The 427th Reconnaissance Squadron is an active

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 ...

(USAF) unit assigned to

Beale Air Force Base Beale Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force base in Yuba County, California, Yuba County, California. It is outside Linda, California, Linda, about east of the towns of Marysville, California, Marysville and Yuba City, and abo ...

, California. The squadron's roots go back to

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, when it was organized as the 38th Aero Squadron, a training unit that served in Texas and Illinois. When the

United States Army Air Service The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial warf ...

reorganized its training units in July 1918, the squadron was renamed Squadron A, Chanute Field. Following the

Armistice of 11 November 1918 The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed in a railroad car, in the Compiègne Forest near the town of Compiègne, that ended fighting on land, at sea, and in the air in World War I between the Entente and their las ...

, the squadron was demobilized in December. The World War I squadron was consolidated with the 38th Pursuit Squadron when that unit was activated in 1933, although it was not equipped before it was inactivated in 1935. The squadron was activated again in 1936 as the 38th Reconnaissance Squadron, forming the long range reconnaissance arm of the 1st Wing. The squadron was attached to the

19th Bombardment Group 19 (nineteen) is the natural number following 18 and preceding 20. It is a prime number. Mathematics Nineteen is the eighth prime number. Number theory 19 forms a twin prime with 17, a cousin prime with 23, and a sexy prime with 13 ...

and began its deployment to join the group in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

in December 1941. However, the 38th's

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 ...

es arrived at

Hickam Field Hickam may refer to: ;Surname * Homer Hickam (born 1943), American author, Vietnam veteran, and a former NASA engineer **'' October Sky: The Homer Hickam Story'', 1999 American biographical film * Horace Meek Hickam (1885–1934), pioneer airpower ...

while it was under attack by the

Imperial Japanese Naval Air Service The (IJNAS) was the air arm of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). The organization was responsible for the operation of naval aircraft and the conduct of aerial warfare in the Pacific War. The Japanese military acquired its first aircraft in ...

. Squadron planes not destroyed during the attack were diverted to other units and the squadron reformed as part of the

303d Bombardment Group 3 (three) is a number, numeral (linguistics), numeral and numerical digit, digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cul ...

. As the 427th Bombardment Squadron, it was one of the first B-17 units to deploy 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 ...

, earning a

Distinguished Unit Citation The Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the uniformed services of the United States, and those of allied countries, for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed e ...

as it participated in the strategic bombardment of Germany from 1942 to 1945, when it was inactivated. The squadron was activated at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in December 1958, when

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 ...

(SAC) reorganized its

Boeing B-47 Stratojet The Boeing B-47 Stratojet (Boeing company designation Model 450) is a retired American long- range, six-engined, turbojet-powered strategic bomber designed to fly at high subsonic speed and at high altitude to avoid enemy interceptor aircraft ...

wings to meet its commitment to maintain one third of its bombers on alert. In 1962, SAC began to keep half its bombers on alert and the squadron was inactivated. The squadron was reactivated in 2012 and assigned to the

9th Operations Group The 9th Operations Group is the operational flying component of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing, stationed at Beale Air Force Base, California. The 9th OG's mission is to organize, train and equip Lockheed U-2R, RQ-4 Global Hawk and MC-12W Libe ...

Air Combat Command The Air Combat Command (ACC) is one of nine List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, Major Commands (MAJCOMs) in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force (HAF) at the Pentagon. It is the prim ...

at Beale, to operate the

MC-12 Liberty The Beechcraft C-12 Huron is the military designation for a series of twin-engine turboprop aircraft based on the Beechcraft Super King Air and Beechcraft 1900. C-12 variants are used by the United States Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps. ...

reconnaissance aircraft and train Liberty aircrews. The squadron was inactivated in November 2015 as the USAF transferred the MC-12 mission to the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. The squadron was reactivated in 2019 at Beale and is reported to operate the

Northrop Grumman RQ-180 The Northrop Grumman RQ-180 is an American Stealth aircraft, stealth unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) surveillance aircraft intended for contested airspace. , there had been no images or statements released, but evidence points to the existence o ...

stealth Stealth may refer to: Military *Stealth technology, technology used to conceal ships, aircraft, and missiles **Stealth aircraft, aircraft which use stealth technology ** Stealth ground vehicle, ground vehicles which use stealth technology ** Ste ...

unmanned aerial vehicle An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous.De Gruyter Handbook of Dron ...

surveillance aircraft Surveillance aircraft are aircraft used for surveillance. They are primarily operated by military forces and government agencies in roles including intelligence gathering, maritime patrol, battlefield and airspace surveillance, observation (e. ...

History

World War I

The squadron was first organized as a provisional unit at

Kelly Field Kelly Field (formerly Kelly Air Force Base) is a Joint-use airport, Joint-Use facility located in San Antonio, Texas. It was originally named after George E. M. Kelly, the first member of the U.S. military killed in the crash of an airplane he ...

, Texas in June 1917. In early August the unit received formal recognition as the 38th Aero Squadron as the United States expanded the

after entering

. A few weeks later, the squadron moved to

Chanute Field Chanute may refer to: *Chanute, Kansas, United States **Chanute High School *Octave Chanute Octave Chanute (February 18, 1832 – November 23, 1910) was a French-American civil engineer and aviation pioneer. He advised and publicized many aviat ...

, Illinois, where it served as a training unit, equipped with

Curtiss JN-4 The Curtiss JN "Jenny" is a series of biplanes built by the Glenn Curtiss Aeroplane Company of Hammondsport, New York, later the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. Although the Curtiss JN series was originally produced as a training aircraft ...

and

DH-4 The Airco DH.4 is a British two-seat biplane day bomber of the First World War. It was designed by Geoffrey de Havilland (hence "DH") for Airco, and was the first British two-seat light day-bomber capable of defending itself. It was designe ...

single engined biplanes. In July 1918, the Air Service renamed its squadrons at training fields if they were not programmed for overseas deployment as lettered squadrons and the 38th became Squadron A, Chanute Field. The squadron was demobilized in December 1918 as Chanute prepared to transition from a pilot training field into a temporary storage depot following the

.Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 523–525

Interwar years

The Air Service constituted the 38th Pursuit Squadron in March 1923, but it remained on the inactive list. If activated or mobilized the squadron was to form part of the

16th Pursuit Group The 1st Special Operations Wing (1 SOW) at Hurlburt Field, Florida is one of three United States Air Force active duty Special Operations wings and falls under the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). The 1st Special Operations Wing i ...

at Kelly Field, but this mobilization plan was not implemented. The squadron was finally activated in August 1933 at

Selfridge Field Selfridge Air National Guard Base or Selfridge ANGB is an Air National Guard installation located in Harrison Township, Michigan, near Mount Clemens. Selfridge Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the Un ...

, Michigan, after having been consolidated with the original Aero Squadron. Although the squadron was nominally assigned to the

18th Pursuit Group 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19. It is an even composite number. Mathematics 18 is a semiperfect number and an abundant number. It is a largely composite number, as it has 6 divisors and no smaller number has ...

Wheeler Field Wheeler Army Airfield , also known as Wheeler Field and formerly as Wheeler Air Force Base, is a United States Army post located in the City & County of Honolulu and in the Wahiawa District of the Island of O'ahu, Hawaii. It is a National H ...

, Hawaii, it was attached to the

1st Pursuit Group First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

at Selfridge. The squadron was minimally manned at Selfridge and apparently was never equipped while stationed there. In March 1935, the 38th was inactivated and simultaneously redesignated the 38th Observation Squadron. Martin B-10B during exercises

In September 1936, the squadron was redesignated the 38th Reconnaissance Squadron and activated at

March Field March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 21 m ...

, California, in 1936 as the long range reconnaissance arm of the 1st Wing, flying

Martin B-10 The Martin B-10 is a bomber aircraft designed by the Glenn L. Martin Company. It was the first all-metal monoplane bomber to be regularly used by the United States Army Air Corps, having entered service in June 1934.Jackson 2003, p. 246. It wa ...

s. The group was attached to the

, whose squadrons also flew the B-10. Like most reconnaissance squadrons of the period, the squadron flew an assortment of aircraft equipped for reconnaissance as well as its primary aircraft. In addition to the Martin Bombers, the squadron also flew Douglas OA-4 Dolphins and

Northrop A-17 The Northrop A-17, also known as the Northrop Model 8, a development of the Northrop Gamma 2F model, is a two-seat, single-engine, monoplane, attack bomber built in 1935 by the Northrop Corporation for the United States Army Air Corps. When in ...

s. The following year, the squadron added Sikorsky Y10A-8 amphibians to its list of aircraft. Along with the 19th Group, the squadron's primary aircraft was upgraded to the

Douglas B-18A Bolo The Douglas B-18 Bolo is an American twin-engined medium bomber which served with the United States Army Air Corps and the Royal Canadian Air Force (as the Digby) during the late 1930s and early 1940s. The Bolo was developed by the Douglas Airc ...

, then to early models of the

. In June 1941, the squadron departed March along with the 19th Group for the newly constructed Army Air Base Albuquerque, New Mexico. As tensions with the

Japanese Empire The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From 1910 to ...

rose, the 19th Group was ordered to reinforce the

Philippine Department Air Force The Philippine Department Air Force was a military formation of the United States Army Air Forces. The command was officially established on 6 May 1941 as the Philippine Department Air Force at Nichols Field, Luzon, Philippines. Origins The U ...

. Group

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

and the 30th and 93d Bombardment Squadrons left Albuquerque for

Clark Air Base Clark Air Base is a Philippine Air Force base in Luzon, located west of Angeles City, and about northwest of Metro Manila. It was previously operated by the U.S. Air Force and, before that, the U.S. Army, from 1903 to 1991. The base cov ...

in September and October 1941.

World War II

Pearl Harbor and antisubmarine warfare

NARA 80-G-32915 Burned B-17 Flying Fortress on Hickam Field after Pearl Harbor attack

The 38th Squadron was ordered to reinforce the 19th Group in the Philippines. Its air echelon staged through Hamilton Field, California, for deployment, but did not begin its movement to

Clark Field Clark is an English language surname with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland, ultimately derived from the Latin ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educated ...

until 6 December 1941. The squadron's B-17s arrived at

, Hawaii on the morning of 7 December 1941 as the

was attacking Hickam. Most of the squadron's aircraft were destroyed or damaged as they attempted to land during the attack. From December 1941 until February 1942 the remains of the air echelon flew patrol and search missions from Hawaii under the direction of the

Hawaiian Air Force The Seventh Air Force (Air Forces Korea) (7 AF) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Osan Air Base, South Korea. The command's mission is to plan and direct air component operations in ...

when its personnel and equipment were absorbed by other units. Meanwhile, the squadron's ground echelon also departed for the Philippines on 6 December, but traveled by ship, departing from

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. However, due to the Japanese attacks in Hawaii and the Philippines, its transport was ordered to return on 9 December 1941. Following the Japanese attacks in the Pacific, the greatest danger from

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

s appeared to be along the Pacific coast. Therefore, after returning to port, the ground echelon was ordered to

Minter Field Minter may refer to: Places in the United States *Minter, Alabama, an unincorporated community * Minter Village, California, an unincorporated community *Minter City, Mississippi Minter City is an unincorporated community in Leflore County and ...

, California, where it jointed the Sierra Bombardment Group, a hastily formed unit made up of available planes and personnel diverted from shipment to the Philippines to defend the California coast from Japanese submarine attack. The recurring demands for antisubmarine patrols delayed the expansion and training of the squadron with a new air echelon. By January 1942 it became obvious that there was no immediate threat to the Pacific coast and the movement of aircraft to the Pacific could be resumed. In February 1942, the Sierra Bombardment Group was discontinued and the squadron returned to its assignment to the 19th Bombardment Group. In March the squadron moved to

Gowen Field Boise Airport (Boise Air Terminal or Gowen Field) is a joint civil-military airport in the western United States in Idaho, south of downtown Boise in Ada County. The airport is operated by the city of Boise Department of Aviation, overseen ...

, Idaho, where it was attached to the

, which had been organized the previous month,Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 175–176 for training and expansion with a new air echelon. Shortly after its arrival at Gowen, the 303d Group's 31st Reconnaissance Squadron was inactivated and its planes and personnel were used to bring the 38th up to strength. At the end of the month, the 38th was transferred from the 19th to the 303d Bombardment Group.

Combat in the European Theater

303rd Bombardment Group Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress 42-5392

In April the

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 ...

recognized there was little difference between the reconnaissance squadrons assigned to heavy

bombardment group A bombardment group or bomb group was a unit of organizational command and control group of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II. A bombardment group was normally commanded by a colonel. The table of allowances (TOA) fo ...

s and their companion bombardment squadrons, and dropped their "reconnaissance" designation. In this renaming, the 38th became the 427th Bombardment Squadron. The ground echelon departed

Biggs Field Biggs Army Airfield (formerly Biggs Air Force Base) is a United States Army military airbase located on the Fort Bliss military base in El Paso, Texas. History Biggs Field/Biggs Army Airfield (1916–47) On 15 June 1919, following an attack b ...

, Texas, in August 1942, arriving at

Fort Dix Fort Dix, the common name for the Army Support Activity (ASA) located at Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst, is a United States Army post. It is located south-southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. Fort Dix is under the jurisdiction of the Air Fo ...

on 24 August. It sailed aboard the and arrived in Great Britain on 10 September. The air echelon flew through

Kellogg Field Kellogg may refer to: Education * Kellogg College, Oxford, one of the constituent colleges of Oxford University * Kellogg Community College, a public community college in Battle Creek, Michigan * Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern U ...

, Michigan, and

Dow Field Bangor Air National Guard Base is a United States Air National Guard base located on the grounds of Bangor International Airport in Bangor, Maine. Created in 1927 as the commercial Godfrey Field, the airfield was taken over by the U.S. Army ju ...

, Maine, before ferrying its planes across the Atlantic. Due to the haste to move heavy bombers to Europe, the squadron was insufficiently trained for combat and it continued to train in England until it entered combat on 17 November 1942Freeman, p. 247 in a strike against

Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Oc ...

, but returned without striking, having been unable to locate its target. It attacked Saint-Nazaire the following day, although its intended target was

La Pallice La Pallice (also known as ''grand port maritime de La Rochelle'') is the commercial deep-water port of La Rochelle, France. During the Fall of France, on 19 June 1940, approximately 6,000 Polish soldiers in exile under the command of Stanisła ...

. Its initial raids were on

airfield An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...

s, railroads and

submarine pen A submarine pen (''U-Boot-Bunker'' in German) is a type of submarine base that acts as a bunker to protect submarines from air attack. The term is generally applied to submarine bases constructed during World War II, particularly in Germany and ...

s in France. As a unit of one of only four Flying Fortress groups in

VIII Bomber Command 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. Etymology English ''eight'', from Old English '', æhta'', Proto-Germanic ''*ahto'' is a direct continuation of Proto-Indo-European '' *oḱtṓ(w)-'', and as such cognate wi ...

during late 1942 and early 1943, the squadron participated in the development of the

tactics Tactic(s) or Tactical may refer to: * Tactic (method), a conceptual action implemented as one or more specific tasks ** Military tactics, the disposition and maneuver of units on a particular sea or battlefield ** Chess tactics In chess, a tac ...

that would be used throughout the air campaign against Germany. In 1943, the squadron began flying missions to Germany, participating in the first attack by American heavy bombers on a target in Germany, a raid on the submarine yards at

Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...

on 27 January 1943. From that time, it concentrated primarily on strategic bombardment of German industry,

marshalling yards A classification yard (American English, as well as the Canadian National Railway), marshalling yard (British, Hong Kong, Indian, and Australian English, and the former Canadian Pacific Railway) or shunting yard (Central Europe) is a railway y ...

, and other strategic targets, including the

ball bearing A ball bearing is a type of rolling-element bearing that uses balls to maintain the separation between the bearing races. The purpose of a ball bearing is to reduce rotational friction and support radial and axial loads. It achieves this ...

plants at

Schweinfurt Schweinfurt ( , ; ) is a town#Germany, city in the district of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the surrounding Schweinfurt (district), district (''Landkreis'') of Schweinfurt and a major industrial, cultur ...

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...

s at

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

and an aircraft engine factory at

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. The 427th received a

when adverse weather on 11 January 1944 prevented its fighter cover from joining the group, exposing it to continuous attacks by

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

fighters. Despite this opposition, the unit successfully struck an aircraft assembly plant at

Oschersleben Oschersleben () is a town in the Börde district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The population in 1905 was 13,271, in 2020 about 19,000. History On November 23, 994 Oschersleben was first mentioned in a document by the Emperor Otto III. In 1235 ...

. Although a strategic bombing unit, the squadron was diverted on occasion to

close air support Close air support (CAS) is defined as aerial warfare actions—often air-to-ground actions such as strafes or airstrikes—by military aircraft against hostile targets in close proximity to friendly forces. A form of fire support, CAS requires ...

and

interdiction Interdiction is interception of an object prior to its arrival at the location where it is to be used in military, espionage, and law enforcement. Military In the military, interdiction is the act of delaying, disrupting, or destroying enemy f ...

for ground forces. It attacked gun emplacements and bridges in the

Pas-de-Calais The Pas-de-Calais (, ' strait of Calais'; ; ) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments of France, with 890, and is the ...

during

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The ope ...

, the invasion of Normandy, in June 1944; bombed enemy troops during

Operation Cobra Operation Cobra was an offensive launched by the First United States Army under Lieutenant General Omar Bradley seven weeks after the D-Day landings, during the Normandy campaign of World War II. The intention was to take advantage of the dis ...

, the breakout at Saint Lo, and 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 ...

. It bombed military installations 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 ...

during

Operation Lumberjack Operation Lumberjack was a military operation with the goal of capturing the west bank of the Rhine River and seizing key German cities, near the end of World War II in Europe. The First United States Army launched the operation in March 1945 ...

, the Allied assault across the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

. Its last combat mission was an attack on 25 April 1945 against an armament factory at Pilsen. Following

VE Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official surrender of all German military operations ...

in May 1945 the 303d Group was reassigned to the North African Division,

Air Transport Command Air Transport Command (ATC) was a United States Air Force unit that was created during World War II as the strategic airlift component of the United States Army Air Forces. It had two main missions, the first being the delivery of supplies a ...

and moved to Casablanca Airfield, French Morocco, to use its B-17 bombers as transports, ferrying personnel from France to Morocco. However, the two B-17 groups moved to Casablanca proved surplus to Air Transport Command's needs and the squadron was inactivated in late July 1945 and its planes ferried back to the United States.

Strategic Air Command

From 1958, the

wings of

(SAC) began to assume an alert posture at their home bases, reducing the amount of time spent on alert at overseas bases. The SAC alert cycle divided itself into four parts: planning, flying, alert and rest to meet General Thomas S. Power's initial goal of maintaining one third of SAC's planes on fifteen minute ground alert, fully fueled and ready for combat to reduce vulnerability to a Soviet missile strike.Schake, p. 220 (note 43) To implement this new system B-47 wings reorganized from three to four squadrons.Schake, p. 220 (note 43) The 427th was activated at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base as the fourth squadron of the

303d Bombardment Wing 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societie ...

. The alert commitment was increased to half the wing's aircraft in 1962 and the four squadron pattern no longer met the alert cycle commitment, so the squadron was inactivated on 1 January 1962.

Reconnaissance mission returns

The 427th Reconnaissance Squadron was activated at

, California, in May 2012 to manage combat readiness training for the

MC-12W Liberty The Beechcraft C-12 Huron is the military designation for a series of twin-engine turboprop aircraft based on the Beechcraft Super King Air and Beechcraft 1900. C-12 variants are used by the United States United States Air Force, Air Force, Unit ...

. It organized, trained, equipped and deployed MC-12W aircraft and aircrew in support of combat commander directed operational requirements. Its personnel included pilots, sensor operators and supporting airment. During its tenure at Beale, the 427th flew 4,770 combat missions, which resulted claims that over 500 enemy combatants were eliminated. The MC-12W mission was transferred from the

to the

in October 2015 and the squadron was inactivated in a ceremony held on 20 November 2015. The squadron was reactivated at Beale in 2019. According to an October 2019 report by ''

Aviation Week & Space Technology ''Aviation Week & Space Technology'', often abbreviated ''Aviation Week'' or ''AW&ST'', is the flagship magazine of the Aviation Week Network, a division of Informa. The weekly magazine is available in print and online, reporting on the aeros ...

'' the squadron operates the

(UAV)

Lineage

38th Aero Squadron * Organized as the 38th Provisional Aero Squadron on 12 June 1917 : Redesignated 38th Aero Squadron on 3 August 1917 : Redesignated Squadron A, Chanute Field, Illinois on 13 July 1918 : Demobilized on 1 December 1918 * Reconstituted c. 1 August 1933 and consolidated with the 38th Pursuit Squadron as the 38th Pursuit Squadron 427th Reconnaissance Squadron * Constituted as the 38th Pursuit Squadron on 24 March 1923 * Consolidated with Squadron A, Chanute Field, Illinois c. 1 August 1933 : Activated on 1 August 1933 : Redesignated 38th Observation Squadron (Long Range, Light Bombardment) and inactivated on 1 March 1935 * Redesignated 38th Reconnaissance Squadron and activated on 1 September 1936 : Redesignated 38th Reconnaissance Squadron (Long Range) on 6 December 1939 : Redesignated 38th Reconnaissance Squadron (Heavy) on 20 November 1940 : Redesignated 427th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 22 April 1942 : Redesignated 427th Bombardment Squadron, Heavy c. 20 August 1943 : Inactivated on 25 July 1945 * Redesignated 427th Bombardment Squadron, Medium on 20 August 1958 : Activated on 1 December 1958 : Discontinued and inactivated on 1 January 1962 * Redesignated 427th Reconnaissance Squadron on 17 August 2011 : Activated on 1 May 2012 : Inactivated c. 20 November 2015 : Reactivated c. 2019

Assignments

* Post Headquarters, Kelly Field, 12 June 1917 * Post Headquarters, Chanute Field, 25 August 1917 – 1 December 1918 * 18th Pursuit Group (attached to 1st Pursuit Group), 1 August 1933 – 1 March 1935 * 1st Wing (later 1st Bombardment Wing) (attached to 19th Bombardment Group), 1 September 1936 * IV Bomber Command, 19 September 1941 (remained attached to 19th Bombardment Group) * Sierra Bombardment Group, 16 December 1941 *

Fourth Air Force The Fourth Air Force (4 AF) is a numbered air force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). It is headquartered at March Air Reserve Base, California. 4 AF directs the activities and supervises the training of more than 30,000 Air Force Reserv ...

, 17 January 1942 (attached to IV Bomber Command after 26 January 1942) * 19th Bombardment Group, 25 February 1942 (attached to

c. 13 March 1942) * 303d Bombardment Group, 31 March 1942 – 25 July 1945 * 303d Bombardment Wing, 1 December 1958 – 1 January 1962 *

, 1 May 2012 – c. 20 November 2015

Stations

* Camp Kelly (later Kelly Field), Texas, 12 June 1917 * Chanute Field, Illinois, 25 August 1917 – 1 December 1918 * Selfridge Field, Michigan, 1 August 1933 – 1 March 1935 * March Field, California, 1 September 1936 * Army Air Base Albuquerque, New Mexico, 5 June – 22 November 1941 * Minter Field, California, 17 December 1941 * Gowen Field, Idaho, 13 March 1942 (operated from

Muroc Army Air Field Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, California, Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino County and a souther ...

, California, 28 May – c. 14 June 1942) *

Alamogordo Army Air Field Alamogordo () is a city in and the county seat of Otero County, New Mexico, United States. A city in the Tularosa Basin of the Chihuahuan Desert, it is bordered on the east by the Sacramento Mountains and to the west by Holloman Air Force Ba ...

, New Mexico, 18 June 1942 * Biggs Field, Texas, 7 – 22 August 1942 *

RAF Molesworth Royal Air Force Molesworth or more simply RAF Molesworth is a Royal Air Force station located near Molesworth, Cambridgeshire, England with a history dating back to 1917. Its runway and flight line facilities were closed in 1973 and demolished ...

(Station 107),Station number in Anderson England, 12 September 1942 * Casablanca Airfield, French Morocco, c. 31 May – 25 July 1945 * Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, 1 December 1958 – 1 January 1962 * Beale Air Force Base, California, 1 May 2012 – c. 20 November 2015, 2019–present

Aircraft

* Curtiss JN-4, 1917–1918 * DH-4 Liberty Plane, 1917–1918 * Martin B-10B, 1936–1939 * Boeing B-17B/C Flying Fortress, 1937–1941 * Douglas B-18A Bolo, 1937–1941 * Douglas OA-4 Dolphin, 1936–1941 * Northrop A-17A, 1936–1941 * Sikorsky Y10A-8, 1937–1941 * Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, 1942–1945 * Boeing B-47 Stratojet, 1958–1961 * Beechcraft MC-12W Liberty, 2012–2015

Awards and campaigns

References

Notes

; Explanatory notes ; Citations

Bibliography

* * * * Hubbard, Gerard (June 1943). "Aircraft Insignia, Spirit of Youth". Vol. LXXXIII (No. 6) National Geographic, pp. 710–722 * * * * * *

External links

* (operations from England during WW II) {{USAAF 5th Air Force World War II Reconnaissance squadrons of the United States Air Force 1917 establishments in Texas