376th Air Refueling Squadron

376th Air Refueling Squadron

Emblem of the 376th Air Refueling Squadron
Active 1951-1960
Country United States
Branch United States Air Force
Type Air Refueling
Role Aerial Refueling

The 376th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 4238th Strategic Wing, stationed at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana. It was inactivated on 15 August 1960.

History

World War II

Established in early-1943 as the 376th Fighter Squadron and equipped with P-47 Thunderbolts, the squadron trained under I Fighter Command in the mid-Atlantic states. Also flew air-defense missions as part of the Philadelphia Fighter Wing. Deployed to the European Theater of Operations (ETO), being assigned to VIII Fighter Command in England, November 1943.

The unit served primarily as an escort organization, covering the penetration, attack, and withdrawal of B-17/B-24 bomber formations that the USAAF 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 the Luftwaffe and aircraft industry during the Big Week, 20–25 February 1944, and the attack on transportation facilities prior to the Normandy invasion and support of the invasion forces thereafter, including the Saint-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 the Rhine. The unit returned to Little 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.

Cold War

The squadron flew the KC-97F Stratotanker (Also KC-97G) stationed at Barksdale AFB, providing air refueling to USAF units from 1953-1966.

Lineage

  • Constituted as the 376th Fighter Squadron, Single Engine on 28 Jan 1943
Activated on 10 Feb 1943
Inactivated on 10 Nov 1945
  • Consolidated on 19 September 1985 with the 376th Air Refueling Squadron as the 376th Air Refueling Squadron
  • Constituted as the 376th Air Refueling Squadron, Medium
Activated on 1 June 1951
Inactivated on 20 May 1952
Activated on 18 August 1953
Inactivated on 25 June 1966
  • Consolidated on 19 September 1985 with the 376th Fighter Squadron as the 376th Air Refueling Squadron, Heavy (remained inactive)

Assignments

Stations

Aircraft

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/10/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.