919th Air Refueling Squadron
Boeing KC-135A Stratotanker inStrategic Air Command markings
Active	1943; 1944–1945; 1960–1971
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Air refueling
Motto(s)	Dependable
Decorations	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Insignia
919th Air Refueling Squadron emblem
619th Bombardment Squadron emblem[a][1]

The919th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactiveUnited States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the306th Bombardment Wing, stationed atMcCoy Air Force Base, Florida. It was inactivated on 30 June 1971.

Thesquadron was first activated as the619th Bombardment Squadron in 1943. It was one of the four squadrons of the477th Bombardment Group, the first (and only) bombardment group in theUnited States Army Air Forces to include black pilots. Members of the squadron participated in theFreeman Field Mutiny, protestingracial segregation in the military. The squadron was inactivated in 1945 when the 477th became a composite group that included onebombardment and onefighter squadron.

The919th Air Refueling Squadron was activated as aStrategic Air Command (SAC) tanker squadron in 1960 and moved toTurner Air Force Base, Georgia as part of SAC's program to disperse itsBoeing B-52 Stratofortress as a defense against a first strike by theSoviet Union. The squadron served in this capacity for eleven years during which it deployed aircraft andaircrews to Southeast Asia during theVietnam War.

The two squadrons were consolidated into a single unit in 1985, but the consolidated squadron has never been active.

The619th Bombardment Squadron was activated in June 1943 atMacDill Field, Florida. as one of the four originalsquadrons of the477th Bombardment Group, but was inactivated in August.^[1][2]

The 477th group was reactivated in January 1944 atSelfridge Field, Michigan as the "first colored bombardment group in theArmy Air Forces" with personnel drawn from Selfridge and fromTuskegee Army Air Field, Alabama.^[3] It was the second combat group to be activated with African American personnel and would be the only African-American bombardment group.^[4] The group moved toGodman Field, Kentucky, where the 619th was activated in May.^[1] The unit encountered problems attributed to the lack of experienced personnel, which required even basic training in military occupational specialties to be conducted within the unit, rather than at technical training schools.^[5]

Although designated a "colored" squadron, some officers, including the squadron leadership were white. The initial commander of the 477th Group enforced racial segregation on the posts where the squadron was stationed. The squadron's members were involved in the civil rights action referred to as theFreeman Field Mutiny; the "mutiny" came about when African-American aviators became outraged enough byracial segregation in the military that they resorted to mass insistence that military regulations prohibiting discrimination be enforced. The Freeman Field Mutiny was a crucial event in the African-American struggle for equal civil rights.^[6]

The 619th was inactivated in June 1945 when the 477th became a composite group formed of the99th Fighter Squadron,617th Bombardment Squadron and618th Bombardment Squadron^[7] and ColonelBenjamin O. Davis, Jr., a black officer, assumed command of the group.^[2]

The919th Air Refueling Squadron was activated on 15 April 1960 byStrategic Air Command (SAC) atCarswell Air Force Base, Texas^[8] and assigned to the7th Bombardment Wing^[9] as one of twotanker squadrons activated that day for assignment to dispersedBoeing B-52 Stratofortress wings. The squadron was equipped withBoeing KC-135 Stratotankers. The squadron moved toTurner Air Force Base, Georgia in June and was assigned to the4138th Strategic Wing, where half of the squadrons's aircraft were maintained on fifteen-minutealert, fully fueled and ready for combat.^[10] The 919th maintained its alert commitment until it was inactivated, except for periods when the squadron was deployed.

The squadron deployed aircraft andaircrew to the Western Pacific, 1966–1967 to support SAC operations along with tactical aircraft flying combat missions over Indochina during theVietnam War (Operation Young Tiger).^[11] During September 1966, the squadron was non-operational when all its crews and aircraft were deployed to supportOperation Arc Light.^[12] When Turner AFB was transferred to theUnited States Navy in 1967^[13] for re-designation asNaval Air Station Albany (Turner Field), the squadron moved toMcCoy Air Force Base, Florida. In 1969 the squadron won theSaunders Trophy as the best air refueling squadron during SAC's annual Bombing and Navigation Competition.^[14] The following year the squadron converted from KC-135A aircraft to KC-135Qs.^[15] The squadron remained at McCoy until it was inactivated in 1971 and its equipment and personnel transferred to the306th Air Refueling Squadron.

The919th Air Refueling Squadron was consolidated with the619th Bombardment Squadron in 1985 but the consolidated squadron has not been active.^[16]

• 477th Bombardment Group: 1 June 1943 – 25 August 1943
• 477th Bombardment Group: 27 May 1944 – 22 June 1945^[17]
• 7th Bombardment Wing: 15 April 1960^[9]
• 4138th Strategic Wing: 15 June 1960^[10]
• 484th Bombardment Wing: 1 February 1963 (not operational 1 April – c. 29 September 1966)^[18]
• 306th Bombardment Wing: 25 March 1967 – 30 June 1971 (not operational after 15 June 1971)^[19]

Award streamer	Award	Dates	Notes
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award w/Combat "V" Device	1 September 1969 – 4 April 1970	919th Air Refueling Squadron[20]
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 April 1966 – 30 September 1966	919th Air Refueling Squadron[21]
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	1 October 1968 – 30 March 1969	919th Air Refueling Squadron[21]
	Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm	1 September 1969 – 4 April 1970	919th Air Refueling Squadron[20]

• Saunders Trophy for best air refueling squadron in SAC 1969.^[14]

Service Streamer	Theater	Dates	Notes
	American Theater	1 June 1943 – 25 August 1943, 29 August 1944 – 22 June 1945	619th Bombardment Squadron[1]

• Martin B-26 Marauder, 1943
• North American B-25 Mitchell, 1944–1945^[17]
• Boeing KC-135A Stratotanker, 1960–1970^[15]
• Boeing KC-135Q Stratotanker, 1970–1971^[15]

• Tuskegee Airmen
• List of United States Air Force air refueling squadrons

Explanatory notes

Citations

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

• 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.
• 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.
• Moye, J. Todd (2010).Freedom Flyers: The Tuskegee Airmen of World War II. New York, NY: Oxford University Press (USA).ISBN 978-0-19-538655-4.
• Mueller, Robert (1989).Air Force Bases, Vol. I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982(PDF). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.ISBN 0-912799-53-6.
• Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984).Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947–1977. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.ISBN 0-912799-12-9.
• "AF Pamphlet 900-2, Unit Decorations, Awards and Campaign Participation Credits"(PDF). Washington, DC: Department of the Air Force. 15 June 1971. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 4 August 2015. Retrieved11 August 2016.
• AF Pamphlet 900–2, Unit Decorations, Awards and Campaign Participation Credits, Vol IIArchived 4 August 2015 at theWayback Machine Department of the Air Force, Washington, DC, 30 September 1976

• Osur, Alan M. (2005).Blacks in the Army Air Forces During World War II: The Problems of Race Relations. Honolulu, HI: University Press of the Pacific.ISBN 978-1-41022-448-4.
• 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. Retrieved13 August 2013.

• Air refueling squadrons of the United States Air Force
• Military units and formations established in 1960
• Units and formations of Strategic Air Command
• Orlando International Airport

• Use American English from June 2015
• All Wikipedia articles written in American English
• Use dmy dates from April 2024
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
• Webarchive template wayback links