24th Reconnaissance Squadron
Encyclopedia
The 24th Strategic Squadron is an inactive unit of the United States Air Force
. Its last assignment was with the 55th Wing
, stationed at Offutt Air Force Base
, Nebraska
. It was inactivated on 1 July 1994.
The squadron was inactivated as part of the post Cold War
drawdown in 1994 and replaced by the 45th Reconnaissance Squadron
.
very heavy bombardment squadron; trained under Second Air Force
using B-17 Flying Fortresss until the units B-29s could be manufactured and delivered to the unit in Nebraska.
Deployed to the Pacific Theater of Operations
(PTO), assigned to North Field, Tinian under XXI Bomber Command
. Flew very long range strategic bombardment missions over the Japanese Home Islands, attacking military, industrial and transportation targets. Switched to night incendiary raids attacking major Japanese cities in the spring of 1945, causing massive destruction of urbanized areas. Continued strategic bombing raids and incendiary attacks until Japanese Capitulation in August 1945.
Squadron remained in Western Pacific, although largely demobilized in the fall of 1945. Some aircraft scrapped on Tinian
; others flown to storage depots in the United States. Remained as a paper unit assigned to Twentieth Air Force
until inactivated on Okinawa in 1948.
Reactivated in 1951 and redesigned as a heavy bomb squadron. Initially equipped with B-29s for training, equipped with B-36 Peacemaker intercontinental strategic bombers in 1953 for operational use. Initially was equipped with B-36Fs. Later Featherweight III B-36Js were added, the squadron operating both types. Carried yellow stripe on the tip of the vertical stabilizer; the lip of the jet intakes and the "nose cone" of the jet itself along with triangle-R tail code. SAC eliminated tail codes in 1953. In 1957 the B-36s were replaced with B-52E Stratofortress aircraft and all squadron markings were eliminated. Remained equipped with the B-52s until the closure of Walker AFB in 1967. Re-equipped with RC-135 Cobra Ball/Cobra Eye aircraft to support theater and national level intelligence consumers with near real-time on-scene collection, analysis and dissemination capabilities.
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
. Its last assignment was with the 55th Wing
55th Wing
The 55th Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Combat Command. The unit is stationed at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska....
, stationed at Offutt Air Force Base
Offutt Air Force Base
Offutt Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force installation near Omaha, and lies adjacent to Bellevue in Sarpy County, Nebraska. It is the headquarters of the U.S...
, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
. It was inactivated on 1 July 1994.
The squadron was inactivated as part of the post Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
drawdown in 1994 and replaced by the 45th Reconnaissance Squadron
45th Reconnaissance Squadron
The 45th Reconnaissance Squadron is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 55th Operations Group and stationed at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska.-Overview:...
.
History
Activated in Mid 1944 as a B-29 SuperfortressB-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
very heavy bombardment squadron; trained under Second Air Force
Second Air Force
The Second Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command . It is headquartered at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi....
using B-17 Flying Fortresss until the units B-29s could be manufactured and delivered to the unit in Nebraska.
Deployed to the Pacific Theater of Operations
Pacific Theater of Operations
The Pacific Theater of Operations was the World War II area of military activity in the Pacific Ocean and the countries bordering it, a geographic scope that reflected the operational and administrative command structures of the American forces during that period...
(PTO), assigned to North Field, Tinian under XXI Bomber Command
XXI Bomber Command
The XXI Bomber Command was a unit of the Twentieth Air Force in Guam for strategic bombing during World War II.- Lineage:* Constituted as XXI Bomber Command on 1 Mar 1944, and activated the same day.-Assignments:...
. Flew very long range strategic bombardment missions over the Japanese Home Islands, attacking military, industrial and transportation targets. Switched to night incendiary raids attacking major Japanese cities in the spring of 1945, causing massive destruction of urbanized areas. Continued strategic bombing raids and incendiary attacks until Japanese Capitulation in August 1945.
Squadron remained in Western Pacific, although largely demobilized in the fall of 1945. Some aircraft scrapped on Tinian
Tinian
Tinian is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.-Geography:Tinian is about 5 miles southwest of its sister island, Saipan, from which it is separated by the Saipan Channel. It has a land area of 39 sq.mi....
; others flown to storage depots in the United States. Remained as a paper unit assigned to Twentieth Air Force
Twentieth Air Force
The Twentieth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming.20 AF's primary mission is Intercontinental Ballistic Missile operations...
until inactivated on Okinawa in 1948.
Reactivated in 1951 and redesigned as a heavy bomb squadron. Initially equipped with B-29s for training, equipped with B-36 Peacemaker intercontinental strategic bombers in 1953 for operational use. Initially was equipped with B-36Fs. Later Featherweight III B-36Js were added, the squadron operating both types. Carried yellow stripe on the tip of the vertical stabilizer; the lip of the jet intakes and the "nose cone" of the jet itself along with triangle-R tail code. SAC eliminated tail codes in 1953. In 1957 the B-36s were replaced with B-52E Stratofortress aircraft and all squadron markings were eliminated. Remained equipped with the B-52s until the closure of Walker AFB in 1967. Re-equipped with RC-135 Cobra Ball/Cobra Eye aircraft to support theater and national level intelligence consumers with near real-time on-scene collection, analysis and dissemination capabilities.
Lineage
- Constituted 24th Bombardment Squadron (Very Heavy) on 28 Mar 1944
- Activated on 1 Apr 1944
- Inactivated on 18 Oct 1948
- Redesignated 24th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) on 20 Dec 1950
- Activated on 2 Jan 1951
- Redesignated: 24th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 16 Jun 1952
- Redesignated: 24th Strategic Aerospace Squadron on 1 May 1962
- Redesignated: 24th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron on 25 March 1967
- Redesignated: 24th Reconnaissance Squadron on 7 July 1992
- Inactivated on 1 July 1994, personnel/aircraft/equipment assigned to the 45th Reconnaissance Squadron45th Reconnaissance SquadronThe 45th Reconnaissance Squadron is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 55th Operations Group and stationed at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska.-Overview:...
Assignments
- 6th Bombardment Group, 1 Apr 1944 – 18 Oct 1948; 2 Jan 1951
- 6th Bombardment (later Strategic Aerospace, Strategic, Strategic Reconnaissance) Wing6th Air Mobility WingThe United States Air Force's 6th Air Mobility Wing is the host wing for MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. It is part of Air Mobility Command's Eighteenth Air Force....
, 16 June 1952 – 7 July 1992
Stations
- Dalhart Army Air Field, Texas, 1 Apr 1944
- Grand Island Army AirfieldGrand Island Army AirfieldGrand Island Army Airfield was a United States Army Air Forces airfield which operated from 1942 to 1946. After its closure, the base was reopened as Central Nebraska Regional Airport.-History:...
, NebraskaNebraskaNebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, 26 May – 18 Nov 1944 - North FieldNorth Field (Tinian)North Field is a former World War II airfield on Tinian in the Mariana Islands. Abandoned after the war, today North Field is a tourist attraction....
, TinianTinianTinian is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.-Geography:Tinian is about 5 miles southwest of its sister island, Saipan, from which it is separated by the Saipan Channel. It has a land area of 39 sq.mi....
, 28 Dec 1944 - Clark Field, LuzonLuzonLuzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
, 13 Mar 1946 - Kadena AB, Okinawa, 1 Jun 1947 – 18 Oct 1948
- Walker AFB, New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, 2 Jan 1951– - Eielson AFB, AlaskaAlaskaAlaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, 25 March 1967 – 7 July 1992
Aircraft
- B-17 Flying Fortress, 1944
- B-29 SuperfortressB-29 SuperfortressThe B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
, 1944–1947, 1951–1952 - RB-36 Peacemaker, 1953–1957
- B-52 StratofortressB-52 StratofortressThe Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber operated by the United States Air Force since the 1950s. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, who have continued to provide maintainence and upgrades to the aircraft in service...
, 1957–1967 - RC-135S Cobra Ball, 1967–1992
External links
- "A Tale of Two Airplanes" by Kingdon R. "King" Hawes, Lt Col, USAF (Ret.)