50th Attack Squadron
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The 50th Attack Squadron is a squadron of the United States Air Force, stationed at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, where it operates the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle. It is assigned to the 25th Attack Group, also at Shaw, and is a component of the 432d Wing, located at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada.
50th Attack Squadron | |
---|---|
Active | 1917–1927; 1930–1947; 1983–2005; 2018–present |
Country | United States |
Branch | United States Air Force |
Role | Unmanned aerial vehicle operation |
Size | Squadron |
Garrison/HQ | Shaw Air Force Base |
Engagements | World War I World War II - Asia-Pacific Theater |
Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation Presidential Unit Citation (Navy) Air Force Meritorious Unit Award Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Air Force Organizational Excellence Award |
Insignia | |
50th Attack Squadron emblem[lower-alpha 1][1] | |
50th Observation Squadron emblem[lower-alpha 2][2] | |
50th Aero Squadron emblem[lower-alpha 3] |
Formed in August 1917 as the 50th Aero Squadron, the unit flew observation missions in American built de Havilland DH-4s over the battlefields of World War I. On 6 October 1918, 1Lt Harold E. Goettler and 2Lt Erwin R. Bleckley, of the squadron were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. In the spring of 1919, the squadron returned to the United States, and was stationed at Langley Field, Virginia until 1927, operating with the Air Corps Tactical School. It moved to Brooks Field, Texas, where it was inactivated in August 1927 and its personnel and equipment were transferred to another unit.
In 1930, the squadron was again activated in Hawaii. In 1938, it was redesignated the 50th Reconnaissance Squadron and was stationed at Hickam Field during the attack on Pearl Harbor. In 1942, the squadron became the 431st Bombardment Squadron, and served in the Pacific Theater, where the unit earned the Distinguished Unit Citation and the Navy Presidential Unit Citation. The squadron remained in the Philippines after V-J Day, returning to the reconnaissance mission in 1946 as the 5th Reconnaissance Squadron until it was inactivated on 20 October 1947 and its resources transferred to another squadron.
The squadron was reactivated at the United States Air Force Academy on 1 October 1983 and designated the 50th Airmanship Training Squadron. The focus of the 50th later changed to the classroom, supporting the instruction of US Air Force Academy cadets in military strategic studies as the 50th Education Squadron. It was inactivated in August 2005.
The squadron was redesignated the 50th Attack Squadron and activated at Shaw in February 2018.