The 343d Reconnaissance Squadron (343 RS) is part of the 55th Wing

55th Wing

The 55th Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Combat Command. The unit is stationed at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska....

 at Offutt Air Force Base

Offutt Air Force Base

Offutt Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force installation near Omaha, and lies adjacent to Bellevue in Sarpy County, Nebraska. It is the headquarters of the U.S...

, Nebraska

Nebraska

Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....

.

History

The 343d flew combat missions in the European Theater of Operations

European Theater of Operations

The European Theater of Operations, United States Army was a United States Army formation which directed U.S. Army operations in parts of Europe from 1942 to 1945. It referred to Army Ground Forces, United States Army Air Forces, and Army Service Forces operations north of Italy and the...

 from, 15 October 1943-21 April 1945. It conducted aerial photography from 1947–1949 and global strategic

Military strategy

Military strategy is a set of ideas implemented by military organizations to pursue desired strategic goals. Derived from the Greek strategos, strategy when it appeared in use during the 18th century, was seen in its narrow sense as the "art of the general", 'the art of arrangement' of troops...

 reconnaissance

Reconnaissance

Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....

 from 1950-1979. Since 1979 the squadron has provided worldwide strategic reconnaissance support, including operations in Grenada

Grenada

Grenada is an island country and Commonwealth Realm consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea...

 in 1983, Libya

Libya

Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

 in 1986, and Southwest Asia

Southwest Asia

Western Asia, West Asia, Southwest Asia or Southwestern Asia are terms that describe the westernmost portion of Asia. The terms are partly coterminous with the Middle East, which describes a geographical position in relation to Western Europe rather than its location within Asia...

 from 1990-1991.

Lineage

• Constituted as 343 Fighter Squadron (Twin Engine), on 21 Jan 1943

Activated on 1 Feb 1943

Redesignated as: 343 Fighter Squadron, Twin Engine, on 20 Aug 1943

Redesignated as: 343 Fighter Squadron, Single Engine, on 5 Sep 1944

Inactivated on 20 Aug 1946

• Redesignated as 343 Reconnaissance Squadron, Very Long Range, Mapping, on 5 Feb 1947

Activated on 24 Feb 1947

Redesignated as 343 Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, Photo-Mapping, on 29 Jun 1948

Inactivated on 14 Oct 1949

• Redesignated as 343 Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, Medium, Electronics, on 27 Oct 1950

Activated on 1 Nov 1950

Redesignated as: 343 Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, Medium, on 15 Jul 1954

Redesignated as: 343 Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron on 16 Aug 1966

Redesignated as: 343 Reconnaissance Squadron on 1 Sep 1991.

Assignments

• 55th Fighter Group, 1 Feb 1943-20 Aug 1946
• 55th Reconnaissance (later, 55 Strategic Reconnaissance) Group, 24 Feb 1947-14 Oct 1949

Attached to 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, 19 Jul-26 Oct 1948

• 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Group, 1 Nov 1950

Attached to 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, 1 Nov 1950-3 Jan 1951

Attached to 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, 4 Jan 1951-15 Jun 1952

• 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, 16 Jun 1952
• 55th Operations Group
  55th Operations Group
  The 55th Operations Group is a component of the 55th Wing, assigned to the United States Air Force Air Combat Command. The group is stationed at Offut Air Force Base, Nebraska....
  
  , 1 Sep 1991-Present

Stations

• McChord Field, Washington, 1 Feb-22 Aug 1943
• RAF Nuthampstead
  RAF Nuthampstead
  RAF Nuthampstead is a former World War II airfield in England. The airfield is located mostly in Hertfordshire between the villages of Nuthampstead and Anstey in Hertfordshire and Langley and Lower Green in Essex. The eastern part of the airfield including part of the East-West Runway, the Fuel...
  
   (AAF-131), England, 16 Sep 1943
• RAF Wormingford
  RAF Wormingford
  RAF Station Wormingford is a former World War II airfield in Essex, England. The airfield is located approximately northwest of Colchester....
  
   (AAF-159), England, 16 Apr 1944
• AAF Station Kaufbeuren, Germany, c. 20 Jul 1945
• AAF Station Giebelstadt, Germany, 30 Apr-20 Aug 1946
• MacDill Field (later, AFB), Florida, 24 Feb 1947
• Topeka (later, Forbes) AFB, Kansas, 30 Jun 1948-14 Oct 1949
• Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, 1 Nov 1950
• Ramey AFB, Puerto Rico, 3 Jan 1951
• Forbes AFB, Kansas, 10 Oct 1952

Deployed at Benguerir AB, French Morocco, 30 May 1955-8 Aug 1955

• Offutt AFB, NE, 16 Aug 1966-Present

Aircraft Operated

• 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...
  
   (1943–1944)
• P-51 Mustang
  P-51 Mustang
  The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...
  
   (1944–1946)
• P-80 Shooting Star
  P-80 Shooting Star
  The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star was the first jet fighter used operationally by the United States Army Air Forces. Designed in 1943 as a response to the German Messerschmitt Me-262 jet fighter, and delivered in just 143 days from the start of the design process, production models were flying but...
  
   (1946)
• F-2 Expeditor
  Beechcraft Model 18
  The Beechcraft Model 18, or "Twin Beech", as it is better known, is a 6-11 seat, twin-engine, low-wing, conventional-gear aircraft that was manufactured by the Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas...
  
   (1947, 1948)
• FB-17 Flying Fortress (1947–1948)
• F-9 Flying Fortress (1947–1948)
• RB-17 Flying Fortress (1948–1949)
• RB-29 Superfortress (1948–1949, 1950–1951)

• TB-29 (1949)
• RB-50 (1951–1954)
• C-47 Skytrain
  C-47 Skytrain
  The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...
  
   (1953–1954)
• LB-29 (1954)
• KB-29 (1954)
• RB-47 (1954–1967)
• EB-47 (1957–1967)
• RC-135 (1967–1979)

Operations

• World War II
  World War II
  World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
  
  
• Operation Urgent Fury
• Operation El Dorado Canyon
  Operation El Dorado Canyon
  The 1986 United States bombing of Libya, code-named Operation El Dorado Canyon, comprised the joint United States Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps air-strikes against Libya on April 15, 1986. The attack was carried out in response to the 1986 Berlin discotheque bombing.-Origins:Shortly after his...
  
  
• Operation Desert Storm

External links

• AFHRA 343d Reconnaissance Squadron History