361st Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron

The 361st Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last was assigned to the 451st Air Expeditionary Group, stationed at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. It was inactivated on 1 September 2014.

The squadron's first predecessor was the 861st Bombardment Squadron, a United States Army Air Forces unit that was assigned to the 493d Bombardment Group during World War II. It was part of the last bombardment group to be assigned to Eighth Air Force. It flew combat missions until V-E Day, then returned to the United States for inactivation.

The squadron's other predecessor, the 361st Reconnaissance Squadron was formed during the Vietnam War, flying Douglas EC-47 aircraft, performing electronic surveillance in Vietnam and Thailand until inactivating in 1974, when the United States withdrew from Southeast Asia. The squadrons were consolidated in 1985, then converted to provisional status as an expeditionary unit.

History

World War II

Initial activation and training in the United States

The 861st Bombardment Squadron was first activated at McCook Army Air Field, Nebraska as one of the original four squadrons of the 493d Bombardment Group.Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 362-363 The formation of the squadron was delayed by an administrative error that caused some of the unit's cadre to report to Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona instead of McCook. It was not until January that all personnel were at McCook.Freeman, p. 262 By this time, the squadron had transferred on paper to Elveden Hall, England. The ground personnel of the squadron in the United States had been used to form Boeing B-29 Superfortress units being activated by Second Air Force, while the air echelon remained in Nebraska to conduct training on their assigned Consolidated B-24 Liberators. Meanwhile, Eighth Air Force formed a new ground echelon for the squadron in England from other units assigned to the 3d Bombardment Division. This ground echelon moved to the squadron's combat station, RAF Debach,Unlike the majority of World War II Army Air Forces bases in Britain, Debach was built by Army aviation engineers. Anderson, p. 6. in April 1944. The squadron's air echelon departed for England via the northern ferry route on 1 May, while a small ground component left McCook and sailed from Boston, Massachusetts on the on 12 May 1944.

Combat in Europe

The squadron flew its first combat mission on D-Day, 6 June 1944. It continued to fly Liberators until 24 August 1944, when it was withdrawn from combat to convert to Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses, along with other groups of the 93d Bombardment Wing, as Eighth Air Force concentrated all its Liberators in the 2d Bombardment Division. It resumed combat missions with the B-17 on 8 September 1944. The squadron concentrated its attacks on military and industrial targets in Germany, attacking an ordnance depot in Magdeburg, factories near Frankfurt, and a synthetic oil manufacturing plant at Merseburg. It also attacked lines of communications, including a railroad tunnel at Ahrweiler, bridges at Irlich, and marshalling yards near Cologne.

The squadron was occasionally diverted to attack tactical targets. It supported Operation Overlord, the Normandy invasion, striking artillery batteries, airfields and bridges. It struck enemy ground forces south of Caen

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