World War II Organization and training The
squadron was activated at
MacDill Field, Florida in February 1942 as the
24th Reconnaissance Squadron, one of the original squadrons of the
97th Bombardment Group. Since a reorganization of
General Headquarters Air Force in September 1936, each bombardment group of the
Army Air Forces (AAF) had an assigned or attached reconnaissance squadron, which operated the same aircraft as that group's assigned bombardment squadrons. The following month, it moved to
Sarasota Army Air Field, Florida, where it trained with
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress aircraft and also flew
antisubmarine patrols. In April, the practice of having one squadron of heavy bombardment groups designated for reconnaissance ended and the squadron became the
414th Bombardment Squadron. After a brief training period the squadron left Sarasota on 16 May.
Combat in Europe Operations from Great Britain 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 attending
Royal Air Force (RAF) schools to prepare for combat. The squadron flew its first mission on 17 August 1942, attacking a
marshalling yard at
Rouen, which was also the first mission flown by AAF heavy bombers stationed in Great Britain. Two days later, the squadron supported
Operation Jubilee, the raid on
Dieppe, by attacking
Abbeville/Drucat Airfield. It attacked naval installations, airfields and industrial and transportation targets in France and the Low Countries. The 414th and 342nd Squadrons were at Grafton Underwood, while the
340th and
341st, along with 97th Group
headquarters were at
RAF 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 the
group at Polebrook. USAFE activated it for the first time at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey in the fall. Its Predators were previously deployed in Iraq, where they flew missions surveilling elements of the
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which continued from Incirlik. The squadron is made up of airmen deployed from
Creech and
Holloman Air Force Bases. ==Lineage==