The Sixth Photographic Squadron is an inactive

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 ...

unit. It was last assigned to the 311th Photographic Wing. It was inactivated at

Jefferson Barracks The Jefferson Barracks Military Post is located on the Mississippi River at Lemay, Missouri, south of St. Louis. It was an important and active U.S. Army installation from 1826 through 1946. It is the oldest operating U.S. military installation w ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

on 1 January 1945.

History

The Sixth Photographic Squadron was formed and activated in early 1942 under the

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 defended ...

of the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

. It was quartered on land adjacent to the Colorado Springs (Colorado) Municipal Airport, which became

Colorado Springs Army Air Base Peterson Space Force Base, previously Peterson Air Force Base, Peterson Field, and Army Air Base, Colorado Springs, is a U.S. Space Force Base that shares an airfield with the adjacent Colorado Springs Municipal Airport and is home to the Nor ...

which became

Peterson Air Force Base Peterson Space Force Base, previously Peterson Air Force Base, Peterson Field, and Army Air Base, Colorado Springs, is a U.S. Space Force Base that shares an airfield with the adjacent Colorado Springs Municipal Airport and is home to the Nor ...

(which still exists as the

North American Aerospace Defense Command North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection ...

(NORAD), the

Air Force Space Command The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

headquarters, and

United States Northern Command United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) is one of eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense. The command is tasked with providing military support for non-military authorities in the U.S., and protect ...

(USNORTHCOM) headquarters). Some of the squadron trained with F-4 aircraft (the reconnaissance version of the

P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive tw ...

) in the northwest United States, however the squadron never reached operational readiness. It was reassigned to HQ Army Air Forces and assigned to administrative duties supporting 1st AAF Motion Picture unit in

Culver City Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most ...

, California (November 1942 – March 1943). It was then reassigned to the

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 ...

under control of HQ USAAF, and based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. 'Sixth photo' received film from aerial reconnaissance units deployed around the world in combat areas, then using photogrammetric equipment developed detailed maps and charts of foreign areas. The squadron was a very elite, specialized unit in which most personnel had a minimum of 2 years of university education in aerial photography analysis; also many personnel had backgrounds in cartography and commercial photography and art. The squadron produced many maps of formerly uncharted areas and provided much intelligence information to commanders in deployed combat areas with highly accurate and detailed maps of landing beaches and rear areas held by enemy forces around the world. One project was the maps for Gen. Doolittle's raid on Tokyo on 18 April 1942. In late 1944 the Group was assigned to 311th Photographic Wing and alerted for reassignment to

China-Burma-India Theater China Burma India Theater (CBI) was the United States military designation during World War II for the China and Southeast Asian or India–Burma (IBT) theaters. Operational command of Allied forces (including U.S. forces) in the CBI was officia ...

, however unit never deployed due to difficulties and reluctance in moving large qualities of sensitive and classified equipment to primitive facilities, plus foreseen inherent difficulties of supporting the unit deployed overseas. The unit was inactivated on 1 January 1945.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 6th Photographic Squadron on 19 January 1942 : Activated on 28 January 1942 : Redesignated 6th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron on 9 June 1942 : Redesignated 6th Photographic Squadron (Photographic Compilation) on 28 November 1942 : Disbanded on 1 January 1945 : Reconstituted on 19 July 1985 and consolidated with 6th Liaison Squadron and

6th Airborne Command and Control Squadron 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second smalles ...

as 6th Airborne Command and Control SquadronDepartment of the Air Force/MPM Letter 648q, 31 July 1985, Subject: Reconstitution, Redesignation, and Consolidation of Selected Air Force Organizations

Assignments

, 28 January 1942 *

II Air Support Command The II Air Support Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Third Air Force at Biggs Field, Texas, as the II Tactical Air Division, where it was inactivated on 22 December 1945. The command was organized in S ...

, 29 March 1942 * 2d Photographic Group, 7 May 1942 *

Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

, 28 November 1942 *

, 8 March 1943 (under operational direction of HQ, Army Air Forces) * 1st Photographic Charting Group, 13 November 1943 * 311th Photographic Wing, 5 October 1944 – 1 January 1945

Stations

Geiger Field Spokane International Airport is a commercial airport located approximately west-southwest of downtown Spokane, Washington, United States. It is the primary airport serving the Inland Northwest, which consists of 30 counties and includes areas ...

, Washington, 28 January 1942 *

Felts Field Felts Field is a public airport in the northwest United States, located northeast of downtown Spokane, in Spokane County, Washington. It is owned by Spokane City-County. The airport has two parallel runways. Now used for general aviation, Felt ...

, Washington, 2 February 1942 *

, Colorado, 14 May 1942 *

, Missouri, 14 December 1944 – 1 January 1945

Aircraft

* Undetermined, possibly the photo-recon versions of the P-38/F4 Lighting (1942, 1943) and later the P-51 Mustang/F-6 (1944). In 1948 the designation P-51 (P for pursuit) was changed to F-51 (F for fighter), and the photo-recon Mustangs were redesignated as RF-51s.

North American P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter aircraft, 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 ...

In addition to the F4 Lightning, the F7 (Photo Recon version of the B-24) was a mainstay of the squadron. The Squadron History found at Maxwell, AFB shows many photos of the squadron, actual images taken, and intel analysis of the photos as well as monthly squadron activities. In April 1945, the B-29 Superfortress arrived and was specially assigned to the squadron. This gave a much longer range to the Unit and flights roundtrip, nonstop began to China and other islands that were out of range for the F7.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:06 Photographic Squadron Military units and formations established in 1942 006 1942 establishments in Washington (state) 1945 disestablishments in Missouri