69th Reconnaissance Group


The 69th Reconnaissance Group is an inactive group of the United States Air Force. It was last active in 2011-2019 when it was stationed at Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota where it was a tenant of the 319th Air Base Wing. It was part of Air Combat Command.
The group served in the American and European Theaters of World War II as a reconnaissance unit flying a variety of aircraft until returning to the United States where it was inactivated. It was reactivated in the fall of 2011 as an unmanned aircraft reconnaissance group.

History

The group was activated in the fall of 1941 as the 69th Observation Group with two squadrons assigned. The group flew antisubmarine patrols along the Pacific coast after the Attack on Pearl Harbor.
The group engaged primarily in air to ground training during 1943 and 1944 while it was successively designated 69th Reconnaissance Group and 69th Tactical Reconnaissance Group. It began training with American F-6 Mustang">American Theater of World War II">American F-6 Mustangs in January 1945 for duty overseas. The 69th moved to France in February to March 1945 where it was assigned to Ninth AF. It flew visual and photographic reconnaissance missions to provide intelligence for ground and air units. It was again designated the 69th Reconnaissance Group in June 1945. The group returned to the United States in July and August 1945. There it trained with F-6 Mustangs and Douglas A-26 Invader aircraft. The group was inactivated on 29 July 1946.
The 69th was once again activated on 19 September 2011 to conduct reconnaissance with unmanned aerial vehicles, specifically as the second group level organization with associated reconnaissance squadrons flying the Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk. It was inactivated in June 2019 and its personnel and equipment were transferred to the 319th Operations Group, which was simultaneously activated.

Lineage

  • Constituted as 69th Observation Group on 21 August 1941
  • Inactivated on 28 June 2019

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Aircraft

Awards