5th Composite Group

5th Operations Group
Emblem of the 5th Operations Group
Active	1919–1952; 1991–present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force

The 5th Operations Group (5 OG) is an operational component of the United States Air Force 5th Bomb Wing, stationed at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. Its mission is to manage and operate B-52H Stratofortress bombers serve as part of the Air Force's conventional and strategic combat force.

The group is one of the oldest units in the United States Air Force, being a successor organization of the 5th Group (Composite), one of the 15 original combat air groups formed by the Army before World War II.

The 5 OG commands the following squadrons (Tail Code: MT):

The group's emblem, approved in 1924, features a winged death's head as an uncompromising symbol of its combat mission

The 5th Operations Group’s history dates back more than eight decades to the infancy of military aviation. It originally activated as the 2nd Group (Observation) 15 August 1919, at Luke Field in the Territory of Hawaii. In 1921, the group was redesignated the 5th Group (Observation). A year later, it became the 5th Group (Pursuit and Bombardment) with its crews flying DeHaviland DH-4 aircraft.

Activities included training, participating in Army-Navy maneuvers, staging aerial reviews and sowing seeds from the air for the Territorial Forestry Division. In 1935, the group helped save the city of Hilo, Hawaii, during the eruption of the Mauna Loa volcano. Ten Keystone B-3 and B-4 bombers from the group’s 23d and 72d Bombardment Squadrons dropped 20, 600-pound bombs around the volcano to divert molten lava away from the town. Redesignated 5th Bombardment Group in March 1938, 5th Bombardment Group (Medium) in December 1939, and 5th Bombardment Group (Heavy) in November 1940. Equipped with Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses and Douglas B-18 Bolos by December 1941.