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	Aerial refueling
Motto	Summa Observantia (Latin for 'The Ultimate in Service')[a]
Decorations	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Insignia
71st Air Refueling Squadron Emblem[b][1]
471st Bombardment Squadron Emblem[c][2]

The71st Air Refueling Squadron is an inactiveUnited States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the458th Operations Group atBarksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana where it was inactivated on 1 April 1994.

The squadron's first predecessor was activated as the471st Bombardment Squadron in the summer of 1942 and assigned to the334th Bombardment Group atGreenville Army Air Base, South Carolina. It operated as aNorth American B-25 Mitchell aircrewReplacement Training Unit until it was disbanded in the spring of 1944 in a general reorganization ofArmy Air Forces training and support units.

The71st Air Refueling Squadron was activated in 1955 atDow Air Force Base, Maine and equipped withBoeing KC-97 Stratofreighters. It originally supportedStrategic Air Command (SAC) fighters at Dow, but when Dow's fighterwing moved, it acted as a forward based refueling unit for SAC bombers and for aircraft being ferried across the Atlantic. In March 1964 the squadron reequipped withBoeing KC-135 Stratotankers and when Dow closed in 1968, moved to Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, remaining there until it was inactivated as part of reorganization ofair refueling squadrons byAir Mobility Command in 1994. While it was stationed at Barksdale, the two squadrons were consolidated.

Thesquadron's first predecessor, the471st Bombardment Squadron, was activated on 16 July 1942 as one of the four original squadrons of the334th Bombardment Group atGreenville Army Air Base, South Carolina.^[2] It operated as aNorth American B-25 MitchellReplacement Training Unit (RTU). RTUs were oversized units which trained individualpilots andaircrews prior to their deployment to combat theaters.^[3]

However, theArmy Air Forces (AAF) found that standard military units, whose manning was based on relatively inflexibletables of organization were not well adapted to the training mission, particularly to the replacement training mission.^[4] Accordingly, a more functional system was adopted in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit.^[5] This resulted in the 334th Group, its components and supporting units at Greenville, being disbanded in the spring of 1944 and being replaced by the 330th AAF Base Unit (Replacement Training Unit, Medium, Bombardment).^[2][6][7]

The71st Air Refueling Squadron was activated atDow Air Force Base, Maine in January 1955.^[1] The squadron was designated for refueling strategic fighters and was colocated with the506th Strategic Fighter Wing at Dow. However the 506th moved toTinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma in March,^[8] and the squadron was assigned directly toEighth Air Force headquarters until the4060th Air Refueling Wing was organized as theStrategic Air Command (SAC) wing at Dow. The squadron was equipped withBoeing KC-97F and KC-97G Stratofreighters. It was redesignated as a medium refueling squadron on 15 December 1957 and acted as a forward based refueling unit supportingBoeing B-47 Stratojet bombers andfighter aircraft deploying to and from Europe.^[1] SAC had begun to include refueling in its war plans,^[9] and its station at Dow placed it ahead of the faster Stratojets it would refuel, and on their programmed wartime route.^[10]

In February 1960, the4038th Strategic Wing was activated at Dow. The 4038th Wing was established by SAC in a 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.^[11] SAC bases with large concentrations of bombers made attractive targets. SAC’s response was to break up its wings and scatter their aircraft over a larger number of bases.^[12] The squadron continued to fly KC-97s, however, until 1964 when it reequipped withBoeing KC-135 Stratotankers.^[1] The KC-135 could deliver twice the amount of fuel to the B-52 without the losses caused by the descent and climb required to refuel with the KC-97.^[13]

The squadron provided air refueling primarily to the B-52s of the 4038th wing. Starting in 1960, One third of the squadron's aircraft were maintained on fifteen minutealert, 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.^[14] Soon afterdetection of Soviet missiles in Cuba, all degraded and adjusted alert sorties were brought up to full capability.^[15] On 24 October SAC went toDEFCON 2, placing all aircraft on alert.^[16] Forward deployed Tanker Task Forces increased from in Spain, Alaska and in the Northeast.^[17] On 21 November SAC went to DEFCON 3. On 27 November SAC returned to normal alert posture.^[18]

In February 1963, The397th Bombardment Wing assumed the aircraft, personnel and equipment of the discontinued 4038th wing. The 4038th was aMajor Command controlled (MAJCON) wing, which could not carry a permanent history or lineage,^[19] and SAC wanted to replace it with a permanent unit. The 71st was assigned to the newly-activated 397th Bombardment Wing.^[20]

The squadron provided long range air refueling support and participated inmilitary exercises andspecial operations. It deployed aircraft and aircrews to Europe, the Middle East, and Alaska supporting the European, Alaskan, and Pacific Tanker Task Forces while maintaining itscombat readiness. The 71st also provided aircraft and aircrews that supported USAF operations in Southeast Asia.^[1]

Dow closed as an active USAF base in the spring of 1968 and the 397th Wing was inactivated.^[20] The 71st, however, relocated toBarksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, along with the596th Bombardment Squadron, where they were assigned to the2d Bombardment Wing, remaining there until inactivation.^[1][21] In September 1985, the471st 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 activated2d Operations Group, but this assignment lasted only until 1993 whenAir Combat Command transferred its air refueling units toAir Mobility Command (AMC) in 1993. As AMC reorganized and consolidated its tanker fleet, it removed its tankers from Barksdale and the 71st was inactivated on 1 April 1994.^[1]

• Greenville Army Air Base, South Carolina, 16 July 1942 – 1 May 1944
• Dow Air Force Base, Maine, 24 January 1955
• Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, 15 April 1968 – 1 June 1994^[1][22]

• North American B-25 Mitchell, 1942-1944
• Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter, 1955-1964
• Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, 1964-1994^[1]

Award streamer	Award	Dates	Notes
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 July 1973 – 30 June 1975	71st Air Refueling Squadron[1]
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 July 1979 – 30 June 1980	71st Air Refueling Squadron[1]
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 July 1982 – 30 June 1984	71st Air Refueling Squadron[1]
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	11 July 1986 – 30 June 1987	71st Air Refueling Squadron[1]
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 July 1987 – 30 June 1989	71st Air Refueling Squadron[1]

Service Streamer	Theater	Dates	Notes
	American Theater of World War II	16 July 1942 – 1 May 1944	471st Bombardment Squadron[2]

Explanatory notes

Citations

 This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• Craven, Wesley F; Cate, James L, eds. (1955).The Army Air Forces in World War II. Vol. VI, Men & Planes. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press.LCCN 48-3657.
• Hubbard, Gerard (1943)."Aircraft Insignia, Spirit of Youth".The National Geographic Magazine.LXXXIII (6). National Geographic Society:718–722. Retrieved1 September 2017. (subscription required for web access)
• Kipp, Robert; Peake, Lynn; Wolk, Herman."Strategic Air Command Operations in the Cuban Crisis of 1962, SAC Historical Study No. 90 (Top Secret NOFORN, FRD, redacted and declassified)"(PDF). Strategic Air Command. Retrieved21 November 2014.
• Knaack, Marcelle Size (1978).Encyclopedia of US Air Force Aircraft and Missile Systems(PDF). Vol. 2, Post-World War II Bombers 1945-1973. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.ISBN 0-912799-59-5. Retrieved17 December 2016.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961].Air Force Combat Units of World War II(PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.ISBN 0-912799-02-1.LCCN 61060979. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 20 December 2016.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969].Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II(PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.ISBN 0-405-12194-6.LCCN 70605402.OCLC 72556. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 20 December 2016.
• 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.ISBN 0-912799-53-6.
• Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984).Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947–1977. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.ISBN 0-912799-12-9.
• Smith, Richard K. (1998).Seventy-Five Years of Inflight Refueling: Highlights, 1923-1998(PDF). Air Force History and Museums Program. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 24 August 2017. Retrieved17 December 2016.

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