page_title: 46th Reconnaissance Squadron
section_title: Arctic reconnaissance
hierarchical_section_title: 46th Reconnaissance Squadron / History / Arctic reconnaissance
caption_attribution_description: English: Photo of the crew of the B-29 "Kee Bird"; crashed in Greenland in February 1947.
context_page_description: The 46th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron is an active Central Command unit of the United States Air Force.
  The squadron was first activated as the 719th Bombardment Squadron in May 1943. After training in the United States, the squadron deployed to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, where it participated in the strategic bombing campaign against Germany. The squadron was awarded two Distinguished Unit Citations for its actions during the war. Following V-E Day, the 716th returned to the United States and was inactivated in June 1945.
  The squadron was activated again in September and trained with Boeing B-29 Superfortresses. It was redesignated the 46th Reconnaissance Squadron two months later, becoming one of the first long range reconnaissance units in Strategic Air Command. In August 1946, the squadron deployed to Ladd Field, Alaska Territory, where it conducted long range aerial reconnaissance over the Arctic. The 46th squadron flew "Project Nanook" to assess the Soviet threat in the Arctic at the beginning of the Cold War. The unit developed the grid system of Navigation which made Arctic navigation routine.
context_section_description: Media related to 46th Reconnaissance Squadron at Wikimedia Commons
  The squadron was reactivated in September 1945 Grand Island Army Air Field, and began training on the B-29.  It was redesignated the 46th Reconnaissance Squadron in June 1946.  Its new mission was to provide very long range reconnaissance as part of the newly established Strategic Air Command (SAC). The 46th Reconnaissance Squadron was SAC's first operational unit. The squadron was equipped with eighteen reconnaissance-modified Superfortresses.  Eight of the aircraft were modified into the F-13A reconnaissance configuration, being fitted with special camera installations for photographic mapping and aerial reconnaissance work. The F-13As carried three K-17B, two K-22 and one K-18 cameras with provisions for others.  However, the standard B-29 bombing equipment and defensive armament were retained.
  Simultaneously with its redesignation, the squadron moved to Ladd Field, Alaska with a mission to fly reconnaissance and photographic mapping missions over the Arctic and perform reconnaissance along the northern border of Soviet territory in the Arctic, as well as deep-penetration reconnaissance flights.  All of its missions were classified as Top Secret, the classification wasn't dropped until 2001.  In August, the squadron was transferred from SAC to Alaskan Air Command.
  The squadron flew its first operational mission on 2 August 1946 from its base at Ladd, eventually flying more than 5,000 hours in the Arctic and over 1,000,000 miles in its first year of operations, testing material and the limits of flying personnel in the Arctic.   It made the first aircraft flight over the Geographic North Pole on 16 October 1946, eventually accomplishing over 100 flights to the pole and its immediate vicinity.    It performed photo mapping of 5,500,000 square miles of the Arctic, including areas for the strategic location of defense components, and future locations of radar sites along the northern Canadian region.  Exploratory flights were made to obtain information necessary to establish commercial airline service over the Arctic.
  When the squadron arrived in Alaska, large areas of the territory and northern Canada were largely unexplored.   The squadron developed means of polar navigation necessary due to the unreliability of magnetic compasses, and many existing maps of the region were unreliable.  The grid system of navigation was developed which enabled navigators to navigate to locations within one mile of accuracy.
  The squadron was inactivated on 13 October 1947.  Its mission, personnel and equipment were transferred to the 72d Reconnaissance Squadron, which was simultaneously activated. The 72d continued the arctic reconnaissance mission until moving to the United States in June 1949.  The two units are sometimes referred to as the 46th/72d Reconnaissance Squadron and a former alumni group was titled the 46th/72d Recon Association.
caption: Crew of the Kee Bird which crash-landed in Greenland, February 1947[note 1]
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