427th Reconnaissance Squadron

427th Reconnaissance Squadron
MC-12 Liberty taking off from Beale AFB, 25 January 2013
Active	1917–1918; 1933–1935; 1936–1945; 1958–1962; 2012–2015
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Reconnaissance
Part of	Air Combat Command
Nickname(s)	Spartans
Motto(s)	Vigilant, Prepared, Dedicated (SAC era) None Shall Hide (after 2012)
Engagements	Pacific Theater of Operations European Theater of Operations
Decorations	Distinguished Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Insignia
427th Reconnaissance Squadron emblem
427th Bombardment Squadron emblem (approved 18 July 1960)
Unofficial 427th Bombardment Squadron emblem (WW II)
World War II tail and fuselage codes	Triangle C, GN
38th Reconnaissance Squadron emblem

The 427th Reconnaissance Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was most recently assigned to the 9th Operations Group of Air Combat Command at Beale Air Force Base, California, where it had been activated in 2012 to operate the MC-12 Liberty reconnaissance aircraft and train Liberty aircrews. The squadron was inactivated in November 2015 as the United States Air Force transferred the MC-12 mission to the United States Army.

The squadron's roots go back to World War I, when it was organized as the 38th Aero Squadron, a training unit that served in Texas and Illinois. When the United States Army Air Service reorganized its training units in July 1918, the squadron was renamed Squadron A, Chanute Field. Following the Armistice of 11 November 1918, the squadron was demobilized in December.

The World War I squadron was consolidated with the 38th Pursuit Squadron when that unit was activated in 1933, although it was not equipped before it was inactivated in 1935. The squadron was activated again in 1936 as the 38th Reconnaissance Squadron, forming the long range reconnaissance arm of the 1st Wing. The squadron was attached to the 19th Bombardment Group and began its deployment to join the group in the Philippines in December 1941. However, the 38th's Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses arrived at Hickam Field while it was under attack by the Imperial Japanese Naval Air Service. Squadron planes not destroyed during the attack were diverted to other units and the squadron reformed as part of the 303d Bombardment Group. As the 427th Bombardment Squadron, it was one of the first B-17 units to deploy to the European Theater of Operations, earning a Distinguished Unit Citation as it participated in the strategic bombardment of Germany from 1942 to 1945, when it was inactivated.