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 ...

's 373d Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group is a

Twenty-Fifth Air Force Twenty-Fifth Air Force (25 AF), was a numbered air force (NAF) within the United States Air Force (USAF), and served as the Air Force's premier military intelligence organization. 25 AF was established on 29 September 2014McCullough, Amy, "ISR ...

unit located at

Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGra ...

, Alaska.

Mission

The 373 ISRG is the Department of Defense host service organization and primary force provider for the

National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is an intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the director of national intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collection, and proces ...

Alaska Mission Operations Center The Alaska Mission Operations Center (AMOC) is a U.S. National Security Agency facility located on Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska. The facility is considered one of two " consolidated intelligence centers" and is supported by ...

, providing warfighters and strategic/national level policy makers with actionable, time-critical intelligence.

History

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 ...

was first organized in 1943. It transferred, without personnel and equipment, to England on 7 July 1943 and assigned to Eighth AF. The group used

Supermarine Spitfires The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the ...

and

Stinson L-5 The Stinson L-5 Sentinel is a World War II-era liaison aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), U.S. Army Ground Forces, U.S. Marine Corps and the British Royal Air Force. It was produced by the Stinson Division of the Vulte ...

s to obtain information about bombardment targets and damage inflicted by

bombardment A bombardment is an attack by artillery fire or by dropping bombs from aircraft on fortifications, combatants, or cities and buildings. Prior to World War I, the term was only applied to the bombardment of defenseless or undefended obje ...

operations; provide mapping service for air and ground units; observe and report on enemy transportation, installations, and positions; and obtain data on weather conditions. Prior to June 1944, the group photographed

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, cities, industrial establishments, and ports in France, the Low Countries, and Germany. Received 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 ...

for operations during the period 31 May – 30 June 1944, when its coverage of bridges, marshalling yards, canals, highways, rivers, and other targets contributed much to the success of the Normandy campaign. The unit covered

missile A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor. Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a target; this ...

sites in France during July, and in August carried out photographic mapping missions for ground forces advancing across France. It provided

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

support for the airborne attack on the Netherlands in September and for 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 ...

, December 1944– January 1945. Used

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 ...

s to escort its own reconnaissance planes during the last months of the war as the group supported the Allied drive across the Rhine and into Germany. Took part in the final bomb damage assessment following V–E Day

Lineage

* Constituted as 7th Photographic Group on 5 February 1943 : Activated on 1 May 1943 : Redesignated 7th Photographic Reconnaissance and Mapping Group in May 1943 : Redesignated 7th Photographic Group (Reconnaissance) in November 1943 : Redesignated 7th Reconnaissance Group in June 1945 : Inactivated in England on 21 November 1945 : Disbanded on 6 March 1947 * Reconstituted 31 July 1985 and redesignated 373d Electronic Warfare Group : Redesignated 373d Intelligence Group : Activated on 16 September 2000 : Redesignated 373d Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group on 1 January 2009

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 ...

, 1 May 1943 *

VIII Air Force Service Command VIII Air Force Service Command (originally VIII Air Service Command) was a logistical support formation of the United States Army Air Forces, supporting the Eighth Air Force in the United Kingdom. Organization Established in 1942, along with the ...

, 7 July 1943 * 325th Photographic Wing (later 325th Reconnaissance Wing), 9 August 1944 * United States Strategic Air Forces (later United States Air Forces in Europe), 16 July 1945 – 21 November 1945 * 70th Intelligence Wing (later 70th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing), 16 September 2000 – present

Components

* 13th Photographic Squadron (later 13th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron): 7 July 1943 – 21 November 1945 * 14th Photographic Squadron (later 14th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron): 7 July 1943 – 21 November 1945 * 22nd Photographic Squadron (later 22nd Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron): 7 July 1943 – 21 November 1945 *

22d Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron The 22d Intelligence Squadron (22 IS) is a non-flying squadron of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the 691st Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group, Fort George G. Meade, Maryland. The 22 IS is one of the oldest u ...

: 29 January 1945 – 29 July 1945 * 27th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron: 9 December 1943 – 21 November 1945 * 28th Photographic Squadron: 1 May 1943 - 21 June 1943 * 29th Photographic Squadron: 1 May 1943 - 21 June 1943 * 30th Photographic Squadron: 1 May 1943 - 21 June 1943 *

301st Intelligence Squadron The United States Air Force's 301st Intelligence Squadron is an intelligence unit located at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. The squadron's first predecessor was organized in 1942 as the 138th Signal Radio Intelligence Company, a signal ...

: 16 September 2000–present * 373d Support Squadron (later 373d Intelligence Support Squadron): 16 September 2000 – c. 1 June 2015 *

381st Intelligence Squadron The United States Air Force's 381st Intelligence Squadron is an intelligence unit located at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. The unit operated the last operational AN/FLR-9 Circularly Disposed Antenna Array (CDAA), also known as an "El ...

: 1 June 2008 – present

Stations

Peterson Field Peterson Space Force Base, previously Peterson Air Force Base, Peterson Field, and Army Air Base, Colorado Springs, is a United States Space Force base that shares an airfield with the adjacent Colorado Springs Municipal Airport and is home t ...

, Colorado, 1 May 1943 * RAF Mount Farm, England, 7 July 1943 *

RAF Chalgrove Chalgrove is a village and civil parish in South Oxfordshire about southeast of Oxford. The parish includes the hamlet of Rofford and the former parish of Warpsgrove with which it merged in 1932. The 2011 Census recorded the parish populati ...

, England, March 1945 * Hitcham Air Depot, England, October 1945 - 21 November 1945 *

Misawa AB is an air base of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF), the United States Air Force, and the United States Navy located in Misawa, Aomori, in the northern part of the island of Honshū of Japan. It is located north of Tokyo at the "Tip ...

, Japan, 7 Sep 2000 * Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson c. 1 July 2015 – present

Aircraft

* Piper L-4 Grasshopper * Stinson L-5 Sentinel *

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 ...

* Supermarine Spitfire PR XI * North American P-51 Mustang

Decorations

* France 31 May 1944 - 30 June 1944 *

Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Streamer

Air Force Outstanding Unit Award The Air and Space Outstanding Unit Award (ASOUA) is one of the unit awards of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. It was established in 1954 as the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award and was the first independent Air Force ...

AF FOIA Request 2009-01965, 13 July 2009 * Streamer FCDG WWII

* French Croix de Guerre with Palm * 1944 * European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal streamer

European Theater of World War II The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main Theater (warfare), theatres of combat during World War II, taking place from September 1939 to May 1945. The Allies of World War II, Allied powers (including the United Kingdom, the ...

* Campaigns : Air Offensive, Europe : Normandy : Northern France : Rhineland : Ardennes-Alsace : Central Europe : Air Combat, EAME

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

Twenty-Fifth Air Force

Misawa Air Base, Japan

Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska
{{USAAF 2d Air Force World War II Intelligence groups of the United States Air Force Reconnaissance groups of the United States Air Force 1943 establishments in Colorado