388th Operations Group

The 388th Operations Group is a United States Air Force operational flying organization based at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. It forms the flying component of the 388th Fighter Wing and is assigned to Air Combat Command through Twelfth Air Force. Its current mission is to provide a combat-capable fleet of fifth-generation F-35A Lightning II aircraft, together with the training, operational support, and readiness functions required to deploy and employ those forces. The group's lineage reaches back to the 388th Bombardment Group, a heavy-bomber organization activated at Gowen Field, Idaho, on 24 December 1942. During the Second World War, the predecessor operated Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses from RAF Knettishall in England as part of the Eighth Air Force. It began combat operations in July 1943 and ultimately flew 331 raids against targets across occupied Europe and Germany. Missions covered strategic bombing, interdiction, close support, and operations connected with the Normandy invasion, the airborne assault in the Netherlands, and the final Allied advance into Germany. The group received four Distinguished Unit Citations, including recognition for difficult missions against Regensburg, Hanover, Brux, and Ruhland. It also participated in Operation Aphrodite, which used remotely controlled bombers in experimental guided-weapon work, and after Germany's defeat helped deliver food to flood-affected areas in the Netherlands. The wartime group returned to the United States in 1945 and was inactivated at Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota, on 28 August of that year. It was reactivated in 1953 as the 388th Fighter-Bomber Group and equipped first with F-86 Sabres and later with F-100 Super Sabres. Based in France during the 1950s, it trained for tactical nuclear delivery as well as conventional tactical air operations. Difficulties involving facilities, personnel availability, and overseas basing contributed to its inactivation in December 1957, when its personnel and equipment were transferred to the 49th Fighter-Bomber Group. The organization was reactivated in its present operational-group form on 1 December 1991, when the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing adopted the United States Air Force Objective Wing structure. The reactivated group inherited the lineage and honors of the earlier 388th Tactical Fighter Group and became responsible for the wing's flying squadrons. In the post-Cold War period it operated F-16 Fighting Falcons and supported missions including Operation Southern Watch, which enforced the no-fly zone in southern Iraq. A group-associated Air Combat Command unit also maintained a continuing South American presence in support of counter-drug operations. The group recorded the five-millionth F-16 flying hour at Hill Air Force Base in December 1996. The 388th Operations Group began its transition from the F-16 to the F-35A in the 2010s. Its final F-16 aircraft departed for Holloman Air Force Base in September 2017, completing the conversion to the Lightning II. The group currently includes the 4th Fighter Squadron, 34th Fighter Squadron, 421st Fighter Squadron, and 388th Operations Support Squadron. Unlike a commercial brand, it is an institutional identity used for military organization, lineage, operational readiness, and public recognition rather than for consumer products or commercial services.

The 388th Operations Group's historical identity derives from several successive United States Air Force organizations. Its predecessor, the 388th Bombardment Group, was established on 19 December 1942 and activated five days later at Gowen Field, Idaho. The group moved to Wendover Field, Utah, for initial preparation and completed final training at Sioux City Army Air Base, South Dakota. In mid-1943 its aircraft and personnel moved to Britain by separate air and sea routes. The group operated from RAF Knettishall as part of the Eighth Air Force's 45th Combat Bombardment Wing, using the tail marking known as Square-H. The 388th entered combat on 17 July 1943 with an attack on an aircraft factory in Amsterdam. For the remainder of the war it principally conducted strategic bombing, striking industrial plants, aircraft factories, oil facilities, naval installations, airfields, communications centers, rail infrastructure, and marshalling yards. Its targets extended across Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and Romania. It also flew missions supporting Allied ground operations, including attacks connected with the Normandy landings, the fighting around Saint-Lô and Caen, the airborne campaign in the Netherlands, and the Allied advance through Germany. The group was recognized with four Distinguished Unit Citations. One honored its attack on the aircraft works at Regensburg on 17 August 1943 despite intense enemy opposition. Another citation covered exceptional missions against a tire and rubber factory at Hanover, a synthetic-oil refinery at Brux, and a refinery at Ruhland during a shuttle mission that ended in the Soviet Union. In addition to conventional B-17 operations, the group participated in nineteen Operation Aphrodite missions launched from nearby RAF Fersfield. These experimental operations used remotely controlled bombers in attempts to strike heavily defended targets. After V-E Day, the group undertook humanitarian relief flights carrying food to flood-stricken parts of the Netherlands. The wartime organization returned to the United States during the summer of 1945. Its aircraft left England between June and July, while the ground echelon sailed from Greenock aboard the Queen Elizabeth in August. After arriving in New York, the group was established at Sioux Falls Army Air Field and inactivated on 28 August 1945. The lineage resumed in the early Cold War when the organization was redesignated the 388th Fighter-Bomber Group and activated on 23 November 1953. It trained with F-86 Sabres and deployed from Clovis Air Force Base, New Mexico, to France in late 1954. Its principal mission was preparation for tactical nuclear weapons delivery, with conventional tactical air operations as a secondary responsibility. Because the French base at Étain was not ready, its flying squadrons initially operated from Spangdahlem, Bitburg, and Hahn in West Germany. Rotational gunnery and bombing deployments to Wheelus Air Base in Libya began in 1955. A nuclear-alert detachment was activated at Hahn in November 1955 and later moved to Spangdahlem. During 1956–57 the group prepared to transition to the F-100D/F Super Sabre, with conversion activities conducted partly from Nouasseur Air Base in Morocco. Personnel turnover and manning problems became severe during the transition. The 388th Fighter-Bomber Group was inactivated on 10 December 1957, and its personnel and assets were transferred to the 49th Fighter-Bomber Group. The designation was retained in inactive lineage form until the organization was redesignated the 388th Tactical Fighter Group on 31 July 1985. On 1 December 1991, the 388th Operations Group was activated as the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing implemented the Objective Wing structure. The new group inherited the lineage and history of its predecessor organizations and assumed control of the wing's flying squadrons. During the 1990s and 2000s, the group operated F-16 Fighting Falcons from Hill Air Force Base. It maintained a recurring commitment to Operation Southern Watch, enforcing the no-fly zone south of the 33rd parallel in Iraq. In December 1996, an F-16 associated with the group completed the five-millionth F-16 flying hour at Hill. The group also received additional F-16 aircraft as part of force-distribution plans following the Department of Defense's 2005 BRAC recommendations concerning Cannon Air Force Base. The group began receiving F-35A Lightning II aircraft in the 2010s. Its transition was completed when the last group F-16 departed for Holloman Air Force Base in September 2017. Today, the organization is centered on F-35A readiness and includes the 4th, 34th, and 421st Fighter Squadrons, along with the 388th Operations Support Squadron.

• 2017

  Completion of F-16 replacement

  [1]388th Operations Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group's final F-16 departed for Holloman Air Force Base in September, marking completion of the transition to the F-35A.

• 2015

  F-35A transition period

  [1]388th Operations Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group began replacing its F-16 fleet with F-35A Lightning II aircraft.

• 1996

  Five-millionth F-16 flying hour

  [1]388th Operations Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group flew the five-millionth F-16 flying hour at Hill Air Force Base on 4 December.

• 1991

  Activation as the 388th Operations Group

  [1]388th Operations Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The current operations-group structure was activated on 1 December as part of the Objective Wing reorganization.

• 1957

  Cold War inactivation

  [1]388th Operations Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The fighter-bomber group was inactivated in December after personnel shortages and related resource constraints, with its assets transferred to the 49th Fighter-Bomber Group.

• 1953

  Reactivation as a fighter-bomber group

  [1]388th Operations Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The organization was reactivated on 23 November as the 388th Fighter-Bomber Group and began operating in the early jet-fighter era.

• 1945

  Return to the United States and inactivation

  [1]388th Operations Groupen.wikipedia.org

  After flying 331 raids and participating in postwar relief flights to the Netherlands, the group returned to the United States and was inactivated at Sioux Falls on 28 August.

• 1943

  Deployment to the European theater

  [1]388th Operations Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group completed training in the United States, moved to England, and began Eighth Air Force combat operations in July from RAF Knettishall.

• 1943

  Regensburg Distinguished Unit Citation mission

  [1]388th Operations Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group received a Distinguished Unit Citation for pressing an attack against the Regensburg aircraft factory on 17 August despite heavy opposition.

• 1942

  Activation as a heavy bombardment group

  [1]388th Operations Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The 388th Bombardment Group was established on 19 December and activated on 24 December at Gowen Field, Idaho.

A frontline United States Air Force fighter organization focused on fifth-generation airpower, combat readiness, operational training, and the preservation of a long bombing and fighter lineage.

• Fifth-generation multirole fighter aircraft · 2015

  F-35A Lightning II

  The group's current principal aircraft. The F-35A provides the fifth-generation combat capability around which the group's present readiness, training, and operational mission are organized.

• Multirole fighter aircraft · 1991

  F-16 Fighting Falcon

  The group's principal post-1991 fighter aircraft. F-16 operations supported training, expeditionary commitments, and missions including Operation Southern Watch before the fleet transition was completed in 2017.

• Heavy bomber · 1943

  B-17 Flying Fortress

  The aircraft used by the wartime 388th Bombardment Group in the European theater. B-17 crews conducted strategic bombing, interdiction, and ground-support missions from England between 1943 and 1945.

• Fighter-bomber · 1954

  F-86 Sabre

  The group's principal early Cold War jet fighter. The F-86 supported tactical training and the group's nuclear-delivery mission after its reactivation in 1953.

• Supersonic fighter-bomber · 1957

  F-100 Super Sabre

  The group began planning and conversion activities for the F-100D/F during 1956–57. The aircraft represented the organization's transition to a newer generation of tactical jet capability before its 1957 inactivation.

• 1992Operation Southern Watch

  Iraq · Middle East

  After its 1991 reactivation, the group maintained a recurring commitment of approximately six months per year to enforcing the southern Iraqi no-fly zone.

  Outcome. The group sustained post-Cold War expeditionary air operations until the operation ended in 2003.

  Source
• 1990Counter-drug support operations

  South America

  A group-associated air control squadron maintained a continuing presence in South America in support of United States counter-drug operations.

  Outcome. The deployment provided air operations support for regional counter-drug missions.

  Source
• 1945Netherlands postwar relief flights

  Netherlands

  After the end of hostilities in Europe, the group used its aircraft to transport food to flood-stricken Dutch communities.

  Outcome. The flights provided humanitarian relief during the immediate postwar period.

  Source
• 1944Normandy and subsequent ground-support operations

  France

  The group attacked coastal defenses, field batteries, transportation nodes, supply depots, and troop concentrations before and after the Normandy landings, including support around Saint-Lô and Caen.

  Outcome. The bombing campaign supported the Allied invasion and advance through France.

  Source
• 1944Operation Market Garden support

  Netherlands

  The group attacked military installations and airfields around Arnhem in support of the airborne assault in the Netherlands.

  Outcome. The organization contributed air support to the Allied airborne campaign.

  Source
• 1943Eighth Air Force strategic bombing campaign

  Germany · France · Belgium · Netherlands · Norway · Poland · Romania

  The wartime predecessor conducted strategic bombing against industrial, aviation, naval, petroleum, chemical, and transportation targets across occupied Europe and Germany.

  Outcome. The group flew 331 raids and received four Distinguished Unit Citations.

  Source

• 2015

  Transition from F-16 to F-35A operationsGeneration change

  Background

  The United States Air Force selected the 388th Fighter Wing and its operations group to move from fourth-generation F-16 fighters to fifth-generation F-35A aircraft.

  Action taken

  The group introduced F-35A operations and progressively retired its F-16 fleet from Hill Air Force Base.

  Aftermath

  The final group F-16 left for Holloman Air Force Base in September 2017, leaving the 388th Operations Group centered on the F-35A Lightning II.

  Source

• 2005

  Force redistribution following BRAC recommendationsStrategy

  Background

  The Department of Defense recommended closing Cannon Air Force Base in its 2005 Base Realignment and Closure recommendations.

  Action taken

  Some of the Cannon-based 27th Fighter Wing's F-16 aircraft were designated for redistribution to the 388th Operations Group at Hill Air Force Base, alongside transfers to other installations.

  Aftermath

  The planned redistribution increased the F-16 resources available at Hill before the group's subsequent conversion to the F-35A.

  Source

1. 1388th Operations Groupen.wikipedia.org