The 506th 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

42d Air Division The 42nd Air Division was a unit of the United States Air Force. It was established as the 42 Bombardment Wing (Dive) on 8 February 1943. The wing first saw combat in September 1943. It was inactivated in 1991. History Activated in 1943 as the ...

Bergstrom Air Force Base Bergstrom Air Force Base was located seven miles southeast of Austin, Texas. In its later years, it was a major base for the United States Air Force (USAF) RF-4C Phantom reconnaissance fighter fleet. History Bergstrom was originally act ...

, Texas where it was inactivated on 1 July 1957 and its personnel and equipment transferred to the

92d Air Refueling Squadron The 92nd Air Refueling Squadron, officially 92d Air Refueling Squadron, is a squadron (aviation), squadron of the 92nd Air Refueling Wing's 92nd Operations Group, stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington. It was first activated shortly ...

. The Squadron was first activated as the 406th Fighter Squadron in 1943, one of the original squadrons of the

371st Fighter Group 371st may refer to: *371st Bombardment Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit *371st Engineer Construction Battalion or 371st Engineer Battalion, activated as a Special Service Regiment in the United States Army in 1944 * 371st Fighter Gro ...

. The squadron saw combat in the

European theater of World War II The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main Theater (warfare), theatres of combat during World War II, taking place from September 1939 to May 1945. The Allies of World War II, Allied powers (including the United Kingdom, the ...

before being inactivated in 1945, earning a

Distinguished Unit Citation The Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the uniformed services of the United States, and those of allied countries, for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed e ...

for its attacks in March 1945 that contributed to the defeat of

Axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...

forces in southern Germany. The 506th Air Refueling Squadron was established in 1953 by

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile compon ...

(SAC) at

Dow Air Force Base Bangor Air National Guard Base is a United States Air National Guard base located on the grounds of Bangor International Airport in Bangor, Maine. Created in 1927 as the commercial Godfrey Field, the airfield was taken over by the U.S. Army ju ...

, Maine and equipped with rigid flying boom KB-29P Superfortress tankers. The squadron mission was to provide

in-flight 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 ...

for its parent wing and other USAF units. It moved to Bergstrom in 1955 and was inactivated there when SAC transferred its fighter force to

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 ...

History

World War II

The 406th Fighter Squadron was activated ar

Richmond Army Air Base Richmond International Airport is a joint civil-military airport in Sandston, Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community (in Henrico County). The airport is about 7 miles (11 km) southeast of downtown Richmond, the capital of the ...

, Virginia in the summer of 1943Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons''pp. 497–498 as one of the three original squadrons of the

. The squadron trained in the northeastern United States with

Republic P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter, and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...

s under

First Air Force The First Air Force (Air Forces Northern & Air Forces Space; 1 AF-AFNORTH & AFSPACE) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. Its primary mission i ...

before moving overseas in the spring of 1944.Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 257–258 Upon arriving in England, the squadron became an element of

Ninth Air Force The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint D ...

at Bisterne Close, England. The squadron's first combat operation was a fighter sweep over Occupied France. Prior to

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The ope ...

, the invasion of Normandy, the 406th flew fighter sweeps,

dive bombing A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...

and escort missions. On

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

the 406th patrolled the beachhead. attacking railroads, trains, vehicles. gun emplacements and other targets. Soon after the invasion, the squadron moved to France and participated in the

air interdiction Air interdiction (AI), also known as deep air support (DAS), is the use of preventive tactical bombing and strafing by combat aircraft against enemy targets that are not an immediate threat, to delay, disrupt or hinder later enemy engagement o ...

that preceded the Allied breakout at St Lo in late July and supported the following drive across northern France. It continued to operate in northeastern France and southwestern Germany through the winter of 1945, attacking storage dumps,

marshalling yard A classification yard (American English, as well as the Canadian National Railway), marshalling yard (British, Hong Kong, Indian, and Australian English, and the former Canadian Pacific Railway) or shunting yard (Central Europe) is a railway y ...

, factories, bridges, roads, and vehicles. In December 1944 it provided

close air support Close air support (CAS) is defined as aerial warfare actions—often air-to-ground actions such as strafes or airstrikes—by military aircraft against hostile targets in close proximity to friendly forces. A form of fire support, CAS requires ...

for ground forces engaged in the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive or Unternehmen Die Wacht am Rhein, Wacht am Rhein, was the last major German Offensive (military), offensive Military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western ...

. The squadron was awarded a

for its attacks between 15 and 21 March 1945 that contributed to the defeat of Axis forces in southern Germany. It continued combat operations until the

Surrender of Germany The German Instrument of Surrender was a legal document effecting the unconditional surrender of the remaining German armed forces to the Allies, ending World War II in Europe. It was signed at 22:43 CET on 8 May 1945 and took effect at 23 ...

in May. The squadron remained with the occupation forces in Germany until October 1945 when it returned to the United States and was inactivated.

Cold War

The 506th Air Refueling Squadron was established on 25 September 1953 by

(SAC) at Dow AFB and initially equipped with rigid flying boom KB-29P Superfortress tankers. Its mission was to provide

to the

Republic F-84 Thunderjet The Republic F-84 Thunderjet is an American turbojet fighter-bomber aircraft. Originating as a 1944 United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) proposal for a "day fighter", the F-84 first flew in 1946. Although it entered service in 1947, the Thunde ...

strategic fighters of its parent wing. The squadron also supported other USAF units as directed. In 1954 the squadron deployed to

Kindley Air Force Base Kindley Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base in Bermuda from 1948–1970, having been operated from 1943 to 1948 by the United States Army Air Forces as ''Kindley Field''. History World War II Prior to American entry into th ...

, Bermuda to support SAC fighters of the

508th Strategic Fighter Wing 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...

. In 1955 SAC concentrated its strategic fighter units, and the 506th's parent 506th Strategic Fighter Wing moved to

Tinker Air Force Base Tinker Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force base, with tenant U.S. Navy and other Department of Defense missions, located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, adjacent to Del City and Midwest City. The ba ...

, Oklahoma in March. The squadron remained at Dow and was reassigned to the 4060th Air Refueling Wing until August, when it moved to

, Texas,Mueller, p. 32 where it was assigned to the

,Abstract, History 42 Air Division May–Jul 1957
(retrieved 13 October 2013) the parent of the 12th Strategic Fighter Wing, to which the squadron was attached.Ravenstein, p. 27 The 506th was inactivated at Bergstrom on 1 July 1957 and its mission, personnel, and equipment were transferred to the

, which was activated that same day to assume SAC resources at Bergstrom as the

and SAC fighter organizations were transferred to

. The 406th Fighter Squadron and the 506th Air Refueling Squadron were consolidated in 1985, but the consolidated unit has not been active.Department of the Air Force/MPM Letter 662q, 19 September 85, Subject: Reconstitution, Redesignation, and Consolidation of Selected Air Force Tactical Squadrons

Lineage

406th Fighter Squadron * Constituted as the 406th Fighter Squadron, Single Engine on 15 May 1943 : Activated on 15 July 1943 : Inactivated on 10 November 1945Lineage and stations through 1945 in Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 497–498 * Consolidated on 19 September 1985 with the 506th Air Refueling Squadron as the 506th Air Refueling Squadron 506th Air Refueling Squadron * Constituted as the 506th Air Refueling Squadron, Medium and activated on 25 September 1953 : Inactivated on 1 July 1957 * Consolidated on 19 September 1985 with the 406th Fighter Squadron as the 506th Air Refueling Squadron, Heavy (remained inactive) * Redesignated 506th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron and converted to provisional status on 12 June 2002DAF/XPM Letter 303s, 12 June 2002, Subject: Air Mobility Command Expeditionary Units

Assignments

: 15 July 1943 – 10 November 1945 * 506th Strategic Fighter Wing: 25 September 1953 * 4060th Air Refueling Wing: 1 March 1955 *

: 15 August 1955 – 1 July 1957 (attached to 12th Strategic Fighter Wing) *

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, ...

to activate or inactivate as needed, 12 June 2002

Stations

* Richmond Army Air Base, Virginia, 15 July 1943 * Camp Springs Army Air Field, 2 October 1943 * Millville Army Air Field, 17 November 1943 * Camp Springs Army Air Field, 12 December 1943 * Richmond Army Air Base, Virginia, 20 January 1944 – 14 February 1944 * Bisterne Close, England, (Station 415),Station number in Anderson 7 March 1944 * Beuzeville Airfield, France (A-6),Station number in Johnson ''ca''. 17 June 1944 *

Perthes Airfield Perthes Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield, which is located near the commune of Perthes in the Champagne-Ardenne department of northern France. Located probably north of the commune, it was a United States Army Air Force ...

, France (A-65), ''ca''. 20 September 1944 * Dôle-Tavaux Airfield, France (Y-7), 1 October 1944 *

Tantonville Airfield Tantonville Airfield is an abandoned World War II United States Army Air Forces military airfield in France, which was located in the Département de Meurthe-et-Moselle approximately north of Mirecourt and south-southeast of Neuves-Maisons. Hi ...

, France (Y-1), 29 December 1944 * Metz-Frescaty Airfield, France (Y-34), 15 February 1945 * Frankfurt-Eschborn Airfield, Germany (Y-74), ''ca''. 3 May 1945 * Fürth-Atzendorf Airfield, Germany (R-28), ''ca'' 5 April 1945 *

Hörsching Airfield Linz Airport (, ) is a minor international airport located in Hörsching, near Linz, the third-largest city in Austria. It was also known as the Blue Danube Airport until 2019. History Early years Air traffic used to take place at the ''Südba ...

, Austria (R-87), 16 August 1945 *

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

, Germany, ''ca''. 13 September 1945 – October 1945 *

Camp Shanks Camp Shanks was a United States Army installation in the Orangeburg, New York area. Named after Major General David C. Shanks, it was situated near the juncture of the Erie Railroad and the Hudson River. The camp was the largest U.S. Army embark ...

, New York, 9 November 1945 – 10 November 1945 *

, Maine 25 September 1953 *

, Texas, 15 August 1955 – 1 July 1957

Aircraft

* Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, 1943–1945 * Boeing KB-29 Superfortress, 1953-unknown * Boeing KC-97 Stratotanker, unknown-1957

Awards and campaigns

* 406th Fighter Squadron cited in the Order of the Day, Belgian Army for the period 6 June 1944 – 30 September 1944

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{USAAF 1st Air Force World War II Air refueling squadrons of the United States Air Force