| 414th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron | |
|---|---|
 A squadronMQ-1B Predator on the flight line atIncirlik Air Base, Turkey. | |
| Active | 1942–1945; 2011–present |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Aerial reconnaissance |
| Part of | United States Air Forces in Europe |
| Nickname | All American |
| Engagements | European Theater of Operations |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Meritorious Unit Award |
| Insignia | |
| 414th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron emblem[a][1] |  |
| 414th Bombardment Squadron emblem[b] |  |
The414th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron is a provisionalUnited States Air Force unit. It operates theGeneral Atomics MQ-1 Predator, last known assigned to the 39th Expeditionary Operations Group,Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. The 39th Expeditionary Operations Group was part of the 39th Air Expeditionary Wing (manned by the39th Air Base Wing). It controls the launch and landing of the Predator air vehicles.
Thesquadron was activated as the24th Reconnaissance Squadron in February 1942. Shortly thereafter, it was redesignated as the414th Bombardment Squadron. After brief training in the United States withBoeing B-17 Flying Fortress aircraft, it was one of the firstheavy bomber squadrons to deploy to theEuropean Theater of Operations. At the end of the year, followingOperation Torch, the invasion of North Africa, it participated in thestrategic bombing campaign against Germany from theMediterranean Theater of Operations. It earned twoDistinguished Unit Citations for its actions. FollowingV-E Day, it was inactivated in Italy.
The squadron was converted to provisional status under its current designation in 2011.
The squadron's mission is to provideintelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance forNATO and Turkey. The squadron uses theGeneral Atomics MQ-1 Predator, a remotely piloted aircraft that provides full-motion, high-definition video surveillance. About fifteen Air Force personnel are stationed atIncirlik Air Base, Turkey to operate the Predators. Maintenance operations were transferred to a contractor.[2] The squadron is responsible for the launch and recovery of mission aircraft, acting as the launch and recovery element, while a mission control element operates the Reaper during its mission.[3]
In 2011 the mission control element was located atWhiteman Air Force Base,Missouri.[4]
Thesquadron was activated atMacDill Field, Florida in February 1942 as the24th Reconnaissance Squadron, one of the original squadrons of the97th Bombardment Group.[5][6] Since a reorganization ofGeneral Headquarters Air Force in September 1936, each bombardment group of theArmy Air Forces (AAF) had an assigned or attached reconnaissance squadron, which operated the same aircraft as that group's assigned bombardment squadrons.[7] The following month, it moved toSarasota Army Air Field, Florida, where it trained withBoeing B-17 Flying Fortress aircraft and also flewantisubmarine patrols. In April, the practice of having one squadron of heavy bombardment groups designated for reconnaissance ended and the squadron became the414th Bombardment Squadron. After a brief training period the squadron left Sarasota on 16 May.[5]
The ground echelon sailed on theRMS Queen Elizabeth, arriving in Scotland on 10 June and atRAF Grafton Underwood,Northamptonshire, the following day. The air echelon, along with the air echelon of the342nd Bombardment Squadron staged throughGrenier Field, New Hampshire starting on 15 May. From 2 through 11 June the squadrons deployed elements to the Pacific Coast, recommencing their deployment to Great Britain viaGoose Bay Airport, Labrador and Greenland toPrestwick Airport Scotland on 23 June. The squadron's B-17s began arriving at Grafton Underwood on 1 July, where they formed part of the first heavy bomber group assigned toEighth Air Force.[8]
The haste with which the squadron had trained and deployed resulted in deficiencies in its training. Most pilots had not flown at high altitudes on oxygen; some gunners had never operated a turret, much less fired at a moving target. Crews had flown together for only a few weeks in training. The squadron's first weeks in England were devoted to intensive training, with numerous specialists attendingRoyal Air Force (RAF) schools to prepare for combat.[9] The squadron flew its first mission on 17 August 1942, attacking amarshalling yard atRouen, which was also the first mission flown by AAF heavy bombers stationed in Great Britain. Two days later, the squadron supportedOperation Jubilee, the raid onDieppe, by attackingAbbeville/Drucat Airfield.[10] It attacked naval installations, airfields and industrial and transportation targets in France and the Low Countries.[6]
In September, the 97th Group and its squadrons were transferred toXII Bomber Command in the preparations forOperation Torch, the invasion of North Africa. However,VIII Bomber Command retained operational control of these units until they left England.[8] The first AAF bomber groups to deploy to England had patterned their basing on that of theRAF Bomber Command, which typically had awing with two bomber squadrons on a station.[11] The 414th and 342nd Squadrons were at Grafton Underwood, while the340th and341st, along with 97th Groupheadquarters were atRAF Polebrook. In September, the AAF decided to follow its own organization and use larger bases that would accommodate an entire group, and the 414th and 342nd Squadrons joined the rest of thegroup at Polebrook.[5][6][11]
Following the Operation Torch landings atOran andAlgiers on 8 November, the air echelon of the 414th left Polebrook on 18 November, staging throughRAF Hurn forMaison Blanche Airport, Algeria. The ground echelon sailed by convoy to Algeria. The squadron was established atTafaraoui Airfield, Algeria near the end of November.[6][8]
Through May 1943, the squadron engaged in the campaign to cut German supply lines in North Africa by striking shipping in the Mediterranean Sea and bombing docks, harbors, airfields and marshalling yards in North Africa,Sardinia,Sicily and southern France and Italy. The squadron moved forward through Algeria and into Tunisia during these operations. In June 1943, it supportedOperation Corkscrew, the projected invasion ofPantelleria, which resulted in the surrender of the island without invasion. Through the summer of 1943, it supportedOperation Husky, the invasion of Sicily, andOperation Avalanche, the invasion of Italy.[6]
From November 1943, the squadron was primarily involved with thestrategic bombing campaign against Germany.[6] The following month, it moved to Italy, pausing atCerignola Airfield for a month before moving toAmendola Airfield, which would be its station for the remainder of the war.[5] It bombed targets in Austria, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Romania, and Yugoslavia; striking strategic targets such as oil refineries, aircraft factories andmarshalling yards. DuringBig Week, the intensive attacks on the German aircraft industry in February 1944, it was part of the lead formation in a strike on an aircraft manufacturing plant atSteyr, Austria. The group was awarded its firstDistinguished Unit Citation for that raid. It received a second DUC for an attack on the oil refineries nearPloesti, Romania on 18 August 1944.[6]
The group also flewair support andinterdiction missions against enemylines of communication, airfields and transportation facilities. It supportedAllied forces atAnzio andMonte Cassino. It supportedOperation Dragoon, the invasion of southern France, with attacks oncoastal defenses. In the spring of 1945, it supportedUnited States Fifth Army andBritish Eighth Army in theiradvance through the Po Valley.[6]
FollowingV-E Day, the squadron moved toMarcianise Airfield, Italy, where it was inactivated on 29 October 1945.[5]
The squadron was converted to provisional status as the414th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron and assigned toUnited States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) in the summer of 2011.[12] USAFE activated it for the first time at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey in the fall.[13] Its Predators were previously deployed in Iraq, where they flew missions surveilling elements of theKurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which continued from Incirlik.[4] The squadron is made up of airmen deployed fromCreech andHolloman Air Force Bases.[2] While in flight, video footage was transmitted to operators atWhiteman Air Force Base inMissouri.[4] Squadron operations were limited to reconnaissance until July 2016, when the government of Turkey approved the use of Incirlik to conduct strike missions againstISIS in Syria inOperation Nomad Shadow. The squadron conducted the first strike against ISIS from Incirlik in support ofOperation Inherent Resolve in August.[14]
|
|
| Award streamer | Award | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Distinguished Unit Citation | 24 February 1944 | Steyr, Austria 414th Bombardment Squadron[5] |
| Distinguished Unit Citation | 18 August 1944 | Ploesti, Romania 414th Bombardment Squadron[5] |
 | Air Force Meritorious Unit Award | 1 January 2016–31 December 2016 | 414th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron[20] |
| Campaign Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Antisubmarine | 3 February 1942–16 May 1942 | 24th Reconnaissance Squadron (later 414th Bombardment Squadron)[5] |
 | Air Combat, EAME Theater | 11 June 1942–11 May 1945 | 414th Bombardment Squadron[5] |
| Air Offensive, Europe | 4 July 1942–5 June 1944 | 414th Bombardment Squadron[5] |
| Egypt-Libya | c. 19 November 1942–12 February 1943 | 414th Bombardment Squadron[5] |
| Tunisia | c. 19 November 1942–13 May 1943 | 414th Bombardment Squadron[5] |
| Sicily | 14 May 1943–17 August 1943 | 414th Bombardment Squadron[5] |
| Naples-Foggia | 18 August 1943–21 January 1944 | 414th Bombardment Squadron[5] |
| Anzio | 22 January 1944–24 May 1944 | 414th Bombardment Squadron[5] |
| Rome-Arno | 22 January 1944–9 September 1944 | 414th Bombardment Squadron[5] |
| Central Europe | 22 March 1944–21 May 1945 | 414th Bombardment Squadron[5] |
| Normandy | 6 June 1944–24 July 1944 | 414th Bombardment Squadron[5] |
| Northern France | 25 July 1944–14 September 1944 | 414th Bombardment Squadron[5] |
| Southern France | 15 August 1944–14 September 1944 | 414th Bombardment Squadron[5] |
| North Apennines | 10 September 1944–4 April 1945 | 414th Bombardment Squadron[5] |
| Rhineland | 15 September 1944–21 March 1945 | 414th Bombardment Squadron[5] |
| Po Valley | 3 April 1945–8 May 1945 | 414th Bombardment Squadron[5] |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Units |
| .svg) | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.svg)