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509th Operations Group | |
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Active | 9 December 1944 – present (80 years) Detailed
|
Country | United States |
Branch | United States Air Force (18 September 1947 – present) United States Army ( Army Air Forces, 9 December 1944 – 18 September 1947) |
Type | Wing Operations Group |
Role | B-2 Combat and Training Operations |
Size | 3 squadrons |
Part of | 509th Bomb Wing |
Garrison/HQ | Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri |
Tail code | WM |
Engagements | World War II – Asiatic-Pacific Theater |
Decorations | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
Commanders | |
Current commander | Colonel Geoffrey M. Steeves [2] |
Aircraft flown | |
Bomber | B-2A |
The 509th Operations Group (509 OG) is the flying component of the United States Air Force 509th Bomb Wing (509 BW), assigned to Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. It is equipped with all 20 of the USAF's B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, flown by its 393rd Bomb Squadron. Its 13th Bomb Squadron, the training unit for the 509th, provides training in T-38 Talon trainers as well as in the 393rd's B-2 Spirits.
The 509 OG traces its history to the World War II 509th Composite Group (509 CG), which conducted the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in August 1945.
Redesignated the 509th Bombardment Group, Very Heavy in 1946, the group was one of the original ten bombardment groups of Strategic Air Command. The unit was also the host organization at Roswell Army Airfield, New Mexico in July 1947 during the alleged Roswell incident.
The 509th Bombardment Group was inactivated in 1952. In 1993, the unit was reactivated as the 509 OG, as part of the Objective Wing organization implementation of the 509th Bomb Wing.