5th Reconnaissance Squadron

World War I The 5th Reconnaissance Squadron's origins unofficially begin before the United States entry into World War I. In December 1916 the squadron was first organized as an un-designated unit at Rockwell Field, California, it being the fifth Aero Squadron authorized by the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps. After flight training, the squadron was formally organized on 5 May 1917 at Kelly Field, Texas where it performed flight training duties. It was transferred to the new Souther Field, Americus, Georgia in April 1918 where it joined the 116th, 236th and 237th Aero Squadrons as Curtiss JN-4D flight training squadrons. Souther Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the United States entry into World War I in April 1917. It consisted of warehouses, barracks, fifteen hangars and other structures. Eventually over eighty JN-4s were used for training. In July 1918, as part of a re-organization of training squadrons in the United States, it was disbanded and replaced by Squadron "A", Souther Field which continued the flight training mission. The flying training at Souther Field continued until November 1919 when the War Department deactivated the field and sold its surplus airplanes to the public. One of the planes was sold to Charles Lindbergh who bought a JN-4 with a brand-new OX-5 engine, and an extra 20 gallon gasoline tank in May 1923. In May 1921, the 5th was attached to General Billy Mitchell's 1st Provisional Air Brigade at Langley Field, Virginia. From May to October 1921, the squadron and other units of the Air Brigade bombed battleships off the eastern seaboard. Mitchell was determined to prove airplanes could sink warships. In July, in the well known SMS Ostfriesland incident, brigade airplanes sunk a modern, German-made battleship. General Mitchell proclaimed the era of battleships had ended and the age of airpower had begun. Two B-18A Bolos of the unit made "training flights" through Central America commencing 12 January 1941, flying from Albrook Field in the Panama Canal Zone. Their route took them first to San Jose, Costa Rica, then to San Salvador, El Salvador, Guatemala City, Managua, Nicaragua and thence back to David Field, Panama and home to Rio Hato. Major General Sanderford Jarman, Commander of the Panama Coast Artillery Command, was a VIP passenger on this flight which gave the crews excellent familiarity with airfields, flight conditions and navigational problems unique to the Caribbean. Strategic Reconnaissance By 1966, however, the B-47 was obsolete, replaced by the newer, larger B-52 Stratofortress. On 25 Bomb Wing and its subordinate units inactivated at Mountain Home AFB. Although the 9th immediately activated at Beale AFB, California as the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, only the 1st and 99th squadrons activated with it. When the 9th Wing moved to Beale AFB in 1966, it became the parent organization for the SR-71 "Blackbird." Ten years later the U-2 "DragonLady" joined the 9th. The wing was the home for both America's high altitude, manned, reconnaissance aircraft. In 1986, the 5th activated and rejoined the 9th as the 5th Strategic Reconnaissance Training Squadron. The squadron recruited, screened, and trained U-2 pilots to fly operational missions around the world. Because the U-2 is so unique and difficult to fly, the instructor-to-student ratio was one-to-one. For the next four years, 5th pilots taught students at Beale AFB and also flew operational missions around the world. When the Air Force removed the SR-71 from active service in 1990, however, U-2 pilot training moved to the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron and the 5th again inactivated. From the 1990s in Korea On 1 October 1994, the 5 RS was reactivated as a subordinate unit to the 9th Operations Group, 9th Reconnaissance Wing, at Beale Air Force Base, California. It replaced the 9th Reconnaissance Wing's Detachment 2 at Osan AB, Korea. Detachment 2, the "Blackcats," had operated from Osan AB since 1976. The 5th had a "real world" mission-flying classified reconnaissance in Korea and the Far East. In 1995 the 5th RS was the first unit to have the new U-2S model aircraft fully operational and on 20 October 1995, Lieutenant Colonel Charles P. Wilson II flew the first ever U-2S operational mission. Additionally, in 1995 the U-2 flew the 2000th Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar System mission. The squadron was the recipient of the 1995 Lockheed Advanced Development Corporation Hughes Trophy, distinguishing the unit as Best Reconnaissance Squadron in the 9th Reconnaissance Wing and was also nominated for the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation. Since 1976, the unit has flown more than 7,000 operational sorties, utilizing an integrated suite of all-weather Multi-spectral image sensors. The unit has maintained a 98 percent mission effectiveness rating, despite challenging weather and a long logistics trail. Significant past events include the 1976 Korean Demilitarized Zone "tree cutting" incident in which two U.S. officers lost their lives. The unit provided continuous coverage of the area during the tense period that followed. Since 1976, surge operations have been conducted many times due to heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula. In 1987, President Chun Doo-hwan visited the detachment to honor the unit for its outstanding contribution to the security of the country. In addition to its real world mission, the unit has flown humanitarian sorties to assess ROK environmental concerns, such as flood damage, and assist the Philippines in surveying the devastation caused by the Mount Pinatubo eruption. ==Lineage==