902d Air Refueling Squadron | |
|---|---|
 Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker as flown by the 902d Air Refueling Squadron | |
| Active | 1943–1945; 1958–1969 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Air refueling |
| Motto | Optimi ab Initio (Latin for 'Best from the Start') |
| Engagements | European Theater of Operations |
| Insignia | |
| Patch with 902d Air Refueling Squadron emblem |  |
| 602d Bombardment Squadron emblem[a][1] |  |
| World War II group tail marking[2] | Triangle W |
| World War II squadron fuselage code[2] | K8 |
The902d Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron is an inactiveUnited States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the70th Bombardment Wing atClinton-Sherman Air Force Base, Oklahoma, where it was inactivated on 31 December 1969.
Thesquadron's first predecessor was the602d Bombardment Squadron. The unit served for a time as a training unit before deploying to theEuropean Theater of Operations, where it saw combat duringWorld War II as an element ofEighth Air Force. The squadron participated in thestrategic bombing campaign against Germany before returning to the United States in 1945, where it was inactivated.
The902d Air Refueling Squadron served withStrategic Air Command (SAC) at Clinton-Sherman starting in 1958. It maintained analert status to refuel SAC bombers and deployed aircraft andaircrews to supportOperation Chrome Dome and to Southeast Asia to supportOperation Arc Light and participated in the Young Tiger Task Force supporting tactical aircraft in Southeast Asia until it was inactivated.
In 1985 the602d Bombardment Squadron and the902d Air Refueling Squadron were consolidated into a single unit. The consolidated unit was converted to provisional status in February 2001 as the902d Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron.
The602d Bombardment Squadron was activated atEphrata Army Air Base, Washington, in early 1943, as one of the four original squadrons of the398th Bombardment Group.[1][3] The squadron trained underII Bomber Command withBoeing B-17 Flying Fortresses.[1] The squadron's training was interrupted in July 1943, when it became a replacement training unit.[3] Replacement training units were oversized units which trainedaircrews prior to their deployment to combat theaters.[4] In November, replacement training ended and the squadron resumed its preparation for overseas deployment.[3]
The 602d deployed to England in April 1944[1] aboard theUSS Wakefield (AP-21).[5] Its parent group was the last B-17 group to be assigned toVIII Bomber Command.[6] The squadron flew its first combat mission the following month. UntilV-E Day, the squadron participated in the air offensive againstNazi Germany, bombing such targets as factories inBerlin,marshalling yards inSaarbrücken, shipping facilities inKiel,oil refineries inMerseburg and aircraft factories inMünster.[3]
In June 1944, prior toOperation Overlord, the Normandy invasion, the squadron temporarily suspended its strategic bombing to attackcoastal defenses and enemy troop concentrations on theCherbourg peninsula.[3]Eighth Air Force took advantage of the diversion from strategic bombing to allow newly arrived units like the 602d to fly attacks against nearby targets to gain combat experience. The first target assigned was aV-1 flying bomb launch site nearSottevast, but the unit's inexperience and overcast conditions in the target area caused it to return to its home station without bombing.[6]
The squadron also struck gun positions nearEindhoven to supportOperation Market Garden, the airborne attacks in the Netherlands in September 1944, and attacked power stations, railroads and bridges during theBattle of the Bulge from December until January 1945. It attackedairfields in March 1945, duringOperation Varsity, the airborne assault across theRhine River.[3]
The squadron flew its last combat mission on 25 April 1945, when it attacked the airfield atPlzeň, Czechoslovakia. After the German surrender, it transported liberatedprisoners of war from Germany to France.[3] It left Europe in May and returned to the United States aboard theRMS Queen Elizabeth, arriving at theNew York Port of Embarkation on 29 June.[5] Squadron members were given thirty days leave, and acadre assembled atDrew Field, Florida, where the squadron was inactivated in August 1945.[1][5]
The902d Air Refueling Squadron was activated in May 1958 atClinton-Sherman Air Force Base, Oklahoma, byStrategic Air Command (SAC), but it apparently did not receive itsBoeing KC-135 Stratotankers until the spring of 1959.[7] It became the refueling component of the4123d Strategic Wing when the wing moved fromCarswell Air Force Base, Texas, 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.[8] The squadron operatedBoeing KC-135 Stratotankers, providingair refueling support to theBoeing B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers of its parent wing and other USAF units. Starting in 1960, one third of the squadron's aircraft were maintained on a 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.[9]
The squadron transferred to the70th Bombardment Wing in 1963, when SAC replaced itsMajor Command Controlled strategic wings with wings carrying the honors ofWorld War II organizations.[10] In addition to its alert commitment, the squadron deployed crews and airplanes to support the Spanish and Eielson tanker task forces.[11]
The 902d deployed personnel and aircraft to the Young Tiger Task Force in the western Pacific to support combat operations of deployed SAC units and tactical aircraft over Southeast Asia during theVietnam War, between 1966 and 1969.[12] For several months in 1968 and in 1969, most of its aircrews, plus maintenance and support personnel from its parent wing, were deployed to the Pacific.[10] The squadron inactivated with its parent 70th Bombardment Wing in 1969, as Clinton-Sherman prepared to close.[12]
In September 1985, the 602d Bombardment Squadron and the 902d Air Refueling Squadron were consolidated into a single unit in inactive status.[13]
602d Bombardment Squadron
902d Air Refueling Squadron
| Award streamer | Award | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 6 October 1959 – 15 July 1960 | 902d Air Refueling Squadron[18] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 15 April 1968 – 1 October 1968 | 902d Air Refueling Squadron[18] |
| Campaign streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
.png) | American Theater | 1 March 1943 – 4 April 1944 | 602d Bombardment Squadron[1] |
 | Air offensive, Europe | 22 April 1944 – 5 June 1944 | 602d Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Normandy | 6 June 1944 – 24 July 1944 | 602d Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Northern France | 25 July 1944 – 14 September 1944 | 602d Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Rhineland | 15 September 1944 – 21 March 1945 | 602d Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Ardennes-Alsace | 16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945 | 602d Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Central Europe | 22 April 1944 – 21 May 1945 | 602d Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Air combat, EAME Theater | 22 April 1944 – 11 May 1945 | 602d Bombardment Squadron[1] |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
Media related to398th Bombardment Group (United States Army Air Forces) at Wikimedia Commons
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