The

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air 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 of the United States Army Signal ...

's 43d Intelligence Squadron is an intelligence unit located at

Cannon Air Force Base Cannon Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base, located approximately southwest of Clovis, New Mexico. It is under the jurisdiction of Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). The host unit at Cannon is the 27th Special Operatio ...

, New Mexico. It provides intelligence support to

Air Force Special Operations Command Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), headquartered at Hurlburt Field, Florida, is the special operations component of the United States Air Force. An Air Force major command (MAJCOM), AFSOC is also the U.S. Air Force component command ...

Mission

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, ...

is a uniquely tasked unit, chartered to provide specialized intelligence across the spectrum of conflict. Squadron personnel are trained and qualified to operate as aircrew on board almost every combat aircraft within the

inventory. By integrating all-source intelligence and electronic combat capability for special operations forces, the 43d has made its unique intelligence resources integral to

special operations Special operations (S.O.) are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment". Special operations may include ...

mission planning, rehearsal, and execution.

History

World War II

The 43d was first activated in Tunisia during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

as the 4th Photographic Technical Squadron and assigned to the North African Photographic Reconnaissance Wing (Provisional) on 2 November 1943. When the 90th Photographic Wing replaced the provisional

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

, the 4th Squadron was assigned to it. When the

5th Photographic Group The 26th Information Operations Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with United States Air Forces in Europe at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, where it was inactivated on 5 July 2006. The wing was first establis ...

was assigned to

Fifteenth Air Force The Fifteenth Air Force (15 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base. It was reactivated on 20 August 2020, merging the previous units of the Ninth Air Force ...

, the squadron was assigned to it, and for the remainder of the war provided processing and interpretation of mapping, bomb damage assessment and targeting materials produced by the

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...

Korean War

In August 1949, the squadron was redesignated the 363d Reconnaissance Technical Squadron. When 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 ...

broke out in June 1950, the squadron was rushed to Japan to support reconnaissance operations of

Far East Air Forces Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) is a Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force and is also the air component command of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). PACAF is headquartered at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam (fo ...

(FEAF). In September, these operations were brought together under the 543d Tactical Support Group. The squadron was inactivated in March 1951, when the

67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing 67 may refer to: * 67 (number) * one of the years 67 BC, AD 67, 1967, 2067 * ''67'', a 1992 song by Love Battery from the album ''Between the Eyes'' * 67 (rap group), a drill music group from London See also * 67th Regiment (disambiguation) * 67 ...

took over FEAF's expanding

aerial reconnaissance Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance for a military or strategic purpose that is conducted using reconnaissance aircraft. The role of reconnaissance can fulfil a variety of requirements including artillery spotting, the collection of ima ...

operations and its assets transferred to the 67th Reconnaissance Technical Squadron.

Cold War

The squadron was activated the same day at

Shaw Air Force Base Shaw Air Force Base (Shaw AFB) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located approximately west-northwest of downtown Sumter, South Carolina. It is one of the largest military bases operated by the United States, and is under the jurisdict ...

, South Carolina and assigned to the

363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing The 363rd Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing (363 ISRW) is a United States Air Force unit. The group is assigned to the United States Air Force Sixteenth Air Force, stationed at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia. The mission ...

. It was awarded an

Air Force Outstanding Unit Award The Air and Space Outstanding Unit Award (ASOUA) is one of the Awards and decorations of the United States Department of the Air Force, unit awards of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. It was established in 1954 as the A ...

in 1962, for its support of reconnaissance operations during the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the United S ...

. It was inactivated on 1 September 1977. In 1984, the squadron was redesignated the 23d Reconnaissance Technical Squadron, but it was never active with this name.

Intelligence support for special operations forces

Shortly after the 1 October 2007 conversion of the 27th Fighter Wing to the 27th Special Operations Wing, Detachment 1, 25th Intelligence Squadron was organized to extend the 25th's intelligence support to the wing's new mission. In response to the wing's rapid growth and demand for increased support, on 1 November 2011, the 43d Intelligence Squadron was activated to replace Detachment 1.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 4th Photographic Technical Squadron : Activated on 2 November 1943 : Redesignated 363d Reconnaissance Technical SquadronMueller, p. 313 on 4 August 1949 : Inactivated on 1 March 1951 * Activated on 1 March 1951 : Inactivated on 1 September 1977 * Redesignated 23d Reconnaissance Technical Squadron on 16 October 1984 * Redesignated 43d Intelligence Squadron on 7 October 2011Research Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, November 2011, Maxwell AFB, AL : Activated on 1 November 2011

Assignments

* North African Photographic Reconnaissance Wing (Provisional), 2 November 1943 * 90th Photographic Wing, 22 November 1943 * 5th Photographic Group, c. 11 October 1944 *

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 E ...

, September 1945 *

, March 1946 *

Tactical Air Command Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. It was inactivated on 1 J ...

, June 1946 *

Fourteenth Air Force The Fourteenth Air Force (14 AF; Air Forces Strategic) was a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Space Command (AFSPC). It was headquartered at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The command was responsible for the organizatio ...

, December 1948 *

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 ...

, February 1949 * Tactical Air Command, August 1950 * 543d Tactical Support Group, c. 26 September 1950 *

Fifth Air Force The Fifth Air Force (5 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan. It is the U.S. Air Force's oldest continuously serving Numbered Air Force. The organiza ...

, 25 February 1951 – 1 March 1951 * 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, 1 March 1951 – 1 September 1977 * 361st Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group, 1 November 2011

Stations

La Marsa Airfield LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

, Tunisia, 2 November 1943 * San Severo Airfield, Italy, 19 December 1943 *

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...

, Italy, c. 11 October 1944 – 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 1945Mueller, p. 350 *

Langley Field Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perform ...

(later Langley Air Force Base), Virginia, 15 July 1946 * Itazuke Air Base, Japan, July 1950 *

Taegu Air Base Daegu International Airport (Hangul: ; Hanja: ; Revised Romanization: ''Daegu Gukje Gonghang''; McCune-Reischauer: ''Taegu Kukche Konghang'') is the international airport serving the city of Daegu and the surrounding area in the southeast of ...

, South Korea, October 1950 – 1 March 1951 * Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, 1 March 1951 – 1 September 77 *

, New Mexico, 1 November 2011 – present

Decorations

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

{{United States Air Force intelligence units Military units and formations in New Mexico 0043