| 1st Experimental Guided Missiles Group | |
|---|---|
Postwar testing of the JB-2 Loon at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico |
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| Active | 1946-1949 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
The 1st Experimental Guided Missiles Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Air Proving Ground Command and stationed at Eglin Field, Florida. It was inactivated on 22 July 1949.
The 1st EGMG was the initial United States Army Air Forces (later United States Air Force) dedicated missile unit. All subsequent USAF missile activities to the present day can be traced historically to this unit.
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Activated on 6 February 1946, during its first year of operation, the 1st Experimental Guided Missiles Group operated out of Eglin's Auxiliary Field #3. The unit's formation was a result of the Air Materiel Command's Engineering Division at Wright-Patterson AFB looking for places to allow it's contractors to launch missiles.
Initially after the Group's formation, personnel attended technical schools or supported other Air Proving Ground units, but apart from receiving nationwide attention in January 1947 for completing a QB-17 Flying Fortress drone flight from Eglin to Washington D.C. on a simulated bombing mission, the Group received little notice in its own right. Without higher supply and personnel priorities, very little else could be accomplished.
The group also performed contractor management to gather knowledgeable people in missile propulsion, guidance, launching, and see what a reasonable set of missile requirements would be.
The contractor would be responsible for the requirements, and ultimately responsible for seeing that the project planning and development came together. It should also be noted that in the late 1940s, the available funding that was provided to the Air Force was directed towards jet aircraft development. Missiles, at the time, were a piecemeal effort which reflected much competition among the three military branches and development often took a backseat to Strategic Air Command bomber and tanker force improvements.
The situation began to change in March 1947, when the Group headquarters moved to Eglin's main base and received its first series of test projects. Though most of the Group's efforts were devoted to "on-the-job" training and providing assistance to contractors who launched those weapons, the 1st began implementing its mission, which included
Following the definition of missile requirements and the development of a clear mission, Air Materiel Command started looking for likely places to allow its contractors to launch missiles. The Eglin Air Proving Ground was used for QB-17 Flying Fortress drone aircraft operations, guided bomb experiments with the VB-6 Felix, VB-3 Razon, and VB-13 Tarzon, and ordnance testing; a detachment also carried out some missile activities at the Navy's Guided Missile Test Center at Point Mugu, California.
The group also operated a detachment for JB-2 Loon testing, an American version of the German V-1 flying at Alamogordo Army Airfield, New Mexico. The Group also began providing observers for guided missile tests at laboratories and factories, including those programs sponsored by the Army and Navy.
Though preparations for operating QB-17s for the Operation Sandstone atomic bomb tests engaged most of the Group's resources from July 1947 through June 1948, the 1st Experimental Air Service Squadron picked up responsibility for drone aircraft bombing tests (e.g., Operation Banshee) and conducted a limited number of JB-2 and VB-6 tests during that period.
The 1st regrouped its activities after Operation Sandstone, and it spent several months preparing a detachment to depart for cold weather testing of the JB-2 in Alaska in November 1948. Razon and Tarzon bomb tests were underway by the end of the year.
During the last seven months of its existence, the 1st Experimental Guided Missiles Group either supervised or participated in eleven different missile-related projects. In addition to the on-going gliding bomb projects, the Group had a detachment in training at Naval Air Station Point Mugu, California, to handle and operate the Navy's LARK surface-to-air missile.
The Group also provided a detachment to support the Matador Missile project at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. The Group's other projects included preparation for the Operation Greenhouse atomic test (conducted in 1951), drone aircraft "ditching" tests (to test structural weaknesses) and drone aircraft support for high-altitude incendiary ammunition tests and infrared radiation experiments
On 20 July 1949, the 1st Experimental Guided Missiles Group was deactivated, and it was replaced by the 550th Guided Missiles Wing on the same date.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.