The 38th Reconnaissance Squadron is a

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

unit. It is a part of the 55th Wing at

Offutt Air Force Base Offutt Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force base south of Omaha, adjacent to Bellevue in Sarpy County, Nebraska. It is the headquarters of the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), the 557th Weather Wing, and the 55th Wing (55 WG) of the ...

, Nebraska. It operates the

Boeing RC-135 The Boeing RC-135 is a family of large reconnaissance aircraft built by Boeing and modified by a number of companies, including General Dynamics, Lockheed, LTV, E-Systems, L3Harris Technologies, and used by the United States Air Force and ...

aircraft conducting reconnaissance missions.

Mission

The mission of the 38th Reconnaissance Squadron is to provide RC-135 aircraft and personnel to conduct global reconnaissance for national intelligence agencies, key decision makers and warfighters.

History

World War II

Established in late 1942 as a

Lockheed 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 (USAAC) by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinc ...

fighter squadron, trained under Second Air Force in the Pacific northwest. Deployed to the

European Theater of Operations The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater (warfare), theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It command ...

, assigned to VIII Fighter Command in England in late 1943. Squadron's mission was to provide long range fighter escort for

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...

and

Consolidated B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models desi ...

heavy bombers on strategic bombing missions over

Occupied Europe German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...

and

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. In April 1944 received

P-51D Mustang Over twenty variants of the North American P-51 Mustang fighter were produced from 1940, when it first flew, to after World War II, some of which were employed also in the Korean War and in several other conflicts. Allison-engined Mustangs NA- ...

fighter aircraft and continuing its primary task of escorting B-17 and B-24 bombers that attacked such targets as industries and marshalling yards in Germany, and airfields and V-weapon sites in France. The squadron flew air patrols over the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

and bombed bridges in the

Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

area during the Invasion of France in June 1944. In July the squadron attacked gun emplacements during the

Saint-Lô Saint-Lô (, ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in northwest France, the capital of the Manche department in the region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy.Arnhem Arnhem ( ; ; Central Dutch dialects, Ernems: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border. It is the capita ...

sector to support the Airborne invasion of the Netherlands in September 1944, and later in December, transportation facilities during the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive or Unternehmen Die Wacht am Rhein, Wacht am Rhein, was the last major German Offensive (military), offensive Military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western ...

. During the

Western Allied invasion of Germany The Western Allied invasion of Germany was coordinated by the Allies of World War II, Western Allies during the final months of hostilities in the European theatre of World War II, European theatre of World War II. In preparation for the Allied ...

, the squadron flew ground support missions by strafing trucks, locomotives, and oil depots near

Wesel Wesel () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel (district), Wesel district. Geography Wesel is situated at the confluence of the Lippe River and the Rhine. Division of the city Suburbs of Wesel i ...

when the Allies crossed the Rhine in March 1945 and continued offensive operations until 21 April 1945. 55fg-Nuthampstead

After the German Capitulation, became part of the

United States Air Forces in Europe United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

Army of Occupation, at AAF Station Kaufbeuren, then moved to AAF Station Giebelstadt in early 1946 where it received its first jet aircraft, the Lockheed P-80A Shooting Star. Inactivated in August 1946 when personnel were demobilized and aircraft were transferred to the 31st Fighter Group.

Cold War reconnaissance

The squadron was reactivated by

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile compon ...

in 1947 as a reconnaissance squadron, equipped with Boeing RB-17 Flying Fortress aircraft. It flew aerial photography, mapping, charting, and photo reconnaissance missions, some of which flew around borders of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and over the Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany. Little was known about the

air defense Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-lau ...

capability of the Soviet Union at this time and the most effective way of determining their capability was to probe the borders and see whether they would respond. Gradually the RB-17s and other aircraft mapped the perimeter of the Soviet Air Defenses from the Baltic Sea to the Sea of Okhotsk, north of Japan. The squadron was upgraded to Boeing RB-29 Superfortress aircraft in 1949 and continued its reconnaissance mission. However, it was again inactivated in 1949 due to budget reductions. The squadron was again reactivated in 1950 at Ramey Air Force Base, Puerto Rico, again flying RB-29s performing strategic reconnaissance, charting photography, precise electronic geodetic mapping, and electronic reconnaissance missions, upgrading to Boeing RB-50 Superfortresses in 1952. In 1953, the squadron was equipped with Boeing RB-47E Stratojets and conducted a variety of classified overflights of the Soviet Union during the 1950s. Some of these flights were mounted from Thule in Greenland and probed deep into the heart of the Soviet Union, taking a photographic and radar recording of the route attacking SAC bombers would follow to reach their targets. Flights which involved penetrating mainland Russia were termed SENSINT (Sensitive Intelligence) missions. One RB-47 even managed to fly 450 miles inland and photograph the city of Igarka in Siberia. Beginning in 1958, used 3 specially modified Stratojets, known as EB-47Es (Tell Two), in Operation Iron Work to monitor Soviet missile tests from

Baikonur Baikonur ( ; ) is a city in Kazakhstan on the northern bank of the Syr Darya river. It is currently leased and administered by the Russian Federation as an enclave until 2050. It was constructed to serve the Baikonur Cosmodrome with adminis ...

, Tyuratam and

Kapustin Yar Kapustin Yar () is a Russian military training area and a rocket launch complex in Astrakhan Oblast, about 100 km east of Volgograd. It was established by the Soviet Union on 13 May 1946. In the beginning, Kapustin Yar used technology, material ...

. The early EB-47E 'Tell Two' was easily recognizable as the aircraft were equipped with 2 large telemetry pods attached to either side of the fuselage, just aft of the nose, which intercepted data from Soviet data from missile tests. A later version of the 'Tell Two' housed the telemetry pods internally and had a streamlined nose. The USAF long range radar site at Samsum in Turkey, on the south coast of the Black Sea, also assisted in this activity. Missions flown on a reduced scale after February 1958 when events showed the vulnerability of the RB-47 to Soviet air defenses and the development of the U-2 aircraft. When the 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing relocated to

on 16 August 1966, the 38th took over the

Operation Looking Glass Looking Glass (or Operation Looking Glass) is the historic code name for an airborne command and control center operated by the United States. In more recent years it has been more officially referred to as the ABNCP (Airborne National Command Po ...

mission from the 34th Air Refueling Squadron and operated Boeing EC-135C as well as operating 3 KC-135R Rivet Stand reconnaissance aircraft. On 1 April 1970 SAC reorganized the Post Attack Command and Control mission and the 38th inactivated and turned the mission over to the newly 2d Airborne Command and Control Squadron. The squadron flew worldwide strategic reconnaissance including in support of the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis () in Cuba, or the Caribbean Crisis (), was a 13-day confrontation between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union, when American deployments of Nuclear weapons d ...

in October 1962,

Operation Urgent Fury The United States and a coalition of Caribbean countries invaded the small island nation of Grenada, north of Venezuela, at dawn on 25 October 1983. Codenamed Operation Urgent Fury by the U.S. military, it resulted in military occupation with ...

in October 1983, Operation El Dorado Canyon in April 1986,

Operation Just Cause Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

in December 1989, and Operations Desert Shield and

Desert Storm , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

from January–February 1991.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 38th Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor) on 20 November 1940 : Activated on 15 January 1941 : Redesignated 38th Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor) (Twin Engine) on 31 January 1942 : Redesignated 38th Fighter Squadron (Twin Engine) on 15 May 1942 : Redesignated 38th Fighter Squadron, Twin Engine on 20 August 1943 : Redesignated 38th Fighter Squadron, Single Engine on 5 September 1944 : Inactivated on 20 August 1946 * Redesignated 38th Reconnaissance Squadron, Very Long Range, Mapping on 3 February 1947 : Activated on 15 March 1947 : Redesignated 38th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, Photo-Mapping on 1 July 1949 : Inactivated on 14 October 1949 * Redesignated 38th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, Medium, Photo on 27 October 1950 : Activated on 1 November 1950 : Redesignated 38th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, Medium on 16 June 1952 : Redesignated 38th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron on 16 August 1966 : Inactivated on 1 April 1970 * Activated on 1 April 1979 : Redesignated 38th Reconnaissance Squadron on 1 September 1991

Assignments

* 55th Pursuit Group (later 55th Fighter Group), 15 January 1941 – 20 August 1946 * 5th Reconnaissance Group, 15 March 1947 * 311th Air Division, 26 May 1949 (attached to 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing) * 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Group, 1 June–14 October 1949 * 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Group, 1 November 1950 (attached to 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Wing until 6 January 1951, then to 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing) :: Further attached to 3d Air Division, 15 January–28 May 1951,

7th Air Division The 7th Air Division (7 AD) served the United States Air Force with distinction from early 1944 through early 1992, earning an outstanding unit decoration and a service streamer along the way. History Hawaii As the 7th Fighter Wing, the divis ...

after 5 April 1952) * 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, 16 June 1952 – 1 April 1970 (remained attached to

to 9 August 1952) * 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, 1 April 1979 * 55th Operations Group, 1 September 1991 – present

Stations

* Hamilton Field, California, 15 January 1941 * Columbia Airport, Oregon, 21 May 1941 * McChord Field, Washington, 14 December 1941 *

Paine Field Seattle Paine Field International Airport — also known as Paine Field and Snohomish County Airport — is a commercial and general aviation airport serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located in uni ...

, Washington, 9 September 1942 – 20 August 1943 * RAF Nuthampstead (Station 131),Station number in Anderson. England, 16 September 1943 * RAF Wormingford (Station 159), England, 16 April 1944 * Kaufbeuren Airfield (R-70),Station number in Johnson. Germany, 20 July 1945 * AAF Station Giebelstadt (Y-90), Germany, 4 April–20 August 1946 * Clark Field (later Clark Air Force Base),

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

, Philippines, 15 March 1947 – 6 May 1949 * Fairfield-Suisun Air Force Base, California, 26 May 1949 * Topeka Air Force Base (later Forbes Air Force Base), Kansas, 1 June–14 October 1949 *

Barksdale Air Force Base Barksdale Air Force Base (Barksdale AFB) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, in northwest Louisiana. Much of the base is within the city limits of Bossier City, Louisiana, along the base's western and northwest ...

, Louisiana, 1 November 1950 * Ramey Air Force Base, Puerto Rico, 6 January 1951 :: Deployed to RAF Bassingbourn, England, 15 January–28 May 1951, RAF Sculthorpe, England (5 April–15 May 1952, RAF Upper Heyford, England, 15 May–9 August 1952) * Forbes Air Force Base, Kansas, 9 October 1952 :: Deployed to Ben Guerir Air Base, French Morocco, 30 May–6 August 1955 * Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, 16 August 1966 – 1 April 1970 * Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, 1 April 1979 – presentStation information in Dollman, except as noted.

Aircraft

* Republic P-43 Lancer (1941) * Lockheed P-38 Lightning (1941–1944) *

Republic P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter, and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...

(1943) *

North American P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by a team headed by James H. Kin ...

(1944–1946) * Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star (1946) *

Douglas A-26 Invader The Douglas A-26 Invader (designated B-26 between 1948 and 1965) is an American twin-engined light bomber and attack aircraft, ground attack aircraft. Built by Douglas Aircraft Company during World War II, the Invader also saw service during ...

(1946) * Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress (1947) * Boeing FB-17 (later RB-17) Flying Fortress (1947–1949) * Beechcraft RC-45 Expeditor (1948–1949) * Curtiss C-46 Commando (1948–1949) *

Douglas C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II. During the war the C-47 was used for tro ...

(1948–1949) * Boeing RB-29 Superfortress (1949) * Boeing RB-50 Superfortress (1950–1954) * Boeing RB-47 Stratojet (1954–1965) * Boeing EB-47 Stratojet (1957–1965) * Boeing EC-135 (1966–1970) * Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker (1966 – c. 1968) *

(1979–present)

References

; Notes ; Citations

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

AFHRA 38th Reconnaissance Squadron History
{{US Air Force navbox 038 Military units and formations in Nebraska