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376th Air Refueling Squadron (later 376th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron)
KC-97 Stratofreighter as flown by the squadron[note 1]
Active	1943–1945; 1951–1952; 1953–1966
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Fighter,aerial refueling
Engagements	European Theater of Operations[1]
Insignia
Patch with 376th Air Refueling Squadron emblem
376th Fighter Squadron emblem[note 2][1]
World War II fuselage code[2]	E9

The376th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactiveUnited States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the4081st Strategic Wing atErnest Harmon Air Force Base, Newfoundland, where it was inactivated in June 1966.

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Established in early 1943 as the376th Fighter Squadron and equipped withRepublic P-47 Thunderbolts, the squadron trained underI Fighter Command in the mid-Atlantic states. Also flewair defense missions as part of thePhiladelphia Fighter Wing. Deployed to theEuropean Theater of Operations, being assigned toVIII Fighter Command in England, November 1943.

The unit served primarily as an escort organization, covering the penetration, attack, and withdrawal ofBoeing B-17 flying Fortress andConsolidated B-24 Liberator bomber formations that theUnited States Air Forces in Europe sent against targets on the Continent. The squadron also engaged in counter-air patrols, fighter sweeps, and strafing and dive-bombing missions. Attacked such targets as airdromes, marshalling yards, missile sites, industrial areas, ordnance depots, oil refineries, trains, and highways. During its operations, the unit participated in the assault against theLuftwaffe and aircraft industry duringBig Week, 20–25 February 1944, and the attack on transportation facilities prior to theNormandy invasion and support of the invasion forces thereafter, including theSaint-Lô breakthrough in July.

The squadron supported the airborne attack on the Netherlands in September 1944 and deployed to Chievres Airdrome, (ALG A-84), Belgium between February and April 1945 flying tactical ground support missions during the airborne assault across theRhine. The unit returned to RAFLittle Walden and flew its last combat mission on 20 April 1945. Demobilized during the summer of 1945 in England, inactivated in the United States as a paper unit in October.

The squadron flew theBoeing KC-97 Stratofreighter, first, the KC-97F, then the KC-97G. It was stationed atBarksdale Air Force Base, providingair refueling to USAF units from 1953 to 1960. In August 1960, the squadron moved toErnest Harmon Air Force Base, Newfoundland.^[3]

The376th Fighter Squadron and376th Air Refueling Squadron were consolidated into a single unit in September 1985.^[4] The consolidated squadron was converted to provisional status and redesignated the376th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron in June 2002.^[5]

• 361st Fighter Group, 10 February 1943 – 10 November 1945^[1]
• 376th Bombardment Group: 1 June 1951 – 20 May 1952 (Not manned or equipped)
• 376th Bombardment Wing: 18 August 1953^[7]
• 4th Air Division: 1 December 1957 (attached to301st Bombardment Wing)
• 4238th Strategic Wing: 1 March 1958 (remained attached to 301st Bombardment Wing until 15 April 1958)
• 4081st Strategic Wing: 1 July 1960 – 25 June 1966
• Air Mobility Command to activate or inactivate as needed, 12 June 2002^[5]
• Air Combat Command to activate or inactivate as needed, 19 March 2003^[8]

• Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, 1943–1944
• North American P-51D Mustang, 1944–1945
• Boeing KC-97 Stratotanker 1953–1966

Explanatory notes

Citations

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

• Anderson, Capt. Barry (1985).Army Air Forces Stations: A Guide to the Stations Where U.S. Army Air Forces Personnel Served in the United Kingdom During World War II(PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Retrieved1 March 2021.
• Freeman, Roger A. (1970).The Mighty Eighth: Units, Men and Machines (A History of the US 8th Army Air Force). London, England, UK: Macdonald and Company.ISBN 978-0-87938-638-2.
• Johnson, 1st Lt. David C. (1988).U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO) D-Day to V-E Day(PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 29 September 2015. Retrieved26 June 2017.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
• 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. Retrieved17 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.
• Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984).Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977(PDF). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.ISBN 0-912799-12-9. Retrieved17 December 2016.
• 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.

• Air refueling squadrons of the United States Air Force
• 1943 establishments in the United States
• 1966 disestablishments in the United States
• Military units and formations established in 1951

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