The group was first activated in January 1941 as the 33d Pursuit Group and began training in fighter operations at Mitchel Field, New York. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor the group moved to Philadelphia, where it assumed an air defense role while training for combat. After being redesignated the 33d Fighter Group, it moved to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations in November 1942 as part of Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa, flying its planes to its first base in Morocco from the aircraft carrierUSS Chenango of the United States Navy. The group served in North Africa and Italy until February 1944, earning a Distinguished Unit Citation in January 1943 for its defense of its base from attacks by German and Italian aircraft.
ADC activated the group, once more the 33d Fighter Group, at Otis in August 1955 as part of Project Arrow, a program to replace ADC's Air Defense Groups with fighter groups with distinguished combat records in World War II. As Otis expanded to add the airborne early warning and control mission the following year, the group's support units were transferred to the newly reactivated 33d Fighter Wing. In 1957, the group and wing were inactivated and the group's flying squadrons were transferred to the Boston Air Defense Sector
As the United States Air Force implemented the Objective wing reorganization in 1991, the 33d, now designated the 33d Operations Group, was activated to command the 33d Fighter Wing's operational units. It flew the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle until 2009, when it began the transition to the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter.
Overview
From its reactivation in December 1991, as part of the 33d Fighter Wing, the 33d Operations Group has deployed aircraft and personnel to Saudi Arabia, Canada, the Caribbean, South America, Jamaica, Iceland, Italy, and Puerto Rico and participated in Operation Southern Watch, Operation Coronet Macaw; Operation Restore Hope, Operation Support Justice III and IV, and Operation Uphold Democracy.[2]
These deployments included combat as well as deployments to assist in the United States War on Drugs.[3] The 33d lost members of three of its squadrons in the Khobar Towers bombing, Saudi Arabia on 25 June 1996.[4]
Mission
The mission of the group is to train Air Force and international partner pilots and maintainers of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter.[5]
Units
The 33d Group has four squadrons assigned:
33d Operations Support Squadron: Known as the "Jokers", the 33d Operations Support Squadron provides operational intelligence training, weapons and tactics, aircrew flight equipment, training and scheduling support.[6]
58th Fighter Squadron: Known as the "Mighty Gorillas", the 58th Fighter Squadron is the flying unit of the group and operates 24 F-35A aircraft training Air Force and international partner pilots. They also possess two Royal Netherlands Air Force F-35As.[6]
60th Fighter Squadron: Known as the "Crows", the 60th Fighter Squadron is the flying unit of the group and will operate 24 F-35A aircraft training Air Force pilots.
The 33d Fighter Group was activated early in 1941 as the 33d Pursuit Group with the 58th,[8]59th,[9] and 60th Pursuit Squadrons[10] assigned.[1] It trained with Bell P-39 Airacobras in 1941, but soon changed to Curtiss P-40 Warhawks and served as part of the United States defense force for the east coast after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.[1] Its 58th and 59th squadrons were based on the West Coast in May and June 1942 to provide additional air defense there.[8][9]
The group was requested as air support for the Western Task Force of Operation Torch and assigned on 19 September 1942. Its 77 P-40Es moved from Hampton Roads, Virginia, to North Africa on the deck of the USS Chenango as part of the invasion force on 8 November 1942.[1] Pilots had been given brief training at Philadelphia in carrier launches but the Navy had serious misgivings about the aircraft's ability to withstand the strain and the pilot's ability to launch by catapult from the escort carrier.[11] With securing of the Port Lyautey airfield on 10 November the launch from Chenango began and was successful but the airfield's runways were so damaged that the launch was discontinued and not completed until two days later.[11] Two of the 77 aircraft were lost to a crash and vanishing in a fog with 17 damaged in landing with none getting into action.[11] The 35 planes of the group following on D+5 aboard the British carrier HMS Archer also were launched to land at the Port Lyautey airfield and suffered four loses on landing due to pilot inexperience.[11]
Meanwhile, the group's ground echelon sailed for Morocco aboard the USS Susan B. Anthony (AP-72). Shortly after the squadron's arrival in North Africa, a provisional "J Squadron", commanded by Lt. Col. Philip Cochran, at Rabat. The squadron was organized to provide an advanced replacement center for aircraft and pilots. On 6 December, the 58th squadron moved forward to Thelepte Airfield, where it became the first American air unit stationed in Tunisia.[12]
The unit operated with Twelfth Air Force in the Mediterraneantheater until February 1944, providing close air support for ground forces, and bombing and strafing personnel concentrations, port installations, fuel dumps, bridges, highways, and rail lines.[1] The 33d received a Distinguished Unit Citation for action on 15 January 1943 when nine German Junkers Ju 88 bombers escorted by four Italian Macchi C.202 fighters attempted to knock out the group's base at Thelepte. Group airplanes on combat air patrol drove off the escorting fighters. Other group planes took off while the field was being bombed. The group destroyed eight of the attackers, and the ninth was shot down by antiaircraft fire.[1][12]
Curtiss P-40L of 99th Fighter Squadron in North Africa 1943
In May 1943 the 99th Fighter Squadron, the first AAF unit to enter combat with black personnel, was attached to the group, and again from August to October 1943.[13] It took part in the reduction of Pantelleria and flew patrol missions while Allied troops landed after surrender of the enemy's garrison.[1] It also participated in the invasion and conquest of Sicily by supporting landings at Salerno.[1] The group supported additional landings in southern Italy, and the beachhead at Anzio.[1]
After moving to India in February 1944, the group trained with Lockheed P-38 Lightnings and Republic P-47 Thunderbolts. It then moved to China where it continued training and flew patrol and intercept missions.[1] Upon returning to India in September 1944, it flew dive bombing and strafing missions in Burma until the Allied campaigns in that area had been completed.[1]
Republic P-84C of the 59th Fighter Squadron[note 5]
The group was organized as an operational unit at Roswell Army Air Field, New Mexico on 16 August 1947, where it again equipped with Mustangs and became part of Eighth Air Force of Strategic Air Command.[2] At Roswell, the group participated in the experimental Wing Base organization, which was intended to unify control at air bases under a single wing.[21] As a result, the group was assigned to the 33d Fighter Wing.[2] The test proved successful, and the wing-base plan was adopted by the Air Force.[22]
A year later, in June 1948, it received its first jet aircraft, the Republic F-84 Thunderjet.[1] The group was the second in the Air Force to fly the F-84C model of the Thunderjet.[23] A few months later the group moved to Otis Air Force Base, Massachusetts, where it assumed an air defense role, first under Continental Air Command, then under Air Defense Command (ADC) as the 33d Fighter-Interceptor Group.[1]
North American F-86As at Otis AFB.
There it trained to maintain tactical proficiency and participated in exercises and aerial demonstrations. In February 1949, the group transitioned to North American F-86A Sabres. By December the group had completed its transition to Sabres and assumed an air defense mission, providing air defense in the northeastern US.[2] Toward the end of 1949, ADC was inactivated and the group and its parent wing became elements of Continental Air Command. In December 1950 ADC was reactivated, and the group, which since spring had been designated as the 33d Fighter-Interceptor Group rejoined the command. Because of ADC's need to expand its coverage, the group dispersed the 60th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron to Westover Air Force Base, Massachusetts in August 1950.[24] The group was inactivated in February 1952 along with the 33d Fighter Wing in a major reorganization of ADC responding to ADC's difficulty under the existing wing base organizational structure in deploying fighter squadrons to best advantage.[25] Fighter-interceptor groups and wings were replaced by regionally organized air defense wings.[26]
The 564th Air Base Group was activated on 1 February 1952 to replace the support elements of the 33d Fighter-Interceptor Wing. The group became the 564th Air Defense Group in February 1953 when it assumed control of fighter-interceptor squadrons at Otis. The unit was replaced by the reactivated 33d Fighter Group (Air Defense) as part of ADC's "Project Arrow", which reactivated fighter units that had achieved distinction in the two world wars.[27]
The 33d Fighter Group was assigned to ADC's 4707th Air Defense Wing, and in 1956 reunited with the 33d Fighter Wing (Air Defense). Again, it provided air defense in northeastern US flying the Northrop F-89 Scorpion. It was also the host organization for USAF units until 1956, and was assigned several support organizations to fulfill this function.[28][29][30][31] when the 33d Fighter Wing was activated and the group was assigned to it once again, along with the support units assigned to the group.[32] The group was inactivated on 18 August 1957 and replaced by 4735th Air Defense Group when the 551st Airborne Early Warning and Control Wing assumed host responsibilities for Otis from the 33d Fighter-Interceptor Wing.[33]
The 33d Tactical Group performed administrative and maintenance tasks and set up detachments at smaller, outlying airfields, the 33d assuming responsibility for Can Tho and Nha Trang Air Bases. The group inactivated in July 1965, and its aircraft, personnel and equipment were transferred to the 6250th Combat Support Group.[34] While the 33d Tactical Group was inactive, it was consolidated with the 33d Fighter Group as the 33d Tactical Fighter Group.[2]
Five F-15Cs from the 33d Fighter Wing during a deployment to Elmendorf AFB
As the 33d Fighter Wing reorganized under the Objective Wing system on 1 December 1991, the group was activated as the 33d Operations Group and once more assigned its original three squadrons, which were equipped with the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, together with an operations support squadron.[2] In May 1992 the group was enlarged by the assignment of the 728th Air Control Squadron at Duke Field when the 507th Air Control Wing inactivated.[35]
From 1992 through 2002 the group deployed aircraft and personnel to Saudi Arabia, Canada, the Caribbean, South America, Jamaica, Iceland, Italy, and Puerto Rico and participated in various operations.[2] The group lost members of its 58th and 60th Fighter Squadron and 33d Operations Support Squadron in the Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia on 25 June 1996 during one of these deployments.[4]
In 1999, as a result of the administration reductions in military spending, the group lost six of its F-15s. The 59th squadron inactivated on 15 April as a result and the remainder of its aircraft were split between the other two squadrons.[35]
The group engaged in air expeditionary operations in various combat areas as part of the Global War on Terrorism.[2]
In May 2008, the 728th Air Control Squadron was reassigned to the 552d Air Control Wing.[36] The group continued to shrink when, on 1 October 2008, the 60th Fighter Squadron flew its last sortie with the Eagle and became non-operational.[35] It inactivated on 1 January 2009. In July, the group stopped operating F-15s in anticipation of receiving the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. For more than a year, it would remain without assigned aircraft.[37]
Lightning II training
The group mission changed in addition to its change of aircraft, and on 1 October 2009, the group became part of Air Education and Training Command in preparation for its new role of conducting joint training on the Joint Strike Fighter.[38]
However, the F-35 program was delayed and in January 2011, the group received its first aircraft in 17 months, when four General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft borrowed from the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona arrived to prepare the group's instructor pilots for the Lightning II. The F-16's flying characteristics are similar to those of the F-35, and would prepare group pilots to transition into its new plane on arrival.[37] On 14 July 2011, the group received its first Lightning II for training.[39] Lt Col Christine Mau, the deputy commander of the group, became the first woman to fly the F-35 on 5 May 2015, when she completed her first training flight.[40]
Lineage
33d Operations Group
Constituted as the 33d Pursuit Group (Interceptor) on 20 November 1940
Activated on 15 January 1941
Redesignated 33d Fighter Group on 15 May 1942
Inactivated on 8 December 1945
Activated on 20 August 1946
Redesignated 33d Fighter-Interceptor Group on 20 January 1950
Inactivated on 6 February 1952
Redesignated 33d Fighter Group (Air Defense) on 20 June 1955
Activated on 18 August 1955
Inactivated on 18 August 1957
Consolidated with the 33d Tactical Group as the 33d Tactical Fighter Group on 31 July 1985 (remained inactive)
Redesignated 33d Operations Group and activated on 1 December 1991[41]
33d Tactical Group
Constituted as the 33d Tactical Group and activated on 19 June 1963
Organized on 8 July 1963
Discontinued, and inactivated on 8 July 1965
Consolidated with the 33d Fighter Group (Air Defense) as the 33d Tactical Fighter Group on 31 July 1985[41]
337th Air Control Squadron: 3 October 2012 – present[7][46]
728th Air Control Squadron: 1 May 1992 – 1 May 2008[47]
Support Units
33d USAF Hospital[31][32] (later 33d USAF Dispensary), 18 August 1955 – 18 October 1956; 8 July 1963 – 8 July 1965
13th Reconnaissance Technical Squadron, 8 July 1963 – 8 July 1965
33d Air Base Squadron, 8 July 1963 – 8 July 1965
33d Field Maintenance Squadron (later 33d Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Squadron), 18 August 1955 – 18 October 1956;[29] 8 July 1963 – 8 July 1965[48]
33d Installations Squadron,[32] 18 August 1955 – 18 October 1956[28]
33d Motor Vehicle Squadron,[32] 18 August 1955 – 18 October 1956
33d Operations Squadron (later 33d Operations Support Squadron), 18 August 1955 – 18 October 1956,[30] 1 December 1991 – present
33d Supply Squadron,[32] 18 August 1955 – 18 October 1956
27th Crash Rescue Boat Flight,[32] 18 August 1955 – 18 October 1956
^The emblem was approved for the 33d Fighter Wing on 5 October 1965. Ravenstein, p. 60. While the group is assigned to the wing, it uses the form approved for the wing with the group designation on the scroll. Dollman, AFHRA Factsheet 33 Operations Group
^Specific port is not stated. POE's were Army commands managing troops & cargo from origin, through the command, to destinations. The commands included "port facilities" but also military camps well beyond "port" areas.
^8 of the 11 victories by the Group Hq were credited to the commander, Lt Col. William W. Momyer
^Each of the squadrons scored additional victories during Desert Storm and the 58th during the Vietnam War, but they were not assigned to the group at the time.
^ abcdefAFOMO Letter 660j, 20 June 1955, Subject: Activation of Headquarters, 1st Fighter Group (Air Defense); Inactivation, Activation and Reorganization of Certain Other USAF Units
Buss, Lydus H.(ed), Sturm, Thomas A., Volan, Denys, and McMullen, Richard F., History of Continental Air Defense Command and Air Defense Command July to December 1955, Directorate of Historical Services, Air Defense Command, Ent AFB, CO, 1956
Craven, Wesley Frank; Cate, James Lea (1983). Europe, Torch to Pointblank, August 1942 to December 1943. The Army Air Forces in World War II. Vol. 2. Washington, D.C.: Office of Air Force History. ISBN091279903X. LCCN83017288.
Goss, William A (1955). "The Organization and its Responsibilities, Chapter 2 The AAF". In Craven, Wesley F; Cate, James L (eds.). The Army Air Forces in World War II. Vol. VI, Men & Planes. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press. p. 59 (note). LCCN48-3657.
Foster, Charles B. Jr. (2012). 33d Fighter Wing Heritage Pamphlet(PDF). Eglin Air Force Base, FL: 33d Fighter Wing Public Affairs. Archived from the original(PDF) on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
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