482d Operations Group
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|---|---|
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| Active | 1943–1945; 1947–1949; 1952; 1955–1957; 1992–present |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Fighter |
| Part of | Air Force Reserve Command |
| Engagements | European Theater of Operations |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
| Insignia | |
| 482d Operations Group emblem[note 2] |  |
| Tail code | FM |
The 482d Operations Group is a United States Air Force Reserve unit assigned to the 482d Fighter Wing. It is stationed at Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida.
During World War II, the group was activated in England as the 482d Bombardment Group (Pathfinder), the only Eighth Air Force radar-equipped pathfinder heavy bomber group. Its Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Consolidated B-24 Liberator aircraft were equipped with first generation radars to guide other bombardment groups to targets obscured by cloud cover over Occupied Europe and Nazi Germany, earning a Distinguished Unit Citation. In 1944, it was removed from combat to focus on training pathfinder aircrews and develop tactics, although its developmental work occasionally required it to fly combat missions. After V-E Day, the group returned to the United States and was inactivated.
The group became a reserve organization, serving as a bombardment unit from 1947-1949 and briefly as an airlift unit in 1952. It became a fighter unit in 1955. It was inactivated in 1957 when air force reserve units became troop carrier organizations, but was activated again in 1992.
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