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Constituted as 6th Photographic Group on 5 Feb 1943 and activated on 9 Feb. Redesignated 6th Photographic Reconnaissance and Mapping Group in May 1943, 6th Photographic Reconnaissance Group in Aug 1943, and 6th Reconnaissance Group in May 1945. Moved to the Southwest Pacific, Sep-Oct 1943, and assigned to Fifth AF. Used F-5's and F-7's to photograph Japanese airfields, harbors, beach defenses, and personnel areas in New Guinea, the Bismarcks, Borneo, and the southern Philippines. Reconnoitered target areas and enemy troop positions to provide intelligence for air force and army units. Received a DUC for unescorted flights to Leyte during Sep 1944 when in a minimum period of time the group obtained information about Japanese defenses, such information being necessary for planning the amphibious assault on the Philippines. After moving to the Philippines in Nov 1944, flew missions to Formosa and China, engaged in mapping parts of Luzon and Mindanao, and provided intelligence for US ground forces concerning Japanese movements. Moved to Okinawa in Jul 1945 and flew some missions over Kyushu before the war ended. Moved to Japan in Sep 1945. Inactivated on 27 Apr 1946. Disbanded on 6 Mar 1947.
Squadrons. 8th: 1943-1946. 20th: 1943-1946. 25th: 1943-1946. 26th: 1943-1945. 27th: 1943. 36th: 1944-1945.
Stations. Colorado Springs, Colo, Feb-7 Sep 1943; Sydney, Australia, 10 Oct 1943; Brisbane, Australia, 27 Nov 1943; Port Moresby, New Guinea, 10 Dec 1943; Nadzab, New Guinea, 17 Feb 1944; Biak, Aug 1944; Leyte, 3 Nov 1944; Clark Field, Luzon, 1 May 1945; Okinawa, 31 Jul 1945; Chofu, Japan, 27 Sep 1945; Irumagawa, Japan, Jan-27 Apr 1946.
Commanders. Lt Col Waymond A Davis, 9 Feb 1943; Maj Cecil Darnell, 27 Feb 1943; Col David W Hutchison, 13 Mar 1943; Lt Col Cecil Darnell, 24 Mar 1943; Maj Arthur L Post, 24 Jul 1944; Lt Col Alexander Guerry, c. 1 Sep 1944; Lt Col Ben K Armstrong Jr, 5 Jan 1945; Lt Col Joseph Davis Jr, 31 May 1945-unkn.
Campaigns. Air Offensive, Japan; China Defensive; New Guinea; Bismarck Archipelago; Western Pacific; Leyte; Luzon; Ryukyus; Southern Philippines; China Offensive.
Decorations. Distinguished Unit Citation: Philippine Islands, 18-25 Sep 1944. Philippine Presidential Unit Citation.
Data from Air Force Combat Units of World War II By Maurer, Maurer, Published 1986
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Historical Artifacts: We are looking for photos, documents and other types of artifacts including uniforms, medals, insignia, gear, manuals, and training material. We accept electronic/scans or originals of pictures and paper records. A General Order could be an award document that contains information on many servicemen. Special Orders may contain transfers or other information. Flight records, accident reports, maintenance logs, after action reports, pilot encounter reports, diaries and biorgraphies; all of these types of documents help us support or mission: preserving your history! Contact us today for instructions on sending us this material. Contact Today
Are you an AAC, AAF or USAF Veteran, family member, historian or WW2 enthusiast? We Need YOU! Contact us today to see how you can help the Army Air Corps Library and Museum, a Texas Not-For-Profit Corporation. We need your help! We are looking for volunteers that can help us with the following tasks. Typing and Transcriptionists: One of our big projects is extracting data from the thousands of documents we have and putting this data into a database where we can display the information on a website such as this one. We also need assistance with retyping unit history documents.
