867th Reconnaissance Squadron The 867th Reconnaissance Squadron is an active United States Air Force unit . It was activated at Creech Air Force Base , Nevada on 10 September 2012 as a drone unit . The squadron was first active during World War II as the 92d Aero Squadron . It deployed to England in October 1917 and conducted training with the Royal Air Force , but saw no combat . It returned to the United States at the end of 1918 and was demobilized . Activated as the 17th Reconnaissance Squadron several months before the American entry into World War II , the squadron performed in the antisubmarine , while changing its designation every few months . When the United States Navy assumed full responsibility for the antisubmarine campaign in 1943 , it became the 867th Bombardment Squadron and provided the cadre for a new Consolidated B - 24 Liberator group . The squadron moved to the Pacific and entered combat against Japan , serving to the end of the war . History . World War I . The squadron was first established in the summer of 1917 as the 92d Aero Squadron ( Service ) , a World War I Air Service squadron at Kelly Field , Texas . The squadron trained with the Royal Flying Corps ( later the Royal Air Force ) in England , but never served in combat on the Western Front . The squadron returned to the United States in December 1918 and was demobilize d . World War II . The 17th Reconnaissance Squadron was activated in early 1941 as a reconnaissance squadron attached to the 45th Bombardment Group , a light bomber unit assigned to the Southeast Air District at Army Air Base Savannah , Georgia . Its initial mission was to support Army units at Fort Stewart in maneuvers , however it moved to New Hampshire in June 1941 . In August , redesignated as the 92d Bombardment Squadron when the Air Corps converted its reconnaissance squadrons in light bombardment units to bombardment squadrons . The squadron flew convoy patrols over the New England coast to the Grand Banks of Newfoundland during the summer of 1941 , protecting Lend - Lease shipments of supplies and equipment to England . After the Pearl Harbor Attack the squadron was reassigned to antisubmarine duty along the southeast Atlantic coast . It converted to medium bombers and returned to the reconnaissance designation briefly , this time as the 92d Reconnaissance Squadron but became the 433d Bombardment Squadron when the Army Air Forces converted its remaining bomber reconnaissance units to bombardment squadrons . As part of Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command it performed full time antisubmarine patrols along the east coast as the 10th Antisubmarine Squadron with squadron headquarters on Long Island , with detachments operating as far away as Miami and New Orleans . Non - Operational after August 1943 when antisubmarine duty was reassigned to the United States Navy . The squadron moved to Gowen Field , Idaho where it provided the cadre for newly forming Consolidated B - 24 Liberator heavy bomber units as the 867th Bombardment Squadron . Squadron personnel formed the core of the newly established 494th Bombardment Group , moving first to Wendover Field , Utah , and later to Mountain Home Army Air Field , Idaho to complete its final phase of training . At Mountain Home , the squadron received new very long range B - 24J aircraft in early May . The 867th deployed to Hawaii where it became part of VII Bomber Command . It remained in Hawaii with aircraft undergoing modifications while training for long range flights over the Pacific Ocean . The unit deployed to Angaur Airstrip in the Palau Islands in October , flying very long range combat missions against Japanese airfields on Yap and Koror . The squadron conducted strikes on other bypassed enemy installations in the Pacific and against the Japanese in the Philippines . Late in 1944 hit gun emplacements , personnel areas , ant storage depots on Corregidor and Caballo at the entrance to Manila Bay . It bombed radio installations and power plants at Japanese bases in the Philippines and attacked enemy - held airfields , including Clark Field on Luzon . Early in 1945 it struck airfields on Mindanao and ammunition and supply dumps in the Davao Gulf and Illana Bay areas . The 867th moved to Okinawa in June 1945 . Engaged primarily in attacks against enemy airfields on Kyūshū until V - J Day . The squadron lso participated in incendiary raids , dropped propaganda leaflets over urban areas of Kyūshū and struck airfields in China , in southern Korea , and around the Inland Sea of Japan . After the war ' s end in September , the unit remained on Okinawa as older units began to demobilize . The squadron was engaged in transporting personnel and supplies in the Southwest Pacific , and moving necessary occupation support elements from Manila to Tokyo . Began to demobilize in November and December , with personnel returning to the United States ; inactivated as a paper unit in the United States on January 4 , 1946 . Lineage . 92d Aero Squadron 867th Reconnaissance Squadron Aircraft . World War I World War II Awards and Campaigns . Manual campaign table