51st Pursuit Group

51st Operations Group
A-10 Thunderbolt IIs taxi for a training mission at Osan AB
Active	1941–1945; 1946–1957; 1990-Present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Fighter
Part of	Pacific Air Forces
Motto(s)	Deftly and Swiftly
Engagements	Burma Campaign Korean War
Decorations	Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Korean Presidential Unit Citation
Insignia
51st Operations Group emblem
51st Fighter Group emblem (approved 5 February 1942)

The 51st Operations Group is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force 51st Fighter Wing, stationed at Osan Air Base, South Korea.

The group was first activated during the buildup for World War II as the 51st Pursuit Group. It was one of the first groups deployed from the United States after the Attack on Pearl Harbor, traveling west to India via Australia and Ceylon. It has never returned to the United States. Later, during the Korean War, the group's aircraft were some of the first United States Air Force fighters to engage in combat operations over South Korea, frequently engaging enemy fighters in air-to-air combat.

The 51st Operations Group is the most forward deployed USAF operations group in the world, providing combat ready aircraft for the close air support, air strike control, counter air, interdiction, theater airlift, and communications in the defense of the Republic of Korea.

The 51 Operation Group (Tail Code: OS) consists of the following squadrons:

During 1941, trained in the United States for fighter operations. After the Pearl Harbor attack on 7 December, the 51st served as part of the defense force for the west coast. Operational squadrons of the group were the 16th, 25th, 26th and 449th.

The group was deployed to India via Australia and Ceylon beginning in January 1942 and arriving in March, serving in the China Burma India Theater of World War II. It was assigned to Tenth Air Force and equipped with Curtiss P-40 Warhawks and Lockheed P-38 Lightnings. The group defended the Indian terminus of the "Hump" airlift route over the Himalaya Mountains between India and China and airfields in that area. The group flew strafing, bombing, reconnaissance, and patrol missions in support of Allied ground troops during a Japanese offensive in northern Burma in 1943.