95th Reconnaissance Squadron


The 95th Reconnaissance Squadron 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 95th 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 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 Douglas 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 Open Skies, and Boeing 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

World War I

The 95th was originally activated as the 95th Aero Squadron on 20 August 1917 at Kelly Field in Texas. It deployed to various locations in France during World War I, initially at Issoudun Aerodrome. 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 Aerodrome, 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. As the 95th Pursuit Squadron it conducted bombing missions on the Clinton River to prevent flooding in communities near the river caused by an ice jam. As the 95th Attack Squadron, it flew reconnaissance missions in March 1938 to support flood relief operations in southern California.

Interwar years

The 95th Aero Squadron underwent various activations and inactivations over the years and experienced numerous name changes.

World War II

During World War II, it was known as the 95th Bombardment Squadron and was a squadron in the 17th Bombardment Group that provided North American B-25 Mitchells and 6 crews for the Doolittle Raid and later flew the Martin B-26 Marauder in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations.

Korean War

Reconnaissance 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 Lockheed U-2 and TR-1 aircraft in support of NATO and United States Air Forces Europe missions. After the end of the Cold War, the 95th 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 and OC-135 Open Skies aircraft.

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