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24th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron

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24th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron
RC-135S Cobra Ball in flight
Active1942–1948; 1951–1967; 1967–1994
Country United States
Branch United States Air Force
RoleAerial reconnaissance
MottoWe Observe the Unknown (post 1967)
DecorationsDistinguished Unit Citation
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Insignia
24th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron emblem
Patch with 24th Reconnaissance Squadron Cobra Ball Logo
24th Bombardment Squadron emblem (approved 24 November 1944)[1]

The 24th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron is a provisional unit of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to United States Air Forces Europe to activate or inactivate as needed. Its last known attachment was to the 100th Air Refueling Wing, stationed at RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk, UK in 2007.

History

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B-29 Superfortress operations against Japan

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Squadron B-29 on a strike against Osaka[note 1]

Constituted in the spring of 1944 as a very heavy bombardment squadron equipped with B-29 Superfortresses, the unit completed its training and was relocated to North Field on Tinian in the Mariana Islands of the Central Pacific Area in January 1945. There, it was assigned to the XXI Bomber Command of the Twentieth Air Force. Its primary mission was to conduct strategic bombardment campaigns against the Japanese Home Islands and to cripple Japan’s war-making capabilities.

Initially, the squadron carried out "shakedown" missions targeting Japanese-held locations such as Moen Island, Truk, and other sites in the Carolines and Marianas. The combat phase began on 25 February 1945, with a firebombing raid over Northeast Tokyo. The squadron participated in extensive firebombing campaigns, but during the first ten days of relentless bombing, the Army Air Forces exhausted their supply of incendiary bombs. Until then, the squadron had been conducting conventional strategic bombing runs using high-explosive bombs.

Throughout the remainder of the war, the squadron continued urban area incendiary raids, inflicting massive destruction on Japanese cities. It also targeted strategic military objectives, including aircraft factories, chemical plants, and oil refineries. The squadron flew its final combat missions on August 14, 1945, coinciding with the end of hostilities. Following the cessation of fighting, its B-29s were used to deliver relief supplies to Allied prisoners of war in Japan and Manchuria.

After the war, the squadron remained stationed in the Western Pacific, assigned to the Twentieth Air Force on Okinawa. It was maintained as a strategic bombardment unit until late 1948, when it was inactivated due to budget reductions. Some of its aircraft were scrapped on Tinian, while others were flown to storage depots in the United States.

Strategic Air Command

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Reactivated in 1951 and redesigned as a heavy bomb squadron, the unit was initially issued with B-29s for training. It was equipped with B-36 Peacemaker intercontinental strategic bombers in 1953 for operational use. It began with B-36Fs; the featherweight B-36J was added, the squadron operating both types. These aircraft carried a yellow stripe on the tip of the vertical stabilizer, the lip of the jet intakes and the "nose cone" of the jet itself along with an 'R' inside a triangle as a tail code. SAC (Strategic Air Command), eliminated tail codes in 1953. In 1957 the B-36s were replaced by B-52E Stratofortresses and all squadron markings were eliminated. The squadron remained equipped with the B-52s until the closure of Walker AFB in 1967.

It was re-equipped with RC-135 Cobra Ball/Cobra Eye aircraft to support theater and national level intelligence consumers with near real-time on-scene collection, analysis and dissemination capabilities. The squadron was inactivated as part of the post Cold War drawdown in 1994 and replaced by the 45th Reconnaissance Squadron.

Operations and decorations

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  • Combat Operations: Combat in Western Pacific, 27 Jan-14 Aug 1945.
  • Campaigns: World War II: Eastern Mandates; Western Pacific; Air Offensive, Japan.
  • Decorations: Distinguished Unit Citations: Tokyo, Japan, 25 May 1945; Japanese Empire, 9–19 Jul 1945. Air Force Outstanding Unit Award: 1 May 1960 – 31 May 1962.

Lineage

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24th Bombardment Squadron

  • Constituted as the 24th Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy on 28 March 1944
Activated on 1 April 1944
Inactivated on 18 October 1948
  • Redesignated the 24th Bombardment Squadron, Medium on 20 December 1950
Activated on 2 January 1951
Redesignated the 24th Bombardment Squadron, Heavy on 16 June 1952[2]
Inactivated and discontinued on 25 January 1967
  • Consolidated with the 24th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron on 19 September 1985 as the 24th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron[3]

24th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron

  • Constituted as 24th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron on 20 December 1966
Activated on 25 March 1967
  • Consolidated with the 24th Bombardment Squadron, Medium on 19 September 1985[3]
Redesignated as 24th Reconnaissance Squadron on 7 July 1992
Inactivated on 30 June 1994
  • Redesignated 24th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron on 2 July 2007[4]
Activated on 4 August 2007[4]

Assignments

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401st Air Expeditionary Group 4 August 2007
100th Air Refueling Wing: attached 16 August 2007 – unknown

Stations

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Aircraft

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See also

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References

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Notes

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Explanatory notes
  1. ↑ Aircraft is Boeing B-29A-45-BN Superfortress, serial 44-61784, "Incendiary Journey'" on 1 June 1945.
Citations
  1. ↑ Maurer,Combat Squadrons, pp. 125–126
  2. ↑ Lineage through March 1963 in Maurer,Combat Squadrons, pp. 125–126
  3. 1 2 Department of the Air Force/MPM Letter 662q, 19 Sep 85, Subject: Reconstitution, Redesignation, and Consolidation of Selected Air Force Tactical Squadrons
  4. 1 2 Air Force Organizational Status Change Report, August 2007, Historical Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency

Bibliography

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Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

  • Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961]. Air Force Combat Units of World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-02-1. LCCN 61060979. Retrieved 17 December 2016.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  • Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  • Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977 (PDF). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-12-9. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
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