55th Wing
A little more than three months later, on 29 July 1953 an RB-50 of the wing's 343d Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron was shot down by Soviet fighters about ninety miles south of Vladivostok.That same year the 55th's 38th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron assumed responsibility for SAC's airborne command and control system.The wing deployed a Rivet Joint RC-135 from Hellenikon Air Base, Greece, to Riyadh Air Base, Saudi Arabia, on 8 August 1990, and began 24-hour-a-day reconnaissance of the region two days later for Central Command Commander Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, under Operation Desert Shield.On 9 August 2015, the wing celebrated 25 years of what is believed to be the longest continuous deployment by an Air Force unit.Aircraft and crews from the unit have at times temporarily relocated to the nearby Lincoln Air National Guard Base when Offutt's runway has been closed for repairs.Combat-ready EC-130H Compass Call aircraft, crews, maintenance and operational support to combatant commanders is provided by the 55th Electronic Combat Group, based Davis Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona Operations are supported by the 55th Maintenance Group which provides centralized direction of all maintenance staff functions providing support to world-wide aircraft reconnaissance missions.
RC-135 Cobra BallUnited StatesUnited States Air ForceReconnaissanceElectronic CombatAir Combat CommandOffutt Air Force BaseDistinguished Unit CitationMeritorious Unit CommendationAir Force Outstanding Unit AwardDavis-Monthan Air Force BaseUnited States Central CommandOperation Desert Storminformation warfare55th Operations GroupWing Base OrganizationRamey Air Force Baseheadquarters55th Strategic Reconnaissance GroupForbes Air Force BaseBoeing RB-50 SuperfortressesEielson Air Force BaseMikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15Kamchatka Peninsula343d Strategic Reconnaissance SquadronVladivostokRB-47EBen Guerir Air Base38th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron2d Airborne Command and Control Squadron1st Airborne Command and Control SquadronHellenikon Air BaseRiyadh Air BasePrince Sultan Air BaseLincoln Air National Guard Base55th Electronic Combat GroupDavis Monthan Air Force BaseArizonaOffut AFB38th Reconnaissance SquadronRC-135V/W Rivet Joint45th Reconnaissance SquadronRC-135U Combat SentWC-135R/W Constant Phoenix82d Reconnaissance SquadronKadena AB95th Reconnaissance SquadronRAF Mildenhall97th Intelligence Squadron338th Combat Training Squadron343rd Reconnaissance SquadronJoint Base Elmendorf-RichardsonDavis-Monthan AFB41st Electronic Combat SquadronEC-130H Compass Call42nd Electronic Combat Squadron43rd Electronic Combat Squadron311th Air DivisionSecond Air Force21st Air (later, 21st Strategic Aerospace) Division5th Air Division810th Strategic Aerospace Division12th Strategic Aerospace Division14th Strategic Aerospace (later, 14th Air) Division4th Air Division57th Air Division12th Air Division14th Air DivisionTwelfth Air ForceEighth Air ForceTwenty-Fifth Air ForceSixteenth Air Force1st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron7th Airborne Command and Control Squadron11th Airlift Flight23d Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron38th Reconnaissance55th Air Refueling Squadron323d Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron338th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron548th Strategic Missile SquadronB/RB-17 Flying FortressB/RB-29 SuperfortressRC-54 SkymasterRB-50 SuperfortressEB/RB-47 StratojetKC-97 StratofreighterSM-65 AtlasEC-135KC-135 StratotankerRC-135Boeing E-4TC-135WC-135OC-135EC-130 HerculesEA-37BList of B-29 units of the United States Air ForceList of B-47 units of the United States Air Force91st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadronpublic domain materialOmaha World-HeraldAir ForcesFirst (Northern)Ninth (Central)Twelfth (Southern)FifteenthSixteenth (Cyber)601st Air Operations609th Air Operations612th Air Operations616th OperationsAir Force Technical ApplicationsCyberspace CapabilitiesUnited States Air Force WarfareCreechDavis–MonthanGrand ForksLangley–EustisLangleyMountain HomeNellisOffuttSeymour JohnsonTonopahTyndall