442nd Operations Group
military unit

The 442d Operations Group is an active United States Air Force Reserve unit. It is the flying component of the Tenth Air Force 442d Fighter Wing, stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri.
The unit's World War II predecessor unit, the 442d Troop Carrier Group was a C-47 Skytrain transport unit assigned to Ninth Air Forces in Western Europe. The 442d TCG group carried 82nd Airborne paratroopers into France for the 6 June 1944, D-Day invasion. In September 1944, the 442d flew units of the 101st Airborne into Belgium during Operation Market Garden. After D-Day, the 442d TCG flew resupply missions, hauled freight, and evacuated casualties in support of the Allied efforts in France and Belgium. While continuing its transport duties until V-E Day, it also released gliders filled with troops in the airborne assault across the Rhine River in March 1945, carried supplies to ground forces in Germany during April and May, and evacuated liberated prisoners of war.
Units
The 442d Operations Group (Tail Code: KC), operates A-10 Thunderbolt II Aircraft.
303d Fighter Squadron
442d Operations Support Flight
History
For additional lineage and history, see 442d Fighter Wing
World War II
The 442d trained in the United States with C-47 Skytrain and C-53 aircraft, then moved to England in March 1944 for duty with Ninth Air Force. The 442d was a group of Ninth Air Force's 50th Troop Carrier Wing, IX Troop Carrier Command.
“442nd Operations Group” enters the record as military unit. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what 442nd, Operations and Group can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 31, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q4637990. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1944 and 1945.
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