{{Use American English|date=June 2015}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2015}} {{Infobox military unit | unit_name = 867th Attack Squadron [[File:ACC Shield.svg|center|60px]] | image = First MQ-9 Reaper taxies at Creech AFB 2007.jpg | image_size = 300 | caption = [[MQ-9 Reaper]] at [[Creech AFB]] | dates = 1917–1918; 1940-1946; 2012-present | country = {{USA}} | branch = {{air force|USA}} | type = | role = Attack and reconnaissance | size = | command_structure = [[Air Combat Command]] | current_commander = | garrison = [[Creech Air Force Base]], Nevada | nickname = Spartans{{citation needed|date=October 2020}} | motto = Fear the Thunder{{citation needed|date=October 2020}} | colors = | march = | mascot = Spartan{{citation needed|date=October 2020}} | equipment = | battles = [[American Theater of World War II]]<br/>[[Asiatic-Pacific Theater|Pacific Theater of Operations]] | decorations = [[Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation]] | notable_commanders = | anniversaries = <!-- Insignia --> | identification_symbol = [[File:867 Reconnaissance Sq (later 867 Attack Squadron) emblem.png|165px]] | identification_symbol_label = 867th Attack Squadron emblem | identification_symbol_2 = [[File:867 Bomb Sq (new).PNG|165px]] | identification_symbol_2_label = 867th Bombardment Squadron Emblem{{efn|Approved on 17 May 1945. Description: On an ultramarine blue disc, border equally divided red and white, a caricatured, light brown aerial bomb standing on fins on cloud formation in [[escutcheon (heraldry)|base]], and wearing a black top hat, pince-nez glasses, white gloves and formal shirt front and tie, while leaning nonchalantly on a brown cane held in right hand, and resting hand with elbow bent on left hip, and smoking a cigarette held in a long, black holder, all in front of a large white cloud formation and a small, black, caricatured "Scotty" dog, winged gold in flight toward [[dexter and sinister|dexter]] [[chief (heraldry)|chief]].}}<ref name=Maurer867BS>Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 789–790</ref> | identification_symbol_3 = [[File:92 Aero Sq (later 867 Aero Sq) emblem.png|165px]] | identification_symbol_3_label = 92 Aero Sq emblem<ref>{{cite web |url= https://usafunithistory.com/PDF/0800/867%20ATTACK%20SQ.pdf |author=No byline|title=867th Attack Squadron |date=|publisher=USAF Unit Histories|access-date=September 23, 2024}}</ref> | aircraft_general = MQ-9 Reaper }}
The '''867th Attack Squadron''' is an active [[United States Air Force]] unit. It was reactivated at [[Creech Air Force Base]], Nevada, on September 10, 2012 as a remotely piloted aircraft squadron.<ref name="867RSfacts">{{cite web|last1=Bailey|first1=Carl E.|date=June 24, 2016|title=Factsheet 867 Attack Squadron (ACC)|url=https://www.dafhistory.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/862027/867-attack-squadron-acc/|access-date=November 9, 2016|publisher=Air Force Historical Research Agency}}</ref>
The [[squadron (aviation)|squadron]] was first active during [[World War I]] as the '''92d Aero Squadron'''. It deployed to England in October 1917 and conducted training with the [[Royal Air Force]], but saw no combat. It returned to the United States at the end of 1918 and was demobilized.
Activated as the '''17th Reconnaissance Squadron''' several months before the American entry into [[World War II]], the squadron performed in the [[anti-submarine warfare|antisubmarine campaign]], while changing its designation every few months. When the [[United States Navy]] assumed full responsibility for the [[Anti-submarine warfare|antisubmarine]] campaign in 1943, it became the '''867th Bombardment Squadron''' and provided the [[cadre (military)|cadre]] for a new [[Consolidated B-24 Liberator]] group. The squadron moved to the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] and entered combat against [[Japan]], serving to the end of the war.
==History== ===World War I=== {{Expand section|date=July 2015}} [[File:DH6SideView.jpg|thumb|left|[[Airco DH.6]]]] The squadron was first established in the summer of 1917 as the '''92d Aero Squadron''' (Service), a [[World War I]] Air Service [[squadron (aviation)|squadron]] at [[Kelly Field]], Texas. The squadron trained with the [[Royal Flying Corps]] (later the [[Royal Air Force]]) in England, but never served in combat on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]]. The squadron returned to the United States in December 1918 and was [[demobilize]]d.<ref name=Maurer867BS/>
===World War II=== ===Organization and antisubmarine campaign=== [[File:Lockheed B-34 USAAF in flight.jpg|thumb|[[Lockheed Ventura|Lockheed B-34 Ventura]]]] The '''17th Reconnaissance Squadron''' was activated in January 1941 at [[Army Air Base, Savannah]] as a [[aerial reconnaissance|reconnaissance]] squadron equipped with [[Douglas A-20 Havoc]]s (along with a few DB-7s, an export version of the A-20).{{efn|The United States impounded 356 DB-7s ordered for France or Great Britain {{cite web |url= http://www.joebaugher.com/usattack/a20_6.html |last1=Baugher|first1=Joseph|title=Douglas DB-73|date=27 October 2001|publisher=Joe Baugher|access-date=1 November 2018}}.}} Its initial mission was to support Army units at [[Fort Stewart]] in maneuvers.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}} In 17 June moved with the [[group (military aviation unit)|group]] to [[Army Air Base, Manchester]], New Hampshire.<ref name=Maurer867BS/><ref name=Maurer45BG>Maurer, ''Combat Units'', p. 103</ref>
In August 1942, the squadron was redesignated as the '''92d Bombardment Squadron''' and assigned to the 45th Group when the [[United States Army Air Corps|Air Corps]] converted its reconnaissance squadrons attached to light bombardment [[group (military aviation unit)|groups]] to bombardment squadrons.<ref name=Maurer867BS/> The squadron flew convoy patrols over the New England coast to the [[Grand Banks of Newfoundland]] during the summer of 1941, protecting [[Lend-Lease]] shipments of supplies and equipment to [[England]].{{citation needed|date=November 2018}}
[[File:Douglas B-18B (SN 37-530, originally a B-18A) with the MAD tail boom 061128-F-1234S-023.jpg|thumb|[[Douglas B-18 Bolo|Douglas B-18B]] equipped for [[Anti-submarine warfare|antisubmarine warfare]]]] Following the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] the squadron began flying [[antisubmarine]] patrols off the Atlantic coast. By the end of 1941, it began flying the [[Douglas B-18 Bolo]], which was equipped with radar for the antisubmarine mission and, as a medium bomber unit, became the '''92d Reconnaissance Squadron''' until April 1942, when the [[Army Air Forces]] converted its remaining reconnaissance squadrons, and it became the '''433d Bombardment Squadron'''. The same month it moved to [[Mitchel Field]], New York, as the 45th Group dispersed its squadrons for greater coverage.<ref name=867RSfacts/>
Although squadron headquarters was at Mitchel, detachments operated from [[Boca Chica Field]] and [[Miami Army Air Field]], Florida and [[New Orleans Army Air Base]], Louisiana, beginning in May 1942. The emphasis on operations in the Gulf of Mexico was demonstrated when the squadron moved to Miami Army Air Field in June.<ref name=867RSfacts/>
In October 1942, the [[Army Air Forces]] organized its antisubmarine forces into the single [[Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command]], which established the [[26th Antisubmarine Wing]] the following month to control its forces operating over the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.<ref>Maurer, ''Combat Units'', p. 437</ref><ref>Maurer, ''Combat Units'', p. 389</ref> The command's bombardment group headquarters, including the 45th, were inactivated and the squadron, now designated the '''10th Antisubmarine Squadron''', was assigned directly to the 26th Wing.<ref name=867RSfacts/><ref name=Maurer45BG/>
In July 1943, the AAF and Navy reached an agreement to transfer the coastal antisubmarine mission to the Navy. This mission transfer also included an exchange of AAF long-range bombers equipped for antisubmarine warfare for Navy Consolidated B-24 Liberators without such equipment.<ref>Ferguson, pp. 82-83</ref>
====Combat in the Pacific==== The squadron moved to [[Gowen Field]], Idaho where it provided the [[cadre (military)|cadre]] for the [[494th Bombardment Group]], a newly forming [[Consolidated B-24 Liberator]] heavy bomber unit as the '''867th Bombardment Squadron'''.<ref name=Maurer867BS/><ref name=Maurer494BG>Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 363-364</ref> [[Aircrew]]s filled out the squadron in March. The air echelon began to receive new B-24Js in May and began departing for Hawaii on 28 May.<ref name=494thHistory>{{cite web|url= http://kelleys_kobras.home.att.net/494history/written.htm |last1=Sestak|first1=Ray|title=History of the 494th Bomb Group (H)|date=2002|publisher=494th Bomb Group (H) Association, Inc. "Kelley's Kobras"|url-status=dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080705052943/http://kelleys_kobras.home.att.net/494history/written.htm |archive-date=5 July 2008|access-date=23 January 2019}}</ref> The ground echelon began its move to Hawaii on 1 June 1944.<ref name=Maurer494BG/>
[[File:865th Bombardment Squadron - B-24 Liberator.jpg|thumb|494th Group [[B-24 Liberator]]s on their way to a target, 24 February 1945{{efn|Aircraft in foreground is Consolidated B-24J-175-CO Liberator, serial 44-40668, ''Pious Plunderer''.}}]] The squadron remained at [[Barking Sands Army Air Field]] for additional training and modifications to its planes to meet theater standards until late September 1944, when it deployed to [[Angaur Airstrip]] in the [[Palau Islands]].<ref name=494thHistory/> The squadron ground echelon was initially involved with the construction of the base on Angaur.<ref name=Maurer494BG/> Although some unit aircrews flew combat missions with the [[30th Bombardment Group]] from [[Saipan]], the air echelon only began to arrive on Angaur on 24 October 1944, after the [[Seabees]] and Army engineers had prepared the airstrip for [[heavy bomber]] operations.<ref name=494thHistory/> The squadron finally conducted its first mission on 3 November, when it attacked Japanese [[airfield]]s on [[Yap]] and [[Koror]]. It conducted attacks on Japanese military that had been bypassed as American forces had advanced in the Central Pacific. It also attacked the Philippines, hitting [[coastal defence and fortification|gun emplacements]], bivouacs, and storage depots on [[Corregidor]] and [[Caballo Island]]s at the entrance to [[Manila Bay]]. It also attacked radio communications installations and power plants at Japanese bases in the Philippines; and attacked airfields, including [[Clark Field]] on Luzon. Early in 1945, the 867th struck ammunition and supply dumps in the [[Davao Gulf]] and [[Illana Bay]] areas of [[Mindanao]] and airfields on the island.<ref name=Maurer494BG/>
The squadron moved to [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]] in June 1945. From its base at [[Yontan Airfield]] it engaged primarily in attacks against enemy airfields on [[Kyūshū]] and around the [[Inland Sea of Japan]] until [[V-J Day]]. It also struck airfields in China and Korea. The unit also participated in [[incendiary ammunition|incendiary]] raids and dropped propaganda leaflets over urban areas of Kyūshū. After the war's end, the unit transporting personnel and supplies from [[Manila]] to [[Tokyo]]. In December, the squadron returned to the United States, where it was inactivated at the [[Fort Lawton]] Port of [[Embarkation]] on 7 January 1946.<ref name=Maurer867BS/><ref name=Maurer494BG/>
===Remotely piloted aircraft operations=== The squadron was redesignated '''867th Reconnaissance Squadron''' and on 10 September 2012, the squadron was activated. In May 2016 it was redesignated as the '''867th Attack Squadron''' at [[Creech Air Force Base]], Nevada and assigned to the [[732d Operations Group]] of the [[432d Wing]].<ref name=867RSfacts/>
==Lineage== '''92d Aero Squadron''' * Organized as '''92d Aero Squadron''' on 21 August 1917 : Demobilized on 21 December 1918 * Reconstituted and consolidated with the '''92d Reconnaissance Squadron''' in 1942<ref name=Maurer867BS/>
'''867th Reconnaissance Squadron''' * Constituted as the '''17th Reconnaissance Squadron''' (Light) on 20 November 1940 * Activated on 15 January 1941 : Redesignated '''92d Bombardment Squadron''' (Light) on 14 August 1941 : Redesignated '''92d Reconnaissance Squadron''' (Medium) on 30 December 1941 * Consolidated with the '''92d Aero Squadron''' in 1942 : Redesignated '''433d Bombardment Squadron''' (Medium) on 22 April 1942 : Redesignated '''10th Antisubmarine Squadron''' (Heavy) on 29 November 1942 : Redesignated '''867th Bombardment Squadron''', Heavy on 21 October 1943 : Inactivated on 4 January 1946 * Redesignated '''867th Reconnaissance Squadron''' on 9 August 2012 : Activated on 4 June 2012 : Redesignated '''867th Attack Squadron''' on 15 May 2016<ref name=867RSfacts/>
===Assignments=== * Unknown (probably Post Headquarters, Kelly Field), 21 August–October 1917 * Attached to RAF for training, October 1917 – November 1918 * Unknown, November–21 December 1918 * 45th Bombardment Group, attached 15 January 1941, assigned 14 August 1941 * 26th Antisubmarine Wing, 22 November 1942 * 494th Bombardment Group, 1 December 1943 – 4 January 1946 * 732d Operations Group, 4 June 2012 – present<ref name=867RSfacts/>
===Stations=== {{Col-begin}} {{Col-break|width=50%}} * [[Kelly Field]], Texas, 21 August – October 1917 * England, 29 October 1917 – 22 November 1918 * Mitchel Field, New York, c. 4 December 1918 – 21 December 1918 * Army Air Base, Savannah, Georgia, 15 January 1941 * Army Air Base, Manchester (later Grenier Field), New Hampshire, 20 June 1941 * [[Dow Field]], Maine, 3 February 1942 * Mitchel Field, New York, 7 April 1942 : Detachments operated from Boca Chica Field and Miami Army Air Field, Florida and from New Orleans Army Air Base, Louisiana, during period May–September 1942 * Miami Army Air Field, Florida, 17 June 1942 {{Col-break|width=50%}} * [[Brookley Field]], Alabama, 25 July 1942 * [[Galveston Army Air Field]], Texas, 10 September 1942 * [[Gowen Field]], Idaho, 21 October 1943 * [[Wendover Field]], Utah, 1 December 1943 – 15 April 1944 * Mountain Home Army Air Field, [[Idaho]], 14 April 1944 – 15 June 1944 * [[Barking Sands Army Air Field]], Hawaii Territory, 15 June 1944 – 30 September 1944 * Angaur Airstrip, [[Palau Islands]], 30 September 1944 – 24 June 1945 * Yontan Airfield, [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]], Ryukyu Islands, 24 June 1945 – 13 December 1945 * Fort Lawton, Washington, 2 January 1946 – 4 January 1946 * Creech Air Force Base, 10 September 2012 – present<ref name=867RSfacts/> {{Col-end}}
===Aircraft=== {{Col-begin}} {{Col-break|width=50%}} '''World War I''' * [[Airco DH.6]], 1918 * [[Avro 504|Avro]] models, 1918 * [[Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2|Royal Aircraft Factory BE]] models, 1918 * [[Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.8|Royal Aircraft Factory FE]] models, 1918 * [[Sopwith Camel]], 1918 * [[Sopwith Pup]], 1918<ref name=867RSfacts/> {{Col-break|width=50%}} '''World War II''' * Douglas DB-7 Boston, 1941 * Douglas A-20 Havoc, 1941 * [[Lockheed A-29 Hudson]], 1942 * Douglas B-18 Bolo, 1941 * [[North American B-25 Mitchell]], 1943 * [[Lockheed B-34 Ventura]], 1943 * [[Lockheed B-37|Lockheed RB-37 Ventura]], 1942-1943 * Consolidated B-24 Liberator, 1944–1945<ref name=867RSfacts/> {{Col-end}}
===Awards and campaigns=== {{unit awards table |award_image1=PPUC |award_name1=[[Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation]] |award_date1=17 October 1944-4 July 1945 |award_notes1=867th Bombardment Squadron<ref name=Maurer867BS/> }}
{| class="wikitable" |- ! Campaign Streamer ! Campaign ! Dates ! Notes |- |[[File:World War I War Service Streamer without inscription.png|200px]]||World War I||29 October 1917 – 11 November 1918||92d Aero Squadron<ref>AF Pamphlet 900-2, 15 Jun 1971, p. 13</ref> |- |[[File:World War II - American Campaign Streamer (Plain).png|200px]]||Antisubmarine||7 December 1941 – 1 August 1943||92d Bombardment Squadron (later 92d Reconnaissance Squadron,<br/> 433d Bombardment Squadron, 10th Antisubmarine Squadron<ref name=Maurer867BS/> |- |[[File:Streamer APC.PNG|200px]]||Air Offensive, Japan||30 September 1944 – 2 September 1945||867th Bombardment Squadron<ref name=Maurer867BS/> |- |[[File:Streamer APC.PNG|200px]]||Eastern Mandates||30 September 1944 – 14 April 1944||867th Bombardment Squadron<ref name=Maurer867BS/> |- |[[File:Streamer APC.PNG|200px]]||Air Combat, Asiatic-Pacific Theater||30 September 1944 – 2 March 1946||867th Bombardment Squadron<ref name=Maurer867BS/> |- |[[File:Streamer APC.PNG|200px]]||Leyte||17 October 1944 – 1 July 1945||867th Bombardment Squadron<ref name=Maurer867BS/> |- |[[File:Streamer APC.PNG|200px]]||Luzon||15 December 1944 – 4 July 1945||867th Bombardment Squadron<ref name=Maurer867BS/> |- |[[File:Streamer APC.PNG|200px]]||Southern Philippines||27 February 1945 – 4 July 1945||867th Bombardment Squadron<ref name=Maurer867BS/> |- |[[File:Streamer APC.PNG|200px]]||Western Pacific||17 April 1945 – 2 September 1945||867th Bombardment Squadron<ref name=Maurer867BS/> |- |[[File:Streamer APC.PNG|200px]]||Ryukyus||24 June 1945 – 2 July 1945||867th Bombardment Squadron<ref name=Maurer867BS/> |- |[[File:Streamer APC.PNG|200px]]||China Offensive||24 June 1945 – 2 September 1945||867th Bombardment Squadron<ref name=Maurer867BS/> |}
==See also==
* [[List of American Aero Squadrons]] * [[Robert D. Knapp]]
==References== ===Notes=== : Explanatory notes {{Notelist}}
; Citations {{Reflist|40em}}
===Bibliography=== {{Air Force Historical Research Agency}} * {{cite web |url= https://www.dafhistory.af.mil/Portals/16/documents/Studies/101-150/AFD-090522-043.pdf |last1=Ferguson|first1=Arthur B.|title=The Antisubmarine Command, USAF Historical Study No. 107|date=April 1945|publisher=Assistant Chief of Air Staff, Intelligence Historical Division|access-date=12 September 2016}} * {{cite book|editor=Maurer, Maurer|title=Air Force Combat Units of World War II|orig-year= 1961|url= http://media.defense.gov/2010/Sep/21/2001330256/-1/-1/0/AFD-100921-044.pdf |archive-url= https://archive.today/20210115181723/https://media.defense.gov/2010/Sep/21/2001330256/-1/-1/0/AFD-100921-044.pdf |url-status= dead |archive-date= 15 January 2021 |edition=reprint|year=1983|publisher=Office of Air Force History|location=Washington, DC|isbn=0-912799-02-1|lccn=61060979}} * {{cite book|editor=Maurer, Maurer|title=Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II|orig-year=1969|url= http://media.defense.gov/2010/Dec/02/2001329899/-1/-1/0/AFD-101202-002.pdf|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161220180455/http://media.defense.gov/2010/Dec/02/2001329899/-1/-1/0/AFD-101202-002.pdf|url-status= dead|archive-date= 20 December 2016|edition= reprint|year=1982|publisher=Office of Air Force History|location=Washington, DC|isbn=0-405-12194-6|oclc=72556|lccn=70605402}} * {{cite web |url= http://www.usafpatches.com/pubs/AFP900-2Vol1Bk2.pdf |title= AF Pamphlet 900-2, Unit Decorations, Awards and Campaign Participation Credits |date= 15 June 1971 |publisher= Department of the Air Force |location= Washington, DC |access-date= 11 August 2016 |archive-date= 4 August 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150804134008/http://www.usafpatches.com/pubs/AFP900-2Vol1Bk2.pdf |url-status= dead }}
{{USAAF 7th Air Force World War II}}
[[Category:Attack squadrons of the United States Air Force]]