| Unit Name: | 18th Attack Squadron |
| Dates: | 1943–1945; 1946–1979; 2006–2007; 2009–present |
| Role: | Attack and Surveillance |
| Command Structure: | Air Combat Command |
| Garrison: | Creech Air Force Base |
| Battles: | European Theater of Operations[1] |
| Decorations: | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Belgian Fourragère |
| Identification Symbol Label: | 18th Reconnaissance Squadron emblem |
| Identification Symbol 2 Label: | Patch with 18th Tactical Reconnaissance Emblem[2] |
The 18th Attack Squadron is a squadron of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the 432d Operations Group, and has been stationed at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada since 2009. The squadron conducts strike, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, operating the General Atomics MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle.[1]
The squadron was first activated as a fighter unit, the 381st Fighter Squadron, in 1943. 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. 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. The squadron returned to the United States in the fall of 1945 and was inactivated.
The squadron was activated again in 1946 and performed both reconnaissance and training, primarily from Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina until 1959. It was redesignated the 18th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron in 1950 because its number, 161, fell in a block reserved for Air National Guard units. It moved to Europe, where it performed reconnaissance for United States Air Forces Europe until 1970, when it returned to Shaw. The squadron was inactivated there in 1979.
Activated 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 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. 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.
In August 1944, the squadron was redesignated as 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron carrying out photographic reconnaissance missions. The unit was inactivated in November 1945.
Activated in 1945 at Brooks Field, Texas under the 363d Reconnaissance Group, it trained with the Lockheed RF-80A Shooting Star. The 18th moved to Langley Field in 1947 when Brooks was transferred to Strategic Air Command. The squadron was reassigned directly to the Fourteenth Air Force in 1949 when the 363d was inactivated and moved to Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina.
The unit was reassigned to the 363d when the group was activated at Shaw on 2 April 1951. It became a training squadron with a mission to provide photographic intelligence training to support both air and ground operations by American or Allied ground forces. Upgraded to the Republic RF-84F Thunderflash in 1954, it continued training operations until 1957 when it re-equipped with the McDonnell RF-101C Voodoo.
The squadron was reassigned to the 66th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing and deployed to NATO in 1959. It operated from France until 1966, moving to RAF Upper Heyford, England. It remained in the UK until 1970, when it returned to Shaw AFB and was assigned to the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing. It was re-equipped with the McDonnell RF-4C Phantom II at Shaw and performed training for new photo-reconnaissance pilots until 1979 when it was inactivated.
The squadron was activated at Beale Air Force Base, California as the 18th Reconnaissance Squadron, a Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk strategic reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle squadron between 2006 and 2007. It was activated at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada in 2009 as a General Atomics MQ-1 Predator squadron. In May 2016, the squadron was redesignated as the 18th Attack Squadron.[1]
Activated on 1 March 1943
Redesignated 381st Fighter Squadron, Single Engine on 20 August 1943
Redesignated 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron on 25 August 1944
Inactivated on 9 November 1945
Activated on 31 August 1946
Redesignated 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Photo-Jet on 28 August 1948
Redesignated 18th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Photo-Jet on 10 October 1950
Redesignated 18th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron on 1 October 1966
Inactivated on 30 September 1979
Activated on 3 April 2006
Inactivated on 24 August 2007
Redesignated 18th Attack Squadron on 15 May 2016[1]
Operated from Conflans Airfield (A-94),[9] France, 24 December 1944 – 6 February 1945