325th Operations Group

325th Operations Group
43d Fighter Squadron F-22 Raptor with a group F-15 Eagle
Active	1942–1945, 1947-1952, 1955-1960, 1991–present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Type	Fighter
Part of	Air Combat Command Ninth Air Force 325th Fighter Wing
Garrison/HQ	Tyndall Air Force Base
Motto(s)	Locare et Liquidare Latin Locate and Liquidate
Engagements	World War II Mediterranean Theater of Operations
Decorations	Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Insignia
325th Operations Group emblem (Approved 1 October 1951)

The 325th Operations Group is the flying component of the 325th Fighter Wing, assigned to Air Combat Command of the United States Air Force . The group is stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. It conducts training on the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor and commands one operational Raptor squadron. It directs the flying and support operations of two F-22 squadrons, a fighter training squadron, an operations support squadron and a training support squadron.

The group was first activated in August 1942 as the 325th Fighter Group at Mitchel Field, New York. After training at Hillsgrove Army Air Field, Rhode Island, the group moved to North Africa in 1943, where it flew combat missions with the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, earning a Distinguished Unit Citation for actions over Sardinia for engaging a superior force of enemy aircraft and destroying more than half of them. The group was withdrawn from combat in the fall of 1943 and re-equipped with the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. After moving to Italy, the group re-entered combat, earning a second Distinguished Unit Citation in January 1944. The group continued in combat until VE Day, returning to the United States in the fall for inactivation.

The 325th was again activated in 1947 as an all-weather fighter unit, moving late in the year to Hamilton Air Force Base. California. It assumed responsibility for air defense of the northern Pacific coast after moving to Moses Lake Air Force Base, Washington . With the beginning of the Korean War, a number of Air National Guard units were activated, one of which was attached to the group. In December 1951, the group dispatched one of its squadrons to Korea to provide all-weather air defense for the Seoul region. However, Air Defense Command (ADC) was finding that the single group and wing organization did not fit its model of dispersed fighter squadrons. Accordingly, it replaced its fighter wings and groups with regionally oriented defense wings and inactivated the group in February 1952.