The 322d Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron is a provisional unit of the
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 ...
, assigned to
Air Combat Command to activate or inactivate as needed.
The squadron was first activated in 1942 as the 322d Bombardment Squadron. After training in the United States, the squadron entered combat in the
European Theater of Operations, where it was awarded two
Distinguished Unit Citations for its actions. Following
V-E Day
Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easte ...
, the squadron returned to the United States, where it was inactivated.
The squadron was redesignated the
322d Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron
The 322d Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron is a provisional unit of the United States Air Force, assigned to Air Combat Command to activate or inactivate as needed.
The squadron was first activated in 1942 as the 322d Bombardment Squadron. ...
and activated at
Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana in 1950. Squadron elements deployed and again saw combat during the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
. It was inactivated at
Lockbourne Air Force Base
Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base is an Ohio Air National Guard installation located near Lockbourne in southern Franklin County. The base was named for the famous early aviator and Columbus native Eddie Rickenbacker. It is the home of ...
, Ohio in 1957. In 1963, it returned to the bombardment role at
Glasgow Air Force Base, Montana. It deployed crews and aircraft to
Andersen Air Force Base, which participated in the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
. The squadron was inactivated on 25 June 1968 as Glasgow closed and older models of the
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress were withdrawn from service.
History
World War II
![RAF Bassingborn 322d BS 91st BG 1944](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/RAF_Bassingborn_322d_BS_91st_BG_1944.jpg)
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, ...
was first activated in April 1942 at
Harding Field, Louisiana as the 322d Bombardment Squadron, one of the original squadrons of the
91st Bombardment Group and equipped with
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses.
[Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 156–158] The squadron was organized as part of 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 ...
in the southeastern United States before moving to Walla Walla Army Air Base
Walla Walla Regional Airport is a public airport in Walla Walla County, Washington, in the western United States. It is northeast of central Walla Walla, and is owned by the Port of Walla Walla.
History World War II
The airport was the locati ...
, Washington for final training under Second Air Force
The Second Air Force (2 AF; ''2d Air Force'' in 1942) is a USAF numbered air force responsible for conducting basic military and technical training for Air Force enlisted members and non-flying officers. In World War II the CONUS unit defende ...
.
The squadron deployed to the European Theater of Operations, where it became part of VIII Bomber Command
8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9.
In mathematics
8 is:
* a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2.
* a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of ...
. It was one of the first heavy bombardment squadrons to arrive in England. The 322d flew combat missions over Nazi Germany and Occupied Europe until the surrender of Germany
The German Instrument of Surrender (german: Bedingungslose Kapitulation der Wehrmacht, lit=Unconditional Capitulation of the "Wehrmacht"; russian: Акт о капитуляции Германии, Akt o kapitulyatsii Germanii, lit=Act of capit ...
in May 1945. The squadron returned to the United States where it was programmed to become a Boeing B-29 Superfortress squadron. The surrender of Japan canceled these plans and it was inactivated during November 1945.[
]
Strategic reconnaissance
The squadron was redesignated the 322d Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron and activated at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana in July 1950 as a result of the Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
. The squadron was initially equipped with RB-29 reconnaissance bombers, but soon converted to the North American RB-45 Tornado
The North American B-45 Tornado was an early American jet bomber designed and manufactured by aircraft company North American Aviation. It has the distinction of being the first operational jet bomber to enter service with the United States Ai ...
jet reconnaissance aircraft. Elements of the squadron flew reconnaissance and mapping combat missions over Korea until mid-1952. The squadron deployed to Johnson Air Base and Yokota Air Base
, is a Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) and United States Air Force (USAF) base in the Tama Area, or Western Tokyo.
It occupies portions of Akishima, Fussa, Hamura, Mizuho, Musashimurayama, and Tachikawa.
The base houses 14,000 perso ...
, Japan from activation until 28 May 1952. In September 1951 the squadron moved to Lockbourne Air Force Base
Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base is an Ohio Air National Guard installation located near Lockbourne in southern Franklin County. The base was named for the famous early aviator and Columbus native Eddie Rickenbacker. It is the home of ...
, Ohio, where it re-equipped with Boeing RB-47E Stratojet
The Boeing B-47 Stratojet (Boeing company designation Model 450) is a retired American long- range, six-engined, turbojet-powered strategic bomber designed to fly at high subsonic speed and at high altitude to avoid enemy interceptor aircraft ...
s. The squadron performed various worldwide reconnaissance missions until inactivating in November 1957.[
]
Strategic bombardment
Once again designated as a bombardment squadron, the 322d was activated in February 1963 at Glasgow Air Force Base, Montana,[ where it assumed the mission, personnel and ]Boeing B-52D Stratofortress
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air ...
bombers of the 326th Bombardment Squadron.[Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 401–402] Most of the squadron deployed to the Western Pacific, where the flew Operation Arc Light
During Operation Arc Light (sometimes Arclight) from 1965 to 1973, the United States Air Force deployed B-52 Stratofortresses from bases in the U.S. Territory of Guam to provide battlefield air interdiction during the Vietnam War. This included ...
combat missions over Southeast Asia, flying missions from Andersen Air Force Base between 11 September 1966 and 31 March 1967 and from Kadena Air Base
(IATA: DNA, ICAO: RODN) is a highly strategic United States Air Force base in the towns of Kadena and Chatan and the city of Okinawa, in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It is often referred to as the "Keystone of the Pacific" because of its highl ...
between 15 February and 30 April 1968, operating as part of the Bombardment Wing, Provisional, 4133d. Upon returning from its last deployment the squadron became non-operational and was inactivated on 25 June 1968[ as Glasgow closed.
]
Lineage
* Constituted as the 322d Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 28 January 1942
: Activated on 15 April 1942
* Redesignated 322d Bombardment Squadron, Heavy on 20 August 1943
: Inactivated on 7 November 1945
* Redesignated 322d Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, Medium on 23 May 1950
: Activated on 6 July 1950
: Inactivated on 8 November 1957
* Redesignated 322d Bombardment Squadron, Heavy and activated on 15 November 1962 (not organized)
: Organized on 1 February 1963
: Inactivated on 25 June 1968
* Redesignated 322d Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron on 22 July 2010[
]
Assignments
* 91st Bombardment Group, 15 April 1942 – 7 November 1945
* 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Group, 6 July 1950
* 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, 28 May 1952 – 8 November 1957
* Strategic Air Command, 15 November 1962 (not organized)
* 91st Bombardment Wing, 1 February 1963 – 25 June 1968
* Air Combat Command to activate or inactivate as needed[
]
Stations
* Harding Field, Louisiana, 15 April 1942
* 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, 16 May 1942
* Walla Walla Army Air Base
Walla Walla Regional Airport is a public airport in Walla Walla County, Washington, in the western United States. It is northeast of central Walla Walla, and is owned by the Port of Walla Walla.
History World War II
The airport was the locati ...
, Washington, c. 28 June - 24 August 1942
* RAF Kimbolton
RAF Kimbolton is a former Royal Air Force station located west of Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, England.
History
USAAF use
The airfield was originally built in 1941 for RAF Bomber Command, then expanded to Class A airfield standards for use b ...
(Station 117),[Station number in Anderson] England, 13 September 1942 (ground echelon), early October 1942 (air echelon)
* RAF Bassingbourn
Royal Air Force Bassingbourn or more simply RAF Bassingbourn is a former Royal Air Force station located in Cambridgeshire approximately north of Royston, Hertfordshire and south west of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England.
During the Second ...
(Station 121),[ England, 14 October 1942 – 23 June 1945
* Drew Field, Florida, 3 July - 7 November 1945
* Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, 6 July 1950
* Lockbourne Air Force Base, Ohio, 11 September 1951 – 8 November 1957
* Glasgow Air Force Base, Montana, 1 February 1963 – 25 June 1968][
]
Aircraft
* Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, 1942–1945
* Boeing RB-29 Superfortress, 1950
* North American RB-45C Tornado, 1950–1953
* Boeing RB-47E Stratojet, 1953–1957
* Boeing B-52D Stratofortress, 1963–1968[
]
References
Notes
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
See also
{{Portal, World War II
* List of B-52 Units of the United States Air Force
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress has been operational with the United States Air Force since 5 June, 1955. This list is of the units it was assigned to, and the bases it was stationed.
In addition to the USAF, A single RB-52B (52-008) was flown ...
Reconnaissance squadrons of the United States Air Force