348th Reconnaissance Squadron

Squadron B-17G Flying Fortress[lower-alpha 3]

The squadron was activated in June 1942 as the 348th Bombardment Squadron, one of the four original squadrons of the 99th Bombardment Group, at Orlando Army Air Base, Florida, moving on paper the same day to MacDill Field, Florida. However, the Army Air Forces had decided to concentrate all heavy bomber training under Second Air Force, and before the end of the month, the squadron moved to Pendleton Field, Oregon to begin its training in Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses. It continued training with the B-17 until January 1943, when it began deploying to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations.[1]

The squadron's ground echelon went by ship from New York City to Marrakech, Morocco; the air echelon flew to Morrison Field, Florida, then along the South Atlantic Route. The ground and air echelons of the squadron were reunited at Navarin Airfield, Algeria in March 1943. It moved forward to Oudna Airfield, Tunisia after the Allies drove Axis forces from North Africa in May 1943. The squadron concentrated on targets such as airfields, harbor facilities, shipping, viaducts and bridges in North Africa, Sicily and Italy.[4] In early June 1943, the squadron participated in Operation Corkscrew, the reduction of Pantelleria Island in preparation for the invasion of Sicily.[5]

The squadron helped neutralize enemy fighter aircraft opposition to Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily, penetrating enemy air defenses by bombing airplanes, hangars and fuel and ammunition storage sites at Gerbini Airfield. For these actions, it was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC).[4]

Russian pilots and ground crew stand in front of a Petlyakov Pe-2 light bomber at Poltava during the first shuttle raid in June 1944.[lower-alpha 4]

In November 1943, the 348th became part of Fifteenth Air Force, which focused on the strategic bombing campaign against Germany. The following month it moved to Tortorella Airfield, Italy. From this base, it engaged in the bombardment of enemy targets in Austria, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Romania, and Yugoslavia; attacking oil refineries, marshaling yards, aircraft factories, and other strategic objectives. On 23 April 1944, the squadron participated in an attack on aircraft factories in Wiener Neustadt, Austria, despite heavy enemy interceptor opposition. For this action, it was awarded a second DUC.[4]

Following V-E Day, the squadron became part of the occupation forces in Italy, until inactivating in November 1945.[1][4]

The squadron was again activated under Air Defense Command (ADC) in the reserve at Birmingham Municipal Airport, Alabama, on 19 May 1947 and again assigned to the 99th Group.[1] Its training was supervised by ADC's 477th AAF Base Unit (later the 2587th Air Force Reserve Training Center).[6] Although it was nominally a very heavy bomber unit, it is not clear whether or not the squadron was fully staffed or equipped with combat aircraft.[7] In 1948 Continental Air Command (ConAC) assumed responsibility for managing reserve and Air National Guard units from ADC.[8] President Truman’s reduced 1949 defense budget, however, required reductions in the number of units in the Air Force,[9] ConAC also reorganized its reserve units under the Wing Base Organization, and the 19th Air Division and other reserve units at Birmingham Municipal Airport, including the squadron, were inactivated and replaced by the 514th Troop Carrier Wing in June 1949.[1][6]

Convair B-36 Peacemaker

The squadron was reactivated in January 1953 at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington,[1] when the 111th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, an Air National Guard unit that had been mobilized for the Korean War, was returned to state control. The squadron assumed the mission, personnel, and Convair RB-36 Peacemaker strategic reconnaissance aircraft of the 111th Wing's 130th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, a regular unit assigned to the 111th Wing, which was simultaneously inactivated. The squardon engaged in worldwide strategic bombardment training and stood nuclear alert until 1956 when the B-36 was retired.

B-52D at Westover AFB in 1969

The squadron was re-equipped with Boeing B-52 Stratofortresses and continued training and nuclear alert status. It deployed aircrews and aircraft to the Pacific during the Vietnam War, engaging in Operation Arc Light combat missions over North Vietnam; also deployed aircraft and personnel to Thailand flying out of U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield for combat missions over Cambodia and Laos. It was inactivated in 1973 with the draw down of its parent 99th Bombardment Wing in anticipation of the transfer of Westover Air Force Base to the Air Force Reserve.

The squadron was reactivated under the 69th Reconnaissance Group in September 2011 as an RQ-4 Global Hawk Squadron. The squadron became part of the 319th Operations Group with the inactivation of the 69th Reconnaissance Group in June 2019.[1][10]

• 99th Bombardment Group, 1 June 1942 – 8 November 1945
• 99th Bombardment Group, 29 May 1947 – 27 June 1949
• 99th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing (later 99th Bombardment Wing), 1 January 1953 – 30 September 1973
• 69th Reconnaissance Group, 11 September 2011 – 27 June 2019
• 319th Operations Group, 28 June 2019 – present[1]

• Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, 1942–1945
• Convair RB-36 Peacemaker, 1953–1956
• Convair B-36 Peacemaker, 1953–1956
• Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, 1956–1973
• Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk, 2011–present
• Northrop Grumman EQ-4 Global Hawk, 2011–present[1]

Explanatory notes

Citations

 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.
• 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.
• Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947–1977. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-12-9. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
• Watkins, Robert A. (2009). Insignia and Aircraft Markings of the U.S. Army Air Force in World War II. Vol. IV, European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations. Atglen,PA: Shiffer Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7643-3401-6.