought down an enemy aircraft. This was Lt. Rickenbacker's first official patrol. During the period prior to the formation of the 1st Pursuit Group in May, the 94th brought down a total of nine enemy aircraft. One pilot, Lt Chapman was killed and one pilot became a POW, Captain Hall.
On 22 April the 147th Aero Squadron arrived and on 24 April the 27th Aero Squadron arrived. Also the pilots of the 95th squadron returned from Issoudun. Reconnaissance patrols were carried out, however word was received that no flights over the Voil-Toul line would be permitted. on 4 May the 95th Squadron was moved to the Croix de Metz Aerodrome where it joined the 94th Squadron which has been moved there from Epiez. The 27th and 147th were moved to Epiez. Group Headquarters was moved to Toul on 4 May.

1st Pursuit Group

On 5 May 1918, the AEF replaced the 1st Pursuit Organization Center at Toul-Croix de Metz Aerodrome, with the 1st Pursuit Group, the first American group-level fighter establishment. Major Atkinson became the 1st Pursuit Group's first commanding officer, followed by Major Harold E. Hartney on 21 August 1918. The 27th and 147th Aero Squadrons were officially assigned to the group on 2 June, and the 185th Aero Squadron, a night pursuit unit, on 18 October.
Second Battle of the Marne
Upon its formation, the 1st Pursuit Group was equipped with Nieuport 28s.
On 15 May, Captain David McK Peterson of the 95th squadron brought down two Enemy Aircraft. These were the first to be recorded in the records of the Group. Towards the end of June, the need for air support on the Château-Thierry front was critical due to the Germans breaking through the line. On the 28th, the group moved to Touquin Aerodrome, where the group was vigorously effective. During the weeks to follow in the Second Battle of the Marne, the group took the offensive on all points and was engaged continually in aerial combat in the Dormans-Eloup sector. Losses were heavy, however 38 victories were recorded while losing 36 pilots. This was the first real test of American airpower in the war.
On 5 July the group switched from Nieuports to SPAD XIIIs. The 94th switched over first, then by the middle of August the other three squadrons were also converted. Unfortunately, the American mechanics were unused to the V-8 engines of the Spads and so availability of the Spads suffered for the first few weeks after the changeover. On 9 July the group moved closer to the line at Saints Aerodrome. It is while stationed at Saints Aerodrome that Theodore Roosevelt's youngest son Quentin Roosevelt, flying with the 95th Aero Squadron, was shot down and killed on 14 July 1918. With the front moving north and east, the Group was now between 50 and 70 km from the lines. An advanced landing field at Coincy Aerodrome was established on 5 August for refueling and a detachment was established there from which alerts were dispatched.