9th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron
Encyclopedia
The 9th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force
organization. Its last assignment was with the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, being stationed at Shaw Air Force Base
, South Carolina
. It was inactivated on 1 September 1969.
for training with B-24 Liberator
s. Primarily trained in New Mexico
and Utah
. Received deployment orders for the Mediterranean Theater of Operations
(MTO) in August 1943. Moved to Georgia
and Virginia
where the squadron flew coastal patrol missions over the Southeast, October 1943-January 1944 while station in Italy was being constructed.
Deployed to Southern Italy in January 1944; entered combat in January 1944, being assigned to Fifteenth Air Force
55th Bombardment Wing
. Engaged in very long range strategic bombing missions to enemy military, industrial and transportation targets in Italy
, France
, Germany
, Austria
, Hungary
, Romania
, and Yugoslavia
, bombing railroad marshalling yards, oil refineries, airdrome installations, heavy industry, and other strategic objectives.
The squadron flew its last World War II combat mission on 26 April 1945. After V-E Day, was assigned to Green Project which was the movement of troops from Europe to the United States via the South Atlantic Transport Route. B-24s were modified with sealed bomb bays, removal of all defensive armament and internal fuselage equipped with seating to carry approximately 30 personnel. Was assigned to Air Transport Command
at Waller Field, Trinidad
and to Natal, Brazil. Moved personnel from s[Dakar]] in French West Africa
where personnel were transported across the South Atlantic to Brazil and eventually to Morrison Field, Florida
via Trinidad. Provided air transport until the end of September when the unit was inactivated.
314th Composite Wing in April 1946 as the 9th Reconnaissance Squadron (Very Long Range, Photographic) assigned to Johnson Air Base, Japan
. In Japan, the squadron flew various reconnaissance light and heavy bomber aircraft performing mapping missions over Occupied Japan
; Korea
; Okinawa; Indochina
; China
and other ares under Far East Air Force control after World War II. Also included classified missions over the Soviet Far East. Inactivated in October 1947.
Reactivated in July 1953 by Tactical Air Command
as the 9th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (Electronics and Weather) squadron at Shaw AFB, South Carolina
. Equipped with RB-26 Invader light bombers equipped for night reconnaissance missions. Upgraded to the jet RB-66C Destroyer aircraft in 1956; added WB-66 Destroyer weather and air sampling reconnaissance aircraft in 1957. Flew reconnaissance missions as well as functioning as a B-66 Training squadron until inactivated in 1969 due to budget reductions and consolidation of the B-66 force, which was mostly deployed in Southeast Asia
engaged in combat operations during the Vietnam War
.
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...
organization. Its last assignment was with the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, being stationed at Shaw Air Force Base
Shaw Air Force Base
Shaw Air Force Base is a United States Military facility located approximately west-northwest of Sumter, South Carolina. It is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command...
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. It was inactivated on 1 September 1969.
761st Bombardment Squadron
Activated as the 761st Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) in mid 1943; assigned to II Bomber CommandII Bomber Command
The II Bomber Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Second Air Force, based at Fort George Wright, Washington. It was inactivated on 6 October 1943....
for training with 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...
s. Primarily trained in New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
and Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. Received deployment orders for the Mediterranean Theater of Operations
Mediterranean Theater of Operations
The Mediterranean Theater of Operations, United States Army was originally called North African Theater of Operations and is an American term for the conflict that took place between the Allies and Axis Powers in North Africa and Italy during World War II...
(MTO) in August 1943. Moved to Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
and Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
where the squadron flew coastal patrol missions over the Southeast, October 1943-January 1944 while station in Italy was being constructed.
Deployed to Southern Italy in January 1944; entered combat in January 1944, being assigned to Fifteenth Air Force
Fifteenth Air Force
The Fifteenth Expeditionary Mobility Task Force is one of two EMTFs assigned to the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command . It is headquartered at Travis Air Force Base, California....
55th Bombardment Wing
55th Bombardment Wing (World War II)
The 55th Bombardment Wing was a World War II United States Army Air Force organization assigned to Fifteenth Air Force as an intermediate-level command and control organization...
. Engaged in very long range strategic bombing missions to enemy military, industrial and transportation targets in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, and Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, bombing railroad marshalling yards, oil refineries, airdrome installations, heavy industry, and other strategic objectives.
The squadron flew its last World War II combat mission on 26 April 1945. After V-E Day, was assigned to Green Project which was the movement of troops from Europe to the United States via the South Atlantic Transport Route. B-24s were modified with sealed bomb bays, removal of all defensive armament and internal fuselage equipped with seating to carry approximately 30 personnel. Was assigned to Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its mission was to meet the urgent demand for the speedy reinforcement of the United States' military bases worldwide during World War II, using an air supply system to supplement surface transport...
at Waller Field, Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
and to Natal, Brazil. Moved personnel from s[Dakar]] in French West Africa
French West Africa
French West Africa was a federation of eight French colonial territories in Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan , French Guinea , Côte d'Ivoire , Upper Volta , Dahomey and Niger...
where personnel were transported across the South Atlantic to Brazil and eventually to Morrison Field, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
via Trinidad. Provided air transport until the end of September when the unit was inactivated.
9th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron
Reactivated by the Twentieth Air ForceTwentieth Air Force
The Twentieth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming.20 AF's primary mission is Intercontinental Ballistic Missile operations...
314th Composite Wing in April 1946 as the 9th Reconnaissance Squadron (Very Long Range, Photographic) assigned to Johnson Air Base, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. In Japan, the squadron flew various reconnaissance light and heavy bomber aircraft performing mapping missions over Occupied Japan
Occupied Japan
At the end of World War II, Japan was occupied by the Allied Powers, led by the United States with contributions also from Australia, India, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. This foreign presence marked the first time in its history that the island nation had been occupied by a foreign power...
; Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
; Okinawa; Indochina
Indochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
; China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and other ares under Far East Air Force control after World War II. Also included classified missions over the Soviet Far East. Inactivated in October 1947.
Reactivated in July 1953 by Tactical Air Command
Tactical Air Command
Tactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 being headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia...
as the 9th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (Electronics and Weather) squadron at Shaw AFB, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. Equipped with RB-26 Invader light bombers equipped for night reconnaissance missions. Upgraded to the jet RB-66C Destroyer aircraft in 1956; added WB-66 Destroyer weather and air sampling reconnaissance aircraft in 1957. Flew reconnaissance missions as well as functioning as a B-66 Training squadron until inactivated in 1969 due to budget reductions and consolidation of the B-66 force, which was mostly deployed in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
engaged in combat operations during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
Lineage
- Constituted 761st Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 19 May 1943
- Activated on 1 July 1943
- Inactivated on 26 September 1945
- Redesignated 9th Reconnaissance Squadron (Very Long Range, Photographic) on 29 April 1946
- Activated on 20 June 1946
- Inactivated on 20 October 1947
- Redesignated 9th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (Electronics and Weather) on 21 July 1953
- Activated on 11 November 1953
- Inactivated on 1 July 1966
- Redesignated 9th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron and activated on 1 February 1967
- Inactivated on 1 September 1969
Assignments
- 460th Bombardment Group, 1 July 1943-26 September 1945
- 314th Composite Wing, 20 June 1946-20 October 1947
- Attached to: 3d Bombardment Group, c. September 1946
- Attached to: 71st Reconnaissance Group, 22 April-20 October 1947
- 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Group, 11 November 1953
- 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, 8 February 1958-1 July 1966; 1 February 1967-1 September 1969
Stations
- Alamogordo Army Airfield, New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, 1 July 1943 - Kearns Army Air Base, UtahUtahUtah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, 31 August 1943 - Chatham Army Airfield, GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, 29 October 1943-3 January 1944 - Spinazzola Airfield, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, c. 11 February 1944-6 June 1945 - Waller Field, TrinidadTrinidadTrinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
, 15 June 1945 - NatalNatal, Rio Grande do Norte-History:The northeastern tip of South America, Cabo São Roque, to the north of Natal and the closest point to Europe from Latin America, was first visited by European navigators in 1501, in the 1501–1502 Portuguese expedition led by Amerigo Vespucci, who named the spot after the saint of the day...
, BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, 30 June-26 September 1945 - Johnson AB, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, 20 June 1946 - Yokota AB, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, c. September 1946-20 October 1947 - Shaw AFB, South CarolinaSouth CarolinaSouth Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, 11 November 1953-1 September 1969
Aircraft
- B-24 LiberatorB-24 LiberatorThe 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...
, 1943–1945 - P-39F-2 Aircobra, 1946–1947
- F-7 Liberator, 1946–1947
- F-9 Flying Fortress, 1946–1947
- B-17 Flying Fortress, 1946–1947
- F-13 Superfortress, 1947
- RB-26 Invader, 1954–1956
- RT-33 Shooting Star, 1955–1956
- WT-33 Shooting Star, 1956
- TB-25 Mitchell, 1956
- RB-66 Destroyer, 1956–1966
- WB-66 Destroyer, 1957–1966