136th Operations Group

The 136th Operations Group is a component of the 136th Airlift Wing of the Texas Air National Guard. It was first activated in June 1943 as the 368th Fighter Group. After training with Republic P-47 Thunderbolts in the United States, it deployed to the European Theater of Operations, where it began combat operations in March 1944. Shortly after D-Day, the group moved to the continent of Europe, continuing operations until May 1945. The group was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation and the Belgian Fourragère for its combat operations and being credited with the destruction of 120 enemy aircraft in air to air combat. It served in the occupation forces until the spring of 1946, when it inactivated and transferred its personnel and equipment to another unit.

136th Operations Group
Texas Air National Guard patch
Texas Air National Guard patch
Group C-130 operating in Southwest Asia
Active1943–1946; 1946–1952; 1952–1974; 1992–present
Country United States
Allegiance Texas
Branch  Air National Guard
TypeGroup
RoleAirlift
Part ofTexas Air National Guard
Garrison/HQNaval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas
Motto(s)Nulli Secundus Latin Second to None[1]
EngagementsWorld War II
Korean War[1]
DecorationsDistinguished Unit Citation
Belgian Fourragère[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Insignia
136th Operations Group emblem[note 1]
Tail StripeBlue Stripe with "Texas" in white

The group was redesignated the 136th Fighter Group and activated in the National Guard. It received federal recognition in February 1947 and trained with North American P-51 Mustangs until October 1950, when it was mobilized for the Korean War as the 136th Fighter-Bomber Group. After converting to jet Republic F-84 Thunderjets, it moved to the Pacific, where it entered combat once again. In July 1952, the group was inactivated and once again replaced by another unit.

The group was activated in the Texas Air National Guard the same day it was inactivated in Korea as the 136th Fighter-Interceptor Group. It served in the air defense role under different names and operating different aircraft until 1964, when it converted to Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighters as the 136th Air Refueling Group. In 1974, the group was inactivated along with other Air National Guard groups located on the same bases as their parent wings.

The group was reactivated as the 136th Operations Group in 1992, when the Air National Guard adopted the Objective Wing organization. It has operated the Lockheed C-130 Hercules in the airlift role since then.,

Mission

The group's mission is to provide military forces for worldwide combat and peacetime tasking supporting Texas and the United States. Its flying mission includes short field and dirt strip landing, and airdrop delivery of cargo and personnel in all weather, day and night. As a National Guard unit, the group has a dual role of serving the State of Texas under the command of its Governor during peacetime and state emergencies, and becoming part of the active duty forces under the command of the President of the United States during wartime or other national emergency. Approximately 25% of the group's personnel are full time. The remainder are traditional guardsmen who serve part time.[2]

Units

The 136th Operations Group is assigned two squadrons and one flight.

History

Organization and training

P-47 Thunderbolt of the 397th Fighter Squadron on an escort mission over the German Alps[note 2]

The group was first organized at Westover Field, Massachusetts on 1 June 1943 as the 368th Fighter Group, with the 395th, 396th, and 397th Fighter Squadrons assigned.[1][4][5][6] The group drew its initial cadre from the 326th Fighter Group, an Operational Training Unit at Westover. In June 1943, the cadres of the group and squadrons travelled to Orlando Army Air Base for training at the Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics.[7]

The 368th trained with Republic P-47 Thunderbolts, moving to Farmingdale Army Air Field, New York to complete its training. The main body of the group left Farmingdale for the Port of Embarkation, Camp Myles Standish on 20 December 1943, although an advanced echelon had already departed for the European Theater of Operations by air. The group boarded the SS Argentina and sailed for Great Britain on 29 December, arriving at the Firth of Clyde on 7 January 1944.[1][7]

Combat in Europe

The group arrived at RAF Greenham Common on 13 January 1944. Although key officers flew missions with the 56th Fighter Group,[7] the group flew its first combat mission, a fighter sweep over the coast of France on 14 March. That was to be the unit's only mission from Greenham Common, for it moved the next day to RAF Chilbolton,[1] as the 438th Troop Carrier Group moved into Greenham Common.[8] The group made strafing and bombing attacks on transportation targets and flak batteries in preparation for Operation Overlord, the invasion of France. The group also participated in Operation Crossbow, attacking launch sites for V-1 flying bombs and V-2 rockets. On D-Day, the group supported the landing forces in Normandy.[1] IX Fighter Command committed that one of its fighter bomber squadrons would be over the beaches from 0600 to 2230. The 368th rotated with the 365th and 366th Fighter Groups to keep this commitment.[9]

Two weeks after the landings, the group moved to Cardonville Airfield in Normandy. It aided in the Battle of Cherbourg, which secured a vital port for further operations in France, and participated in the air operations that prepared the way for Operation Cobra, the Allied breakout at Saint Lo on 25 July, and supported ground forces as they drove across France.[1] In early August, the group became part of XIX Tactical Air Command, which would concentrate on air support for General George S. Patton's Third United States Army.[10]

By early September, fuel shortages were impacting both Third Army and XIX Tactical Air Command, slowing the advance, and sometimes forcing fighter-bombers to land at forward bases to refuel.[11] On 3 September 1944, operating from Chartres Airfield, and in the face of "withering anti-aircraft and small arms fire," the group destroyed 262 motor transport vehicles, 230 horse-drawn vehicles, and uncounted troops in the vicinity of Mons (Bergen), Belgium, dispatching seven missions that day, also attacking as targets of opportunity enemy positions that obstructed the progress of Allied ground forces. For this action, the group was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation.[1][12] The group moved closer to the front, arriving at Laon/Athies Airfield on 11 September.[1] It was cited in the order of the day for the first time by the Belgian Army for the period from D-Day through the end of September.[1]

As the Allied forces advanced, the group continued to support ground forces, participated in the assault against the Siegfried Line.[1] In response to a request from the 2nd Armored Division the group, joined by the 363d Fighter Group bombed tank traps and "dragon's teeth" that were barring the division's advance through these defenses.[13] It took part in the Battle of the Bulge from late December 1944 to January 1945 by attacking rail lines and trains, marshalling yards, roads and vehicles, armored columns, and gun positions, operating with the Allied forces that pushed across the Rhine and into Germany. It was cited in the order of the day for a second time by the Belgian Army for this support and awarded the Belgian Fourragère.[1] The group's last combat mission, a fighter sweep near Prague, was flown on 7 May.[14]

Two group pilots, Lt Col Paul P. Douglas, Jr. and Maj Randall W. Hendricks became flying aces with more than five enemy aircraft destroyed.[15] Two of the group's victories were jet powered Messerschmitt Me 262s, both on 16 April 1945.[16] The group's total credit for air to air victories was:

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