The 63rd Air Refueling Squadron, sometimes written as 63d Air Refueling Squadron, is a United States Air Force Reserve squadron, assigned to the 927th Operations Group at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. It is a reserve associate of the active duty 91st Air Refueling Squadron. 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

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. The squadron was 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 63d Troop Carrier Squadron. After Training in the United States, it deployed to the Southwest Pacific Theater, where it flew

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 ...

missions, earning a Distinguished Unit Citation, Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation, and Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for its actions. After V-J Day, the squadron remained in the Philippines until inactivating in May 1946. The squadron was again activated in the reserve in 1947. In April 1951, the squadron was called to active duty 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 moved to Japan, and again flew combat airlift missions, earning a Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation. In January 1953, the squadron was relieved from active duty, transferring its planes and personnel to a regular unit. It was activated the same day in the reserve. The squadron continued to fly airlift missions, and was again called to active service for the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis () in Cuba, or the Caribbean Crisis (), was a 13-day confrontation between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union, when American deployments of Nuclear weapons d ...

in 1962. Except for a short period, when it was nominally a

special operations Special operations or special ops are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment." Special operations ma ...

unit, it flew airlift missions until 1992, when it converted to the air refueling role.

History

World War II

The 63d flew aerial transportation and casualty evacuation in the South and Southwest Pacific from, 6 August 1943-August 1945, and between Japan and Korea from 19 May-31 December 1952. The squadron received a Navy Unit Commendation for its service at part of the South Pacific Combat Air Transport Command (SCAT) from October 1943 to July 1944.Armstrong

Air reserve operations

The squadron conducted tactical

operations from 1953 to 1969 and 1971 to 1992 and trained for tactical air support missions from 1969 to 1971. It deployed personnel to Southwest Asia in 1990 and 1991 during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. It has flown air refueling missions since 1992.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 63rd Troop Carrier Squadron on 7 December 1942 : Activated on 12 December 1942 : Inactivated on 15 May 1946 * Activated in the reserve on 21 June 1947 : Redesignated 63rd Troop Carrier Squadron, Medium, on 27 June 1949 : Ordered to active service on 1 April 1951 : Inactivated on 1 January 1953 * Activated in the reserve on 1 January 1953 : Ordered to active service on 28 October 1962 : Relieved from active service on 28 November 1962 * Redesignated 63d Tactical Airlift Squadron on 1 July 1967 * Redesignated 63d Tactical Air Support Squadron on 26 June 1969 * Redesignated 63d Tactical Airlift Squadron on 29 June 1971 * Redesignated 63d Airlift Squadron on 1 February 1992 * Redesignated 63d Air Refueling Squadron on 1 Oct 1992

Assignments

* 403d Troop Carrier Group, 12 December 1942 – 15 May 1946 (attached to South Pacific Combat Air Transport Command 10 October 1943 – 3 July 1944) * 419th Troop Carrier Group, 21 June 1947 * 403d Troop Carrier Group, 27 June 1949 – 1 January 1953 * 403d Troop Carrier Group, 1 January 1953 * 403d Troop Carrier Wing, 14 April 1959 * 927th Troop Carrier Group (later 927th Tactical Air Support Group, 927th Tactical Airlift Group, 927th Airlift Group, 927th Air Refueling Group), 11 Feb 1963 * 927th Operations Group, 1 Aug 1992 – present

Stations

* Bowman Field, Kentucky, 12 December 1942 * Alliance Army Air Field, Nebraska, 18 December 1942 *

Pope Field Pope Field is a U.S. military facility located northwest of the central business district of Fayetteville, North Carolina, Fayetteville, in Spring Lake, North Carolina, Spring Lake, Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States.. Federal A ...

, North Carolina, 3 May 1943 * Baer Field, Indiana, 20 June – 18 July 1943 * Espiritu Santo, 6 August 1943 * Los Negros Island, 13 August 1944 * Biak, 1 October 1944 (air echelon operated from Wakde, 4–19 October 1944, and from Noemfoor, 29 October - 29 December 1944) * Dulag Airfield, Leyte, 3 May 1945 * Clark Field,

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

, 23 January – 15 May 1946 * Andrews Field (later Andrews Air Force Base), Maryland, 21 June 1947 * Portland Municipal Airport, Oregon, 27 June 1949 – 29 March 1952 * Ashiya Air Base, Japan, 14 April 1952 – 1 January 1953 * Portland International Airport, Oregon, 1 January 1953 * Selfridge Air Force Base (later Selfridge Air National Guard Base), Michigan, 16 November 1957 * MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, 1 May 2008 – 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 ...

(1943–1946) * Curtiss C-46 Commando (1945–1946, 1951–1952, 1953–1957) *

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 ...

(1946) * Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar (1952, 1953–1954, 1957–1969) * Cessna U-3 Blue Canoe (1969–1971) *

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 ...

(1971–1992) *

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 ...

(1992 – present)

References

Notes

; Explanatory notes ; Citations

Bibliography

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