THE DARK AGES

The 358th Fighter Squadron’s little-known past as the 56th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron

1946-1971

Following the 358th Fighter Squadron’s completion of post-WWII army of occupation duties in April of 1946, the squadron returned to the United States and was inactivated. The squadron was reactivated in 1951 as the 56th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron in Japan during the Korean War, replacing the 512th Reconnaissance Squadron and assuming its personnel and aircraft. The 56th flew WB-29 Superfortress weather reconnaissance aircraft over North Korea in highly hazardous, almost daily strategic weather reconnaissance missions over the combat zone. Through the end of the conflict, the squadron conducted shipping surveillance and flew two reconnaissance tracks to observe and report weather conditions in the area east of the Asian land mass, between Formosa and USSR's Kamchatka Peninsula. The 56th remained in Japan after the 1953 armistice and continued weather flights, which were sometimes ruses for strategic reconnaissance missions along the Northeast Asia coastline of the Soviet Union and along the border of Communist China. In 1956 the 56th upgraded to the WB-50 Superfortress, continued operations from Japan, and later Guam with the RB-50s until 1962.

Beginning in 1962 the 56th flew a variety of different aircraft simultaneously in the weather reconnaissance role. The squadron was re-equipped with C-130 Hercules until 1964 and the new reconnaissance RB-57F Canberra aircraft modified for high altitude, long range intelligence gathering in the meteorological role. Part of their duties involved high-altitude atmospheric sampling and radiation detection work in support of nuclear test monitoring. In 1963 the WB-47 Stratojet was added to the squadron’s lineup, conducting missions until 1966. In 1964 the WC-135 Constant Phoenix was added, which would conduct flight operations alongside the RB-57s until late 1971. The 56th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron was then inactivated in early 1972.

Later that same year the unit was reactivated and reunited with its WWII parent organization. It also saw the resurrection of the original mission: the 358th Tactical Fighter Squadron.

WB-29 Superfortress 1951-1957

WB-50 Superfortress 1956-1962

56th Strategic Reconnaissance SquadronYokota AB, Japan - 1956

RB-57 Canberra1962-1964, 1966-1972

WB-47 Stratrojet 1963-1966

C-130 Hercules 1962-1964

WC-135 Constant Phoenix 1964-1972