55th Wing Heritage

Our heritage harks back to early World War II, when the 55th flew P-38 fighters. Click on the ‘Our History’ button for more.

The 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Association has produced a follow-on volume to Bruce Bailey’s We See All, now a collector’s item, but available to download for free using the button below (donations accepted). Many 55thers know that Bruce privately published his book in 1982, which covered the strat recon missions from 1946 through the transition to RC-135s and the move of the 55th from Forbes AFB, KS to Offutt AFB, NE in 1966-67. When Bruce published We See All, the great stories of ‘Memory Lane’ and ‘Tales of the 55th’ had not been published, so all of those documents, including many from the pre-RC-135 era, are included in the sequel.

The new book picks up the story in the late 60s and bring it up to the present.  Titled Videmus Omnia: 80 Years at the Front, the book was edited by our web master, Dave Connaughton, pilot of the 82nd SRS, creator of the ‘hoggie’ patch, and cartoonist who drew the crew cartoons that appear on our BX page. Dave edited the Dodo, a humor newsletter at USAFA, and the Harbus newspaper at Harvard Business School.

 In 1997 the 55th oversaw the restoration of RB-47 4299. A photo essay of that restoration appears in the book and on this web site. Check it out!

Our heritage comes directly from the history we all make every day, and our web site is designed to capture it for our children. To contribute, click the button below. Thanks in advance!