137th Operations Group

The 137th Special Operations Group is an associate unit of the Oklahoma Air National Guard stationed at Will Rogers Air National Guard Base. If activated for federal service, the group is gained by Air Force Special Operations Command.

The group was first activated during World War II as the 404th Fighter Group flying Republic P-47 Thunderbolts. The group served in the European Theater of Operations from May 1944 until the end of the war. It provided close air support to ground troops following Operation Overlord, the Normandy landings. It earned a Distinguished Unit Citation, French Croix de Guerre with Palm and Belgian Fourragere before inactivating in the fall of 1945.

The group was redesignated the 137th Fighter Group and allotted to the National Guard in 1946, with squadrons in Oklahoma and Kansas. During the Korean War, it was activated and deployed to France as the 137th Fighter-Bomber Group, where it opened Chaumont Air Base.

The unit was replaced in France by a regular unit and returned without personnel or equipment to state control. In 1955, it converted from the fighter bomber to the fighter interceptor mission, and two years later lost its squadrons in Tulsa and in Kansas to new fighter groups.

From 1961 until it was inactivated in 1975, the group engaged in strategic and tactical airlift.

The group was activated again in 1992 and converted to the air refueling mission in 2008.

Overview

During World War II, as the 404th Fighter Group flying Republic P-47 Thunderbolts, it provided close air support to troops following Operation Overlord, the Normandy landing until the close of the war. During the Korean War, as the 136th Fighter-Bomber Group it was activated and deployed to France. The unit later engaged fighter operations, strategic and tactical airlift before being redesignated as an air refueling wing.

Units

The 137th Special Operations Group consists of the following units:

* 137th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron
* 137th Special Operations Support Squadron
* 185th Special Operations Squadron
* 189th Intelligence Squadron
* 285th Special Operations Intelligence Squadron
* 138th Combat Training Flight

History

World War II

Training in the United States

The group was first activated at Key Field, Mississippi as the 404th Bombardment Group (Dive) with the 620th, 621st, 622d Bombardment Squadron and 623d Bombardment Squadrons assigned. The group drew its initial cadre from the 48th Bombardment Group, and was equipped with a mix of Vultee A-35 Vengeance and Douglas A-24 Banshee dive bombers and (briefly) Bell P-39 Airacobra fighter-bombers. In July, the group moved to Congaree Army Air Field, South Carolina, where, along with all other single engine dive bomber units of the Army Air Forces, it reorganized in August, becoming the 405th Fighter-Bomber Group.Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 609Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 610Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 611Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 689 Fighter groups were organized with three squadrons, rather than the four of bombardment groups, so the 623d Squadron was disbanded.

Between November 1943 and January 1944, most of the aircrew assigned to the group were detached for training on fighter aircraft and replaced by fighter qualified pilots, many of whom had been serving as instructors in various fighter training units. On 22 March 1944, the group departed Camp Shanks, New York for the European Theater on board the , arriving in Liverpool on 3 April.

Combat in Europe

Upon arrival in the European Theater of Operations the group became part of IX Fighter Command. The group's station in England was RAF Winkton, an unimproved field, where it received 75 Republic P-47 Thunderbolts by 16 April. By 1 May, it was ready to fly its first combat mission, a fighter sweep over Normandy. Later in the month, it began to fly Noball missions, strikes on V-1 flying bomb launching sites. For the rest of the month, the 404th helped prepare for Operation Overlord, the Normandy invasion by bombing and strafing targets in northern France. The group's squadrons provided top cover for landings in Normandy on 6 and 7 June 1944.

On 6 July the 404th moved across the Channel to an Advanced Landing Ground at Chippelle Airfield, France. The group also flew interdiction and escort missions, strafing and bombing such targets as troop concentrations, railroads, highways, bridges, fuel and ammunition dumps, armored vehicles, docks, and tunnels, and covering the operations of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses, Consolidated B-24 Liberators, and Martin B-26 Marauders that bombed factories, airdromes, marshaling yards, and other targets. On 6 and 7 June, the group provided top cover for the Normandy landings. The 404th provided close air support to ground troops, supporting the Allied breakthrough at Saint-Lô from 29 through 31 July 1944, provided continuous cover for four allied armored divisions despite severe losses. For this action the group received the French Croix de Guerre with Palm from the French government.

On 10 September 1944 the group flew three armed reconnaissance missions, attacking factories, rolling stock and communications centers despite adverse weather and heavy flak, for which it was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation. On 28 September 1944, 2/Lt John W. Wainwright was credited with destroying six enemy aircraft on a single mission, three of which were knocked down in a midair collision during a dogfight.

The 404th provided close air support to ground troops, supporting the drive through Belgium and the Netherlands in September 1944. For its actions supporting the liberation of Belgium, the group was thrice cited in the Order of the Day by the Belgian government, earning it the Belgian Fourragere. From 21 to 25 January 1945, it attacked German armor and transportation withdrawing from the Battle of the Bulge, and claimed to have destroyed or damaged over 1000 enemy vehicles.

During February 1945, it assisted with the reduction of German forces west of the Rhine and the widening of the Remagen bridgehead east of the Rhine during March 1945.

When the war in Europe ended, the group assisted with the disarming of the Luftwaffe and dismantling of the German aircraft industry

Following its return to the United States, the unit was reassigned to the Third Air Force in the United States and prepared for deployment to Okinawa to take part in planned Invasion of Japan. When the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki took place and the Pacific War suddenly ended, these plans were canceled. Most personnel either separated from the military or were reassigned to other units, while a skeleton staff arrived at Drew Field, Florida on 1 September. The unit was inactivated on 9 November 1945.

Oklahoma Air National Guard

The wartime 404th Fighter-Bomber Group was redesignated as the 137th Fighter Group and allotted to the National Guard on 24 May 1946. It was organized at Westheimer Airport, Norman, Oklahoma and was extended federal recognition on 18 December 1947. It was assigned to the Tenth Air Force of Air Defense Command.

The 137th Fighter Group was assigned the 185th Fighter Squadron at Westheimer, the 125th Fighter Squadron at Tulsa Municipal Airport