The 90th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron is a provisional

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. Until March 2013, it was assigned to the 385th Air Expeditionary Group at

Incirlik Air Base Incirlik Air Base () is a Republic of Turkey, Turkish air base of slightly more than 3320 ac (1335 ha), located in the İncirlik quarter of the city of Adana, Turkey. The base is within an urban area of 1.7 million people, east of the city ...

, Turkey. It then departed for an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia. 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 390th Bombardment Squadron, a

medium bomber A medium bomber is a military bomber Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft designed to operate with medium-sized Aerial bomb, bombloads over medium Range (aeronautics), range distances; the name serves to distinguish this type from larger heavy bombe ...

unit. Once crewed and equipped, it conducted

antisubmarine Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations a ...

patrols off the Pacific coast. In 1943 it moved to the

Southwest Pacific Theater The South West Pacific theatre, during World War II, was a major theatre of the war between the Allies and the Axis. It included the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies (except for Sumatra), Borneo, Australia, its mandate Territory of New Guin ...

as part of

Thirteenth Air Force The Thirteenth Expeditionary Air Force (13 EAF) is a provisional numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Hickam Air Force Base, Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam on the island of Oahu, ...

. The 390th saw combat in the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

Russell Islands :''See also Russell Island (disambiguation).'' The Russell Islands are two small islands ( Pavuvu and Mbanika), as well as several islets, of volcanic origin, in the Central Province of Solomon Islands. They are located approximately northwe ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

and the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. The squadron was awarded 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 pre-invasion bombing of

Balikpapan Balikpapan is a seaport city in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Located on the east coast of the island of Borneo, the city is the financial center of Kalimantan. Balikpapan is the city with the largest economy in Kalimantan with an estimated 20 ...

from 23 to 30 June 1945. Its missions during the campaign in the Philippines also earned it a Philippine Presidential Unit Citation. The 390th was inactivated in the Philippines in early 1946. The 90th Air Refueling Squadron was activated at

Castle Air Force Base Castle Air Force Base (Castle AFB, 1941–1995) is a former United States Air Force Strategic Air Command base in California, northeast of Atwater, northwest of Merced, and about south of Sacramento. The Central Valley base in unincorpor ...

, California in 1954 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, replacing the 340th Air Refueling Squadron. The unit served as a refueling element of the 93d Bombardment Wing until 1955, when it moved to Forbes Air Force Base, Kansas to support the 90th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing. Both wings flew the

Boeing B-47 Stratojet The Boeing B-47 Stratojet (Boeing company designation Model 450) is a retired American long- range, six-engined, turbojet-powered strategic bomber designed to fly at high subsonic speed and at high altitude to avoid enemy interceptor aircraft ...

. The squadron frequently deployed to support bombers under Operation Reflex until it was inactivated in 1962 as

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 ...

converted its refueling force to

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. The two squadrons were consolidated into a single unit, the 90th Air Refueling Squadron in 1985. In 2002 the consolidated unit was converted to provisional status as the 90th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron. It was activated at

, Turkey later that year and has provided

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 ...

to U.S. forces fighting in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

since then.

History

World War II

Training and antisubmarine warfare in the United States

The squadron was first activated as the 390th Bombardment Squadron at

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 on 20 March 1942, but immediately moved to

McChord Field McChord Field (formerly and still commonly known as McChord Air Force Base) is a United States Air Force base in the northwest United States, in Pierce County, Washington. South of Tacoma, McChord AFB is the home of the 62nd Airlift Wing, ...

, Washington, where it replaced the 77th Bombardment Squadron of the 42d Bombardment Group, which had deployed to Alaska following the

Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. At the tim ...

and was attached to another group.Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 98–99 When it joined the 42d, the

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

was dispersed on several bases in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

to provide greater coverage for

patrols with detachments at smaller fields. The group primarily used Lockheed A-29 Hudsons for its antisubmarine work, but also flew several other types. Most of the initial personnel of the 390th were drawn from the group's headquarters squadron at McChord.Cohn, et al. Chapter 2 (This work does not have numbered pages) While antisubmarine patrols continued, the squadron trained

North American B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Brigadier General Billy Mitchell, William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allies of World War ...

combat crews for the Alaskan Defense Command. It also tested incendiary bombs and bombing techniques at the ranges of Las Vegas Army Air Field. In February 1943 the squadron was alerted for overseas movement.

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 ...

s trained with B-25s at

Hammer Field Fresno Yosemite International Airport is a joint military–public airport in Fresno, California, United States. It is the primary commercial airport for the San Joaquin Valley and three national parks: Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon. It ...

and McClellan Field in California before the air echelon departed for its new assignment on 6 March.Cohn, et al. Chapter 3 The ground echelon assembled at Camp Stoneman for overseas shipment aboard the and the , departing for Noumea on 27 and 28 March.

Combat in the Pacific

; Solomon and Russell Islands The air echelon arrived at Nandi Airfield in late April 1943, where it joined its 69th and 70th Bombardment Squadrons, which were already there. After additional training, the air echelon moved to Carney Field,

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomons by area and the second- ...

in June and joined the ground echelon which had arrived the previous month.Cohn, et al. Chapter 9 It launched its first attack on 25 June, when it struck the support areas of Vila Airfield, on Kolombangara.Cohn, et al. Chapter 6 Rabaul under air attack

The 390th attacked Japanese

airfield An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...

s, personnel areas, gun positions, and shipping. Shipping attacks relied on what were referred to as "snooper" missions,

armed reconnaissance Armed (May, 1941–1964) was an American Thoroughbred gelding race horse who was the American Horse of the Year in 1947 and Champion Older Male Horse in both 1946 and 1947. He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in ...

sorties, flown at night, searching for Japanese shipping to attack. On 20 July, squadron participated in a successful attack on Japanese combatant ships "Mitchells of the 69th Squadron . . . on all night shipping alert ad left a Japanese

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...

burning and dead in the water . . . At 0720 eight Mitchells of the 390th Squadron found the cruiser damaged in the previous night's action creeping to friendly waters at a speed of 2 knots. Although sorely wounded, her defense was still vicious, pouring anti-aircraft fire from at least 30 stations. Feints at various quarters divided the fire and allowed individual planes to launch masthead attacks. Lieut. Schauffler ended the fray when one of his bombs exploded in the ship's magazine. Two minutes later she slipped into the depths, carrying with her at least 75% of her crew."Cohn, et al. Chapter 7 B-25 bomb Wewak area

During most of this period, the 42d group could maintain only two squadrons in the Solomons at a time, and at the end of July 1943, the 70th and 75th squadrons moved forward, while the 390th and the 69th Bombardment Squadron moved to rear areas to refit. After returning to the Solomons, the squadron participated in a group attack on 6 October against the Japanese field at Kahili. Because of the critical need to avoid detection, this involved flying over 300 miles at minimum altitude over a route designed to avoid islands along the way from which the group's Mitchells could be spotted. The successful

strafing Strafing is the military practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons. Less commonly, the term is used by extension to describe high-speed firing runs by any land or naval craft such a ...

and parafrag attack shut down all enemy air forces in the area for the next two days, enabling the Navy to withdraw two crippled destroyers and rescue operations and cargo ships to offload troops and supplies at Barakoma airfield without air opposition.Cohn, et al. Chapter 8 On 22 October the squadron made a short move to Renard Field in the

along with group headquarters and the

75th Bombardment Squadron The 75th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was first established as a bombardment squadron shortly before World War II. It was reactivated during the Cold War as a Strategic Air Command (SAC). Its last assignm ...

. The 42d group began using the new airfield on Stirling Island as a staging point for strikes in early January and relocated there before the end of the month.Cohn, et al. Chapter 10 However, space was not available for all the group's squadrons on Stirling Island and the 390th continued to use Stirling as a staging base until July 1944, engaging primarily in the neutralization of enemy airfields and harbor facilities on

New Britain New Britain () is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi Island, Umboi the Dampie ...

, but it also supported ground forces on

Bougainville Island Bougainville Island (; Tok Pisin: ''Bogenvil'') is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, which is part of Papua New Guinea. Its land area is . The highest point is Mount Balbi, on the main island, at . The much smaller Buk ...

and attacked shipping in the northern Solomons and the

Bismarck Archipelago The Bismarck Archipelago (, ) is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. Its area is about . History The first inhabitants of the archipela ...

. ; New Guinea In July 1944, the squadron air echelon began moving to New Guinea and the Cyclops Airstrip and Sentani Airstrip near Hollandia. It was early September before the entire air echelon of the 42d group arrived in New Guinea, with the latecomers practicing

skip bombing Skip bombing was a low-level bombing technique independently developed by several of the combatant nations in World War II, notably Italy, Australia, Britain, Soviet Union and the United States. It allows an aircraft to attack shipping by skippi ...

and participating in mock invasion exercises in the

and

Admiralty Islands The Admiralty Islands are an archipelago group of 40 islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the South Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-cov ...

.Cohn, et al. Chapter 16 Through January 1945, it bombed airfields and installations on

Celebes Sulawesi ( ), also known as Celebes ( ), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's 11th-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Archi ...

, and

Halmahera Halmahera, formerly known as Jilolo, Gilolo, or Jailolo, is the largest island in the Maluku Islands. It is part of the North Maluku Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia, and Sofifi, the capital of the province, is located on the west coa ...

, and flew reconnaissance missions. The squadron also detached Mitchells to act as navigation ships for

Douglas A-20 Havoc The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) is an American light bomber, attack aircraft, Intruder (air combat), night intruder, night fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II. Designed to meet an Army Air Corps requirement for ...

s of the 312th Bombardment Group attacking targets in southwestern New Guinea. The A-20s were not equipped with

bombsight A bombsight is a device used by military aircraft to drop bombs accurately. Bombsights, a feature of combat aircraft since World War I, were first found on purpose-designed bomber aircraft and then moved to fighter-bombers and modern tactica ...

s and could only make medium altitude attacks by "dropping on leader" (releasing their bombload at the same time as the lead aircraft, equipped with a bombsight, in a formation). Squadron aircraft also dropped food and supplies to isolated parties in the interior of the island. Little more than a week after the last elements of the air echelon arrived in the Hollandia area, the air echelon departed for the Mar Airstrip near Sansapor, linking up with its ground echelon, which had been there since late August, having arrived by ship from the Russell Islands. However, Mar was not ready for the unit's planes and it operated from Middleburg Island for a few days until the

pierced steel planking Marston Mat, more properly called pierced (or perforated) steel planking (PSP), is standardized, perforated steel matting material developed by the United States at the Waterways Experiment Station shortly before World War II, primarily for the r ...

runway at Mar was ready. ; Philippines The 390th moved to the

in March 1945. By the time it had settled in at Puerto Princesa Airfield, its original flying cadre from the Solomons campaign had rotated back to the United States after flying the required number of missions. However, few of the ground crews were returned to the States, although many had expected to be relieved when rotation policies were announced, but then cancelled.Cohn, et al. Chapter 25 From this base on

Palawan Palawan (, ), officially the Province of Palawan (; ), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of . The capital and largest c ...

the squadron attacked shipping along the China coast, struck targets in

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China), officially known as the Indochinese Union and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation, was a group of French dependent territories in Southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954. It was initial ...

, bombed airfields and installations in the Philippines, and supported ground operations on

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

. Ground support including air delivering

DDT Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...

over the landing beaches to suppress disease-bearing insects. Its missions during the campaign in the Philippines earned it a Philippine Presidential Unit Citation. The 390th was awarded a

for its pre-invasion bombing of

between 23 and 30 June 1945. Balikpapan was a center for oil refining on

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

held by the Japanese. These attacks included bombing and strafing enemy shore installations. The round trip to the target was over 1700 miles and was among the longest flown by

s during the war. Pre mission experiments determined that the squadron's bombers could carry a bomb load over this distance with fuel tanks installed in their radio compartments despite having to take off from a runway damaged by enemy action. Four of the missions encountered severe tropical weather fronts. Despite intense and accurate

flak Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-bas ...

, the squadron destroyed gun positions, warehouses, roadblocks, fuel and ammunition dumps, a radar station as well as huge stores of gasoline and oil which the enemy had placed in position to be released into shallow pits oil the beach and ignited when the Australian ground troops made their assaults. The unit attacked the beach while naval

underwater demolition team The Underwater Demolition Team (UDT), or frogmen, were amphibious units created by the United States Navy during World War II with specialized missions. They were predecessors of the Navy's current United States Navy SEAL, SEAL teams. Their pri ...

s operated offshore without losing a man. The attacks were so effective that the

Australian Seventh Division The 7th Division was an infantry division of the Australian Army. It was formed in February 1940 to serve in World War II, as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF). The division was raised on the British establishment of nine i ...

was able to come ashore without enemy opposition. The squadron's final combat action of World War II was attacking isolated Japanese units on

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 ...

during July and August 1945. In August it was alerted for a move to

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

. However, with the end of the war, the move was cancelled.

Cold War

(SAC) activated the 90th Air Refueling Squadron at

, California in January 1954. The squadron received its personnel and

s from the 340th Air Refueling Squadron, which moved without personnel and equipment to

Whiteman Air Force Base Whiteman Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located just south of Knob Noster, Missouri, Knob Noster, Missouri, United States. The base is the current home of the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit, B-2 Spirit bomber. It is named for Geor ...

, Missouri.Mueller, p. 76 Within months, the squadron deployed to

Ernest Harmon Air Force Base Ernest Harmon Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base located in Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador. The base was built by the United States Army Air Forces in 1941 under the Destroyers for Bases Agreement with the United K ...

, Labrador, where it provided forward based air refueling support for SAC bombers. The squadron deployed to Sidi Slimane Air Base, Morocco for three months in April 1955. Shortly after returning, it moved on paper to Forbes Air Force Base, Kansas in August 1955, arriving as its parent, the 90th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, was returning from a four-month deployment to

Eielson Air Force Base Eielson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located approximately southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska, and just southeast of Moose Creek, Alaska. It was established in 1943 as Mile 26 Satellite Field and redesignated Eielson Ai ...

, Alaska.Ravenstein, pp. 123–125 At Forbes, the squadron began building up again and began flying

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 in February 1956. The squadron flew KC-97G Stratotankers in support of USAF operations on a worldwide basis. Starting in May 1958, the squadron also supported the Boeing RB-47 Stratojet combat crew training mission of the 90th Wing. The squadron continued periodic deployments to support Operation Reflex, which based SAC B-47 bombers in North Africa and Europe. In June 1960 the 90th wing became non-operational and the squadron was reassigned to the 40th Bombardment Wing, also located at Forbes, until it was inactivated with the phaseout of the KC-97 from SAC.Ravenstein, pp. 68–69 In September 1985 the 390th Bombardment Squadron and the 90th Air Refueling Squadron were consolidated into a single unit.Department of the Air Force/MPM Letter 662q, 19 September 85, Subject: Reconstitution, Redesignation, and Consolidation of Selected Air Force Tactical Squadrons

Air Mobility

90th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron - Patch

In June 2002 the consolidated squadron was redesignated the 90th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron, converted to provisional status, and assigned to

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. The unit was active at

, Turkey as a

organization as part of the 385th Air Expeditionary Group. The squadron was composed of a mix of members from active duty, the

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia (United States), militia of each U.S. ...

, and the

Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commis ...

. It participated on

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 ...

in Iraq and

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 ...

in Afghanistan. After 2005, the squadron mission changed from refueling fighter aircraft, focusing instead on refueling

Lockheed C-5 Galaxy The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a large military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed, and now maintained and upgraded by its successor, Lockheed Martin. It provides the United States Air Force (USAF) with a heavy ...

s and McDonnell Douglas C-17 Globemaster IIIs entering and departing the area of operations. This forward refueling permits the transports to minimize the time they are on the ground, because they can load or offload their loads without spending additional time to refuel. In March 2013, the squadron departed Incirlik for another location in Southwest Asia.

Lineage

; 390th Bombardment Squadron * Constituted as the 390th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) on 4 March 1942 : Activated on 20 March 1942 : Redesignated 390th Bombardment Squadron, Medium on 4 March 1942 : Inactivated on 27 January 1946Except as noted, lineage, including assignments, stations, and aircraft through 1946 in Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 478–479 : Consolidated with the 90th Air Refueling Squadron as the 90th Air Refueling Squadron on 19 September 1985 ; 90th Air Refueling Squadron * Constituted as the 90th Air Refueling Squadron, Medium on 6 November 1953 : Activated on 18 January 1954 : Discontinued and inactivated on 15 November 1962 * Consolidated with the 390th Bombardment Squadron on 19 September 1985 * Redesignated 90th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron on 12 June 2002Department of the Air Force/XPM Letter 303s, 12 June 2002, Subject: Air Mobility Command Expeditionary Units : Activated in 2002

Assignments

* 42d Bombardment Group, 20 March 1942 – 27 January 1946 * 93d Bombardment Wing, 18 January 1954 (attached to unknown c. 3 April – 18 May 1954, 90th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing 1 April – 16 July 1955)Ravenstein, p. 130 * 90th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, 5 August 1955 * 40th Bombardment Wing, 20 June 1960 – 15 November 1962 *

to activate or inactivate as needed, 12 June 2002 :: 385th Air Expeditionary Group, c. 2005 – c. 15 March 2013 :: Unknown after March 2013

Stations

* Gowen Field, Idaho, 20 March 1942 * McChord Field, Washington, 20 March 1942 – 15 March 1943 * New Caledonia, 15 April 1943 * Nandi Airfield,

Fiji Islands Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

, 23 April 1943 * Carney Airfield, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, 11 May 1943 * Renard Field, Banika, Russell Islands, 22 October 1943 : Operated from Stirling Airfield, Solomon Islands, 8 March – 8 May 1944, and 17 June – 24 July 1944 * Hollandia Airfield Complex, New Guinea, c. 7 August 1944 * Sansapor Airfield, New Guinea, 23 August 1944 : Operated from Wama Airfield, Morotai, Netherlands East Indies, after 24 February 1945 * Puerto Princesa Airfield,

, Philippines, c. 21 March 1945 – 27 January 1946 * Castle Air Force Base, California, 18 January 1954 * Forbes Air Force Base, Kansas, 5 August 1955 – 15 November 1962 * Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, 2002 * Unknown location in Southwest Asia, 15 March 2013

Aircraft

Douglas B-18 Bolo The Douglas B-18 Bolo is an American twin-engined medium bomber which served with the United States Army Air Corps and the Royal Canadian Air Force (as the Digby) during the late 1930s and early 1940s. The Bolo was developed by the Douglas Airc ...

, 1942 * Lockheed A-29 Hudson, 1942 *

Martin B-26 Marauder The Martin B-26 Marauder is an American twin-engined medium bomber that saw extensive service during World War II. The B-26 was built at two locations: Baltimore, Maryland, and Omaha, Nebraska, by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in ...

, 1941–1943 *

, 1943–1945 * Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter, 1954–1962 * Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker3

History

World War II

Training and antisubmarine warfare in the United States

Combat in the Pacific

Cold War

Air Mobility

Lineage

Assignments

Stations

Aircraft

Awards and campaigns

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links