page_title: 36th Operations Group
section_title: United States Air Forces in Europe
hierarchical_section_title: 36th Operations Group / History / United States Air Forces in Europe
caption_attribution_description: English: 36th Fighter-Bomber Wing F-84E 49-2150 Furstenfeldbruck AB 1950
context_page_description: The 36th Operations Group is the operational component of the 36th Wing, assigned to the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces. The group is stationed at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.
  The groups World War II predecessor unit, the 36th Fighter Group was a prewar unit deployed to the European Theater and assigned to Ninth Air Force. The group flew Republic P-47 Thunderbolts and earned a Distinguished Unit Citation for operations on 1 September 1944 when, in a series of missions, the group attacked German columns south of the Loire River in order to disrupt the enemy's retreat across central France to Dijon.
  The 36th OG assumed the mission of the 36th Expeditionary Operations Group on 14 February 2007 and established a permanent command structure for deployed Air Force units assigned to Andersen AFB.
context_section_description: As a result of the Berlin Blockade and other Cold War tensions in Europe, the 36th Fighter Group was reassigned to USAFE. The squadron was assigned to Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base West Germany on 13 August 1948, being the first USAFE unit to be jet-equipped with the Lockheed F-80 "Shooting Star". At Fürstenfeldbruck tactical operations included air defense, tactical exercises, maneuvers, and photographic reconnaissance. In May 1949, the group formed the Skyblazers aerial demonstration team, which it controlled until August 1952, and again from October 1956 to January 1962 when it was disbanded.
  On 20 January 1950, the group was redesignated as the 36th Fighter-Bomber Group (FBG) when 89 Republic F-84E "Thunderjets" arrived. Existing USAFE bases in West Germany, however, were deemed very vulnerable to an attack by the Soviet Union, given their proximity to East Germany and other Warsaw Pact nations. Negotiations with other NATO nations were made to build new bases west of the Rhine River. The F-80s were sent back to CONUS to equip Air National Guard units. In addition to its primary installation at Fürstenfeldbruck, the wing controlled Oberpfaffenhofen AB, West Germany, December 1949 – February 1950.
  The 36th FBG remained at Fürstenfeldbruck until 1952 when it was reassigned to the new Bitburg Air Base, in the Eifel mountains west of the Rhine River. Throughout the summer, elements of the 36th FBG moved into Bitburg, with the Group officially arriving in November 1952.
  In August 1953, the North American F-86F "Sabre" was introduced to the group, replacing the F-84s. On 31 March 1954, The 1st Pilotless Bomber Squadron, equipped with the B-61A Matador, was assigned to the 36th Fighter Bomber Group, Bitburg Air Base, Germany, making it the first operational U.S. missile unit. The 1st PBS eventually was renamed to Tactical Missile Squadron (TMS), and in 1958 was renumbered to the 71st TMS and the unit was assigned to the 701st TMW at Hahn, although stationed at Bitburg Air Base.
  In August 1954, the Group was redesignated as the 36th Fighter-Day Group. In 1956, the group received the North American F-100 "Super Sabre," marking the first time a wing in USAFE flew supersonic jets. Group inactivated on 8 December 1957 when parent wing adopted Tri-Deputate organization and assigned operational squadrons directly to the wing.
  In 1977 the 36th Tactical Fighter Wing was the first wing in Europe to fly the new F-15A and F-15B Eagle air superiority fighters, replacing the F-4E Phantoms of the 525 TFS, the 22 TFS and the 53 TFS.
  On 1 October 1991 the wing was redesignated as the 36th Fighter Wing when the objective wing concept was implemented. The 36th Operations Group was also activated to control the operational flying squadrons of the Wing.
  Bitburg Air Base was one of the bases affected by the 1993 Base Realignment and Closure Commission (or BRAC) decisions that saw the drawdown of many military facilities in a series of post-Cold War force reductions. In July 1993, HQ USAFE announced the closure of Bitburg Air Base and the pending inactivation of the 36th Fighter Wing. On 1 October 1994 the 36th Fighter Wing was inactivated along with all subordinate units.
caption: 36th Fighter-Bomber Group F-84E 49-2150 Fürstenfeldbruck AB, West Germany, 1950
exif: {"Image Make": "HP", "Image Model": "HP ojp7700", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Paint Shop Pro Photo 12.01", "Image DateTime": "2011:09:10 19:16:24", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ReferenceBlackWhite": "[0, 255, 128, 255, 128, 255]", "Image ExifOffset": "274", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "300", "Thumbnail YResolution": "300", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1112", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "5071", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2011:09:10 18:46:35", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1607", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "854", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "\u0002\u0002\u0002\u0002", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[3, 0, 0, 0]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "970", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF DeviceSettingDescription": "[1, 0, 19, 0, 32, 32, 32, 48, 65, 48, 32, 32, 32, 55, 65, 48, 32, 32, 32, 56, ... ]"}