20th Tactical Air Support Squadron
| 20th Reconnaissance Squadron | |
|---|---|
MQ-1B Predator
|
|
| Active | 1940–1949; 1965–1973; 1973–1984; 1990–1991; 2011–present |
| Country |
 United States
|
| Branch |
 United States Air Force
|
| Type | Reconnaissance |
| Size | Squadron |
| Part of | Air Combat Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Whiteman Air Force Base |
| Motto(s) | First on Target |
| Engagements |
World War II Vietnam |
| Decorations |
Presidential Unit Citation Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Combat "V" Device Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm |
| Insignia | |
| 20th Reconnaissance Squadron emblem (Approved 24 June 1974) |  |
| Patch with 20th Tactical Air Support Squadron emblem (Unapproved, used during Vietnam War) |  |
| Patch with 20th Troop Carrier Squadron emblem (Approved 13 January 1943) |  |
The 20th Reconnaissance Squadron is a United States Air Force unit, based at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. It currently flies the General Atomics MQ-1 Predator and is assigned to the 432d Wing at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada.
It was originally activated as the 20th Transport Squadron in 1940 and served as a troop carrier unit in Panama during and after World War II, until it was inactivated in 1949.
Activated in 1965 as the 20th Tactical Air Support Squadron, it served notably for seven and a half years of combat duty during the Vietnam War, and was inactivated in 1973. While in inactive status, the two squadrons were consolidated into a single unit. The 20th TASS was reactivated at Shaw Air Force Base in 1990, and again inactivated on 31 December 1991.
The unit was redesignated as the 20th Reconnaissance Squadron and its reactivation at Whiteman took place on 14 January 2011.
The 20th Transport Squadron was activated at France Field, Panama Canal Zone, on 15 December 1940, but had only one officer and no airplanes until February 1941. The squadron became operational by March 1941 when the Squadron obtained its first aircraft from France Field's 16th Air Base Squadron, a Douglas C-33. With this solitary aircraft, the Squadron undertook daily flights to Albrook Field and, from there, on to Rio Hato Field and return. By May, the squadron began flying international flights, starting with one to Managua, Nicaragua.
Flying with two or three airplanes, the Squadron began the first of a series of cross-country flights to Trinidad in the British West Indies (some 1,200 air miles east of the Canal Zone) on 2 June 1941 to support the construction of the outer defense ring of air bases in the Caribbean after the United States obtained basing rights as part of the Destroyers for Bases Agreement with the British.
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