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The 380th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
unit. It was last assigned to the
380th Bombardment Wing 38 may refer to: *38 (number) *38 BC *AD 38 *1938 *2038 Science * Strontium, an alkaline earth metal in the periodic table * 38 Leda, an asteroid in the asteroid belt Other uses *.38, a caliber of firearms and cartridges ** .38 Special, a re ...
at
Plattsburgh Air Force Base Plattsburgh Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force (USAF) Strategic Air Command (SAC) base covering 3,447 acres (13.7 km) in the extreme northeast corner of New York, located on the western shore of Lake Champlain opposite Burl ...
, New York where it was inactivated on 30 September 1995. The squadron's first predecessor was active 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 580th Bombardment Squadron, which served as an Operational Training Unit and Replacement Training Unit 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 ...
until 1944, when it was inactivated in a reorganization of
Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
training unit. The 380th Air Refueling Squadron was activated at
Lincoln Air Force Base Lincoln Airport (; formerly Lincoln Municipal Airport) is a joint public/military airport northwest of downtown Lincoln, Nebraska, Lincoln, the state capital, in Lancaster County, Nebraska, Lancaster County, Nebraska, United States. It is owne ...
, Nebraska in November 1954. In 1956 it moved to Plattsburgh where it served with
Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter The Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter is a four-engined, piston-powered United States strategic tanker aircraft based on the Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter. It replaced the KB-29 and was succeeded by the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker. Design and developme ...
and
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 ...
aircraft until inactivating. In September 1985, the two squadrons were consolidated into a single unit.


History


World War II

The earliest predecessor of the squadron was the 580th Bombardment Squadron, which was activated at
Geiger Field Spokane International Airport is a commercial airport in Spokane, Washington, United States, located approximately west-southwest of Downtown Spokane. It is the primary airport serving the Inland Northwest, which consists of 30 counties and ...
, Washington, in February early 1943 as one of the original squadrons of the 393rd Bombardment Group.Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 280–281Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 671–672 In March, the squadron moved to
Gowen Field Boise Airport (Boise Air Terminal or Gowen Field) is a joint civil-military airport in the western United States in Idaho, south of downtown Boise in Ada County. The airport is operated by the city of Boise Department of Aviation, overseen ...
, Idaho and began to equip with
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...
es to act as an
Operational Training Unit Royal Air Force Operational Training Units (OTUs) were training units that prepared aircrew for operations on a particular type or types of aircraft or roles. OTUs ;No. 1 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit RAF (1 (C)OTU): The Unit was formed i ...
(OTU). The OTU program involved the use of an oversized parent unit to provide cadres to "satellite groups". The OTU program was patterned after the unit training system of the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
. It assumed responsibility for unit training and oversaw their expansion with graduates of
Army Air Forces Training Command The United States Army Air Forces during World War II had major subordinate Commands below the Air Staff level. These Commands were organized along functional missions. One such Command was the Flying Training Command (FTC). It began as Air Cor ...
schools to become effective combat units. Phase I training concentrated on individual training in crewmember specialties. Phase II training emphasized the coordination for the crew to act as a team. The final phase concentrated on operation as a unit. The squadron was at Gowen for a month before moving to
Wendover Field Wendover is a town and civil parish at the foot of the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated at the point where the main road across the Chilterns between London and Aylesbury intersects with the once important road along t ...
, Utah. The 393rd Group moved to
Sioux City Army Air Base The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin ( ; Dakota/Lakota: ) are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations people from the Great Plains of North America. The Sioux have two major linguistic divisions: the Dakota and Lakota peoples (translation: ...
, Iowa in June 1943, but only the 582nd Squadron remained there with group
headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...
. On 4 July, the 580th relocated to Watertown Army Air Field, South Dakota. On 1 August 1943, the group moved to
Kearney Army Air Field Kearney or Kearneys may refer to: Places Australia * Kearneys Falls, Queensland * Kearneys Spring, Queensland Canada * Kearney, Ontario * Kearney Lake, Nova Scotia Northern Ireland * Kearney, County Down, a townland in County Down United St ...
, Nebraska, where it was joined by the 580th Squadrons, which changed its mission to a Replacement Training Unit (RTU). By 1943 most combat units had been activated and almost three quarters of them had deployed overseas. With the exception of special programs, like forming
Boeing B-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is a retired American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the Bo ...
units, training "fillers" for existing units became more important than unit training. RTUs were oversized units like OTUs, but their mission was to train individual
pilots An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they are ...
or aircrews. In November 1943, the group returned to Sioux City. However, The
Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
(AAF) was finding that standard military units like the 580th, whose manning was based on relatively inflexible
tables of organization A table of organization and equipment (TOE or TO&E) is the specified organization, staffing, and equipment of military units. Also used in acronyms as 'T/O' and 'T/E'. It also provides information on the mission and capabilities of a unit as well ...
were proving not well adapted to the training mission, even more so to the replacement mission. Accordingly, the AAF adopted a more functional system in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit. As a result, the 580th, along with the other components of the 393rd Group, were inactivated and their personnel and equipment were combined with those of support units at Sioux City into the 224th AAF Base Unit (Combat Crew Training Station, Bombardment, Heavy), which assumed the base's training mission.


Strategic Air Command refueling operations

The 380th Air Refueling Squadron was first activated in the summer of 1954 at
Lincoln Air Force Base Lincoln Airport (; formerly Lincoln Municipal Airport) is a joint public/military airport northwest of downtown Lincoln, Nebraska, Lincoln, the state capital, in Lancaster County, Nebraska, Lancaster County, Nebraska, United States. It is owne ...
, Nebraska. It moved to
Plattsburgh Air Force Base Plattsburgh Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force (USAF) Strategic Air Command (SAC) base covering 3,447 acres (13.7 km) in the extreme northeast corner of New York, located on the western shore of Lake Champlain opposite Burl ...
, New York in 1956 with
Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter The Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter is a four-engined, piston-powered United States strategic tanker aircraft based on the Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter. It replaced the KB-29 and was succeeded by the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker. Design and developme ...
s providing air refueling to SAC B-47s and other USAF aircraft as directed. It converted to jet-powered
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 ...
s in 1964. In 1985 the two squadrons were consolidated.Department of the Air Force/MPM Letter 662q, 19 Sep 85, Subject: Reconstitution, Redesignation, and Consolidation of Selected Air Force Tactical Squadrons The squadron deployed aircraft and personnel to forward SAC units in the Western Pacific during the Vietnam War. During the summer of 1988, aircrew from both the 380th and the
310th Air Refueling Squadron The 310th Expeditionary Air Refueling Flight is a provisional United States Air Force unit. The flight was last active as the 310th Air Refueling Squadron in October 1994, when it was assigned to the 380th Air Refueling Wing at Plattsburgh Air ...
s of the
380th Bombardment Wing 38 may refer to: *38 (number) *38 BC *AD 38 *1938 *2038 Science * Strontium, an alkaline earth metal in the periodic table * 38 Leda, an asteroid in the asteroid belt Other uses *.38, a caliber of firearms and cartridges ** .38 Special, a re ...
deployed for the first time since World War II to
Hunter Army Airfield Hunter Army Airfield , located in Savannah, Georgia, United States, is a military airfield and subordinate installation to Fort Stewart located in Hinesville, Georgia. Hunter features a runway that is long and an aircraft parking area tha ...
, Georgia. For this deployment over 300 men and women deployed to their forward operating base in support of Mighty Warrior 1988, a SAC wide exercise held to prepare and demonstrate the various SAC wings' ability to carry out their respective missions under austere conditions. The unit deployed aircraft and personnel to the 1703d Air Refueling Wing, Provisional at
King Khalid International Airport King Khalid International Airport (; ) is an international airport located about north of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This airport consists of five Airport terminal, passenger terminals with eight aero-bridges each, a mosque, and parking facilities ...
, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia between September 1990 and March 1991 during
Operation Desert Shield , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
and
Operation Desert Storm 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 squadron remained on duty until shutdown of Plattsburgh and inactivation of its parent 380th Bombardment Wing in 1994.


Lineage

; 580th Bombardment Squadron * Constituted as the 580th Bombardment Squadron (Light) on 29 January 1943 : Activated on 16 February 1943 * Inactivated on 1 April 1944580th Lineage information through May 1963 in Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp, 671-672 * Consolidated with the 380th Air Refueling Squadron as the 380th Air Refueling Squadron on 19 September 1985 ; 380th Air Refueling Squadron * Constituted on 5 May 1954 as the 380th Air Refueling Squadron, Medium : Activated on 8 July 1954 : Redesignated 380th Air Refueling Squadron, Heavy on 1 July 1964 * Consolidated with the 580th Bombardment Squadron on 19 September 1985 : Redesignated 380th Air Refueling Squadron on 1 September 1991 : Inactivated on 1 October 1994


Assignments

* 393d Bombardment Group: 16 February 1943 – 1 April 1944 *
Fifteenth Air Force The Fifteenth Air Force (15 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base. It was reactivated on 20 August 2020, merging the previous units of the Ninth Air Forc ...
: 8 July 1964 (attached to 98th Air Base Group) * 98th Bombardment Wing: 1 August 1954 *
Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces S ...
: 8 November 1954 (attached to 96th Bombardment Wing) *
Second Air Force The Second Air Force (2 AF; ''2d Air Force'' in 1942) is a USAF numbered air force responsible for conducting basic military and technical training for Air Force enlisted members and non-flying officers. In World War II the CONUS unit defended ...
: 1 April 1955 *
380th Bombardment Wing 38 may refer to: *38 (number) *38 BC *AD 38 *1938 *2038 Science * Strontium, an alkaline earth metal in the periodic table * 38 Leda, an asteroid in the asteroid belt Other uses *.38, a caliber of firearms and cartridges ** .38 Special, a re ...
: 16 August 1956Ravenstein, p. 205 * 4108th Air Refueling Wing: 1 April 1961 *
497th Air Refueling Wing 497th may refer to: * 497th Air Refueling Wing, inactive United States Air Force unit * 497th Bombardment Group, inactive United States Air Force unit * 497th Bombardment Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit * 497th Combat Training Squad ...
, 1 January 1963 * 380th Bombardment Wing: 15 September 1964 *
380th Operations Group 38 may refer to: *38 (number) *38 BC *AD 38 *1938 *2038 Science * Strontium, an alkaline earth metal in the periodic table * 38 Leda, an asteroid in the asteroid belt Other uses *.38, a caliber of firearms and cartridges ** .38 Special, a re ...
: 1 September 1991 – 1 October 1994


Stations

* Geiger Field, Washington, 26 January 1943 * Gowen Field, Idaho, 3 March 1943 * Wendover Field, Utah, 3 April 1943 * Sioux City Army Air Base. 9 June 1943 * Watertown Army Air Field, South Dakota, 4 July 1943 * Kearney Army Air Field, Nebraska, 1 August 1943 * Sioux City Army Air Base, Iowa, c. 5 November 1943 – 1 April 1944 *
Lincoln Air Force Base Lincoln Airport (; formerly Lincoln Municipal Airport) is a joint public/military airport northwest of downtown Lincoln, Nebraska, Lincoln, the state capital, in Lancaster County, Nebraska, Lancaster County, Nebraska, United States. It is owne ...
, Nebraska, 8 November 1954 *
Sheppard Air Force Base Sheppard Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located north of the central business district of Wichita Falls, in Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the largest training base and most diversified in Air Educatio ...
, Texas, 8 November 1954 * Plattsburgh Air Force Base, New York, 16 August 1956Information through September 1982 in Mueller, p. 476 – 1 October 1994


Aircraft

* Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, 1943–1944 *
Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter The Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter is a four-engined, piston-powered United States strategic tanker aircraft based on the Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter. It replaced the KB-29 and was succeeded by the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker. Design and developme ...
, 1956–1964 *
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 ...
, 1964–1995


Commanders

* Lt Col John Gentry, 1986-1988 * Lt Col Paul Gutman, 1989-1990 * Lt Col Ken Mills, 1990-1992


Awards and campaigns


References


Notes

; Explanatory notes ; Citations


Bibliography

* *: *: * * * * {{USAAF 2d Air Force World War II Air refueling squadrons of the United States Air Force Military units and formations established in 1954 1943 establishments in the United States Units and formations of Strategic Air Command