The 6th Air Intelligence Squadron is an inactive unit of the

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 ...

. Its last assignment was with

Seventh 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 ...

, stationed at

Osan Air Base Osan Air Base (K-55; ; Hanja: ) is a United States Air Force (USAF) and Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) base located near Songtan station in the city of Pyeongtaek, South Korea, south of Seoul. Despite its name, Osan AB is not within Osan C ...

, Korea. It was inactivated in 1993. The unit was originally established at Army Air Base, Colorado Springs, Colorado (later Peterson Air Force Base) as the 6th Photographic Group on 5 February 1943, under the command of Lt Waymond Davis. Later that year, the unit was redesignated the 6th Reconnaissance Group and deployed to the southwest Pacific as a component of the

Fifth Air Force The Fifth Air Force (5 AF) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan. It is the U.S. Air Force's oldest continuously serving Numbered Air Force. The organ ...

History

World War II

The squadron was first activated in February 1943 at Army Air Base, Colorado Springs, Colorado, with the 25th,

26th 26 (twenty-six) is the natural number following 25 and preceding 27. In mathematics *26 is the seventh discrete semiprime (2 \times 13) and the fifth with 2 as the lowest non-unitary factor thus of the form (2.q), where q is a higher prime. ...

and

27th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven. Seventh may refer to: * Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution * A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts Film and television *"The Seventh", a second-season ep ...

s assigned as its original components.Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 42-43Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 132Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 135-136Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 139-140 The group trained at Colorado Springs until September 1943, when it began moving to the

Southwest Pacific Theater The South West Pacific theatre, during World War II, was a major theatre of the war between the Allies and the Axis. It included the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies (except for Sumatra), Borneo, Australia, its mandate Territory of New Guin ...

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

operated primarily in the Southwest Pacific Theater and used

Lockheed F-5 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 ...

s and

Consolidated F-7 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 ...

s to photograph Japanese

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, harbors, beach defenses, and personnel areas in New Guinea, the Bismarcks, Borneo, and the southern Philippines. It reconnoitered target areas and enemy troop positions to provide intelligence for air force and army units. T\In 1944, the group was awarded the

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 ...

and the

Philippine Presidential Unit Citation The Philippine Presidential Unit citation BadgeThe AFP Adjutant General, ''Awards and Decorations Handbook'', 1997, OTAG, p. 65. is a unit decoration of the Republic of the Philippines. It has been awarded to certain units of the United States ...

for carrying out one of the most important and difficult assignments ever given to a photographic unit: to obtain 80,000 prints of Japanese defenses in the Philippines in eight days. The group's F-5s and F-7s risked enemy interception and braved severe tropical weather to complete their mission all without fighter escort. The action proved critical to the successful amphibious assault of the Philippines. After moving to the Philippines in November 1944, flew missions to Formosa and China, engaged in mapping parts of Luzon and Mindanao], and provided intelligence for US ground forces concerning Japanese movements. The unit then moved to Okinawa Island, Okinawa until the war ended, and finally to mainland Japan, where it was inactivated on 27 April 1946. It was disbanded on 6 March 1947.

Intelligence operations

On 1 October 1981, the unit was reconstituted and reactivated as the 6th Tactical Intelligence Group at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea. It was tasked to provide substantive Intelligence support to U.S. and Combined Forces Combat. The 6th Group thus brought together intelligence collection, analysis, targeting, production, and dissemination assets assigned to the

314th Air Division The 314th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Pacific Air Forces at Osan Air Base, South Korea, where it was inactivated in September 1986. The unit was first organized during World War II as ...

of Fifth Air Force and the Korean Tactical Air Control System. In February 1992, the group became part of the

51st Fighter Wing The 51st Fighter Wing (51 FW) is a wing of the United States Air Force and the host unit at Osan Air Base, South Korea. The wing has been based entirely in the Far East during its entire existence, including its combat role as the ''51st Fighte ...

. In 1992 The group became a squadron and was transferred to the

5th Air Control Group Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth Avenue * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a conta ...

. Later that same year the 6th Air Intelligence Squadron fell under operational control of

when it replaced the 314th Air Division as the

headquarters for Korea.

Lineage

* Constituted as 6th Photographic Group on 5 February 1943 : Activated on 9 February 1943 : Redesignated: 6th Photographic Reconnaissance and Mapping Group c. 15 May 1943 : Redesignated: 6th Photographic Reconnaissance Group on 11 August 1943 : Redesignated: 6th Reconnaissance Group c. 4 May 1945 : Inactivated on 27 April 1946 : Disbanded on 6 March 1947Lineage through 1947 in Maurer, ''Combat Units'', p. 144 : Reconstituted 31 August 1981 and redesignated 6th Tactical Intelligence Group * Activated on 1 October 1981 : Redesignated 6th Air Intelligence Squadron on 7 February 1992 : Inactivated on 1 October 1993

Assignments

Second Air Force The Second Air Force (2 AF; ''2d Air Force'' in 1942) is a USAF numbered air force responsible for conducting basic military and technical training for Air Force enlisted members and non-flying officers. In World War II the CONUS unit defended ...

, 9 February–September 1943 *

V Bomber Command The V Bomber Command is an inactive United States Army Air Forces unit. It was last assigned to Fifth Air Force, based at Irumagawa AB, Japan. It was inactivated on 31 May 1946. During World War II the unit initially controlled Fifth Air Forc ...

, 10 October 1943 * 5212th Reconnaissance Wing (Provisional), 1 March 1944 *

91st Reconnaissance Wing 0191 is the UK telephone dialling code used by Newcastle upon Tyne, Durham, Sunderland and other nearby areas in the north east of England. Areas covered Numbering in the 0191 area is officially divided into three distinct areas, each with the ...

, 12 April 1944 *

, 10 November 1945 – 27 April 1946 * 314th Air Division, 1 October 1991 *

, 1 September 1986 – 6 February 1992 * 5th Air Control Group, subordinate to 51st Fighter Wing, 7 February 1992 – 1 October 1993

Stations

Headquarters and Ground Echelon: * Army Air Base Colorado Springs, Colorado, 9 February–September 1943 *

Sydney Airport Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport — colloquially Kingsford Smith Airport, Sydney Airport or Mascot Airport — is an international airport serving Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district, in the subu ...

, Australia, 10 October 1943 * Archerfield Airport (Brisbane), Australia, 27 November 1943 * Wards Airfield (5 Mile Drome),

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...

, New Guinea, 10 December 1943 *

Nadzab Airfield Officially named Nadzab Tomodachi International Airport, Nadzab Airport is a regional airport located at Nadzab outside Lae, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea along the Highlands Highway. It is served by both private and regional aircraft with do ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

, 17 February 1944 *

Mokmer Airfield Frans Kaisiepo Airport is an airport on Biak island, in Papua, Indonesia. It is also known as Mokmer Airport. The airport is named after Frans Kaisiepo (1921–1979), the fourth Governor of Papua. The airport has seven aircraft parking s ...

Biak Biak is the main island of Biak Archipelago located in Cenderawasih Bay near the northern coast of Papua (province), Papua, an Indonesian province, and is just northwest of New Guinea. Biak has many atolls, reefs, and corals. The largest popula ...

, Netherlands East Indies, August 1944 *

Bayug Airfield Bayug Airfield is a World War II airfield located in the east of Burauen, Leyte, Philippines, and to the west of San Pablo Airfield, to the north of the Marabong River in the province of Leyte, Philippines. It was closed after the war. History ...

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has been ...

, Philippines, 3 November 1944 *

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 ...

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, 1 May 1945 * Okinawa Island, Okinawa, 31 July 1945 * Chofu Airfield, Japan, 27 September 1945 *

Irumagawa Air Base is a Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) base located in the city of Sayama, Saitama Prefecture, north of western Tokyo, Japan. It was the airfield for the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force Academy until 1945, when it became Johnson Air Force b ...

, Japan, January-27 April 1946 *

, Korea, 1 October 1981 – 1 October 1993 (Air Echelon deployed at stations throughout Southwest Pacific)

Units assigned

8th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron 008, OO8, O08, or 0O8 may refer to: * "008", a fictional 00 Agent of MI6 * '' 008: Operation Exterminate'', a 1965 Italian action film * ''Explosivo 008'', a 1940 Argentine crime film * Tyrrell 008, a Formula One car * Balls 8, NASA NB-52B mothersh ...

: 13 November 1943 – 27 April 1946 (attached to

after 10 December 1945)Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 48-49 :: Aircraft: P-38 (F-4/F-5), 1943–1946; B-26 (F-6), 1943–1944 * 20th Photographic Squadron (later 20th Combat Mapping Squadron, 20th Reconnaissance Squadron): attached 17 June 1943, assigned 5 December 1943 – 10 November 1945Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 107-108 :: Aircraft: B-24 (F-7), 1943–1946 * 25th Photographic Squadron (later 25th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 25th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron: 9 February 1943 – 27 April 1946 (attached to

V Fighter Command The V Fighter Command is a disbanded United States Air Force headquarters. It was established as the 2nd Interceptor Command in June 1941, with responsibility for air defense of the northwest United States and training fighter units in its are ...

after 10 February 1946) :: Aircraft: P-38 (F-5), 1943–1945; B-25, 1944 * 26th Reconnaissance Squadron (later 26th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron): 9 February 1943 – 21 November 1945 (attached to

308th Bombardment Wing The 308th Armament Systems Wing was a United States Air Force unit established in 1951, being activated and inactivated at different times in history. It was last assigned to the Air Armament Center, stationed at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. ...

after 22 October 1945) :: Aircraft: P-38 (F-4), 1943 P-38 (F-5), 1944–1945 * 27th Reconnaissance Squadron (later 26th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron): 9 February-9 October 1943 :: Aircraft: P-38 (F-4), 1943 * 36th Photographic Mapping Squadron (later 36th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron): 23 December 1944 – 20 October 1945Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 173 :: Aircraft: P-38 (F-4), 1944–1945

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:006 Reconnaissance Group Intelligence squadrons of the United States Air Force Military units and formations established in 1992