7th Operations Group The 7th Operations Group is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force 7th Bomb Wing , stationed at Dyess Air Force Base , Texas . The 7th Operations Group currently flies the B - 1 Lancer . The 7th Operations Group is a direct successor organization of the 7th Bombardment Group , one of the 15 original combat air groups formed by the United States Army before World War II . Activated in 1921 , it inherited the lineage of the 1st Army Observation Group , which was established and organized , on 6 September 1918 . The 7th Bombardment Group was deploying to the Philippines when the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 . Six of the group ' s B - 17 Flying Fortress aircraft which had left Hamilton Field , California on 6 December 1941 reached Hawaii during the enemy attack , but were able to land safely . The unit later served in India during World War II . In the postwar era , the 7d Bombardment Group was one of the first USAAF units assigned to the Strategic Air Command on 1 October 1946 , prior to the establishment of the United States Air Force . Equipped with low - hour B - 29 Superfortress surplus World War II aircraft , the group was inactivated in 1952 when the parent wing adopted the Tri - Deputate organization and assigned all of the groups squadrons directly to the wing . Reactivated as the 7th Operations Group in 1991 when the 7th Bomb Wing adopted the USAF Objective organization plan . Assigned Units . The 7 OG ( Tail Code : DY ) consists of the following units : Both the 9th and 28th Bomb Squadrons fought in combat on the Western Front of World War I , and histories predate that of the Operations Group . Heraldry . The group ' s emblem , approved in 1933 , features three crosses symbolizing its squadrons ' battle honors . The diagonal stripe was taken from the coat of arms of Province of Lorraine which France took back from Germany in World War I . History . World War I . In the summer of 1918 and the organization of the United States First Army in France , the First Army Observation Group was organized at Gondreville - sur - Moselle Aerodrome on 6 September . The group initially consisted of the 91st and 24th Aero Squadron s , which flew over the front into enemy territory . Aircraft from the group took numerous air photos and compiled maps of enemy troop concentrations , road convoys , railway traffic , artillery and other targets during the Battle of Saint - Mihiel in mid - September . On 22 September , the group changed stations , moving to Vavincourt Aerodrome . At Vavincourt , the 9th Aero Squadron ( Night Observation ) was assigned to the unit . With the addition of the 9th , both day and night patrols were made over enemy territory , with intelligence being returned to First Army headquarters . The duties of the group consisted of long - distance patrols far into the enemy rear areas , both visual and photographic . Special attention was paid to enemy movements on roads , canals and railways . Railway stations and marshalling yards were noted , along with supply depots , airfields and munition storage areas . Once located , they were kept under routine observation . Also , the locations of enemy heavy artillery batteries were monitored and their movements recorded . The First Army OG flew no less than 521 successful missions , with a total of 1 , 271 sorties being made . Daily battles with enemy aircraft were engaged , with the group shooting down 50 aircraft in 111 aerial combats . With the Armistice with Germany being reached on 11 November 1918 , the group ceased flying into enemy territory , but maintained an alert for several weeks afterward . Between The Wars . After World War I , the Army Air Service was re - organized on a permanent basis . The 1st Army Observation Group was organized at Park Field , Memphis , Tennessee on 1 October 1919 . It was transferred to Langley Field , Virginia and was assigned the 1st , 12th and 88th Aero Squadron s , equipped with surplus de Havilland DH - 4 s . On 14 March 1921 , with the formation of the United States Army Air Service , it was re - designated as the 7th Observation Group . It was inactivated due to funding issues on 30 August 1921 . The group was re - formed at Rockwell Field , San Diego , California and activated on 1 June 1928 . The re - formed Group was assigned the 9th , 11th , 22d and 31st Bombardment Squadrons . The 9th , 11th and 31st squadrons lent their World War I lineage to the group ’ s emblem as indicated by the three Maltese Cross es on the shield . While the group was assigned at Rockwell Field , the fledgling Air Force was testing new theories and ideas . In early 1931 , the 7th began training aircrews in radio - controlled interception . A bomber , acting as a target , reported by radio to a ground station , giving location , altitude and course . Armed with this information , ground controllers guided pursuit aircraft to the objective . The 7th was transferred to March Field , Riverside California , on 29 October 1931 with its 11th Squadron joining the 9th and 31st Bombardment Squadrons which had been activated on 1 April 1931 , but had not been manned . The Curtiss B - 2 Condor was flown by the 11th ; the 9th flew the Keystone B - 4 ; while the 31st flew 0 - 35s , B - 1s , and B - 7s . A sprinkling of other aircraft types from the era was also found among the squadrons . The 7th trained and participated in aerial reviews , assisted in atmospheric experiments , dropped food and medical supplies to people marooned or lost , and took part in massive Army maneuvers during the 1930s flying Curtiss and Keystone biplane bombers , then Martin B - 12 s , For 102 days in 1934 the Army Air Corps flew domestic air mail routes , assigned to the job by an executive order from the White House . This followed a year long investigation that alleged fraud and collusion among the dozen or so airlines who hauled the mail for a subsidy of fifty four cents per mile own . Following the closure of Rockwell Field in San Diego , the 7th had to make room at March for the 19th Bomb Group . Overcrowding at March and the opening of the new Hamilton Field near San Francisco led the group to be transferred on 22 May 1937 and equipped with B - 18 Bolos . Equipped with the new B - 17C in 1939 , runway issues at Hamilton Field forced a transfer to Fort Douglas / Salt Lake City Municipal Airport , Utah on 1 September 1940 which could better handle the large , heavy bombers . In Utah , the group was re - equ9pped with the B - 17E – the first Fortress to introduce a completely new rear fuselage with a manually operated turret housing two 0 . 50 - inch machine guns fitted in the extreme tail . With the crisis in the Pacific in late 1941 , ground elements departed from Fort Douglas 13 November 1941 and sailed from the port of San Francisco on 21 November on an army transport en route to the Philippines . Aircraft and crews began departing Muroc Field , CA , on 6 December en route to Hawaii . Elements of the group flew their B - 17s into Hickam Field at the height of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor . World War II . The group was in the process of moving to the Philippines when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 . Six of the Group ' s B - 17 aircraft left Utah on 5 December for deployment to the Far East . Six of them arrived in Hawaii but landed safely at alternate airfields , avoiding destruction by the attacking Japanese aircraft . The rest of them were ordered to defend California against the Japanese threat , since in the hysteria of the moment the Japanese fleet was expected to show up off the Pacific Coast at any time . The ground echelon , on board a ship in the Pacific Ocean , was diverted to Brisbane , Australia . The air echelon moved its B - 17Es via North Africa and India to Java , where from 14 January to 1 March 1942 , it operated against the Japanese advancing through the Philippines and Netherlands East Indies . Received the Distinguished Unit Citation ( DUC ) for its action against enemy aircraft , ground installations , warships and transports . The group ' s B - 17Es were distributed to other bomb squadrons in Australia , and the air echelon was reunited with the ground echelon in India in March 1942 , being equipped with longer - range B - 24 Liberator s . From bases in India , the group resumed combat under Tenth Air Force against targets in Burma . It received B - 25 Mitchell s and LB - 30s in early 1942 but by the end of the year had converted entirely to B - 24s . From then through September 1945 , bombed airfields , fuel and supply dumps , locomotive works , railways , bridges , docks , warehouses , shipping , and troop concentrations in Burma and struck oil refineries in Thailand , power plants in China and enemy shipping in the Andaman Sea . Ceased bombing operations in late May 1945 and was attached to the Air Transport Command to haul gasoline over " The Hump " from India to China . Received second DUC for damaging enemy ' s line of supply in Southeast Asia with an attack against rail lines and bridges in Thailand on 19 March 1945 . Returned to US in December 1945 and inactivated the following month . Cold War . Activated on 1 October 1946 as a B - 29 bombardment group and trained with B - 29s in global bombardment operations , November 1947 – December 1948 . Personnel and aircraft of the new group , consisting of the Boeing B - 29 Superfortress , were transferred to Fort Worth AAF from the 92nd Bombardment Group at Spokane AAFld , Washington . With its B - 29s , the 7th prepared its people for any combat eventuality that might arise , flying simulated bombing missions over various cities . On 5 July 1947 , a flight of eight B - 29s of the 492nd Bomb Squadron deployed from Fort Worth AAF to Yokota AB , Japan . Shortly after this the detachment received orders to redeploy to Fort Worth AAF via Washington , D . C . The aircraft left Yokota AB on 2 August , flew over the Aleutian Islands , then into Anchorage , Alaska . From Anchorage the flight flew over Edmonton , Alberta , Canada , turned south and flew over Minnesota and Wisconsin . The bombers flew a low - level flight between The Pentagon and Washington Monument in the Capitol on 3 August . Completing this aerial demonstration , they headed for Fort Worth , landing 31 hours after launch from Japan and covering 7 , 086 miles . On 12 September , the group deployed 30 B - 29s to Giebelstadt Army Airfield , near Würzburg , West Germany . This flight was the largest bomber formation flown from Fort Worth AAF overseas to date , landing in Germany on 13 September . During their ten - day stay , the group bombers participated in training operations over Europe , as well as a show - of - force display by the United States in the early part of the Cold War with the Soviet Union . The flight redeployed from Germany on 23 September . On 17 November 1947 , the 7th Bombardment Wing was established to organize and train a force capable of immediate and sustained long range offensive warfare and operations in any part of the world . The 7th Bombardment Group became its operational component . The wing ' s mission was to prepare for global strategic bombardment in the event of hostilities . Under various designations , the 7th Bomb Wing flew a wide variety of aircraft at the base until its inactivation in 1993 . In June 1948 the first Consolidated B - 36A Peacekeeper was delivered . The first B - 36 was designated the " City of Fort Worth " ( AF Serial No . 44 - 92015 ) , and was assigned to the 492d Bomb Squadron . With the arrival of the B - 36s , the wing was redesignated as the 7th Bombardment Wing , Heavy on 1 August . B - 36s continued to arrive throughout 1948 , with the last B - 29 being transferred on 6 December to the 97th Bomb Group at Biggs AFB . For 10 years , the " Peacemaker " cast a large shadow on the Iron Curtain and served as our nations major deterrent weapons system . As part of the 7th Bomb Wing , the 11th Bomb Group was activated on 1 December with the 26th , 42nd , and 98th Bomb Squadrons , Heavy , were activated and assigned . The 11th Bomb Group was equipped with B - 36As for training purposes . A five ship B - 36 formation was flown on 15 January 1949 , in an air review over Washington , D . C . , commemorating the inauguration of the President of the United States , Harry S . Truman . In February 1949 , a B - 50 Superfortress ( developed from the famed B - 29 ) and named " Lucky Lady II " took off from Carswell for the first nonstop flight around the world . She returned to Carswell after mid - air refueling , flying 23 , 108 miles , and remaining aloft for ninety - four hours and one minute . In January 1951 , the 7th took part in a special training mission to the United Kingdom . The purpose of the mission was to evaluate the B - 36D under simulated war plan conditions . Also , further evaluate the equivalent airspeed and compression tactics for heavy bombardment aircraft . The aircraft , staging through Limestone AFB , Maine , would land at RAF Lakenheath , United Kingdom , following a night radar bombing attack on Helgoland , West Germany . From there the bombers would conduct a simulated bomb run on the Heston Bomb Plot , London , finally landing at RAF Lakenheath . This was the first deployment of wing and SAC B - 36 aircraft to England and Europe . For the next four days the flight flew sorties out of England . The aircraft redeployed to the states on 20 January arriving at Carswell on 21 January . On 16 February 1951 became a paper organization . With all assigned flying squadrons reassigned directly to the 7 Bombardment Wing as part of the Tri - Deputate organization plan adopted by the wing . The group inactivated on 16 June 1952 . Modern era . As part of a major Air Force - wide reorganization due to the implementation of the Objective Wing organization , the Group was redesignated 7 Operations Group and again became the combat element of the 7 Wing . It controlled two B - 52 squadrons and one KC - 135 air refueling squadron . When flying operations ended at Carswell AFB , TX in December 1992 , the group inactivated the following month . Upon activation of the 7 Wing at Dyess AFB , TX on 1 October 1993 , the group again activated as the combat element of the wing . Equipped with B - 1B and C - 130 aircraft , the group ' s mission included bombardment and tactical airlift . It lost its airlift responsibilities in April 1997 . At that time it also gained a conventional bombing mission . In November 1998 , deployed several aircraft to Oman in support of Operation Desert Fox , where the B - 1 flew its first combat missions on 17 and 18 December 1998 . Since 1999 , trained bomber aircrews for global conventional bombing .