41st Air Refueling Squadron

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41st Air Refueling Squadron
(later 41st Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron)
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Insignia
Patch with 41st Air Refueling Squadron emblem
41st Bombardment Squadron emblem[a][1]

The 41st Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron is a provisional

380th Operations Group at Griffiss Air Force Base
, New York, where it was inactivated on 15 February 1993.

The

V-J Day, the squadron remained in the Pacific until inactivating in 1946. It was again activated in the reserve
in 1947, but was not fully manned or equipped before inactivating again in 1949.

The 41st Air Refueling Squadron was activated at Griffiss Air Force Base, New York in 1959 and equipped with Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers as Strategic Air Command dispersed its bomber and tanker force to protect it from a surprise attack by the Soviet Union. It conducted air refueling operations from Griffiss until inactivating in 1993. During the Vietnam War, it deployed aircraft and aircrew to Southeast Asia. In 1985, the two squadrons were consolidated into a single unit. In 2002, the consolidated unit was converted to provisional status as the 41st Expeditionary Refueling Squadron and assigned to Air Mobility Command to activate or inactivate as needed.

History

World War II

501st Bombardment Group B-29 taking off from Northwest Field, Guam 1945

The first predecessor of the

Harvard Army Air Field, Nebraska and began to equip with Superfortresses. The squadron completed its training and departed for the Pacific on 7 March 1945.[1][2]

The squadron was equipped with the Bell Aircraft manufactured B-29B, which was designed to save weight by removing all of the guns and sighting equipment used on other B-29s, except the tail gun, allowing the B-29B to fly a little higher and a little further. The B-29B also had two new radar units installed, the AN/APQ-7 Eagle radar for bombing and navigation and the AN/APG-15 for aiming the tail gun. These two radar units gave the B-29B a distinctive shape as the APQ-7 antenna appeared as a small wing under the fuselage, between the two bomb bay doors and the APG-15 added a ball shaped antenna to the tail of the aircraft below the tail guns.[3]

The squadron arrived at its combat station,

Distinguished Unit Citation.[2]

Following

prisoners of war in Japan, Korea, Manchuria and China. It remained at Northwest Field until May 1946, when it became non-operational, and was inactivated there on 10 June 1946.[1][2][4]

Air Force reserve

The squadron was reactivated as a

711th Bombardment Squadron.[1][8]

Air refueling

During the

Boeing KC-135A Stratotankers.[10][11] In October 1959, the 75th Bombardment Squadron moved to Griffiss from Loring Air Force Base, Maine to fill out the 4039th with its Boeing B-52 Stratofortresses.[12]

After it became operational, in 1960, the squadron began to maintain one third of its aircraft on fifteen minute

air refueling on a global scale to meet SAC commitments.[14]

Soon after detection of Soviet missiles in Cuba, SAC placed additional KC-135s on alert to replace KC-135s devoted to maintaining 1/8 of the B-52 bomber force on airborne alert.[15] On 24 October 1962, SAC went to DEFCON 2, placing all the squadron's aircraft on alert and increased the size of its forward deployed tanker task forces.[16] [17] On 27 November SAC returned to its normal alert posture.[18]

In February 1963, The

416th Bombardment Wing assumed the aircraft, personnel and equipment of the 4039th wing, which was discontinued. The 4039th was a Major Command controlled (MAJCON) wing, which could not carry a permanent history or lineage,[19] and SAC wanted to replace it with a permanent unit. The 41st was assigned to the newly-activated 416th Wing.[14]

In December 1964, the squadron began deploying crews and aircraft to support the war in Southeast Asia, in

Seeb International Airport.[22]

After SAC was disestablished and the air refueling mission was transferred to

380th Operations Group, as AMC consolidated its air refueling operations. It was inactivated on 15 February 1992. In 2002, the squadron was converted to provisional status as the 41st Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron,[23]
but has not been active since then.

Lineage

Assignments

Stations

  • Dalhart Army Air Field, Texas, 1 April – 10 May 1944
  • Dalhart Army Air Field, Texas, 1 June 1944
  • Harvard Army Air Field, Nebraska, 23 August 1944 – 7 March 1945
  • Northwest Field, Guam, 14 April 1945 – 10 June 1946
  • Long Beach Municipal Airport, California, 12 July 1947 – 27 June 1949[24]
  • Griffiss Air Force Base, New York, 5 January 1959[11] – 15 February 1993

Aircraft

Awards and campaigns

Award streamer Award Dates Notes
Distinguished Unit Citation
 6 July–13 July 1945 Japan, 41st Bombardment Squadron[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
 1 July 1975-30 June 1976 41st Air Refueling Squadron[27]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 1 July 1976-30 June 1977 41st Air Refueling Squadron[27]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 1 July 1978-30 June 1979 41st Air Refueling Squadron[27]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 15 September 1981-31 October 1982 41st Air Refueling Squadron[27]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 1 July 1984-30 June 1986 41st Air Refueling Squadron[27]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 1 July 1989-30 June 1991 41st Air Refueling Squadron[27]
Campaign Streamer Campaign Dates Notes
Air Offensive, Japan 14 April 1945–2 September 1945 41st Bombardment Squadron[1]
Eastern Mandates 14 April 1945–14 April 1944 41st Bombardment Squadron[1]
Western Pacific 17 April 1945–2 September 1945 41st Bombardment Squadron[1]

References

Notes

Explanatory notes
  1. ^ Approved 17 April 1945. Description: On a disc, orange in base, shaded up to sky blue, within an ultramarine blue border, a large, gray elephant with white tusks, running toward dexter, and holding aloft in the trunk a very large, red aerial bomb, in front of white, cirrus cloud formations, edged light turquoise blue, and marked red violet on under side, all leaving white vapor trails to rear.
  2. ^ So in Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 190. However, the 6th Bombardment Group (Heavy) had been disbanded in the Panama Canal Zone on 1 November 1943. The 6th Bombardment Group, Very Heavy was not activated at Dalhart until 19 April 1944. Maurer, Combat Units, p. 41. It seems likely the squadron was assigned directly to Second Air Force for the two weeks until the 6th Group was activated.
Citations
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 189–190
  2. ^ a b c Maurer, Combat Units, p. 367
  3. ^ Marshall[page needed]
  4. ^ a b Stephens, Maj Tonia (14 June 2017). "501 Combat Support Wing (USAFE)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  5. ^ See Ravenstein, p. 244
  6. ^ See Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 189–190 (no aircraft listed as assigned)
  7. ^ "Abstract, Mission Project Closeup, Continental Air Command". Air Force History Index. 27 December 1961. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  8. ^ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp.712-713
  9. ^ Knaack, p. 252
  10. ^ a b c Hq, Strategic Air Command General Order 62, 18 September 1958
  11. ^ a b Mueller, p. 210
  12. ^ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p, 273
  13. ^ "Abstract (Unclassified), History of the Strategic Bomber since 1945 (Top Secret, downgraded to Secret)". Air Force History Index. 1 April 1975. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  14. ^ a b c d Ravenstein, Combat Wings, pp. 223-224
  15. ^ Kipp, et al., p. 34
  16. ^ Kipp, et al., pp. 35, 37
  17. ^ Kipp, ‘’et al’’., p. 35
  18. ^ Kipp, et al., p. 61
  19. ^ Ravenstein, Guide to Air Force Lineage and Honors, p. 12
  20. ^ Alert Operations and SAC, p. 48
  21. ^ a b c Department of the Air Force/MPM Letter 662q, 19 September 1985, Subject: Reconstitution, Redesignation, and Consolidation of Selected Air Force Tactical Squadrons
  22. ^ Anonymous. "Operation Desert Storm". Skytrailer. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  23. ^ a b c d Department of the Air Force/XPM Letter 303s, 12 June 2002, Subject: Air Mobility Command Expeditionary Units
  24. ^ a b c Lineage information, including assignments and stations, through 1949 in Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 189–190
  25. ^ a b Hq, Strategic Air Command Special Order GB-144, 29 August 1991
  26. ^ See Ravenstein, Combat Wings, pp. 223-224
  27. ^ a b c d e f "Air Force Personnel Services: Unit Awards". Air Force Personnel Center. Retrieved 5 September 2023. (search)

Bibliography

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

External links

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