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306th Air Refueling Squadron

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306th Air Refueling Squadron
306th Air Refueling Squadron KC-97Es at MacDill AFB in July 1951.
Active1943–1944; 1951–1973; 1984–1994
Country United States
Branch United States Air Force
RoleAir Refueling
Insignia
306th Air Refueling Squadron emblem
306th Air Refueling Squadron Patch (showing early emblem)

The 306th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 457th Operations Group at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma, where it was inactivated on 1 August 1994.

The squadron's first predecessor is the 606th Bombardment Squadron, which was activated as a heavy bomber training unit during World War II. It was disbanded in 1944 when the Army Air Forces reorganized its training and support units in the United States to make more effective use of manpower.

The 306th Squadron was activated in 1951 and performed air refueling until it was inactivated in 1973. It was activated a second time in 1984. The two squadrons were consolidated into a single unit the following year.

History

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World War II

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B-24 Liberator as flown by the 606th Squadron

The squadron's first predecessor was the 606th Bombardment Squadron, which was activated at Davis–Monthan Field, Arizona on 1 March 1943, but made two moves the following month, arriving at Wendover Field, Utah on 27 April. The squadron was one of the four original squadrons of the 399th Bombardment Group. At Wendover, it served as an Operational Training Unit (OTU) for Consolidated B-24 Liberator units until August.[1][2] The OTU program involved the use of an oversized parent unit to provide cadres to "satellite groups"[3]

The squadron became a Replacement Training Unit (RTU).[2] Like OTUs, RTUs were oversize units, however their mission was to train individual pilots and aircrews.[3] Following this mission change, the 399th Group and its components were reassigned from Second Air Force to Fourth Air Force, then moved to March Field, California in December.[1][2]

However, the Army Air Forces was finding that standard military units like the 606th, which were assigned personnel and equipment based on relatively inflexible tables of organization were not proving well adapted to the training mission. Accordingly, it adopted a more functional system in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit, which was manned and equipped based on the station's requirements.[4] The 606th Squadron was disbanded, and along with operational and supporting units at March was used to form the 420th AAF Base Unit (Bombardment Replacement Training Unit-Heavy).[1][5]

Air refueling

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The squadron performed air refueling in support of USAF operations on a worldwide basis, flying the KC-97 and KC-135 Stratotanker.

Lineage

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Assignments

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Stations

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Aircraft

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References

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 682
  2. ^ a b c Maurer, Combat Units, p. 285
  3. ^ a b Craven & Cate, Introduction, p. xxxvi
  4. ^ Goss, p. 75
  5. ^ See Mueller, p. 370 (showing simultaneous disbanding and organization of units).
  6. ^ a b Department of the Air Force/MPM Letter 662q, 19 Sep 85, Subject: Reconstitution, Redesignation, and Consolidation of Selected Air Force Tactical Squadrons
  7. ^ Haulman, Daniel L. (27 March 2017). "Factsheet, 306th Flying Training Group (AETC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  8. ^ a b c Ravenstein, pp. 151–153
  9. ^ Haulman, Daniel L. (1 November 2016). "Factsheet, 340th Flying Training Group (AFRC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  10. ^ Stations through 1944 in Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 682
  11. ^ Mueller, p. 352

Bibliography

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Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

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