| 310th Air Refueling Squadron (later 310th Expeditionary Air Refueling Flight) | |
|---|---|
 A deployedKC-135A refueling fighters on a strike against North Vietnam | |
| Active | 1943–1944; 1952–1994 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Part of | Air Mobility Command |
| Motto(s) | When – Where – How Much |
| Decorations | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
| Insignia | |
| Patch with 310th Expeditionary Air Refueling Flight Emblem[a][1] |  |
The310th Expeditionary Air Refueling Flight is a provisionalUnited States Air Force unit. The flight was last active as the310th Air Refueling Squadron in October 1994, when it was assigned to the380th Air Refueling Wing atPlattsburgh Air Force Base.
The first predecessor of the flight is the610th Bombardment Squadron, which served from 1943 to 1944 as an Operational Training Unit, preparing otherheavy bomber units for combat, then as a Replacement Training Unit, trainingaircrews forConsolidated B-24 Liberator aircraft.
The flight's second predecessor, the310th Air Refueling Squadron was activated in the fall of 1952 and equipped withBoeing KC-97 Stratofreighters. The squadron's tankers frequently deployed to England and Newfoundland to supportStrategic Air Command'sBoeing B-47 Stratojet force. In 1964, the squadron converted to theBoeing KC-135 Stratotanker and supportedBoeing B-52 Stratofortress, thenGeneral Dynamics FB-111s. During theVietnam War, the squadron deployed crews and aircraft to support combat operations. The two squadrons were consolidated in 1985. The unit continued to support USAF operations until it was inactivated in 1994. In 2004, it was converted to provisional status as the310th Expeditionary Air Refueling Flight.
The first predecessor of the flight, the610th Bombardment Squadron, was activated atPyote Army Air Base, Texas on 1 March 1943 as one of the original foursquadrons of the400th Bombardment Group. The squadron'scadre was training atOrlando Army Air Base, Florida until about 2 May 1943 and few personnel were located with the squadron at Pyote or atDavis–Monthan Field, Arizona. Once its cadre had returned from Orlando, the squadron moved toPueblo Army Air Base, Colorado and began training withConsolidated B-24 Liberators, moving toSmoky Hill Army Air Field, at the end of July to continue aircrew training.[1]
The squadron became anOperational Training Unit (OTU) and moved toAlamogordo Army Air Field, New Mexico in September 1943. The OTU program involved the use of an oversized parent unit to provide cadres to "satellite groups." With mostArmy Air Forces (AAF)heavy bomber units activated, the squadron changed its mission and became aReplacement Training Unit (RTU) in December 1943 and moved toCharleston Army Air Field, South Carolina. Like OTUs, RTUs were oversized units, but their mission was to train individualpilots oraircrews.[1][2]
However, the AAF was finding that standard military units, based on relatively inflexibletables of organization were proving poorly adapted to the training mission. Accordingly, in the spring of 1944, it adopted a more functional system in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit.[3] As a result of this reorganization, the 610th, along with the remaining elements of the 400th Group, was disbanded on 10 April 1944[1][4] and its mission, personnel and aircraft were transferred to the 113th AAF Base Unit (Bombardment, Heavy).[5]
The second predecessor of the flight is the310th Air Refueling Squadron, which was activated on 8 October 1952 at Smoky Hill Air Force Base, Kansas as part of the310th Bombardment Wing. It was not until January 1953, however, that the squadron received its firstBoeing KC-97 Stratofreighters. Although the squadron focused on refueling theBoeing B-29 Superfortresses, and after 1954, theBoeing B-47 Stratojets of its parent 310th Wing, it providedair refueling support with forStrategic Air Command (SAC) bombers through the 1950s and early 1960s.[1]
The squadron deployed with its parent 310th Wing to England as part of Operation Reflex on two occasions. The first was toRAF Upper Heyford from March to June 1955 and the second toRAF Greenham Common from October 1956 to January 1957.[1][6] During Operation Reflex deployments with the 310th Wing, the squadron's aircraft also served as transports, carrying extra air crew, support personnel, and spare parts.[7]
Later, the squadron made deployments with its KC-97s to forward locations, placing it ahead of the faster Stratojets it would refuel, and on their programmed route.[8] The squadron deployed to England on detached duty atRAF East Kirkby from November until December 1957. SAC also deployed the squadron toErnest Harmon Air Force Base, Newfoundland from 1 to 28 March 1954 and 28 December 1955 to 28 February 1956 and toGoose Air Base, Newfoundland from 25 March to 8 July 1958 to provide air refueling support in the North Atlantic area. The squadron began to phase out its KC-97s in October 1961, losing its final airplane in November 1963, when it became non-operational.[1]
During theCuban Missile Crisis, SAC assumedDEFCON 3 status on 23 October, The 310th Wing dispersed a portion of its aircraft to other bases to reduce their vulnerability. By November, SAC had returned to its normal readiness status.[9]
Unlike most refueling squadrons assigned to B-47 wings, the squadron began to convert to theBoeing KC-135 Stratotanker while still assigned to the 310th Wing. It received its first KC-135 on 3 March 1964 and had a full complement of jet tankers and combat ready aircrews by June. In April 1965, as the 310th Wing was preparing for inactivation as the B-47 left the SAC inventory, the squadron moved toWalker Air Force Base, New Mexico, where it was attached to the6th Strategic Aerospace Wing, which flewBoeing B-52 Stratofortresses. When the 310th Wing inactivated in June, the attachment to the 6th Wing became a reassignment. The squadron began to deploy crews and tankers to Southeast Asia to refuel combat aircraft and also regularly refueled tactical aircraft deploying to the Pacific and Southeast Asia.[1] At home station, it maintained half of its aircraft on groundalert status, fully fueled and ready to take off.[10] The squadron's stay at Walker was brief, however, as that base closed in 1967, afterRobert S. McNamara, Secretary of Defense directed a phaseout program that reduced SAC's bomber force, retiring older B-52 models.[11]
On 25 January 1967, the squadron moved toPlattsburgh Air Force Base, New York, where it was assigned to the380th Strategic Aerospace Wing, another B-52 unit. From Plattsburgh, the squadron supported tanker task forces in Europe and Alaska and made with temporary deployments of planes and crews to operational theaters. In October 1973, it deployed aircraft and crews toLajes Field in the Azores, to refuelLockheed C-141 Starlifters andLockheed C-5 Galaxys transporting war materiel to Israel duringYom Kippur War. Missions supporting combat in Southeast Asia ended in 1976, but the squadron deployed crews and aircraft as part of tanker task forces in the Pacific area.[1]
The 380th Wing bomber force converted to theGeneral Dynamics FB-111 in 1971.[12] The squadron supported the new bomber, and participated in SAC and USAFexercises worldwide. In 1985, the Air Force consolidated the 310th with the World War II 610th Bombardment Squadron. The consolidated squadron refueled aircraft of all major commands, theAir National Guard,Air Force Reserve, and other military services until it was inactivated on 1 October 1994.[1]
| Award streamer | Award | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 January 1956-1 January 1959 | 310th Air Refueling Squadron[1] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 January 1958-31 May 1959 | 310th Air Refueling Squadron[1] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1974-30 June 1975 | 310th Air Refueling Squadron[1] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1979-30 June 1980 | 310th Air Refueling Squadron[1] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1980-30 June 1981 | 310th Air Refueling Squadron[1] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1983-30 June 1985 | 310th Air Refueling Squadron[1] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1986-30 June 1988 | 310th Air Refueling Squadron[1] |
| Campaign Streamer | Campaign | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
.png) | American Theater without inscription | 1 March 1943 – 10 April 1944 | 610th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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