6th Air Intelligence Squadron

6th Air Intelligence Squadron
Active 1943–47, 1981-93
Country  United States
Branch  United States Air Force
Role Intelligence
Part of Pacific Air Forces

The 6th Air Intelligence is an inactive unit of the United States Air Force. Its last assignment was with Seventh Air Force, stationed at Osan Air Base, 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.

History

During World War II, the group operated primarily in the Southwest Pacific Theater and used F-5's and F-7's to photograph Japanese airfields, 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 and the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation 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 until the war ended, and finally to mainland Japan, where it was inactivated on 27 April 1946.

On 1 October 1981, the unit was 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 (CFC). The 6 TIG thus brought together Intelligence collection, analysis, targeting, production, and dissemination assets assigned to the 314th Air Division of Fifth Air Force and the Korean Tactical Air Control System. In February 1992, the group became part of the 51st Fighter Wing. In 1992 The group became a squadron and was transferred to the 5th Air Control Group. Later that same year the 6th Air Intelligence Squadron fell under operational control of Seventh Air Force when it replaced the 314th Air Division as the United States Air Force headquarters for Korea.

Lineage

Activated on 9 February 1943
Redesignated: 6th Photographic Reconnaissance and Mapping Group in May 1943
Redesignated: 6th Photographic Reconnaissance Group in August 1943
Redesignated: 6th Reconnaissance Group in May 1945
Inactivated on 27 April 1946
Disbanded on 6 March 1947
Reconstituted 31 August 1981 and redesignated 6th Tactical Intelligence Group
Redesignated 6th Air Intelligence Squadron on 7 February 1992
Inactivated on 1 October 1993

Assignments

Stations

Headquarters and Ground Echelon:

(Air Echelon deployed at stations throughout Southwest Pacific)

Units assigned

Attached to: V Bomber Command, 10 December 1945 – 27 April 1946
Aircraft: P-38 (F-4/F-5), 1943–1946; B-26 (F-6), 1943–1944
Aircraft: B-24 (F-7), 1943–1946
Detached to: V Fighter Command, 10 February 1946
Aircraft: P-38 (F-5), 1943–1945; B-25, 1944
Detached to: 308th Bombardment Wing, 22 October-21 November 1945
Aircraft: P-38 (F-4), 1943 P-38 (F-5), 1944–1945
Aircraft: P-38 (F-4), 1943
Aircraft: P-38 (F-4), 1944–1945

See also

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

External links

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