| 915th Air Refueling Squadron | |
|---|---|
%2c_USA_-_Air_Force_AN1681926.jpg) Boeing KC-135A Stratotanker as flown by the 915th Air Refueling Squadron | |
| Active | 1940–1943; 1958–1971 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Air refueling |
| Engagements | American Theater of World War II European Theater of World War II |
| Decorations | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
| Insignia | |
| Patch with 915th Air Refueling Squadron emblem |  |
| 15th Bombardment Squadron emblem[a][1] |  |
The915th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactiveUnited States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the72d Bombardment Wing atRamey Air Force Base, Puerto Rico where it was inactivated on 30 June 1971 when the Air Force transferred Ramey toMilitary Airlift Command.
The squadron was first activated as the15th Bombardment Squadron in 1940. When the United States enteredWorld War II it engaged inantisubmarine patrols off the Atlantic coast. It was designated the1st Pursuit Squadron (Night Fighter) and shipped to the European theater to be trained withRoyal Air Force Turbinlite fighters, but development of those aircraft terminated and the squadron returned to its original designation. It participated in the firstArmy Air Forces attack onOccupied Europe before moving to North Africa, where it was disbanded on 1 October 1943.
In 1958 the915th Air Refueling Squadron was activated and assigned to the 72d Bombardment Wing when the wing converted fromConvair B-36 Peacemaker toBoeing B-52 Stratofortress bombers. Until it was inactivated in 1971, itscrews stoodalert and deployed aircraft to support various contingency operations.
The two squadrons were consolidated into a single unit in 1985 but remained in inactive status.
The15th Bombardment Squadron was initially activated as one of the originalsquadrons of the27th Bombardment Group atBarksdale Field, Louisiana in 1940. In 1941 thegroup and squadron began to receiveDouglas A-20 Havoc light bombers.[1][2] As the 27th prepared for shipment to the Philippines in the fall or 1941,[2] the 15th was reassigned to5th Air Support Command. After thePearl Harbor attack, the unit moved toFort Dix Army Air Field, New Jersey[1] and flewantisubmarine patrols over the Atlantic coast.[1]
Thesquadron returned toLawson Field, Georgia, where it was redesignated as the1st Pursuit Squadron (Night Fighter)[1] Although the Air Corps lacked anight fighter capability at the time, theRoyal Air Force (RAF) had experimented with a searchlight equipped model of the Havoc as a night fighter, and the intention was for the squadron to move to the United Kingdom and train withTurbinlite equipped Havocs upon arrival.[3]
The squadron shipped to the European Theater from the Boston Port of Embarkation on 17 April 1942 with the first shipment of troops assigned toEighth Air Force aboard the UK troopshipAndes, arriving in the United Kingdom on 11 May.[4] However, while the unit was en route, the Air Corps returned the squadron to its original designation as a light bomber unit,[1] since the RAF had discontinued development of Turbinlite aircraft in favor of aircraft equipped withradar.[3] Upon arrival in England, the unit was attached toVIII Bomber Command, arriving atRAF Grafton Underwood on 12 May, then moving toRAF Molesworth on 9 June. Under Eighth Air Force the airmen flew BritishDouglas DB-7 Boston III light bomber,[1] receiving their aircraft and training fromNo. 226 Squadron RAF.[4]
After a few weeks of familiarization training with the new aircraft, on 4 July 1942 six American crews from the 15th joined with six RAF crews of 226 Squadron for a low-level attack on fourLuftwaffe airfields in theNetherlands, becoming the firstUnited States Army Air Forces unit to bomb targets in Europe.[1] Upon approaching one of the targets,De Kooy Airfield, the aircraft piloted by Capt. Charles Kegelman received a direct hit in its right engine, starting a fire and causing the propeller to separate from the plane. A momentary loss of control resulted in the rear fuselage and right wingtip of the plane striking the ground. Capt. Kegelman jettisoned his bomb load and turned to the coastline, en route he exchanged fire with aflak tower. The engine fire went out and the plane successfully landed atRAF Swanton Morley[5] Two of the 15th's planes did not return from the mission, along with one RAF aircraft. Capt. Kegleman was promoted to Major and awarded theDistinguished Service Cross for his valor on the mission. He was the first Eighth Air Force airman to receive the nation's second highest combat decoration.[5][6]
TheFourth of July raid had been specifically ordered by General"Hap" Arnold, commander of the AAF, and approved by PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt, who had promised British Prime MinisterWinston Churchill American action against Germany by that date. Arnold believed that the Fourth of July would be an ideal day for the AAF to open its strategic bombing campaign against the Nazis, but GeneralCarl Spaatz, commander of Eighth Air Force, did not have any of his heavybombardment groups ready for operational missions, and his only fighter unit, the31st Fighter Group, was just beginning to familiarize itself with itsSupermarine Spitfires. Spaatz considered the mission a stunt triggered by pressure in the American press that believed the people of both the United States and Great Britain needed a psychological boost. He noted in his command diary, "The cameramen and newspapermen finally got what they wanted-and everybody seemed contented."[7]
The 15th flew most of its missions from Molesworth in its Bostons, and did not receive AAFDouglas A-20 Havoc aircraft until 5 September. The squadron was transferred toRAF Podington on 15 September where it flew a few missions before being transferred toTwelfth Air Force in October to supportOperation Torch, the Allied landings in North Africa.[1]
After two months of combat in North Africa, the squadron was assigned to theNorthwest African Training Command where its combat veterans provided advanced training inclose air support with A-20s and laterNorth American A-36 Apaches at several airfields throughout 1943. It was disbanded atNouvion Airfield, Algeria on 1 October 1943[1] and its crews and aircraft were transferred to the47th Bombardment Group.[4]
In the fall of 1958, as the72d Bombardment Wing atRamey Air Force Base, Puerto Rico began to transition from theConvair B-36 Peacemaker to theBoeing B-52 Stratofortress,Strategic Air Command (SAC) activated the915th Air Refueling Squadron. Simultaneously, as part of SAC's program to disperse its B-52 bombers over a larger number of bases, making it more difficult for the Soviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike,[8] two of the wing's three bombardment squadrons were assigned to other bases.[9]
The squadron mission was to provideair refueling to the bombers of its parentwing and other USAF units as directed, including support for tactical fighters during overseas deployments.[10] Shortly after becoming combat ready in 1959, the squadron won the first of several "Golden Boom" awards from Eighth Air Force for its efficiency in performing its refueling mission,[11] and in 1960 the 915th won the Saunders Trophy as the best refueling unit in SAC.[12] 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.[13]
In addition to its refueling mission, the unit provided occasional support for tests ofintercontinental ballistic missiles using the eastern test range.[14] It periodically deployed planes andcrews toEielson Air Force Base, Alaska,Goose Air Base, Canada andTorrejon Air Base, Spain as part of Tanker Task Forces supportingOperation Chrome Dome.[15][16][17] The 915th deployed aircraft and crews to the Western Pacific to support combat operations of deployed SAC units and tactical aircraft over Southeast Asia during theVietnam War after 1966 as part of the Young Tiger Task Force.[10][18]
The squadron was inactivated in 1971 along with its parent wing as part of a phaseout of B-52 units that had been announced byRobert S. McNamara, then Secretary of Defense, six years earlier.[19] Ramey was then transferred toMilitary Airlift Command.[9][20]
In September 1985, theUnited States Air Force consolidated the two squadrons into a single unit under the designation915th Air Refueling Squadron, Heavy, but the squadron has remained inactive since then.[21]
15th Bombardment Squadron
915th Air Refueling Squadron
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| Award streamer | Award | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 April 1960 – 30 June 1961 | 915th Air Refueling Squadron[25] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1968 – 30 June 1969 | 915th Air Refueling Squadron[25] |
| Campaign Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
.png) | Antisubmarine | 8 December 1941 – Feb 42 | 15th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
 | Air Offensive, Europe | 4 July 1942 – 1 October 1943 | 15th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Tunisia | 13 November 1942 – 13 May 1943 | 15th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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