20th Operations Group

The 20th Operations Group is the flying component of the 20th Fighter Wing, assigned to the United States Air Force Air Combat Command. It is stationed at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is a successor organization of the 20th Pursuit Group, one of the 15 original combat air groups formed by the U.S. Army before World War II.
During World War II the 20th Fighter Group was an Eighth Air Force fighter unit stationed in the United Kingdom. It arrived at RAF Kings Cliffe in 1943. It was the oldest USAAF group to be assigned to the Eighth Air Force for an extended period, flying 312 combat missions. It was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for a sweep over Germany on 8 April 1944.
Today the group mobilizes, deploys, flies, and fights approximately 80 F-16CJ Fighting Falcon fighter aircraft. It can carry out conventional air-to-surface, air superiority, suppression of enemy air defenses, destruction of enemy air defenses and maritime operations.

History

Origins

The 20th Balloon Group was authorized as an inactive organization of the United States Army Air Corps on 18 October 1927. It was redesignated as the 20th Pursuit Group in 1929 and activated on 15 November 1930 at Mather Field, California and consisted of the 71st Service Squadron and initially two flying squadrons:

The 20th flew Boeing P-12 single-seat, biplane fighters which featured two.30 caliber machine guns, an open cockpit, a Pratt and Whitney engine, and a top speed of 180 miles per hour.
Upon activation, the group welcomed the arrival of the first of many famous airmen to grace its ranks. Major Clarence L. Tinker, its first commander, led the group until 13 October 1932. Major Tinker, part Osage Indian, gained fame as Major General Tinker, World War II Commander of the Seventh Air Force in the Pacific Theater. Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, was named in his honor a year after his death during the Battle of Midway in 1942.
On 15 May 1931, the 20th PG made a cross-country trip while going on maneuvers. These maneuvers were part of the first of its kind for the Air Corps. "The Great Air Armada" put on shows in Chicago, New York City, Boston, and Washington, DC. The maneuvers consisted of all Air Corps aircraft with the exception of basic trainers, around 640 aircraft.
The Group remained at Mather Field for a little less than two years until 15 October 1932. On that date an advance party of more than 200 officers, enlisted men, and their dependents, under the command of Captain Thomas Boland, sailed from San Francisco aboard the. They traveled through the Panama Canal and debarked at New Orleans, Louisiana, on 30 October 1932. On the following day, they arrived at Barksdale Field, Louisiana. Just prior to its transfer to Barksdale, the group was assigned, along with the 3rd Attack Group, to the 3rd Attack Wing in June 1932. The 3rd Attack Wing and Group operated out of Fort Crockett, Texas.
By February 1933 when Barksdale Field was formally dedicated, the group's training program was in full operation. Its aerial training mission focused on the development of procedures and techniques for engaging enemy aircraft and provided for the protection of vital industrial centers, airdromes, and bombardment aircraft.
In October 1934, the group, made its first aircraft transition—from the P-12 to the Boeing P-26 Peashooter. This open cockpit monoplane had a engine and a top speed of 253 miles per hour. Like the P-12, it possessed two.30 caliber machine guns. Unlike its predecessor, it also featured wing-mounted bomb racks. P-26s were operated by the group until January 1938, when pilots of the unit flew their complement of 14 to the Rockwell Field Air Depot in California. The 20th Pursuit Group acquired its first aircraft with a closed cockpit, the Curtiss P-36 Hawk, in September 1938. The P-36 had a engine, and a top speed of 303 miles per hour. It could carry up to 400 pounds of bombs underslung. During this time, the 20th began training, participating in maneuvers and tactical exercises, and conducting aerial reviews and aircraft demonstrations.
On 15 November 1939 the 20th moved to Moffett Field, California; it stayed there less than one year, and moved again on 9 September 1940 to Hamilton Field, also in California. At Hamilton the group changed aircraft once again, this time to the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk. This was the top-of-the-line pre-World War II pursuit fighter. It had a range of, a top speed of 343 miles per hour, two.50 caliber machine guns in the nose, and four more in the wings.
Several events in 1941 marked the group's assignment at Hamilton Field. Deployed flights spent the first part of 1941 at Muroc Lake, California, and Esler Field, Louisiana, conducting maneuvers. In October 1941, the group split into its component squadrons and deployed to various locations on the east coast, with group headquarters temporarily established at Morris Field, North Carolina. In December 1941, the 20th reassembled at Hamilton Field, California.

World War II

Training unit

The 20th PG made several station moves following the United States' declaration of war on Japan.
Until February 1942 the 20th performed air defense operations. From Hamilton Field it returned to the east coast and Wilmington, North Carolina, to Morris Field, North Carolina. The group's mission at this time was to act as a training unit to create new fighter groups. The group would receive new personnel, train them, and then they would be transferred out in mass to form a new unit, leaving only a small cadre behind to start the process over again.
This process is believed to have been used for as many as six new Fighter Groups. The individual squadrons were stationed at various fields in South and North Carolina and Florida. While at Wilmington, the group exchanged its P-40s for P-39 Airacobras as part of its training role. Additionally, the group received P-43 Lancers while in the Carolinas, also for training purposes. The P-43 was obsolete at this point and was never on the official record of the group. This aircraft was the predecessor of the P-47 Thunderbolt.
At the end of September 1942 the group moved to Paine Field, Washington state – all in the latter part of 1942. In January 1943 the group moved to March Field, California, where it acquired its P-38 Lightning aircraft. In March the group would once again proceed with training new members, but this time the results of that training would deploy to England.

RAF Kings Cliffe

On 11 August 1943, the personnel of the 20th departed California aboard three trains and arrived at Camp Miles Standish, Massachusetts, five days later. From this European staging area the members of the 20th embarked on and departed for the United Kingdom on 20 August 1943. If the members of the 20th had expected a typical Queen Elizabeth pleasure cruise, they were sorely disappointed. The ship had been refitted to accommodate over 19,000 men. Staterooms designed for two or three people had 20 to 30 bunks double and triple stacked for officers and enlisted men. In addition to these conditions, enlisted personnel also served shifts of 24 hours on deck, followed by 24 hours below deck. This doubled the number of personnel the cramped quarters could accommodate. Due to her high speed, the ship traveled unescorted, despite the ever-present threat posed by German U-boats. The five-day trip across the Atlantic was reported as uneventful, except for long chow lines and frequent boat drills. HMS Queen Elizabeth dropped anchor on 25 August and the men of the 20th disembarked at the Firth of Clyde. From there they were transported to the docks at Greenock, Scotland, and then, by train, to their new home, RAF Kings Cliffe, England.
Fortune smiled on the 55th FS at this time. Due to space restrictions it had to be stationed at RAF Wittering, about five miles from the rest of the group. The facilities there were much superior to those at King's Cliffe. The 55th Squadron joined the rest of the group at King's Cliffe in April 1944. In England, the group was assigned to the VIII Fighter Command. The group was under the command of the 67th Fighter Wing. Aircraft of the 20th were identified by a black/white stripes along their cowlings and tails.
Arriving at King's Cliffe, the group faced the prospect of operating from one of the most primitive airfields in England. The buildings were old and inadequate and airfield facilities were close to nonexistent. The only thing in abundance was poor weather and mud.
Overcoming the initial shock of these conditions the group soon settled in and got on with the serious job of flying. Prior to the 20th's arrival in theater, the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt served as the primary US fighter aircraft in Europe. This aircraft was a formidable match for the German Luftwaffe fighters in air-to-air combat but lacked one important feature—range. Without sufficient range, the conduct of daytime bomber escort missions, first into Europe and then Germany itself, proved nearly impossible. That problem was perhaps best illustrated on 14 October 1943 when 60 of 293 unescorted bombers, dispatched against the ball-bearing works in Schweinfurt failed to return from their mission.

P-38 Lightning

With the arrival in Europe of the Lockheed P-38, the long range escort mission of the Eighth Air Force began in earnest. Initially, due to a lack of available aircraft, the 20th conducted operations as an attached component of the 55th Fighter Group. Full group operations for the 20th commenced in late December 1943 when it became fully equipped with P-38s.
One of the early highlights of the group's World War II exploits entailed the escort of a bombing mission into the Bordeaux area of France on 31 December 1943. This 1,300-mile round trip constituted the longest fighter escort mission to date. That distance, in fact, stretched the P-38s beyond their operational limits, forcing 17 of 31 aircraft to land at other bases due to insufficient fuel.
Despite its advantages of range and speed over its German contemporaries, the P-38 suffered limitations which resulted in less than a break-even rate in enemy aircraft downed versus 20th aircraft lost. Within a 90-day span, from 31 December 1943 to 31 March 1944 the operational ledger disclosed 52 German aircraft destroyed while the 20th's losses amounted to 54 pilots. By the end of the P-38 era in July 1944, the 20th's kill rate improved slightly; the group logged 84 pilots lost versus 89 German aircraft destroyed in the air and 31 destroyed on the ground.
The P-38 was ill-equipped to deal with the extreme cold and high moisture conditions that prevailed at the operating altitudes of 20,000 to 33,000 feet over Northern Europe. A high number of group casualties resulted from engine failure at altitude. Thrown rods, engine explosions and unexpected power reduction during flight were all fatal flaws that the Axis aircraft exploited. The P-38 was equal to any German fighter at altitudes below 15,000 feet, but was usually at a disadvantage above that altitude.
Despite the shortcomings of its aircraft, the 20th earned a healthy reputation based on its escort of successful bombing raids and its secondary mission of ground strafing. From the outset of its World War II operations, the 20th's mission concentrated on escorting medium and heavy bombers to targets on the continent. It retained this primary mission throughout the war. Its escort missions completed, however, the group began to routinely strafe targets of opportunity while en route back to England.
The 20th became known as the "Loco Group" because of its numerous and successful attacks on locomotives. It received a Distinguished Unit Citation for its performance on 8 April 1944 when it struck airfields in central Germany and then, after breaking up an attack by enemy interceptors, proceeded to hit railroad equipment, oil facilities, power plants, factories, and other targets.
The group retained escort as its primary function until the end of the war, but in March 1944 began to fly fighter-bomber missions, which became almost as frequent as escort operations. The squadrons strafed and dive-bombed airfields, trains, vehicles, barges, tugs, bridges, flak positions, gun emplacements, barracks, radio stations, and other targets in France, Belgium, and Germany.
Aircraft from the 20th flew patrols over the English Channel during the invasion of Normandy in June 1944, and supported the invasion force later that month by escorting bombers that struck interdictory targets in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, and by attacking troops, transportation targets, and airfields. The invasion of Normandy in early June 1944 featured 20th FG daylight escort operations in support of Allied fleet movements. The P-38 was specifically chosen for the task due to its distinctive shape and the ease with which fleet anti-aircraft gunners could distinguish it from enemy aircraft.
In July 1944, the P-38 era for the 20th came to an end. On 19 July, Lieutenant Colonel Cy Wilson, the Group Commander, led 49 Lightnings on a bomber escort mission into Southern Germany. The next day two squadrons of P-38s operated with one squadron of P-51s. The group flew its final P-38 combat mission on 21 July.