3d Special Operations Squadron

3d Special Operations Squadron
3d Special Operations Squadron emblem
Active	19??-Present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Part of	Air Force Special Operations Command
Garrison/HQ	Cannon AFB, New Mexico

The 3d Special Operations Squadron (3 SOS) flies MQ-1 Predator Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) and is currently located at Cannon Air Force Base in Clovis, New Mexico. The 3d SOS is under the command of the Air Force Special Operations Command.

Organized in France in April 1918, the Photographic Section No. 1 processed aerial photographs taken by flying units working with the I Army Corps (American) and French XXXVIII Army Corps, 5 April–November 1918. The 1 Photographic Section, from September 1919 until becoming the 3 Observation Squadron on 1 June 1937, processed aerial photography of associated observation squadrons in Texas.

At Langley Field, VA, the squadron engaged in aerial observation work with the Coast Artillery School until April 1942. It supported ground forces on maneuvers during 1942, and served as a training and demonstration unit January 1943 – February 1944. The squadron was not manned or equipped, 1 Mar – 2 July 1944.

Activated again in May 1952 under Strategic Air Command as part of its global reconnaissance mission. The squadron did not receive its first aircraft until 1 July 1953, when it immediately began familiarization training, followed by in-flight refueling training in February 1954. It received RB-47E aircraft in March 1954, and conducted its first long-range mission (6 planes to Alaska for 10 days) in May 1954. The squadron deployed at RAF Upper Heyford, England, 14 September – 3 November 1954. Some of these flights were mounted from Thule in Greenland and probed deep into the heart of the Soviet Union, taking a photographic and radar recording of the route attacking SAC bombers would follow to reach their targets. Flights which involved penetrating mainland Russia were termed SENSINT (Sensitive Intelligence) missions. One RB-47 even managed to fly 450 miles inland and photograph the city of Igarka in Siberia. It photographed numerous Air Force bases and American cities, 1954–1958, and participated regularly in SAC exercises. Missions flown on a reduced scale after February 1958 when events showed the vulnerability of the RB-47 to Soviet air defenses and the development of the U-2 aircraft. Became non-operational, 15 April – 1 July 1958. when it inactivated.