509th Weapons Squadron | |
|---|---|
 KC-135 Stratotanker stationed at Fairchild AFB | |
| Active | 1943–1944; 1948–1965; 1966–1994; 2003 – present |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Type | Squadron |
| Role | Advancedair refueling training |
| Part of | Air Combat Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington |
| Engagements | World War II (American Theater) Gulf War (Defense of Saudi Arabia; Liberation of Kuwait) |
| Decorations | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award withCombat "V" Device Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm |
| Insignia | |
| 509th Weapons Squadron emblem |  |
| 509th Air Refueling Squadron emblem[a][1] |  |
The509th Weapons Squadron is aUnited States Air Force unit. It is assigned to theUSAF Weapons School atFairchild Air Force Base, Washington. Thesquadron is a geographically separated unit of the57th Wing atNellis Air Force Base, Nevada.
The squadron's first predecessor is the609th Bombardment Squadron, which served as aheavy bomber training unit duringWorld War II until it was disbanded in a general reorganization ofArmy Air Forces training and support units in the United States in 1944. The second predecessor is the509th Air Refueling Squadron, which was one of the first refueling units in the Air Force and deployed planes andAircrews to support strike forces in theVietnam War and duringDesert Storm.
The mission of the squadron is to provideBoeing KC-135 Stratotanker instructional flying.
Thesquadron was first activated as the609th Bombardment Squadron, one of the four original squadrons of the400th Bombardment Group, atPyote Army Air Base, Texas, in March 1943. The group was equipped withConsolidated B-24 Liberators and served underSecond Air Force as an Operational Training Unit (OTU) at several bases in the southwestern United States until the end of the year.[1][2] The OTU program involved the use of an oversized parent unit to providecadres to "satellite groups".[3]
The unit moved toCharleston Army Air Field, South Carolina in late December, where it became part ofFirst Air Force and changed its mission to that of a Replacement Training Unit (RTU). RTUs units were likewise oversize units, but their mission was to trainaircrews prior to their deployment to combat theaters.[3] However, theArmy Air Forces found that standard military units, based on relatively inflexible tables of organization, were proving less well adapted to the training mission. Accordingly, it adopted a more functional system in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit.[4] while the groups and squadrons acting as RTUs were disbanded or inactivated.[5] This resulted in the 609th, along with other units at Charleston, being disbanded in April 1944 and being replaced by the 113th AAF Base Unit (Bombardment (Heavy)), which assumed the squadron's mission, personnel, and equipment.[1][6]
The509th Air Refueling Squadron was activated atRoswell Air Force Base, New Mexico and assigned to the509th Bombardment Group.[1] The squadron was one of twoair refueling units in theUnited States Air Force, activated on 12 July 1948. The 509th Air Refueling Squadron and 43rd Air Refueling Squadron were the first air refueling squadrons in the Air Force. The squadron initially equipped withBoeing KB-29M Superfortress tankers. These aircraft carried a system of hoses, reels, winches and fuel pumps to transfer fuel to the receiver aircraft. A power-driven reel for the refueling hose was installed in the rear fuselage at the position where the lower aft turret had been located prior to its removal. The KB-29M also had a cable and associated winch (known as the contact line) that was used to assist in the setup of the connection between the two aircraft.[citation needed]
Although the hose refueling system proved to be feasible, in practice the system had the disadvantage in taking a long time to make the contact and engage the hoses. Once contact was made, the rate of fuel transfer was slow, and the hoses provided a lot of aerodynamic drag which limited the airspeed. Consequently, the hose system was used for only a few years before it was replaced by the Boeing-developed flying boom system installed on the KB-29L.[citation needed] While flying the KB-29 the squadron deployed toRAF Upper Heyford, England from June to September 1952.[1]
In 1954, the squadron converted to theBoeing KC-97 Stratofreighter, deploying once again to the United Kingdom with the KC-97 for most of the first four months of 1956, this time toRAF Lakenheath. The squadron moved toPease Air Force Base, New Hampshire in January 1958, but was not joined there by the rest of the509th Bombardment Wing until July.[1][7] The squadron was inactivated in 1965 as the 509th phased down in preparation for inactivation.[1][b]
The squadron was activated again in June 1966, withBoeing KC-135 Stratotankers, when the 509th wing expanded its refueling capability by adding a second squadron of tankers to those of the34th Air Refueling Squadron at Pease.[1] It continued to fly the KC-135 until inactivated in 1994 atGriffiss Air Force Base, New York.[1][8]
The squadron was reactivated in 1999 atFairchild Air Force Base, Washington, initially as the KC-135 Combat Employment School of Air Mobility Command'sAir Mobility Warfare Center based at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey. Its first student class began in June 2000. In 2006, the Air Force consolidated all weapons squadrons under theUnited States Air Force Weapons School under the57th Wing atNellis Air Force Base, Nevada. In six months of training, weapons upgrade students receive graduate-level training in air refueling core competencies and learn to integrate and plan for joint operations. The students went to Nellis three times to receive "core" classes with the rest of the weapons school. They deployed on temporary duty assignments for terminal approach tactics atRoswell, New Mexico; participated inUnited States Strategic Command integration atOffutt Air Force Base, Nebraska; certify inspecial operations air refueling atHurlburt Field, Florida; and exercise withNorthrop Grumman B-2 Spirits atWhiteman Air Force Base, Missouri; and plan and execute a mission employment exercise from Nellis two weeks before graduation.[citation needed]
609th Bombardment Squadron
509th Weapons Squadron
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| Award streamer | Award | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award withCombat "V" Device | 5 March 1969-2 June 1969 | 509th Air Refueling Squadron[9] |
 | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 April 1968-1 October 1968 | 509th Air Refueling Squadron[9] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1979-30 June 1980 | 509th Air Refueling Squadron[9] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1981-30 June 1982 | 509th Air Refueling Squadron[9] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1982-30 June 1984 | 509th Air Refueling Squadron[9] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1985-30 June 1987 | 509th Air Refueling Squadron[9] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award withCombat "V" Device | 1 July 1989-30 June 1991 | 509th Air Refueling Squadron[9] |
 | Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm | 5 March 1969-2 June 1969 | 509th Air Refueling Squadron[9] |
| Campaign Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
.png) | American Theater without inscription | 1 March 1943 – 10 April 1944 | 609th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
 | Defense of Saudi Arabia | 2 August 1990 – 16 January 1991 | 509th Air Refueling Squadron[1] |
| Liberation and Defense of Kuwait | 17 January 1991 – 11 April 1991 | 509th Air Refueling Squadron[1] |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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