445th Operations Group
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|---|---|
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| Active | 1943–1945; 1947–1949; 1952–1958; 1992–1994; 1994–present |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Airlift |
| Part of | 445th Airlift Wing |
| Garrison/HQ | Wright-Patterson Air Force Base |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation French Croix de Guerre with Palm |
| Battle honours | European theater of World War II |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Col. Raymond A. Smith, JR. |
| Insignia | |
| 445th Operations Group Emblem |  |
The 445th Operations Group (445 OG) is the flying component of the 445th Airlift Wing, assigned to Fourth Air Force of the United States Air Force Reserve. The group is stationed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
The group was first activated during World War II as the 445th Bombardment Group, a Consolidated B-24 Liberator unit stationed in England with VIII Bomber Command. The 445th was stationed at RAF Tibenham in late 1943. The group earned a Distinguished Unit Citation on 24 February 1944 for attacking an aircraft assembly plant at Gotha, in Central Germany, losing thirteen aircraft. The 445th also earned the French Croix de Guerre with Palm for its operations supporting the liberation of France. The 445th was actor Jimmy Stewart's original bombardment group.
The United States Air Force (USAF) reactivated the group in the Air Force Reserve in 1947. In June 1949 it was inactivated when Continental Air Command reorganized its reserve units under the wing base reorganization plan.
After the Korean War, the group was again active at as the 445th Fighter-Bomber Group, the operational element of the 445th Fighter-Bomber Wing near Buffalo, New York. In 1957 the group moved to Memphis Municipal Airport, where it replaced the 319th Fighter-Bomber Group and converted to a troop carrier mission when USAF decided to concentrate its reserve fighter resources in the Air National Guard. The group was inactivated a year later when its parent wing converted to the dual deputy organization and its operational squadrons were assigned directly to the 445th Troop Carrier Wing.
In 1992 the group once again assumed its role as the operational element of the 445th Airlift Wing under the USAF objective wing organization and became an associate unit of the active duty 63d Operations Group. The following year, the group moved to March Air Reserve Base, California when Norton AFB closed. In the spring of 1994 the active duty 63d Airlift Wing and its elements inactivated and reserve airlift units joined with the air refueling units already assigned to the 452d Air Mobility Wing or inactivated. The 445th was activated again later that year at Wright-Patterson as a stand-alone Lockheed C-141 Starlifter organization.