89th Attack Squadron
 | |
|---|---|
 An MQ-9 Reaper taxis before a mission in Afghanistan | |
| Active | 1917–1919; 1940–1945; 2011–present |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Attack |
| Size | 280 military and civilians[1] |
| Part of | Air Combat Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota |
| Nickname(s) | Marauders |
| Engagements | European Theater of World War II Mediterranean Theater of Operations |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation French Croix de Guerre with Palm |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Joseph T. McNarney John A. Hilger |
| Insignia | |
| 89th Attack Squadron emblem |  |
| 89th Reconnaissance Squadron emblem[a][2] |  |
The 89th Attack Squadron is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the 432d Wing as a tenant unit at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota. It has been active as a remotely piloted aircraft (drone) squadron there since 2011.
The squadron was first activated as the 89th Aero Squadron at Kelly Field, Texas during World War I. It deployed to France in 1917, where it constructed fields and trained observers, In 1918 it briefly trained as an observation unit, but the unit did not move to the front before the Armistice.
It was consolidated in the mid-1930s with the 89th Observation Squadron as the 89th Reconnaissance Squadron but remained inactive until 1940, when it was attached to the 17th Bombardment Group at March Field, California and equipped with medium bombers. In 1942 members of the squadron participated in the Doolittle Raid against Tokyo. The squadron, now named the 432d Bombardment Squadron, moved to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations and participated in combat until 1945, earning two Distinguished Unit Citations and the French Croix de Guerre with Palm before returning to the United States in late 1945 and being inactivated.
The 432d was reactivated as the 432d Attack Squadron in October 2011 at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota as a MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft squadron.
- ^ "Reaper Drone Detachment Activated at Ellsworth". Dakota Voice. 2 April 2011. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
- ^ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 533–534
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