91st Air Refueling Squadron

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91st Air Refueling Squadron
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Insignia
91st Air Refueling Squadron emblem (approved 3 June 1952)[1]
391st Bombardment Squadron emblem (approved for 1st Reconnaissance Squadron 24 September 1941)[2]

The 91st Air Refueling Squadron is part of the

air refueling
missions.

The squadron was first activated in January 1941 as the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron at

VE Day
. It returned to the United States in the summer of 1945 and was inactivated.

Mission

The

Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker, a long-range tanker aircraft capable of refueling a variety of aircraft in mid-air, anywhere in the world and under any weather condition. The 91st's KC-135s have supported US military operations all over the world.[3]

History

World War II

B-18 on display at the Castle Air Museum

The squadron was first activated at

Westover Field, Massachusetts four months after they were activated.[1][5]

After the

Geiger Field.[5] RTUs were oversized units which trained aircrews prior to their deployment to combat theaters.[6]

On 15 December 1942 the squadron moved to

cadres for a number of heavy bomber units that served with Eighth Air Force during this period.[8]

B-24H of the 34th Bomb Group[note 1]

The 391st began training with Consolidated B-24 Liberators for overseas combat operations on 5 January 1944. Its ground echelon moved to the port of embarkation on 1 April 1944,[5][8] while the air echelon began its overseas movement on 31 May 1944, taking the southern ferry route, from Florida to Trinidad, Brazil, West Africa and Marrakesh, arriving at RAF Valley, Wales.[8] The 34th Group arrived at its permanent station, RAF Mendlesham, England, in April 1944 and entered combat on 23 May 1944.[5][8]

The squadron helped to prepare for

airfields in France and Germany, and supported the June landings by attacking coastal defenses and communications. It supported ground forces at Saint-Lô in late July and struck V-1 flying bomb launch sites, gun emplacements, and supply lines throughout the summer of 1944.[5]

34th Bomb Group B-17G Flying Fortress[note 2]

The mixture of B-24s and B-17s in the

marshaling yards in Ludwigshafen, Hamm, Osnabrück, and Darmstadt; oil centers in Bielefeld, Merseburg, Hamburg, and Misburg; factories in Berlin, Dalteln, and Hanover; and airfields in Münster, Neumünster, and Frankfurt.[5]

During this period the squadron also supported ground forces during the Battle of the Bulge from December 1944 to January 1945. In March 1945, with few enemy industrial targets remaining and with Allied armies advancing across Germany, the 391st turned almost solely to interdicting enemy communications and supporting Allied ground forces.[5] The 391st flew its last combat mission on 20 April 1945.[8]

After

Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota, where it was inactivated on 28 August 1945.[5]

Air Refueling

91st Air Refueling Squadron KB-29P Superfortress formation 1951

The 91st Air Refueling Squadron was activated at

Boeing KB-29P Superfortress refueled one of the group's Tornados. Over the next eighteen months, the 9lst developed equipment, techniques, and procedures for refueling jet bombers. The squadron performed the first night refueling and the first refueling performed in instrument weather conditions. However, Strategic Air Command (SAC) activated KB-29 squadrons faster than it acquired tankers, and the unit remained understrength through most of 1950 and 1951.[11]

Boeing KC-97G Stratofreighter

After additional training with tankers, it moved to

Boeing RB-47 Stratojets and the squadron with Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighters.[1][12] SAC had begun to include refueling in its war plans,[13] and the squadron made frequent deployments with its KC-97s to forward locations, placing it ahead of the faster Boeing B-47 Stratojets it would refuel, and on their programmed route.[14] During Operation Reflex deployments with the wing, the squadron's aircraft also served as transports, carrying extra air crew, support personnel, and spare parts.[15]

In 1957 the 91st wing was inactivated and the squadron was transferred to the

301st Bombardment Wing in May 1964, and was assigned when the wing became the 301st Air Refueling Wing, the first KC-135 wing in SAC.[1][17][note 3]

Crews and aircraft from the 91st deployed to

Operation Urgent Fury, the Grenada rescue mission, between October and November 1983. The squadron was stationed at McConnell until it was inactivated in 1987.[1]

In January 1988, SAC reactivated the 301st Air Refueling Wing and the 91st at

6th Air Mobility Wing. Since 2002 the squadron has refueled fighter aircraft providing security for the southeastern United States.[1]

Lineage

391st Bombardment Squadron

  • Constituted as the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron (Heavy) on 20 November 1940
Activated on 15 January 1941
Redesignated 391st Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 22 April 1942
Redesignated 391st Bombardment Squadron, Heavy on 20 August 1943
Inactivated on 28 August 1945

91st Air Refueling Squadron

  • Constituted as the 91st Air Refueling Squadron, Medium on 1 March 1950
Activated on 16 April 1950
Redesignated 91st Air Refueling Squadron, Heavy on 1 January 1963
  • Consolidated with the 391st Bombardment Squadron on 19 September 1985
Inactivated on 1 October 1987
  • Activated on 5 January 1988
Redesignated 91st Air Refueling Squadron on 1 September 1991[18]

Assignments

  • General Headquarters Air Force (later Air Force Combat Command), 15 January 1941 (attached to
    34th Bombardment Group
    )
  • 1st Bomber Command
    , 5 September 1941 (remained attached to 34th Bombardment Group)
  • II Bomber Command, c. 25 January 1942 (remained attached to 34th Bombardment Group)
  • 34th Bombardment Group, 25 February 1942 – 28 August 1945
  • 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Group
    , 16 April 1950 (attached to 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Wing after 10 February 1951)
  • 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, 28 May 1952 (attached to 5th Air Division, 12 January – 26 February 1954, Northeast Air Command, 6 October – 12 November 1954 and 10 July – October 1955
  • 801st Air Division, 8 November 1957
  • 376th Bombardment Wing, 1 December 1957 (attached to
    301st Bombardment Wing
    after 4 May 1964)
  • 301st Air Refueling Wing, 15 June 1964
  • 47th Air Division, 1 July 1971
  • 14th Air Division, 1 April 1972
  • 12th Strategic Missile Division
    , 1 August 1972
  • 384th Air Refueling Wing
    (later 384 Bombardment) Wing), 1 December 1972 – 1 October 1987
  • 301st Air Refueling Wing, 5 January 1988
  • 301st Operations Group, 1 September 1991
  • 43d Operations Group
    , 1 June 1992
  • 43d Air Refueling Group
    , 1 July 1994
  • 6th Operations Group, 1 October 1996 – present[18]

Stations

  • Langley Field, Virginia, 15 January 1941
  • Westover Field, Massachusetts, 29 May 1941
  • Pendleton Field, Oregon, c. 25 January 1942
  • Davis-Monthan Field
    , Arizona, c. 13 May 1942
  • Geiger Field (later Geiger Army Air Base), Washington, 1 July 1942
  • Ephrata Army Air Base
    , Washington, 1 December 1942
  • Blythe Army Air Base
    , California, 11 December 1942 – 3 April 1944
Deployed at
Salinas Army Air Base
, California, 29 May – 13 July 1943
  • RAF Mendlesham (AAF-156),[19] England, 23 April 1944 – 24 July 1945
  • Sioux Falls Army Air Field
    , South Dakota, 13 – 28 August 1945
  • Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, 16 April 1950
  • Lockbourne Air Force Base, Ohio, 11 September 1951
Deployed at Nouasseur Air Base, French Morocco, 12 January – 26 February 1954
Deployed at
Goose Air Base
, Labrador, 6 October – 12 November 1954
Deployed at Ernest Harmon Air Force Base, Newfoundland, 10 July – October 1955

Aircraft

  • Stearman PT-17 Kaydet
    (1941)
  • Douglas B-18 Bolo (1941–1942)
  • Boeing B-17C Flying Fortress (1941–1943)
  • Boeing B-17D Flying Fortress (1941–1943)
  • Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress (1944–1945)
  • Consolidated B-24 Liberator (1942–1943, 1944)
  • Boeing KB-29P Superfortress (1950–1953)
  • Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter (1953–1963)
  • Boeing KC-135A Stratotanker (1963–1987)
  • Bell UH-1 Iroquois (1971–1972)
  • Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker (1988–present)[18]

Awards and campaigns

Award streamer Award Dates Notes
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
 8 September 1953 – 8 November 1957 91st Air Refueling Squadron[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 1 October 1966 – 1 April 1967 91st Air Refueling Squadron[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 1 July 1974 – 30 June 1976 91st Air Refueling Squadron[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 1 July 1976 – 30 June 1978 91st Air Refueling Squadron[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 1 July 1980 – 30 June 1981 91st Air Refueling Squadron[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 1 July 1988 – 30 June 1990 91st Air Refueling Squadron[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 1 July 1991 – 30 June 1993 91st Air Refueling Squadron[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 1 July 1994 – 30 June 1996 91st Air Refueling Squadron[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 1 July 1996 – 30 June 1998 91st Air Refueling Squadron[1]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 1 July 1998 – 30 June 2000 91st Air Refueling Squadron[1]
Campaign Streamer Campaign Dates Notes
Antisubmarine 7 December 1941 – c. 13 May 1942 1st Reconnaissance Squadron[1]
Air Offensive, Europe 23 April 1944 – 5 June 1944 391st Bombardment Squadron[1]
Normandy 6 June 1944 – 24 July 1944 391st Bombardment Squadron[1]
Northern France 25 July 1944 – 14 September 1944 391st Bombardment Squadron[1]
Rhineland 15 September 1944 – 21 March 1945 391st Bombardment Squadron[1]
Central Europe 22 March 1944 – 21 May 1945 391st Bombardment Squadron[1]
Air Combat, EAME Theater 7 December 1941 – 11 May 1945 391st Bombardment Squadron[1]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ The plane is Douglas-Tulsa B-24H-15-DT Serial 41-28851 of the 7th Bomb Squadron. This aircraft was damaged during a mission on 24 August 1944 and made an emergency landing in Sweden (MACR 8461). The aircraft was interned until the end of the war then repaired and flown back to the UK in 1945.
  2. ^ The aircraft is Lockheed/Vega B-17G-65-VE Serial 44-8457
  3. 500th Air Refueling Wings
    and predecessor units.)
  4. Pope Air Force Base
    , North Carolina. Ravenstein, pp. 167-169.

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Robertson, Patsy (17 January 2008). "Factsheet 91 Air Refueling Squadron (ACC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  2. ^ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 480
  3. ^ "Library: FactSheet, 6th Operations Group". 6th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs. 20 July 2006. Archived from the original on 7 January 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  4. ^ Maurer, (1987) p. 341
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Maurer, Combat Units, pp. 87-89
  6. ^ Craven & Cate (eds.), Vol. VI, p. xxxvi
  7. ^ Wilson, p. 128
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Freeman (1970), p. 240
  9. ^ Freeman (1970), p. 156
  10. ^ Freeman (1970), p. 172
  11. ^ Smith, pp. 30-31
  12. ^ a b Ravenstein, pp. 125-127
  13. ^ Smith, p. 31
  14. ^ See Smith, p. 39
  15. ^ Smith, p. 39
  16. ^ Ravenstein, pp. 200-202
  17. ^ Ravenstein, pp. 144-146
  18. ^ a b c d e Lineage, including assignments, stations and aircraft in Robertson, Factsheet 91 Air Refueling Squadron except as noted
  19. ^ Station number in Anderson

Bibliography

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

External links

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