The 18th Combat Mapping Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

 unit. It was last assigned to the 66th Strategic Reconnaissance Group and stationed at Newark Army Air Base, New Jersey.

History

Established in early 1943 at Colorado Springs AAB. Trained in photo-reconnaissance under Second Air Force

Second Air Force

The Second Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command . It is headquartered at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi....

 in Colorado and at Oklahoma City. Equipped with very-long range F-5 (P-38 Lightning

P-38 Lightning

The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was a World War II American fighter aircraft built by Lockheed. Developed to a United States Army Air Corps requirement, the P-38 had distinctive twin booms and a single, central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament...

) reconnaissance aircraft.

Deployed to the South Pacific Area, assigned to Thirteenth Air Force

Thirteenth Air Force

The Thirteenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Hickam Air Force Base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. 13 AF has never been stationed in the continental United States...

. Flew hazardous unarmed reconnaissance missions over enemy-held territory in Guadalcanal

Guadalcanal

Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...

; New Guinea

New Guinea

New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...

; Northern Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...

; Bismarck Archipelago

Bismarck Archipelago

The Bismarck Archipelago is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea.-History:...

; Western Pacific; Leyte

Leyte

Leyte is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Tacloban City and occupies the northern three-quarters of the Leyte Island. Leyte is located west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran...

; Luzon

Luzon

Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...

; Southern Philippines. Returned to the United States and was inactivated at Will Rogers Field, Oklahoma on 15 Jan 1944.

Activated in the reserves in 1947 at Newark Airport

Newark Airport

Newark Airport may refer to:Airports:* Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, United States * Newark-Heath Airport in Newark, Ohio, United States Other:...

, New Jersey. Undetermined if unit was manned or equipped, inactivated in 1949 due to budget reductions.

Lineage

• Constituted 18th Photographic Mapping Squadron on 14 Jul 1942

Activated on 23 Ju1 1942

Re-designated: 18th Photographic Squadron (Heavy) on 6 Feb 1943

Re-designated: 18th Combat Mapping Squadron on 9 Oct 1943

Inactivated on 20 Feb 1944

• Re-designated 18th Reconnaissance Squadron (Photographic) on 8 Oct 1947

Activated in the reserve on 6 Nov 1947

Inactivated on 27 Jun 1949.

Assignments

• 4th Photographic (later Photographic Reconnaissance and Mapping; Photographic) Group
  4th Reconnaissance Group
  The 4th Reconnaissance Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Thirteenth Air Force and was stationed at Clark Field, Philippines. It was inactivated on 15 January 1946....
  
  , 23 Jul 1942-20 Feb 1944

Air echelon assigned 8th Photographic Reconnaissance Group, 9 Oct 1943-15 Jan 1944)

• 66th Strategic Reconnaissance Group, 6 Nov 1947-27 Jun 1949

Stations

• Colorado Springs Army Air Base, Colo, 23 Jul-12 Dec 1942

Bulk of air echelon at: Colorado Springs Army Air Base, Colo, to 12 Oct 1943

Bulk of air echelon at: Will Rogers Field, Okla, 14 Oct 1943-15 Jan 1944

• Plaine Des Gaiacs Airfield
  Plaine Des Gaiacs Airfield
  Plaine Des Gaiacs Airfield is a former World War II airfield on New Caledonia, Melanesia in the South Pacific. It is located at Plaine Des Gaiacs near the village of Pouembout...
  
  , New Caledonia, 20-25 Jan 1943
• Luganville Airfield, Espiritu Santo, 2 Feb 1943-20 Feb 1944

Detachment of air echelon at Luganville Airfield after 4 Apr 1943

• Newark Army Airfield, NJ, 6 Nov 1947-27 Jun 1949.

Aircraft

• P-38 Lightning
  P-38 Lightning
  The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was a World War II American fighter aircraft built by Lockheed. Developed to a United States Army Air Corps requirement, the P-38 had distinctive twin booms and a single, central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament...
  
  , 1942
• In addition to B-25 Mitchell
  B-25 Mitchell
  The North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, as well as many other air forces after the war ended, and saw service across four decades.The B-25 was named...
  
  , 1943-1944
• Included B-24 Liberator
  B-24 Liberator
  The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
  
  (used by air echelon in Oklahoma) in 1943.