71st Air Refueling Squadron

71st Air Refueling Squadron

KC-135A of the 71st Air Refueling Squadron during Exercise Proud Shield 92
Active 1942-1944; 1955-1994
Country  United States
Branch  United States Air Force
Role Air Refueling
Motto Summa Observantia, The Ultimate in Service[1]
Decorations Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Insignia
71st Air Refueling Squadron Emblem (approved 31 December 1959)[2]

The 71st Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 458th Operations Group at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana where it was inactivated on 1 April 1994.

The squadron was first activated as the 471st Bombardment Squadron in the summer of 1942 and assigned to the 334th Bombardment Group at Greenville AAB, South Carolina. It operated as a North American B-25 Mitchell aircrew replacement training unit until it was disbanded in the spring of 1944.

The 71st Air Refueling Squadron was activated in 1955 at Dow Air Force Base, Maine and equipped with Boeing KC-97 Stratotankers. In March 1964 the squadron reequipped with Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers and when Dow closed in 1968, moved to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, remaining there until it was inactivated as part of reorganization of air refueling squadrons by Air Mobility Command in 1994. While at Barksdale, the two squadrons were consolidated.

History

471st Bombardment Squadron Emblem[3][4]

World War II

The 471st Bombardment Squadron was activated in the summer of 1942 as one of the four original squadrons of the 334th Bombardment Group at Greenville AAB, South Carolina.[3][5] It operated as a North American B-25 Mitchell replacement training unit. Replacement training units were oversized units which trained aircrews prior to their deployment to combat theaters.[6] However, Army Air Forces found that standard military units, based on relatively inflexible tables of organization were proving less well adapted to the training mission. Accordingly a more functional system was adopted in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit.[7] This resulted in the 471st, along with other units at Greenville, being disbanded in the spring of 1944[3] and being replaced by the 330th AAF Base Unit (Replacement Training Unit, Medium, Bombardment).

Air Refueling operations

The 71st Air Refueling Squadron was activated at Dow Air Force Base, Maine in January 1955.[2] The squadron was designated for refueling strategic fighters and was to be colocated with the 506th Strategic Fighter Wing at Dow. However the 506th moved to Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma[8] and the squadron was assigned directly to Eighth Air Force headquarters until the 4060th Air Refueling Wing was organized as the Strategic Air Command (SAC) wing at Dow. The squadron was equipped with KC-97F Stratotankers (also KC-97Gs). The squadron was redesignated as the 71st Air Refueling Squadron, (Medium) on 15 December 1957 and acted as a forward based refueling units supporting Boeing B-47 Stratojet bombers and fighter aircraft deploying to and from Europe.[2]

In February 1960 the 4038th Strategic Wing was activated at Dow as part of SAC's plan to disperse its Boeing B-52 Stratofortress heavy 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 and the squadron was reassigned to it. The squadron continued to fly KC-97s, however, until 1964 when it reequipped with Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers.[2] The squadron provided long range air refueling support and participated in military exercises and special operations. It deployed aircraft and aircrews to Europe, the Middle East, and Alaska supporting the European, Alaskan, and Pacific Tanker Task Forces while maintaining a high state of combat readiness. The 71st also supported USAF operations in Southeast Asia.[2]

Dow closed as an active USAF base in the spring of 1968 and most units there inactivated. The 71st, however relocated to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, where it was assigned to the 2d Bombardment Wing.[2] in 1968 remaining there until inactivation. While at Barksdale, the 471st Bombardment Squadron was consolidated with the 71st. When SAC implemented the Objective Wing organization in the fall of 1991, the squadron was reassigned to the newly activated 2d Operations Group, but this assignment lasted only until 1993 when Air Combat Command transferred its air refueling units to Air Mobility Command (AMC) in 1993. As AMC reorganized its tanker fleet, it removed its tankers from Barksdale and the 71st was inactivated on 1 April 1994.[2]

Lineage

471st Bombardment Squadron

  • Constituted as the 471st Bombardment Squadron (Medium) on 9 July 1942
Activated on 16 July 1942
Disbanded on 1 May 1944[3]
Reconstituted on 19 September 1985 and consolidated with the 71st Air Refueling Squadron[2]

71st Air Refueling Squadron

  • Constituted as the 71st Air Refueling Squadron, Strategic Fighter on 4 November 1954
Activated on 24 January 1955
Redesignated 71st Air Refueling Squadron, Medium on 15 December 1957
Redesignated 71st Air Refueling Squadron, Heavy on 1 March 1964
Consolidated with the 471st Bombardment Squadron on 19 September 1985
Redesignated 71st Air Refueling Squadron on 1 September 1991
Inactivated on 1 October 1994[2]

Assignments

  • 334th Bombardment Group: 16 July 1942 - 1 May 1944[3]
  • Eighth Air Force: 24 Jan 1955 (attached to 506th Strategic Fighter Wing)
  • 4060th Air Refueling Wing: 8 March 1955
  • 4038th Strategic Wing: 1 February 1960

Stations

Aircraft

Awards and Campaigns

Award streamer Award Dates Notes
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award1 July 1973 - 30 June 197571st Air Refueling Squadron[2]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award1 July 1979 - 30 June 198071st Air Refueling Squadron[2]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award1 July 1982 - 30 June 198471st Air Refueling Squadron[2]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award11 July 1986 - 30 June 198771st Air Refueling Squadron[2]
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award1 July 1987 - 30 June 198971st Air Refueling Squadron[2]
Service Streamer Theater Dates Notes
American Theater of World War II16 July 1942 – 1 May 1944471st Bombardment Squadron[3]

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Originally approved as Ultimus Servitium
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 USAF USAF Unit Lineage and Honors History, 71st Air Refueling Squadron, Heavy (AFHRA Form 84), 22 Nov 85, updated 16 Aug 06 (retrieved 17 September 2013)
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. pp. 575–576. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556.
  4. ↑ The emblems of the four squadrons of the 334th Bombardment Group, featuring "Bomby-the-Bear" were featured in Hubbard, Gerard. "Aircraft Insigia, Spirit of Youth," National Geographic Magazine Vol. LXXXIII, No. 6, June 1943, p. 714
  5. ↑ Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961]. Air Force Combat Units of World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. p. 214. ISBN 0-912799-02-1. LCCN 61060979.
  6. ↑ Craven, Wesley F & Cate, James L, ed. (1955). "Introduction". The Army Air Forces in World War II. Vol. VI, Men & Planes. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. p. xxxvi. LCCN 48-3657.
  7. ↑ Craven & Cate, p. 7
  8. ↑ Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977 (PDF). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. pp. 273–274. ISBN 0-912799-12-9.
  9. ↑ Ravenstein, p. 213
  10. ↑ Ravenstein, pp. 7-9
  11. ↑ Mueller, Robert (1989). Air Force Bases, Vol. I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982 (PDF). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. p. 23. ISBN 0-912799-53-6.

Bibliography

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

External links

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