The squadron's other predecessor, the 361st Reconnaissance Squadron was formed during the Vietnam War, flying Douglas EC-47 aircraft, performing electronic surveillance in Vietnam and Thailand until inactivating in 1974, when the United States withdrew from Southeast Asia. The squadrons were consolidated in 1985, then converted to provisional status as an expeditionary unit.
History
World War II
Initial activation and training in the United States
B-24s of the 493d Bomb Group at Debach
The 861st Bombardment Squadron was first activated at McCook Army Air Field, Nebraska as one of the original four squadrons of the 493d Bombardment Group.[1][3] The formation of the squadron was delayed by an administrative error that caused some of the unit's cadre to report to Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona instead of McCook. It was not until January that all personnel were at McCook.[4] By this time, the squadron had transferred on paper to Elveden Hall, England. The ground personnel of the squadron in the United States had been used to form Boeing B-29 Superfortress units being activated by Second Air Force, while the air echelon remained in Nebraska to conduct training on their assigned Consolidated B-24 Liberators. Meanwhile, Eighth Air Force formed a new ground echelon for the squadron in England from other units assigned to the 3d Bombardment Division. This ground echelon moved to the squadron's combat station, RAF Debach,[b] in April 1944. The squadron's air echelon departed for England via the northern ferry route on 1 May, while a small ground component left McCook and sailed from Boston, Massachusetts on the SS Brazil (1928) on 12 May 1944.[3][4]
Combat in Europe
493d Bombardment Group B-17 formation
The squadron flew its first combat mission on D-Day, 6 June 1944. It continued to fly Liberators until 24 August 1944, when it was withdrawn from combat to convert to Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses, along with other groups of the 93d Bombardment Wing, as Eighth Air Force concentrated all its Liberators in the 2d Bombardment Division. It resumed combat missions with the B-17 on 8 September 1944.[4] The squadron concentrated its attacks on military and industrial targets in Germany, attacking an ordnance depot in Magdeburg, factories near Frankfurt, and a synthetic oil manufacturing plant at Merseburg. It also attacked lines of communications, including a railroad tunnel at Ahrweiler, bridges at Irlich, and marshalling yards near Cologne.[3]
The squadron was occasionally diverted to attack tactical targets. It supported Operation Overlord, the Normandy invasion, striking artillery batteries, airfields and bridges. It struck enemy ground forces south of Caen and during Operation Cobra, the breakout at St Lo. It bombed German fortifications to support Operation Market Garden, airborne attacks attempting to secure a bridgehead across the Rhine in the Netherlands and attacked communications during the Battle of the Bulge. Toward the end of the war, it also supported Operation Varsity, the airborne assault across the Rhine in Germany.[3]
The squadron flew its last combat mission against marshalling yards near Nauen on 20 April 1945, although it flew food-dropping missions in early May.[4] The squadron air echelon departed Debach on 30 June, while the ground echelon sailed for home aboard the RMS Queen Elizabeth on 6 August 1945. In late August, the squadron assembled at Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota, where it was inactivated on 28 August 1945.[1][3]
Vietnam War
EC-47s in Vietnam
The 361st Reconnaissance Squadron was activated at Nha Trang Air Base, South Vietnam in April 1966. It flew EC-47 aircraft equipped with electronic countermeasures equipment over South Vietnam. The squadron moved to Thailand in 1972 as part of the USAF drawdown in South Vietnam. It continued missions over Indochina until 15 August 1973 when United States military flights over Indochina were halted by congressional mandate. The squadron trained in Thailand until its inactivation on 30 June 1974.
Global War on Terror
The squadron reactivated as the 361st Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron as part of the Global War on Terrorism in 2003. Assigned to the first the 407th Air Expeditionary Group, then later the 451st Air Expeditionary Group, the squadron operated a variety of Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance aircraft before the United States pullout from Iraq in 2011 and Afghanistan in 2014.
Lineage
861st Bombardment Squadron
Constituted as the 861st Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 14 September 1943
Activated on 1 November 1943
Redesignated 861st Bombardment Squadron, Heavy on 21 February 1944
Inactivated on 28 August 1945[1]
Consolidated with the 361st Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron as the 361st Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron on 19 September 1985[5]
361st Reconnaissance Squadron
Constituted as the 361st Reconnaissance Squadron and activated on 4 April 1966 (not organized)
Organized on 8 April 1966
Redesignated 361st Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron on 15 March 1967
Inactivated on 1 December 1971
Activated on 1 September 1972
Inactivated on 30 June 1974[5]
Consolidated with the 861st Bombardment Squadron on 19 September 1985[5]
Redesignated 361st Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron and converted to provisional status
Activated c. December 2007
Inactivated unknown
Activated 1 May 2010
Inactivated on 1 September 2014
Assignments
493d Bombardment Group, 1 November 1943 – 28 August 1945[1]
^The 493d Group used single letter squadron codes, unlike other Eighth Air Force units, which used two letter codes. Watkins, p. 122.
^Unlike the majority of World War II Army Air Forces bases in Britain, Debach was built by Army aviation engineers. Anderson, p. 6.
^Elveden Hall was a manor house, not an airfield. Anderson, p. 9. It was also referred to as Camp Blainey. Anderson, p. 12.
Citations
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m nMaurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 785-786
^Watkins, p. 122
^ a b c d eMaurer, Combat Units, pp. 362-363
^ a b c dFreeman, p. 262
^ a b cDepartment of the Air Force/MPM Letter 662q, 19 September 85, Subject: Reconstitution, Redesignation, and Consolidation of Selected Air Force Tactical Squadrons
^Ravenstein, pp. 253-254
^Ravenstein, pp. 268-270
^Ravenstein, pp. 90-92
^Station number in Anderson, p. 20.
^Station number in Anderson, p. 22.
^ a b c d e fAF Pamphlet 900-2, 15 June 1971, p. 343
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q rAF Pamphlet 900-2, Vol. 2, 30 September 1976, p. 64
^ a b c d e"Air Force Personnel Services: Unit Awards". Air Force Personnel Center. Retrieved 29 April 2017. (search)
^ a b"Special Order G-33995" (PDF). United States Air Forces Central Command. 14 July 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
^"Special Order G-33994" (PDF). United States Air Forces Central Command. 14 July 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
Bibliography
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
Anderson, Capt. Barry (1985). Army Air Forces Stations: A Guide to the Stations Where U.S. Army Air Forces Personnel Served in the United Kingdom During World War II (PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 January 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
Freeman, Roger A. (1970). The Mighty Eighth: Units, Men and Machines (A History of the US 8th Army Air Force). London, England, UK: Macdonald and Company. ISBN 978-0-87938-638-2.
Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961]. Air Force Combat Units of World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-02-1. LCCN 61060979. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
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. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-12-9. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
Watkins, Robert (2008). Battle Colors: Insignia and Markings of the Eighth Air Force In World War II. Vol. I (VIII) Bomber Command. Atglen, PA: Shiffer Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7643-1987-7.
"AF Pamphlet 900-2, Unit Decorations, Awards and Campaign Participation Credits" (PDF). Washington, DC: Department of the Air Force. 15 June 1971. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 August 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
"AF Pamphlet 900-2, Unit Decorations, Awards and Campaign Participation Credits, Vol II" (PDF). Washington, DC: Department of the Air Force. 30 September 1976. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 August 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2016.