916th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron | |
|---|---|
 Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker using water injection on takeoff | |
| Active | 1944–1946; 1958–1983; 2003–2003 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Air refueling |
| Part of | Air Combat Command |
| Decorations | Distinguished Unit Citation[1] |
| Insignia | |
| 916th Air Refueling Squadron emblem[a][1] |  |
| 16th Bombardment Squadron emblem[b][2] |  |
The916th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron is a provisionalUnited States Air Force unit. The squadron was first activated late inWorld War II as the16th Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy, aBoeing B-29 Superfortress unit. After training withSecond Air Force, the squadron moved toGuam, where it participated in the strategic bombing campaign against Japan. It earned aDistinguished Unit Citation in July 1945. After the war it remained on Guam until August 1946, when it was inactivated.
The916th Air Refueling Squadron was activated at Travis in 1958 when the5th Bombardment Wing participated in theStrategic Air Command program to disperse its bomber force over a larger number of bases to reduce vulnerability to a first strike. The squadron remained at Travis after the 5th wing moved toMinot Air Force Base, North Dakota. It maintained an alert status during theCold War and participated in contingency operations until being inactivated.
The squadron was converted to provisional status and redesignated the916th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron in January 2003. It was active for a brief period that year in Bahrain.
Thesquadron was first activated on 1 April 1944, atDalhart Army Air Field, Texas as the16th Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy, one of the four original squadrons of the16th Bombardment Group.[2][3] It was equipped withBoeing B-17 Flying Fortresses for training, due to shortage ofBoeing B-29 Superfortresses. The ground echelon moved toFairmont Army Air Field, Kansas, in August 1944,[2] while the air echelon trained with theArmy Air Forces School of Applied Tactics atOrlando Army Air Base, Florida before joining them at Fairmont.[4]
After completion of training the unit deployed to the central Pacific area in the spring of 1945, where it became part ofXXI Bomber Command atNorthwest Field (Guam).[2] The squadron entered combat on 16 June 1945 with a bombing raid against an airfield onMoen. It flew its first mission against the Japanese home islands on 26 June 1945 and afterwards operated principally against the enemy's petroleum industry. Between 29 July and 5 August 1945, the unit flew a series of unescorted missions against theoil refinery atShimotsu, TheMitsubishi refinery and oil installations atKawasaki andcoal liquifaction plants atUbe in the face of strong enemy opposition. For these missions, the 16th earned aDistinguished Unit Citation.[3]
The unit flew its last combat mission on 15 August 1945, after which itairdropped food and supplies to Alliedprisoners of war in Japan, Manchuria and Korea.[3] It flew in severalshow of force missions, including one on 2 September 1945 overTokyo Bay during formal Japanese Surrender. After the war, the unit flew long distance transport missions back to the United States.[3] In February 1946, squadron personnel were transferred to the501st Bombardment Group[5] and the squadron was inactivated on Guam 15 April 1946.[2]
The916th Air Refueling Squadron was activated on 1 September 1959, byStrategic Air Command (SAC) atTravis Air Force Base, California[6] and equipped withBoeing KC-135 Stratotankers. The5th Bombardment Wing had recently converted toBoeing B-52 Stratofortress bombers and had transferred two of its bomber squadrons to other bases in 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.[7] The squadron mission was to provide air refueling to the remaining B-52s of its parent wing and other Air Force units as directed. 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.[8] The unit continued to maintain an alert commitment until shortly before inactivation except for periods when it supported contingencies or deployed aircraft. The squadron deployed crews and planes to the Young Tiger Task Force in Thailand and from its west coast location frequently supported deployments ofTactical Air Command fighters across the Pacific.[9] It also supported Tanker Task Forces located atEielson Air Force Base, Alaska;Anderson Air Force Base, Guam;RAF Mildenhall, England andTorrejon Air Base, Spain.[10][11]
The 916th was reassigned to the14th Strategic Aerospace Division atBeale Air Force Base, California in 1968 when the 5th Bombardment Wing moved on paper toMinot Air Force Base, North Dakota.[12][13] Between March 1970 and April 1972 It was assigned to the47th Air Division atFairchild Air Force Base, but it then returned to the control of the 14th Air Division. From 1972 to 1975,Marcelite J. Harris, the first female African-Americangeneral officer in theUnited States Air Force, served as field maintenance supervisor with the squadron. General Harris had just become the first female certified maintenance officer in the Air Force when she served with the 916th.[14][15]
The squadron was also called on to support Air Force test and development programs. In 1974, a squadrontanker participated in the first long range overwater refueling of aLockheed C-5 Galaxy.[16] During 1976 the squadron helped test the compatibility of KC-135s withRockwell B-1 Lancers.[17] In that same year it participated in the initial operational testing and evaluation of theBoeing E-3 Sentry.[10] Five years later it provided refueling support for B-52s testing theAGM-86 Air Launched Cruise Missile.[18]
On 1 July 1977, the 916th was assigned to the307th Air Refueling Group.[19] In 1979, the group earned the Spaatz Trophy as the best air refueling organization in the Air Force.[20] The squadron and group were inactivated on 31 Oct 1983 and the majority of its aircraft were transferred toCarswell Air Force Base due to a shift in air refueling requirements that required better coverage for SAC conventional forces in the southeastern United States.[19][21][22] In its twenty-four-year history, the squadron had never experienced a single aircraft accident. At the dinner marking the squadron's inactivation it was announced that a squadroncrew was the winner of the 1983 air refueling crew of the year award.[21]
The916th Air Refueling Squadron and the16th Bombardment Squadron were consolidated into a single unit on 19 September 1985.[1]
In January 2003, the squadron was redesignated the916th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron and assigned toAir Mobility Command to activate or inactivate as needed for contingency operations. Two months later, it was transferred toAir Combat Command, which activated it briefly atSheikh Isa Air Base, Bahrain.[21]
16th Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy
916th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron
| Award streamer | Award | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Presidential Unit Citation | 19 Jul 1945–6 August 1945 | Japan, 16th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Campaign Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Air Offensive, Japan | 14 April 1945 – 2 September 1945 | 16th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Western Pacific | 17 April 1945 – 2 September 1945 | 16th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Eastern Mandates | 14 April 1945 | 16th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
Further reading
| Leadership |  | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Structure |
| ||||||||||
| Personnel and training | |||||||||||
| Uniforms and equipment | |||||||||||
| History and traditions |
| ||||||||||
| Airfields |
| .png) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Units |
| ||||||||||
| Airfields |  | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Units |
| ||||||||||||||
