The 18th Air Refueling Squadron is a United States Air Force Reserve squadron, assigned to the 931st Air Refueling Wing at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas. It operates the Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker aircraft conducting

air refueling Aerial refueling (American English, en-us), or aerial refuelling (British English, en-gb), also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from ...

missions. If mobilized the squadron would be gained by

Air Mobility Command The Air Mobility Command (AMC) is a List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, U.S. Air Force. It is headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, east of St. Louis, Missouri, ...

. The squadron was first activated during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as the 18th Transport Squadron. After training in the United States, the squadron deployed to the

Mediterranean Theater of Operations The Mediterranean Theater of Operations, United States Army (MTOUSA), originally called the North African Theater of Operations, United States Army (NATOUSA), was a military formation of the United States Army that supervised all U.S. Army for ...

, where, as the 18th Troop Carrier Squadron, it participated in all major airborne assault operations and earned a Distinguished Unit Citation. From April until June 1944, it deployed to the China Burma India Theater to augment forces in Burma. Following

V-E Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official surrender of all German military operations ...

, the squadron served under

Air Transport Command Air Transport Command (ATC) was a United States Air Force unit that was created during World War II as the strategic airlift component of the United States Army Air Forces. It had two main missions, the first being the delivery of supplies a ...

in the Caribbean returning American soldiers to the United States. The squadron was again briefly active in the Caribbean area during the later 1940s. The squadron was active again from 1952, when it absorbed the resources of a reserve unit that had been mobilized for the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. It was again active from 1961 until 1972, when it participated in

military exercise A military exercise, training exercise, maneuver (manoeuvre), or war game is the employment of military resources in Military education and training, training for military operations. Military exercises are conducted to explore the effects of ...

s, provided

airlift An airlift is the organized delivery of Materiel, supplies or personnel primarily via military transport aircraft. Airlifting consists of two distinct types: strategic and tactical. Typically, strategic airlifting involves moving material lo ...

, and trained

aircrew Aircrew are personnel who operate an aircraft while in flight. The composition of a flight's crew depends on the type of aircraft, plus the flight's duration and purpose. Commercial aviation Flight deck positions In commercial aviatio ...

for deployment to Southeast Asia.

Mission

The squadron operates the

KC-135 Stratotanker The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling tanker aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It has a narrower fuselage and is shorter than the 707. Boeing gave ...

aircraft, conducting

aerial refueling Aerial refueling ( en-us), or aerial refuelling ( en-gb), also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to an ...

missions.

History

"During World War II the 18th flew airborne assaults on

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

Myitkyina Myitkyina (, ; Jingpho language, Jinghpaw: ''Myitkyina'', ; , ''Sèna'') is the capital city of Kachin State in Myanmar (Burma), located from Yangon, and from Mandalay. In Burmese language, Burmese it means "near the big river", and Myitkyina i ...

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

, and Southern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in addition to supporting partisans in Northern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

from January to May 1945 and conducting aerial transportation in the

(MTO) and briefly in the

China-Burma-India Theater China Burma India Theater (CBI) was the United States military designation during World War II for the China and Southeast Asian or India–Burma (IBT) theaters. Operational command of Allied forces (including U.S. forces) in the CBI was ...

(CBI). It flew strategic and tactical

missions from 1948 to 1954 and 1962 to 1967. The squadron provided tactical airlift training for US and subsequently South Vietnamese pilots and crews from 1969 to 1972. This unit has flown worldwide air refueling missions since 1995."

Operations

Operation Husky Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

(the invasion of Sicily) *

Operation Dragoon Operation Dragoon (initially Operation Anvil), known as Débarquement de Provence in French ("Provence Landing"), was the code name for the landing operation of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Provence (Southern France) on 15Augu ...

(the invasion of southern France) *

Operation Joint Endeavor The Implementation Force (IFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peace enforcement force in Bosnia and Herzegovina under a one-year mandate from 20 December 1995 to 20 December 1996 under the codename ''Operation Joint Endeavour''. Background In ...

(Peacekeeping in Bosnia Herzegovina) *

Operation Joint Guard The Stabilisation Force (SFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Bosnian War. Although SFOR was led by NATO, several non-NATO countries contributed troops. It was replaced by EUFOR Alt ...

(Peacekeeping in Bosnia Herzegovina), 21 June 1996 – 19 June 1998 * Operation Joint Forge (Peacekeeping in Bosnia Herzegovina), June 201998 – 12 February 2004 * Southern Watch (enforcing a no-fly zone in pre-war southern Iraq) * Northern Watch (enforcing a no-fly zone in pre-war northern Iraq) * Operation Desert Fox (December 1998 bombing of Iraq) *

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response ...

(The War on Terrorism - War in Afghanistan (2001-2021)) *

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

(2003 Iraq War) *

Operation Noble Eagle Operation Noble Eagle (ONE) is the United States and Canadian military operation related to homeland security and support to federal, state, and local agencies. The operation began 11 September 2001, in response to the September 11 attacks.. ...

( US homeland security)

Lineage

* Constituted as the 18th Transport Squadron on 20 November 1940 : Activated on 11 December 1940 : Redesignated 18th Troop Carrier Squadron on 4 July 1942 : Inactivated on 31 July 1945 * Redesignated 18th Troop Carrier Squadron, Heavy on 24 July 1948 : Activated on 1 August 1948 : Inactivated on 1 March 1949 * Redesignated 18th Troop Carrier Squadron, Medium on 3 July 1952 : Activated on 14 July 1952 : Inactivated on 21 July 1954 * Activated on 3 August 1961 (not organized) : Organized on 8 January 1962 : Redesignated 18th Troop Carrier Squadron on 1 March 1966 : Discontinued and inactivated, on 25 June 1967 * Redesignated 18th Tactical Airlift Training Squadron on 14 August 1969 : Activated on 15 October 1969 : Inactivated on 31 August 1972 * Redesignated 18th Air Refueling Squadron on 9 September 1994 : Activated in the reserve on 1 October 1995

Assignments

* 64th Transport Group (later 64 Troop Carrier Group), 11 December 1940 – 31 July 1945 * 5700th Composite Wing, 1 August 1948 – 1 March 1949 * 64th Troop Carrier Group, 14 July 1952 – 21 July 1954 *

Tactical Air Command Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Lang ...

, 3 August 1961 (not organized) * 64th Troop Carrier Wing, 8 January 1962 * 516th Troop Carrier Wing, 1 January 1963 * 314th Troop Carrier Wing, 1 July 1963 * 317th Troop Carrier Wing (later 317th Tactical Airlift Wing), 1 April 1965 – 25 June 1967 * 516th Tactical Airlift Wing, 15 October 1969 * 463d Tactical Airlift Wing, 1 June – 31 August 1972 * 931st Air Refueling Group, 1 October 1995 – present

Stations

* McClellan Field, California, 11 December 1940 * March Field, California, 11 July 1941 * Westover Field, Massachusetts, 9 June–31 July 1942 * RAF Ramsbury, England, 18 August–c. November 1942 (operated From Maison Blanche Airport, Algeria after 11 November 1942) * Blida Airfield, Algeria, 16 December 1942 * Kairouan Airfield, Tunisia, 1 July 1943 * El Djem Airfield, Tunisia, 26 July 1943 * Comiso Airfield, Italy, 8 September 1943 (operated from bases in India, April–27 June 1944) * Ciampino Airfield, Italy, 10 July 1944 (operated From: Istres Air Base, France 7 September – 11 November 1944) * Rosignano Airfield, Italy, 9 January – 23 May 1945 * Waller Field,

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

, 4 June – 31 July 1945 * Albrook Air Force Base,

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone (), also known as just the Canal Zone, was a International zone#Concessions, concession of the United States located in the Isthmus of Panama that existed from 1903 to 1979. It consisted of the Panama Canal and an area gene ...

, 1 August 1948 – 1 March 1949 * Donaldson Air Force Base, South Carolina, 14 July 1952 – 21 July 1954 * Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, 8 January 1962 * Sewart Air Force Base, Tennessee, 1 July 1963 * Lockbourne Air Force Base, Ohio, 1 April 1965 – 25 June 1967 * Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, 15 October 1969 – 31 August 1972 * McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas, 1 October 1995 – present

Aircraft

Douglas C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II. During the war the C-47 was used for tro ...

(1941–1945) *

Douglas C-54 Skymaster The Douglas C-54 Skymaster is a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and the Korean War. Like the Douglas C-47 Skytrain derived from the DC-3, the C-54 Skymaster was derived from a civilia ...

(1948–1949) * Fairchild C-82 Packet (1951–1953) *

Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar The Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar (Navy and Marine Corps designation R4Q) is an American military transport aircraft developed from the World War II-era Fairchild C-82 Packet, designed to carry cargo, personnel, Litter (rescue basket), litte ...

(1953–1954) *

Lockheed C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...

(1962–1967) * de Havilland Canada C-7 Caribou (1969–1972) *

Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling tanker aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It has a narrower fuselage and is shorter than the 707. Boeing gave ...

(1995–present)

References

Notes

; Explanatory notes ; Citations

Bibliography

* * *

External links

* {{cite web , url=http://www.reporternews.com/news/2011/apr/23/no-headline---c-130_timeline_dyess/?print=1 , title=C-130 Dyess timeline , date=23 April 2011 , publisher=Abilene Reporter News , url-status=dead , accessdate=29 January 2014 , archive-date=12 August 2011 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812041123/http://www.reporternews.com/news/2011/apr/23/no-headline---c-130_timeline_dyess/?print=1 018 Military units and formations in Kansas