World War II The squadron was activated as the
27th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron at
Peterson Field, Colorado in February 1943 and equipped with
Lockheed P-38 Lightnings and two reconnaissance models of the Lightning, the F-4 and the F-5. The 27th moved overseas in November, but to England, where it was attached to the
7th Photographic Group. Pre-invasion coverage was extended to the Low Countries to mask the intended invasion location. Its
reconnaissance of
marshalling yards, canals, highways and other transportation routes contributed to the success of the Normandy campaign, earning the 27th a
Distinguished Unit Citation. and flew missions supporting ground forces engaged in the
Battle of the Bulge from
Denain/Prouvy Airfield. In 1945, as losses mounted among reconnaissance aircraft operating over the Continent, it began to fly
North American P-51 Mustangs to provide fighter cover for the 7th Group's unarmed Lightnings. The squadron also flew a few F-6 reconnaissance models of the Mustang. After
V-E Day, the squadron participated in the final bomb damage assessment of Germany.
Intelligence operations The squadron was dormant until September 1990, when it was redesignated the
27th Tactical Intelligence Squadron and activated at
Langley Air Force Base, Virginia as part of the
480th Tactical Intelligence Group of
Tactical Air Command. In December 2003 the
480th Intelligence Wing was activated to manage the
Distributed Common Ground System and the squadron was assigned to it. The Distributed Common Ground System disseminates intelligence information collected by
Lockheed U-2 aircraft and
General Atomics MQ-1 Predator,
Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk and
General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles to combat commanders, no matter what their location may be. As Distributed Ground System stations became operational, the squadron worked to connect the new stations with the system. This included stations at
Hickam Air Force Base in 2004,
Langley Air Force Base in 2005, three
Air National Guard operated stations in 2006 and a center at
Beale Air Force Base in 2011. The squadron also participates in
exercises on a regular basis. In 2013, the squadron won the Lt. Gen. Harold W. Grant information dominance award as the best small communications and information unit in the Air Force. The award was made for the squadron's "sustained superior performance and professional excellence while managing core cyberspace and information dominance functions and for contributions that most improved Air Force Department of Defense operations and missions." This award was followed by earning the Chief Master Sgt. James C. Swindell award for having the best communications and information systems operation in Twenty-Fifth Air Force from 1 September 2013 through 31 August 2014. ==Lineage==