95th Reconnaissance Squadron

95th Reconnaissance Squadron
95th Reconnaissance Squadron RC-135V Rivet Joint ISR aircraft.
Active	20 August 1917-Present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Type	Squadron
Role	ISR
Part of	Air Combat Command 12th Air Force 55th Wing 55th Operations Group
Garrison/HQ	RAF Mildenhall
Nickname(s)	"Kickin' Ass"
Tail Code	"OF"
Engagements	World War I World War II - Antisubmarine World War II - EAME Theater Korean Service Medal Kosovo Campaign
Decorations	Distinguished Unit Citation (3x) Air Force Meritorious Unit Award (6x) Air Force Outstanding Unit Award (6x) French Croix de Guerre with Palm (World War II) (3x) Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation
Insignia
95th Reconnaissance Squadron emblem

The 95th Reconnaissance Squadron (95 RS) is a squadron of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the 55th Operations Group, Air Combat Command, stationed at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. The squadron is equipped with several variants of the Boeing C-135 aircraft equipped for reconnaissance missions.^[1]

The 95 RS is one of the oldest units in the United States Air Force, first being organized as the 95th Aero Squadron on 20 August 1917 at Kelly Field, Texas. The squadron deployed to France and fought on the Western Front during World War I as a pursuit squadron.^[2]

During World War II the unit served in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) as part of Twelfth Air Force as a B-26 Marauder light bomber squadron, participating in the North African and the Southern France Campaign. In the Cold War, the squadron fought in the Korean War with B-26 Invader medium bombers, then later as part of Strategic Air Command, flying TR-1A Dragonlady reconnaissance aircraft supporting NATO.^[3]

Mission

Conducts RC-135 Rivet Joint flight operations in the European and Mediterranean theaters of operations as tasked by National Command Authorities and European Command. Provides all operational management, aircraft maintenance, administration, and intelligence support to produce politically sensitive real-time intelligence data vital to national foreign policy. Supports EC-135, OC-135, and E-4B missions when theater deployed.

Although it is a component of the 55th Operations Group, main flying operations are conducted from RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom and Souda Bay, Crete.

History

see 95th Aero Squadron for the World War I history of the squadron.

The 95th RS was originally activated as the 95th Aero Squadron (a fighter unit) on 20 August 1917 at Kelly Field in Texas. It deployed to various locations in France during World War I, initially at Issoudun. On 5 May 1918, it was assigned to the 1st Pursuit Group. Well-known pilots with the 95th Aero Squadron who perished in World War I included Lt. Quentin Roosevelt, the youngest son of President Theodore Roosevelt, and Irby Curry. Both of them died while the squadron was based in Saints, France. A number of aces also served with the unit, including Lansing Holden, Sumner Sewall, Harold Buckley, Edward Peck Curtis, James Knowles, and one of its commanding officers, Captain David M. Peterson.^[4]

After the war ended on 11 November 1918, the 95th Aero Squadron was demobilized on 18 March 1919.

The 95th Aero Squadron underwent various activations and inactivations over the years and experienced numerous name changes. During World War II, it was known as the 95th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) and was a squadron in the 17th Bombardment Group that provided B-25 Mitchells and 6 crews for the Doolittle Raid and later flew the B-26 Marauder in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations.

After being inactivated on 25 June 1958, it was redesignated as the 95th Reconnaissance Squadron on 20 January 1982 and reactivated at RAF Alconbury in the United Kingdom on 1 October 1982. It flew U-2 and TR-1 aircraft in support of NATO and US Air Forces Europe missions. After the end of the Cold War, the 95th RS was no longer needed and the unit was inactivated on 15 September 1993. This hiatus did not last long as the unit was reactivated on 1 July 1994 at RAF Mildenhall, this time flying the RC-135 Rivet Joint, OC-135 Open Skies and E-4B aircraft.

Lineage

Organized as: 95th Aero Squadron, on 20 August 1917

Re-designated as: 95th Aero Squadron (Pursuit), on 5 March 1918

Demobilized on 18 March 1919^[5]

Organized on 12 August 1919

Re-designated: 95th Squadron (Pursuit) on 14 March 1921

Re-designated: 95th Pursuit Squadron on 30 September 1922

Re-designated: 95th Pursuit Squadron, Air Service, on 25 January 1923

Re-designated: 95th Pursuit Squadron, Air Corps, on 8 August 1926

Inactivated on 31 July 1927

Re-designated: 95th Pursuit Squadron, and activated, on 1 June 1928

Re-designated: 95th Attack Squadron on 1 March 1935

Re-designated: 95th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) on 17 October 1939

Re-designated: 95th Bombardment Squadron, Medium, on 9 October 1944

Inactivated on 26 November 1945

Re-designated: 95th Bombardment Squadron, Light, on 29 April 1947

Activated on 19 May 1947

Inactivated on 10 September 1948

Re-designated: 95th Bombardment Squadron, Light, Night Intruder, on 8 May 1952

Activated on 10 May 1952

Re-designated: 95th Bombardment Squadron, Tactical, on 1 October 1955

Inactivated on 25 June 1958

Re-designated: 95th Reconnaissance Squadron on 20 January 1982

Activated on 1 October 1982

Inactivated on 15 September 1993

Activated on 1 July 1994

Assignments

Post Headquarters, Kelly Field, 20 August 1917
Aviation Concentration Center, 30 September 1917

Overseas transport, RMS Adriatic, 27 October-10 November 1917

Headquarters Air Service, AEF, 11–16 November 1917
3d Instructional Center, 16 November 1917
1st Pursuit Organization Center, 16 February 1918
1st Pursuit Group, 5 May 1918
1st Air Depot, 11 December 1918
Advanced Section Services of Supply, 6 February 1919
Eastern Department, 1–18 March 1919^[2]
1st Pursuit Group, 12 August 1919
Air Corps Training Center, c. 7 June-31 Jul 1927
Unknown, 1 June 1928 – 30 May 1929

Possibly attached to 7th Bombardment Group

17th Pursuit Group (later 17th Attack; 17th Bombardment Group), 31 May 1929 – 26 November 1945

Attached to 7th Bombardment Group, 31 May 1929 – 29 October 1931

17th Bombardment Group, 19 May 1947 – 10 September 1948; 10 May 1952 – 25 June 1958

Attached to 17th Bombardment Wing, 8 June 1957 – 25 June 1958

17th Reconnaissance Wing, 1 October 1982
9th Strategic Reconnaissance (later, 9th Reconnaissance) Wing, 30 June 1991 – 15 September 1993
55th Operations Group, 1 July 1994 – present

Stations

Kelly Field, Texas, 20 August 1917
Aviation Concentration Center, Garden City, New York, 5–27 October 1917
Liverpool, England, 10 November 1917
British Rest Camp #2, Le Havre, France, 13 November 1917
Issoudun Aerodrome, France, 16 November 1917
Villeneuve les Vertus Aerodrome, France, 16 February 1918
Epiez Aerodrome, France, 1 April 1918
Gengault Aerodrome, Toul, France, 4 May 1918
Touquin Aerodrome, France, 28 June 1918
Saints Aerodrome, France, 9 July 1918
Rembercourt Aerodrome, France, 2 September 1918

Flight operated from Verdun Aerodrome, France, 7–11 November 1918

Colombey-les-Belles Airdrome, France, 11 December 1918
Brest, France, 6–19 February 1919
Camp Mills, New York, 1 Mar 1919
Mitchell Field, New York, 4–18 March 1919.^[2]
Selfridge Field, Michigan, 12 August 1919
Kelly Field, Texas, 31 August 1919
Ellington Field, Texas, 1 July 1921
Selfridge Field, Michigan, 1 July 1922
March Field, California, 7 June-31 Jul 1927
Rockwell Field, California, 1 June 1928
March Field, California, 29 October 1931
Rockwell Field, California, 3 May 1932
March Field, California, 14 May 1932
Rockwell Field, California, 1 July 1932

March Field, California, 9 August 1932
Rentschler Field, Connecticut, 2 May 1938
March Field, California, 20 May 1938

Operated from Kern County Airport, Bakersfield, California, 14–26 January 1940

McChord Field, Washington, 26 June 1940
Pendleton Field, Oregon, 29 June 1941
Lexington County Airport, South Carolina, 15 February 1942
Barksdale Field, Louisiana, 24 June-18 Nov 1942
Telergma Airfield, Algeria, c. 24 December 1942
Sedrata Airfield, Algeria, 14 May 1943
Djedeida Airfield, Tunisia, 25 June 1943
Villacidro Airfield, Sardinia, c. 5 December 1943
Poretta Airfield, Corsica, c. 19 September 1944
Dijon Airfield (Y-9), France, c. 21 November 1944
Linz Airport, Austria, c. 14 June 1945
Ebensee, Austria (Ground echelon), 5 July 1945
Clastres Airfield, France, c. 3 October-c. 17 November 1945
Camp Myles Standish, Massachusetts, 25–26 November 1945
Langley Field, Virginia, 19 May 1947 – 10 September 1948
Pusan East (K-9) Air Base, South Korea, 10 May 1952

Operated from Pusan-West AB (K-1), South Korea, 1 October-20 Dec 1952

Miho AB, Japan, c. 9 October 1954-c. 19 March 1955
Hurlburt Field, Florida, 1 April 1955 – 25 June 1958
RAF Alconbury, England, 1 October 1982 – 15 September 1993
RAF Mildenhall, England, 1 July 1994 – present

Aircraft Flown

Nieuport 28, 1917–1918
SPAD XIII, 1918
B-25 Mitchell, 1941–1942
B-26 Marauder, 1942–1945
Lockheed U-2 and TR-1, 1983–1993
RC-135U/V/W, 1994–present
OC-135, 1994–present

References

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

↑ 95 Reconnaissance Squadron (ACC)
1 2 3 Series "E", Volume 9, History of the 95th Aero Squadron. Gorrell's History of the American Expeditionary Forces Air Service, 1917–1919, National Archives, Washington, D.C.
↑ Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556.
↑ American Aces of World War I. p. 86.
↑ Series "E", Volume 12, History of the 95th Aero Squadron. Gorrell's History of the American Expeditionary Forces Air Service, 1917–1919, National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556.
American Aces of World War I. Norman Franks, Harry Dempsey. Osprey Publishing, 2001. ISBN 1-84176-375-6, ISBN 978-1-84176-375-0.
United States War Department (1920), Battle Participation of Organizations of the American Expeditionary Forces in France, Belgium and Italy, 1917-1919, Washington, Government Printing Office, 1920

External links

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