The 76th Tactical Reconnaissance Group is a disbanded

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 ...

organization. It was last active in 1944 as part of the

Desert Training Center The Desert Training Center (DTC), also known as California–Arizona Maneuver Area (CAMA), was a World War II training facility established in the Mojave Desert and Sonoran Desert, largely in Southern California and Western Arizona in 1942. It ...

Thermal Army Air Field Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport is a county-owned, public-use airport in Riverside County, California, United States. It is located in the southeastern Coachella Valley, 20 nautical miles (23 mi, 37 km) southeast of the ...

, California.

History

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 ...

was constituted and activated in early 1942 at

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 as the 76th Observation Group shortly after the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

entered

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 ...

. Its original

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 the 24th Observation Squadron, which was joined a few days later by the 23d Observation Squadron when the group moved to

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 Airpo ...

, Mississippi. The group trained in

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 ...

and

air support In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement ...

techniques until March 1943 under

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 ...

. It participated in

maneuvers A military exercise or war game is the employment of military resources in training for military operations, either exploring the effects of warfare or testing strategies without actual combat. This also serves the purpose of ensuring the com ...

with Second Army until September 1943 when it moved to Thermal AAF and began participating in desert training in California and Arizona. In anticipation of this move, its existing squadrons were reassignedAFHRA Factsheet, 20th Special Operations Squadron
(retrieved 3 Dec 2012)Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 330-331Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 348-349 and replaced by new units.AFHRA Factsheet, 91st Network Warfare Squadron
(retrieved 3 Dec 2012)AFHRA Factsheet, 97th Intelligence Squadron
(retrieved 3 Dec 2012)Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 184-185 It was disbanded on 15 April 1944.

Lineage

* Constituted on 5 February 1942 as the 76th Observation Group : Activated on 27 February 1942 : Redesignated as the 76th Reconnaissance Group on 2 April 1943 : Redesignated as the 76th Tactical Reconnaissance Group on 11 August 1943 * Disbanded on 15 April 1944

Subordinate Units

* 20th Observation Squadron (later 20th Reconnaissance Squadron, 20th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron): 12 March 1942 – 23 August 1943 * 23d Observation Squadron (later 23d Reconnaissance Squadron): 2 March 1942 – 20 June 1943 * 24th Observation Squadron (later 24th Reconnaissance Squadron): 27 February 1942 – 11 August 1943 * 70th Reconnaissance Squadron: 20 June 1943 – 11 August 1943 * 91st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron: 11 August 1943 – 23 August 1943 *

97th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron The United States Air Force's 97th Intelligence Squadron is an intelligence unit located at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. The squadron was first organized at Kelly Field, Texas in the summer of 1917 as the 97th Aero Squadron. It maintaine ...

: 23 August 1943 – 15 Apr 1944 * 101st Photographic Mapping Squadron: 21 October 1943 – 29 Mar 1944 * 102d Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron: 5 April 1944 – 15 April 1944 * 106th Reconnaissance Squadron: 20 June 1943 – 13 July 1943 * 121st Liaison Squadron: 30 April 1943 – 11 August 1943

Assignments

, 27 February 1942 * 3d Ground Air Support Command (later III Air Support Command, III Reconnaissance Command), 27 February 1942 * Desert Training Center, ''ca''. 20 September 1943 * III Tactical Air Division, ''ca''. 15 December 1943 – 15 April 1944

Stations Assigned

* MacDill Field, Florida, 27 February 1942 * Key Field, Mississippi, c. 3 March 1942 *

Pope Field Pope Field is a U.S. military facility located 12 miles (19 km) northwest of the central business district of Fayetteville, in Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States.. Federal Aviation Administration. effective 15 November 2012 ...

, North Carolina, 28 March 1942 * Vichy Army Air Field, Missouri, 10 December 1942 *

Morris Field Charlotte Douglas International Airport (IATA: CLT, ICAO: KCLT, FAA LID: CLT), typically referred to as Charlotte Douglas, Douglas Airport, or simply CLT, is an international airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, located roughly six miles west ...

, North Carolina, 10 May 1943Abstract, History of Morris Field Nov 1940-Jul 1944
(retrieved 3 Dec 2012) * Thermal Army Air Field, California ''ca''. 20 September 1943 – 15 April 1944

Aircraft Flown

Douglas A-20 Havoc The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) is an American medium bomber, attack aircraft, Intruder (air combat), night intruder, night fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II. Designed to meet an Army Air Corps requirement f ...

North American B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in e ...

* Stinson L-1 Vigilant *

Piper L-4 Cub 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 Pi ...

Stinson 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 ...

* Interstate L-6 Grasshopper *

Bell 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 ...

Curtiss 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 an ...

Awards

* *

American Theater of World War II The American Theater was a theater of operations during World War II including all continental American territory, and extending into the ocean. Owing to North and South America's geographical separation from the central theaters of ...

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * *

External links

{{USAAF 3d Air Force World War II Military units and formations established in 1942 076