902d Air Refueling Squadron

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902d Air Refueling Squadron
Shield Strategic Air Command.png
911 Air Refueling Squadron Boeing KC-135A-BN Stratotanker 58-0029.jpg
Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker as flown by the 902d Air Refueling Squadron
Active1943–1945; 1958–1969
CountryFlag of the United States.svg  United States
BranchFlag of the United States Air Force.svg  United States Air Force
Role Air Refueling
Motto(s)Optimi ab Initio Latin Best from the Start
Engagements European Theater of Operations
Insignia
Patch with 902d Air Refueling Squadron emblem 902d Air Refueling Squadron - SAC - Emblem.png
602d Bombardment Squadron emblem (approved 6 March 1944) [1] 602d Bombardment Squadron - Emblem.png
World War II group tail marking [2] Triangle W
World War II squadron fuselage code [2] K8

The 902d Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 70th Bombardment Wing at Clinton-Sherman Air Force Base, Oklahoma, where it was inactivated on 31 December 1969.

United States Air Force Air and space warfare branch of the United States Armed Forces

The United States Air Force (USAF) is the aerial and space warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the five branches of the United States Armed Forces, and one of the seven American uniformed services. Initially formed as a part of the United States Army on 1 August 1907, the USAF was established as a separate branch of the U.S. Armed Forces on 18 September 1947 with the passing of the National Security Act of 1947. It is the youngest branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, and the fourth in order of precedence. The USAF is the largest and most technologically advanced air force in the world. The Air Force articulates its core missions as air and space superiority, global integrated intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, rapid global mobility, global strike, and command and control.

Clinton-Sherman Air Force Base

Clinton-Sherman Air Force Base (1954–1969) is a former United States Air Force Strategic Air Command base located near the town of Burns Flat in Washita County, Oklahoma, 15 miles (24 km) southwest of the city of Clinton, Oklahoma. Today it is the site of the Clinton-Sherman Industrial Airpark.

Contents

The squadron's first predecessor was the 602d Bombardment Squadron. The unit served for a time as a training unit before deploying to the European Theater of Operations, where it saw combat during World War II as an element of Eighth Air Force. The squadron participated in the strategic bombing campaign against Germany before returning to the United States in 1945, where it was inactivated.

Squadron (aviation) unit comprising a number of military aircraft and their aircrews

A squadron in air force, army aviation, or naval aviation is a unit comprising a number of military aircraft and their aircrews, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, depending on aircraft type and air force. Land based squadrons equipped with heavier type aircraft such as long-range bombers, or cargo aircraft, or air refueling tankers have around 12 aircraft as a typical authorization, while most land-based fighter equipped units have an authorized number of 18 to 24 aircraft.

World War II 1939–1945 global war

World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.

Eighth Air Force Numbered air force of the United States Air Force responsible for strategic bomber forces

The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces Strategic – Global Strike, one of the air components of United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM). The Eighth Air Force includes the heart of America's heavy bomber force: the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, the B-1 Lancer supersonic bomber, and the B-52 Stratofortress heavy bomber aircraft.

The 902d Air Refueling Squadron served with Strategic Air Command (SAC) at Clinton-Sherman starting in 1958. It maintained an alert status to refuel SAC bombers and deployed aircraft and aircrews to support Operation Chrome Dome and to Southeast Asia to support Operation Arc Light and participated in the Young Tiger Task Force supporting tactical aircraft in Southeast Asia until it was inactivated.

Strategic Air Command 1946-1992 United States Air Force major command; predecessor of Air Force Global Strike Command

Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense (DoD) Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command (MAJCOM), responsible for Cold War command and control of two of the three components of the U.S. military's strategic nuclear strike forces, the so-called "nuclear triad," with SAC having control of land-based strategic bomber aircraft and intercontinental ballistic missiles or ICBMs.

Aircrew personnel operating an aircraft in flight, including pilots, systems operators, and attendants

Aircrew, also called flight crew, are personnel who operate an aircraft while in flight. The composition of a flight's crew depends on the type of aircraft, plus the flight's duration and purpose.

Operation Chrome Dome military operation

Operation Chrome Dome was a United States Air Force Cold-War era mission from 1960 to 1968 in which B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber aircraft armed with thermonuclear weapons remained on continuous airborne alert, flying routes to points on the Soviet Union border.

In 1985 the 602d Bombardment Squadron and the 902d Air Refueling Squadron were consolidated into a single unit. The consolidated unit was converted to provisional status in February 2001 as the 902d Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron.

History

World War II

Commons-logo.svg Media related to 398th Bombardment Group at Wikimedia Commons

398th Bombardment Group B-17s on a bombing run to Neumunster, Germany Living Legends.jpg
398th Bombardment Group B-17s on a bombing run to Neumünster, Germany

The 602d Bombardment Squadron was activated at Ephrata Army Air Base, Washington, in early 1943, as one of the four original squadrons of the 398th Bombardment Group. [1] [3] The squadron trained under II Bomber Command with Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses. [1] The squadron's training was interrupted in July 1943, when it became a replacement training unit. [3] Replacement training units were oversized units which trained aircrews prior to their deployment to combat theaters. [4] In November, replacement training ended and the squadron resumed its preparation for overseas deployment. [3]

The II Bomber Command is an inactive United States Army Air Forces unit. It was last assigned to Second Air Force, based at Fort George Wright, Washington. It was inactivated on 6 October 1943.

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Bomber aircraft by Boeing

The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Competing against Douglas and Martin for a contract to build 200 bombers, the Boeing entry outperformed both competitors and exceeded the air corps' performance specifications. Although Boeing lost the contract because the prototype crashed, the air corps ordered 13 more B-17s for further evaluation. From its introduction in 1938, the B-17 Flying Fortress evolved through numerous design advances, becoming the third-most produced bomber of all time, behind the four-engined B-24 and the multirole, twin-engined Ju 88.

The 602d deployed to England in April 1944 [1] aboard the USS Wakefield (AP-21). [5] Its parent group was the last B-17 group to be assigned to VIII Bomber Command. [6] The squadron flew its first combat mission the following month. Until V-E Day, the squadron participated in the air offensive against Nazi Germany, bombing such targets as factories in Berlin, marshalling yards in Saarbrücken, shipping facilities in Kiel, oil refineries in Merseburg and aircraft factories in Münster. [3]

USS <i>Wakefield</i> (AP-21)

USS Wakefield (AP-21) was a troop transport that served with the US Navy during World War II. Before her war service, she was the luxury ocean liner SS Manhattan.

Nazi Germany The German state from 1933 to 1945, under the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler

Nazi Germany is the common English name for Germany between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party (NSDAP) controlled the country through a dictatorship. Under Hitler's rule, Germany was transformed into a totalitarian state that controlled nearly all aspects of life via the Gleichschaltung legal process. The official name of the state was Deutsches Reich until 1943 and Großdeutsches Reich from 1943 to 1945. Nazi Germany is also known as the Third Reich, meaning "Third Realm" or "Third Empire", the first two being the Holy Roman Empire (800–1806) and the German Empire (1871–1918). The Nazi regime ended after the Allies defeated Germany in May 1945, ending World War II in Europe.

Berlin Capital of Germany

Berlin is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3,748,148 (2018) inhabitants make it the second most populous city proper of the European Union after London. The city is one of Germany's 16 federal states. It is surrounded by the state of Brandenburg, and contiguous with its capital, Potsdam. The two cities are at the center of the Berlin-Brandenburg capital region, which is, with about six million inhabitants and an area of more than 30,000 km², Germany's third-largest metropolitan region after the Rhine-Ruhr and Rhine-Main regions.

In June 1944, prior to Operation Overlord, the Normandy invasion, the squadron temporarily suspended its strategic bombing to attack coastal defenses and enemy troop concentrations on the Cherbourg peninsula. [3] Eighth Air Force took advantage of the diversion from strategic bombing to allow newly arrived units like the 602d to fly attacks against nearby targets to gain combat experience. The first target assigned was a V-1 flying bomb launch site near Sottevast, but the unit's inexperience and overcast conditions in the target area caused it to return to its home station without bombing. [6]

The squadron also struck gun positions near Eindhoven to support Operation Market Garden, the airborne attacks in the Netherlands in September 1944, and attacked power stations, railroads and bridges during the Battle of the Bulge from December until January 1945. It attacked airfields in March 1945, during Operation Varsity, the airborne assault across the Rhine River. [3]

The squadron flew its last combat mission on 25 April 1945, when it attacked the airfield at Plzeň, Czechoslovakia. After the German surrender, it transported liberated prisoners of war from Germany to France. [3] It left Europe in May and returned to the United States aboard the RMS Queen Elizabeth, arriving at the New York Port of Embarkation on 29 June. [5] Squadron members were given thirty days leave, and a cadre assembled at Drew Field, Florida, where the squadron was inactivated in August 1945. [1] [5]

Cold War

The 902d Air Refueling Squadron was activated in May 1958 at Clinton-Sherman Air Force Base, Oklahoma, by Strategic Air Command (SAC), but it apparently did not receive its Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers until the spring of 1959. [7] It became the refueling component of the 4123d Strategic Wing when the wing moved from Carswell Air Force Base, Texas, in a SAC program to disperse its Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bombers over a larger number of bases, thus making it more difficult for the Soviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike. [8] The squadron operated Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers, providing air refueling support to the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers of its parent wing and other USAF units. Starting in 1960, one third of the squadron's aircraft were maintained on a fifteen-minute alert, fully fueled and ready for combat, to reduce vulnerability to a Soviet missile strike. This was increased to half the squadron's aircraft in 1962. [9]

The squadron transferred to the 70th Bombardment Wing in 1963, when SAC replaced its Major Command Controlled strategic wings with wings carrying the honors of World War II organizations. [10] In addition to its alert commitment, the squadron deployed crews and airplanes to support the Spanish and Eielson tanker task forces. [11]

The 902d deployed personnel and aircraft to the Young Tiger Task Force in the western Pacific to support combat operations of deployed SAC units and tactical aircraft over Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War, between 1966 and 1969. [12] For several months in 1968 and in 1969, most of its aircrews, plus maintenance and support personnel from its parent wing, were deployed to the Pacific. [10] The squadron inactivated with its parent 70th Bombardment Wing in 1969, as Clinton-Sherman prepared to close. [12]

In September 1985, the 602d Bombardment Squadron and the 902d Air Refueling Squadron were consolidated into a single unit in inactive status. [13]

Lineage

602d Bombardment Squadron

Activated on 1 March 1943
Redesignated 602d Bombardment Squadron (heavy) in 1944

902d Air Refueling Squadron

Activated on 11 December 1958 [15]
Inactivated on 31 December 1969 [16]

Assignments

Stations

Aircraft

Awards

Award streamerAwardDatesNotes
AFOUA Streamer.JPG Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 6 October 1959 – 15 July 1960902d Air Refueling Squadron [18]
AFOUA Streamer.JPG Air Force Outstanding Unit Award 15 April 1968 – 1 October 1968902d Air Refueling Squadron [18]
Campaign streamerCampaignDatesNotes
World War II - American Campaign Streamer (Plain).png American Theater1 March 1943 – 4 April 1944602d Bombardment Squadron [1]
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal streamer.png Air offensive, Europe22 April 1944 – 5 June 1944602d Bombardment Squadron [1]
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal streamer.png Normandy6 June 1944 – 24 July 1944602d Bombardment Squadron [1]
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal streamer.png Northern France25 July 1944 – 14 September 1944602d Bombardment Squadron [1]
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal streamer.png Rhineland15 September 1944 – 21 March 1945602d Bombardment Squadron [1]
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal streamer.png Ardennes-Alsace16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945602d Bombardment Squadron [1]
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal streamer.png Central Europe22 April 1944 – 21 May 1945602d Bombardment Squadron [1]
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal streamer.png Air combat, EAME Theater22 April 1944 – 11 May 1945602d Bombardment Squadron [1]

See also

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References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Maurer, Combat Squadrons , pp. 680-681
  2. 1 2 Watkins, pp. 84-85
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Maurer, Combat Units, p. 284
  4. ↑ Craven & Cate, Vol. VI, p. xxxvi
  5. 1 2 3 Freeman, p. 256
  6. 1 2 Freeman, p. 140
  7. 1 2 3 "Abstract, History 4123 Strategic Wing Apr 1959". Air Force History Index. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  8. ↑ "Abstract (Unclassified), Vol 1, History of Strategic Air Command, Jan-Jun 1957 (Secret)". Air Force History Index. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  9. ↑ "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.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Ravenstein, pp. 109-110
  11. ↑ "Abstract, Vol. 1 History 70 Bombardment Wing Oct-Dec 1965". Air Force History Index. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  12. 1 2 "Abstract, Vol. 1 History 70 Bombardment Wing Jan-Mar 1966". Air Force History Index. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  13. 1 2 3 Department of the Air Force/MPM Letter 662q, 19 Sep 85, Subject: Reconstitution, Redesignation, and Consolidation of Selected Air Force Tactical Squadrons
  14. 1 2 3 4 Lineage information for the 602d Bombardment Squadron, including assignments, stations and aircraft is in Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 680-681
  15. ↑ "Abstract, History 4123 Air Base Group". Air Force History Index. 1 December 1958. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  16. ↑ See Ravenstein, pp. 109-110
  17. ↑ Station number from Anderson
  18. 1 2 AF Pamphlet 900-2, Unit Decorations, Awards and Campaign Participation Credits Department of the Air Force, Washington, DC, 15 Jun 1971, p. 476

Bibliography

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