| 341st Air Refueling Squadron (later 341st Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 1943–1945; 1955–1963 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Air refueling |
| Motto | Potentium Providimus (Latin for 'We Provide Power') (after 1955) |
| Engagements | European Theater of World War II |
| Insignia | |
| Patch with 341st Air Refueling Squadron emblem |  |
| 641st Bombardment Squadron Emblem[a][1] |  |
The341st Air Refueling Squadron is an inactiveUnited States Air Force unit, activated in 1943. Its first predecessor is the641st Bombardment Squadron. After training withDouglas A-20 Havocs in the United States the squadron deployed to theEuropean Theater of World War II, where it engaged in combat until theSurrender of Germany. It was last assigned to the409th Bombardment Group atWestover Field, Massachusetts, where it was inactivated on 7 November 1945.
The341st Air Refueling Squadron was organized in 1955. After organizing and training atCastle Air Force Base, California it moved toDow Air Force Base, Maine. It providedair refueling forStrategic Air Command units from Dow until it was inactivated on 1 February 1963 as SAC replaced its tanker force with more modernBoeing KC-135 Stratotankers.
The two squadrons were consolidated in 1985, but the consolidated squadron has not been active. It was converted to provisional status in February 2001 and redesignated341st Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron.
The641st Bombardment Squadron was activated in June 1943 atWill Rogers Field, Oklahoma[1] as one of the four original squadrons of the409th Bombardment Group.[2] The squadron trained underThird Air Force in Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana withDouglas A-20 Havoc light bombardment aircraft.[2]
The squadron deployed to theEuropean Theater of Operations in March 1944, where it became part ofIX Bomber Command ofNinth Air Force.[2]
The 641st initially flew sweeps overOccupied France from its base in England, attackingcoastal defenses,V-1 flying bomb andV-2 rocket sites,airfields, and other targets in France in preparation forOperation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy. AfterD-Day, the squadron supported ground forces during the Battle of Normandy by hitting gun batteries, rail lines, bridges, communications, and other objectives. During July 1944, it aided the Allied offensive atCaen and the breakthrough atSaint-Lô with attacks on enemy troops,flak positions, fortified villages, and supply dumps.[2]
The squadron moved toAdvanced Landing Grounds in France in September 1944, providingThird Army withclose air support in its advance toward Germany through November.[2]
In December, the squadron converted toDouglas A-26 Invaders. It then participated in theBattle of the Bulge by attacking lines of communications andlogistics. The squadron continued combat operations until May, flying its last combat mission against anammunition dump in Czechoslovakia on 3 May.[2]
The unit returned to the United States and initially was stationed atSeymour Johnson Field, North Carolina where it prepared to deploy to thePacific Theater of Operations for operations against theJapanese Home Islands. The deployment to the Pacific Theater was cancelled with theSurrender of Japan in August.[citation needed] The 641st was inactivated atWestover Field, Massachusetts in early November.[1]
The341st Air Refueling Squadron was activated in June 1955 atCastle Air Force Base, California, although it did not become operational until 20 July.[3] After completing training with the93d Bombardment Wing at Castle, the squadron moved to its permanent home atDow Air Force Base, Maine where it was assigned to the4060th Air Refueling Wing. The squadron mission was to provideair refueling forStrategic Air Command (SAC) units. The squadron flewKC-97F and KC-97G Stratofreighters from activation in 1955 until it was discontinued in 1963.
The 341st provided refueling support for SACwings deploying and redeploying from Europe and North Africa duringOperation Reflex.[4] It also deployed to locations such asErnest Harmon Air Force Base, Newfoundland[5] andThule Air Base, Greenland.[6] In 1960 the squadron transferred to the4038th Strategic Wing, which replaced the 4060th wing at Dow[7] as part of a SAC program to disperse itsBoeing 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.
During October and November 1962 the 341st temporarily curtailed training and assumed an increased alert posture in response to theCuban Missile Crisis.[8] The squadron became non-operational on 15 July 1963[9] and was inactivated on 1 September as part of the phaseout of the KC-97 from SAC.
The641st Bombardment Squadron and the341st Air Refueling Squadron were consolidated into a single unit on 19 September 1985 but the consolidated squadron has not been active.[10] In 2001, the squadron was converted to provisional status as the341st Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron.
641st Bombardment Squadron
| 341st Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron
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| Campaign Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Air Offensive, Europe | 7 March 1944 – 5 June 1944 | 641st Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Normandy | 6 June 1944 – 24 July 1944 | 641st Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Northern France | 25 July 1944 – 14 September 1944 | 641st Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Rhineland | 5 September 1944 – 21 March 1945 | 641st Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Ardennes-Alsace | 16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945 | 641st Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Central Europe | 22 March 1944 – 21 May 1945 | 641st Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Air Combat, EAME Theater | 7 March 1944 – 11 May 1945 | 641st Bombardment Squadron[1] |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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