12th Reconnaissance Squadron

The 12th Reconnaissance Squadron was a United States Air Force squadron, assigned to the 319th Operations Group at Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota, and operates from Beale Air Force Base, California.

The squadron traces its lineage to the United States Army Air Service 12th Aero Squadron, activated on 2 June 1917 at Kelly Field, Texas. It earned seven Campaign Streamers in World War I flying the French Salmson 2A2 aircraft as a Corps Observation squadron. The squadron again flew tactical reconnaissance missions in France and Northern Europe during World War II as part of Ninth Air Force. As a United States Air Force squadron, it flew reconnaissance missions in the Korean War, Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm and the War on Terrorism.

Aircrews of the 12th have flown over 40 different aircraft since its beginnings in 1917, fought in more than 25 major campaigns, operated from over 60 stations, and received more than 20 unit citations. Before its most recent deactivation it was equipped with the RQ-4 Global Hawk Block 30 Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA).

Mission

The 12th Reconnaissance Squadron plans and executes worldwide high-altitude combat surveillance and reconnaissance missions including peacetime intelligence gathering, contingency operations and conventional warfare. Operating the RQ-4B Global Hawk Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), the 12 RS provides signals intelligence and near real-time imagery intelligence to fulfill operational requirements generated by the Joint Chiefs of Staff in support of the Secretary of Defense and unified commanders.

History

World War I

The 12th Reconnaissance Squadron is one of the oldest United States Air Force squadrons, having been involved in every armed conflict the United States has deployed forces into combat since World War I.

The 12th Aero Squadron was established in June 1917, shortly after the United States' entry into World War I. Formed at what would become Kelly Field, Texas, the squadron trained at Wilbur Wright Field, Ohio during the summer of 1917 before deploying to France in December 1917.

After a period of training in France, the 12th became an early photo-reconnaissance unit, flying over the trenches of the Western Front. Was attached to the French IV Army Corps and American I Army Corps; squadron moved frequently from one area of the front to another, usually staying at one location no more than a week or two, taking air photos and gathering intelligence. After the Armistice with Germany in November 1918, the squadron remained in France and later Germany as part of the IV Army Corps with the Rhineland Occupation forces. Returned to the United States in June 1919.

Inter-War era

: ''see also: United States Army Border Air Patrol''
Arriving at Mitchell Field, New York in June 1919, most squadron members were separated from the Air Service and returned to civilian life. A small cadre of members remained on duty, and on 8 October, Lt Alexander Pearson in a 12th Squadron De Havilland DH-4 took off from Roosevelt Field on Long Island in the first transcontinental air race, a round trip to Crissy Field, San Francisco, California, which he won with a flying time of 48 hours, 37 minutes, and 16 seconds, or an average speed of 111.3 mph.Brief History of the 12th Reconnaissance Squadron, 1917–1992. Edited by Wayne Pittman, Colonel, USAF, Retired.

After a brief attachment to Scott Field, Illinois, the 12th was transferred back to Kelly Field, where it immediately began preparations for service along the Mexican Border. By February 1920, the squadron (less A Flight, which was detached to Douglas Field, Arizona) was settling in at Biggs Field, near El Paso, equipped with De Havilland DH-4s. Later that month, a terse telegram described one incident of this service: Lts G. L. Usher and L. M. Wolfe, "lost direction on patrol. Made forced landing near Nacozari Sonora Mexico. Plane reported broken. Commanding General Southern Department making arrangements for officers release from Mexico." Wolfe and Usher, on a flight from Columbus Airfield New Mexico to Nogales, Arizona on 2 February 1920, lost their way due to a bad compass and poor visibility, mistakenly following a railway some into Mexico. In landing near the village of La Noira, south of Nacozari, a wing was damaged. They were detained by Mexican authorities, although they were given the freedom of Nacozari and spent most of their time at the club of an American copper company. They were finally released on 24 February. Between 4–11 April, the 12th moved to Nogales, where it operated for nearly a year until it joined the detached flight at Douglas Field, Arizona. On 28 September the squadron, reduced in numbers, returned to Biggs Field.

In February 1921, the same Lt Pearson and the 12th were again involved in a record-setting attempt, this time a planned transcontinental flight with only two stops to be completed in less than 24 hours. The flight was to be from Pablo Beach, Florida (near Jacksonville), to Rockwell Field, San Diego, with en route servicing at Fort Worth and Biggs Field. Lt Pearson left Douglas for Florida on 7 February, but he was forced down in the desert with a broken crankshaft. Repairs were made the next day on the scene, and he flew on Biggs Field on the 9th, departing the next day for Kelly Field, San Antonio, but he didn't make it. For the next six days, aircraft from five Texas bases searched for him in vain. Then, on the 16th, he arrived at Sanderson Border Patrol station on horseback, having made his way across country from his crash site in Mexico.

In June, the Border Patrol operation ended, with all airfields except Biggs Field being closed and most units returning to their permanent stations. The 12th Squadron, less A Flight again, which returned to Kelly Field, which remained in El Paso as part of the 1st Cavalry Division. On 30 September 1922, the unit was re-designated as the 12th Observation Squadron and in September 1923, it participated in maneuvers with the division at Marfa, Texas. It was during this period, from 1922 to 1923, that Captain Claire Chennault, of later Flying Tiger fame, served with the 12th as aviation engineer officer. In June 1926, the squadron went to Charlotte, Texas, for maneuvers, and in August it moved to Bayside Beach, Texas, for gunnery and bomb practice. The 12th returned to Bayside Beach in May 1932 and April 1933 for practice in aerial gunnery.

In 1934, the 12th took part when the Army was given responsibility for flying the mail after President Franklin Roosevelt cancelled all civilian contracts because of alleged rate-fixing by the airlines. 12th pilots were assigned to the difficult and dangerous CAA Route 18, from Salt Lake City, Utah to Oakland, California, via Elko, Nevada, and Sacramento, California. The aircraft they flew were primarily Douglas Y1B-7 bombers. On 1 June 1937, the 12th Observation Squadron left Texas to operate with the 7th Cavalry Brigade, the mechanized forerunner of the First Armored Division, at Fort Knox, Kentucky. While stationed at Fort Knox, the squadron participated in field maneuvers with the mechanized cavalry near Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, and at Fort Riley, Kansas, in 1938; in the First Army maneuvers at Plattsburgh, New York in 1939; and in the Third Army maneuvers in Louisiana in 1940. In the summer of 1940, the squadron was the first to be attached to an armored division – the First – and on 2 December, a base detachment was formed at For. Knox to manage Goodman Field, a new and modern airfield still under construction. Captain Robert M. Lee, commanding officer of the 12th, was also detachment commander. Along with the First Armored Division, the 12th Squadron played an active role in the Carolina and Louisiana Maneuvers from July to December 1941. After those maneuvers, the 12th returned to the recently completed Godman Field, where the unit supplied a cadre to organize the Headquarters Squadron of the 73d Observation Group.

World War II

After the Pearl Harbor Attack, the squadron left Godman Field on 17 March 1942 to join the 67th Observation Group at Esler Field, Louisiana. There it received extensive training in combat aircraft under Third Air Force. In late July the squadron was ordered overseas and split into a ground echelon and an air echelon. The ground echelon left Elser Field on 12 August 1942, and sailed for England on 28 August from Fort Dix, New Jersey aboard the . It arrived at Gourock, Scotland, on 6 September 1942 and proceeded to its new station at RAF Membury, Berkshire, England. Meanwhile, the air echelon had remained at Elser Field, until 21 September. On that day it left by train for Fort Dix, where it sailed aboard the Dutch Troop Ship Marnix van St. Aldegonde on 26 September, arriving at Gurock on 7 October to join the rest of the squadron at Membury.

Operations from England

In England, the squadron went through an intensive training program with the Royal Air Force. On 17 October 1942, it was assigned Spitfire PR Mk XIs, and late in January 1943, it received its first A-20 Havoc. During those months the squadron participated in several maneuvers and became a very efficient organization. On 8 July, the unit was re-designated the 12th Reconnaissance Squadron (Fighter). A little later, on 13 July, a reorganization took place and the A-20s, gunners, liaison pilots, and most of the observers of the squadron were transferred to the 153rd Liaison Squadron. The 12th was then equipped with North American P-51 Mustangs and F-6 reconnaissance Mustangs. Late in October, the 12th Squadron was transferred from the VIII Air Support Command to the IX Fighter Command. The unit became highly mobile and proficient at changing airfields on short notice. It would fly from eight English bases before moving to the Continent.

On 13 November, the squadron was re-designated again, to the 12th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron. Although the pilots of the 12th engaged in operations against the enemy while on detached service with the Royal Air Force, it was not until 2 January 1944 that the squadron began operations as a unit when Capt James L. Rose flew its first operational mission, a weather reconnaissance over France. On 4 January, the squadron, as part of the 67th Group, was assigned to the IX Air Support Command (re-designated IX Tactical Air Command in April 1944). After its first operational mission, the 12th helped to photograph of French coast and two inshore strips, each long using the Merton Oblique camera. On 20 March, after 19 days of extremely hazardous operation, the task was completed. Eighty-three missions were flown; 18 were aborted, 14 due to weather. The maps and photographs were an important contribution to the success of Operation Overlord, the invasion of the continent of Europe. The 12th shared a Distinguished Unit Citation with the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group for the "most extensive low altitude oblique photographic assignment ever undertaken over enemy territory." Now the 12th TRS turned to photographing targets over Belgium and France – targets from Le Havre to Luxembourg, and from Liège to Lorient. One day it was marshalling yards in Belgium, another day bridges along the Seine River, then gun emplacements on the "Rocket Coast" plus targets in the Pas-de-Calais area. In May 1944, 66 out of 75 missions were successful.

Northern France Campaign

On 6 June 1944, D-Day, and for days afterwards, the 12th TRS performed area and route reconnaissance missions as well as artillery adjustment missions over and immediately behind the front lines. The squadron flew 250 missions during the month and operated around the clock. Reconnaissance was a major factor in allied strategy, and the 12th TRS kept higher echelons informed of enemy convoy and troop movements, and the location of troop concentrations. Effective 13 June, the 12th was transferred to the 10th Photographic Reconnaissance Group. However, about 5 July 1944, the squadron moved with the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group to ALG A-9 Le Molay-Littry – the first of five airfields from which it would operate in France – and began supporting the United States First Army, which was massing for a breakthrough near Saint-Lô

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