The 31st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron is an inactive

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

unit. It was last assigned to

XIX Tactical Air Command The XIX Tactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. The unit's last assignment was with the Ninth Air Force based at Biggs Field, Texas, where it was inactivated on 31 March 1946. During World War II, the mission of th ...

at Brooks Field, Texas, where it was inactivated on 3 February 1946.

History

The squadron was first activated at

March Field March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Ma ...

, California in 1941 as the 31st Army Reconnaissance Squadron, flying light observation planes. After the

Attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

, the

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

flew

antisubmarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...

patrols over the Pacific coast in 1942. It was moved to the Southeastern United States in late 1942. The squadron was primarily used for observation during Army training maneuvers near

Fort Polk Fort Polk is a United States Army installation located in Vernon Parish, Louisiana, about 10 miles (15 km) east of Leesville and 30 miles (50 km) north of DeRidder in Beauregard Parish. It was named to honor Leonidas Polk, the firs ...

, Louisiana and Fort Benning, Georgia. The unit deployed to the European Theater of Operations on 22 April 1945. It flew battlefield reconnaissance in the Low Countries and during the Allied invasion of Germany in the spring of 1945, supporting Ninth Army. The squadron returned to the United States in August 1945, was never fully manned or equipped. It was inactivated in February 1946.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 31st Army Reconnaissance Squadron on 20 November 1940 : Activated on 15 January 1941 : Redesignated 31st Observation Squadron on 14 August 1941 : Redesignated 31st Observation Squadron (Medium) on 13 January 1942 : Redesignated 31st Observation Squadron on 4 July 1942 : Redesignated 31st Reconnaissance Squadron (Fighter) on 2 April 1943 : Redesignated 31st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron on 11 August 1943 : Inactivated on 3 February 1946 : Disbanded on 8 October 1948

Assignments

* Ninth Corps Area, 15 January 1941 *

Fourth United States Army Fourth United States Army was a field army of the United States Army between 1932 and 1991. History In 1922, Fourth Army was organized as a unit of the Organized Reserves in New York City. It was allotted to the Regular Army as an inactive unit ...

, 24 January 1941 *

Fourth Air Force The Fourth Air Force (4 AF) is a numbered air force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). It is headquartered at March Air Reserve Base, California. 4 AF directs the activities and supervises the training of more than 30,000 Air Force Res ...

, 1 September 1941 *

IV Air Support Command The I Tactical Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Second Air Force, based at Biggs Field, Texas. It was inactivated on 22 December 1945. History General Headquarters Air Force (GHQ AF) reorganize ...

, 3 September 1941 (attached to 69th Observation Group after December 1941) * 69th Observation Group (later 69th Reconnaissance Group, 69th Tactical Reconnaissance Group), 29 March 1942 *

Ninth Air Force The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint De ...

, 20 March 1945 (attached to 9th Tactical Reconnaissance Group (Provisional)) after 28 March 1945 * 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Group (later 363d Reconnaissance Group), 23 May 1945 * United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe, 25 June 1945 *

Third Air Force The Third Air Force (Air Forces Europe) (3 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA). Its headquarters is Ramstein Air Base, Germany. It is responsible for all U.S. air forces in ...

, 3 August 1945 (attached to 69th Reconnaissance Group) *

, 10 January 1946 – 3 February 1946 (remained attached to 69th Reconnaissance Group)

Stations

* March Field, California, 15 January 1941 * Salinas Army Air Base, California, 1 October 1941 * San Bernardino Army Air Field, California, 31 December 1941 * Ontario Army Air Field, California, 2 June 1942 * Laurel Army Air Field, Mississippi, 11 November 1942 *

DeRidder Army Air Base Beauregard Regional Airport is a public use airport in Beauregard Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is owned by Beauregard Parish and is located three nautical miles (6 km) southwest of the central business district of DeRidder, Louisiana ...

, Louisiana, 9 April 1943 *

Abilene Army Air Field Dyess Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located about southwest of downtown Abilene, Texas, and west of Fort Worth, Texas. The host unit at Dyess is the 7th Bomb Wing assigned to the Global Strike Command E ...

, Texas, 10 September 1943 *

Esler Field Esler Field, also known as Esler Regional Airport , is a military and public use airfield in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States, near the City of Pineville. It is located 10 nautical miles (12 statute miles, 19 kilometres) northeas ...

, Louisiana, 13 November 1943 *

Key Field Meridian Regional Airport is a joint civil-military public use airport located at Key Field, a joint-use public/military airfield. It is located southwest of Meridian, a city in Lauderdale County, Mississippi, United States. The Meridian Airp ...

, Mississippi, 25 January 1945 – 26 February 1945 *

Maastricht Airfield Maastricht Aachen Airport is a regional airport in Beek in Limburg, Netherlands, located northeast of Maastricht and northwest of Aachen, Germany. It is the second-largest hub for cargo flights in the Netherlands. As of 2016, the airport had ...

(Y-44), Holland, c. 22 March 1945 * Wiesbaden Airfield (Later AAF Station Wiesbaden), Germany, 19 April 1945 – July 1945 * Drew Field, Florida, 3 August 1945 *

MacDill Field MacDill Air Force Base (MacDill AFB) is an active United States Air Force installation located 4 miles (6.4 km) south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida. The "host wing" for MacDill AFB is the 6th Air Refueling Wing (6 ARW), assig ...

, Florida, 21 December 1945 * Brooks Field, Texas, 10 January 1946 – 3 February 1946

Aircraft

O-49 Vigilant The Stinson L-1 Vigilant (company designation Model 74) is an American liaison aircraft designed by the Stinson Aircraft Company of Wayne, Michigan and manufactured at the Vultee-Stinson factory in Nashville, Tennessee (in August 1940 Stinson bec ...

, 1941–1942 *

O-52 Owl The Curtiss O-52 Owl was an observation aircraft used by the United States Army Air Corps before and during World War II. Design and development Developed in 1939, the Curtiss O-52 was the last "heavy" observation aircraft developed for the US ...

, 1942 * L-3 Grasshopper, 1942 *

P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and ...

, 1943 *

P-39 Airacobra The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by the ...

, 1943–1944 * Included

North American O-47 The North American O-47 is an American observation fixed-wing aircraft monoplane designed in the mid-1930s and used by the United States Army Air Corps during the Second World War. It has a low-wing configuration, retractable landing gear, and a t ...

L-4 Grasshopper The Piper J-3 Cub is an American light aircraft that was built between 1938 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. The aircraft has a simple, lightweight design which gives it good low-speed handling properties and short-field performance. The Cub is P ...

L-5 Sentinel The Stinson L-5 Sentinel is a World War II-era liaison aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces, U.S. Army Ground Forces, U.S. Marine Corps and the British Royal Air Force. It was produced by the Stinson Division of the Vultee Aircr ...

, and L-6 Grasshopper during period 1942–1943 * A-20/RDB-7 Havoc, North American O-47, O-52 Owl, and L-5 Sentinel during 1943 * P-40 Warhawk, 1944–1945 *

F-6 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...

, 1945

References

Notes

Bibliography

* {{cite book, editor=Maurer, Maurer, title=Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II, origyear=1969, url= http://media.defense.gov/2010/Dec/02/2001329899/-1/-1/0/AFD-101202-002.pdf, edition= reprint, year=1982, publisher=Office of Air Force History, location=Washington, DC, isbn=0-405-12194-6, oclc=72556, lccn=70605402 Military units and formations established in 1940 031