50th Operations Group
The 50th Operations Group was a subordinate unit of the 50th Space Wing, and assigned to Air Force Space Command from 1991-2019. The group, redesignated as Space Delta 8 on 24 Jul 2020 is stationed at Schriever Space Force Base, previously Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado.
| 50th Operations Group | |
|---|---|
| Active | December 1991–24 July 2020 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Space Force |
| Size | Over 1100 military and civilians |
| Garrison/HQ | Schriever Air Force Base |
| Motto(s) | Master of the Sky (1941–1957) Master of Space (1992–present) |
| Engagements | European Theater of World War II |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Cited in the Order of the Day by the Belgian Army |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | John E. Shaw |
| Insignia | |
| 50th Operations Group emblem (Originally approved for the group 9 January 1942) | |
| Original form of the Group emblem | |
| Group emblem from 23 August 1956 to 8 December 1957 | |
The group was activated in January 1941 as the 50th Pursuit Group and began training under Third Air Force. In May 1942 it was reassigned to the Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics, where it was a training and test unit as the 50th Fighter Group (Special). The group moved to the European Theater of Operations in the Spring 1944 expansion of Ninth Air Force in England in preparation for Operation Overlord. It few its first combat mission on 1 May 1944. The group moved to France in late June and continued in combat until V-E Day. During combat operations over Western Europe, the unit received two Distinguished Unit Citations. It returned to the United States, where it was inactivated on 7 November 1945.
In June 1949 the group was activated as a reserve unit at Otis Air Force Base, Massachusetts, where it was a corollary unit of the active duty 33d Fighter Group. In 1950, it became the 50th Fighter-Interceptor Group. The group was called to active duty in connection with the Korean War in June 1950, but was inactivated a few days later and its personnel were transferred to other units.
The group, now designated the 50th Fighter-Bomber Group, was activated in January 1953, when it took over the mission, personnel and equipment of the 140th Fighter-Bomber Group, a Colorado Air National Guard unit that had been federalized for the Korean War. Once the group transitioned from North American F-51 Mustangs to North American F-86 Sabres, it deployed to Germany and Hahn Air Base. It moved to Toul-Rosières Air Base, France in 1956, and was inactivated there in late 1957.
Although the group was renamed the 50th Tactical Fighter Group in 1985, it remained inactive until December 1991, when, as the 50th Operations Group, it took over the personnel of the 1002d Operations Group, which was simultaneously inactivated. Since then, the group has managed a variety of surveillance and communications satellites for the Department of Defense.