95th Reconnaissance Squadron

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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


 * 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
 * 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 (later, 17 Attack; 17 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
 * Hazelhurst Field, New York, 5-27 October 1917
 * Liverpool, England, 10 November 1917
 * British Rest Camp #2, Le Harve, 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.
 * 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