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The unit was inactivated in November 1945.Ĭold War tactical reconnaissance

In August 1944, the squadron was redesignated the 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron carrying out photo-reconnaissance missions. It operated both as a tactical fighter squadron, providing air support to Allied ground forces in France as well as an air defense squadron, attacking enemy aircraft over Europe. It then retrained on North American P-51 Mustangs and deployed to the European Theater of Operations, where it was assigned to IX Fighter Command in the United Kingdom. The squadron was inactivated there in 1979.ġ61st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron P-51D Mustang at Le Culot Airfield Īctivated as part of IV Fighter Command in early 1943 with Bell P-39 Airacobras, the squadron was an air defense unit for the San Francisco area as well as a Replacement Training Unit until the end of 1943. It moved to Europe, where it performed reconnaissance for United States Air Forces Europe until 1970, when it returned to Shaw. It was redesignated the 18th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron in 1950 because its number, 161, fell in a block reserved for Air National Guard units. The squadron was reactivated in 1946 and performed both reconnaissance and training, primarily from Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina until 1959. The squadron returned to the United States in the fall of 1945 and was inactivated.

It continued in combat until V-E Day, earning a Belgian Fourragère after being twice cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army. After deploying to the European Theater of Operations and engaging in combat for six months, the squadron was converted, along with the other squadrons of the 363d Fighter Group, to an reconnaissance unit as the 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron. The squadron was first activated as a fighter unit, the 381st Fighter Squadron, in 1943. The squadron conducts strike, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, operating the General Atomics MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle. It is assigned to the 432d Operations Group, and has been stationed at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada since 2009. The 18th Attack Squadron is a squadron of the United States Air Force.