20th Operations Group

The 20th Operations Group (20 OG) is the flying component of the 20th Fighter Wing, assigned to the United States Air Force Air Combat Command. It is stationed at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is a successor organization of the 20th Pursuit Group, one of the 15 original combat air groups formed by the U.S. Army before World War II.

During World War II the 20th Fighter Group was an Eighth Air Force fighter unit stationed in the United Kingdom. It arrived at RAF Kings Cliffe in 1943. It was the oldest USAAF group to be assigned to the Eighth Air Force for an extended period, flying 312 combat missions. It was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for a sweep over Germany on 8 April 1944.

Today the group mobilizes, deploys, flies, and fights approximately 80 F-16CJ Fighting Falcon fighter aircraft. It can carry out conventional air-to-surface, air superiority, suppression of enemy air defenses, destruction of enemy air defenses and maritime operations.

The 20th Balloon Group was authorized as an inactive organization of the United States Army Air Corps on 18 October 1927. It was redesignated as the 20th Pursuit Group in 1929 and activated on 15 November 1930 at Mather Field, California and consisted of the 71st Service Squadron (the administrative and support element of the group) and initially two flying squadrons:

The 20th flew Boeing P-12 single-seat, biplane fighters which featured two .30 caliber machine guns, an open cockpit, a 500 horsepower (370 kW) Pratt and Whitney engine, and a top speed of 180 miles per hour.

Upon activation, the group welcomed the arrival of the first of many famous airmen to grace its ranks. Major Clarence L. Tinker, its first commander, led the group until 13 October 1932. Major Tinker, part Osage Indian, gained fame as Major General Tinker, World War II Commander of the Seventh Air Force in the Pacific Theater. Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, was named in his honor a year after his death during the Battle of Midway in 1942.

On 15 May 1931, the 20th PG made a cross-country trip while going on maneuvers. These maneuvers were part of the first of its kind for the Air Corps. "The Great Air Armada" put on shows in Chicago, New York City, Boston, and Washington, DC. The maneuvers consisted of all Air Corps aircraft with the exception of basic trainers, around 640 aircraft.

The Group remained at Mather Field for a little less than two years until 15 October 1932. On that date an advance party of more than 200 officers, enlisted men, and their dependents, under the command of Captain Thomas Boland, sailed from San Francisco aboard the USAT U. S. Grant. They traveled through the Panama Canal and debarked at New Orleans, Louisiana, on 30 October 1932. On the following day, they arrived at Barksdale Field, Louisiana. Just prior to its transfer to Barksdale, the group was assigned, along with the 3rd Attack Group, to the 3rd Attack Wing in June 1932. The 3rd Attack Wing and Group operated out of Fort Crockett, Texas.