303d Air Refueling Squadron
Encyclopedia
The 303d Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force
unit. It was last assigned to the 19th Bombardment Wing, stationed at Homestead AFB, Florida
. It was inactivated on 31 April 1961
The squadron performed air refueling in support of USAF operations on a worldwide basis, being established in 1951. Inactivated in 1962 with the phaseout of the propeller-driven KC-97 from SAC.
In 1985, the Air Force Historical Research Agency
consolidated the lineage of the unit with the 483d Bombardment Squadron. The 483d Bomb Squadron flew B-29 Superfortress
aircraft in the Pacific Theater of World War II
. It was last assigned to the 505th Bombardment Group
. It was inactivated at Clark Field, Philippines on 10 June 1946.
and C-16 Commando
transports in the China-Burma-India theater for Air Transport Command
in 1943. It flew supplies, equipment and personnel over "the Hump
" from the Assam Valley of British India to airfields in Southeast China
in support of Fourteenth Air Force
combat operations. It was a short-lived organization, activated in June and inactivated in December 1943.
The 483d Bombardment Squadron was activated in early 1944 as a B-29 Superfortress
Very Heavy bomber squadron and assigned to Second Air Force
for B-29 Superfortress
conversion training. Deployed to Pacific Theater of Operations
(PTO), being assigned to XXI Bomber Command
in the Northern Mariana Islands
; assigned to North Field
, Tinian, Mariana Islands.
Flew very long range strategic bombardment missions over the Japanese Home Islands, attacking military, industrial and transportation targets. Switched to night incendiary raids attacking major Japanese cities in the spring of 1945, causing massive destruction of urbanized areas. Continued strategic bombing raids and incendiary attacks until Japanese Capitulation in August 1945. Remained in the Mariana Islands until the spring of 1946, inactivated the Philippines
in June.
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
unit. It was last assigned to the 19th Bombardment Wing, stationed at Homestead AFB, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. It was inactivated on 31 April 1961
The squadron performed air refueling in support of USAF operations on a worldwide basis, being established in 1951. Inactivated in 1962 with the phaseout of the propeller-driven KC-97 from SAC.
In 1985, the Air Force Historical Research Agency
Air Force Historical Research Agency
The Air Force Historical Research Agency is the repository for United States Air Force historical documents.The Agency's collection, begun during World War II in Washington, D.C., moved in 1949 to Maxwell Air Force Base, the site of Air University, to provide research facilities for professional...
consolidated the lineage of the unit with the 483d Bombardment Squadron. The 483d Bomb Squadron flew B-29 Superfortress
B-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
aircraft in the Pacific Theater of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It was last assigned to the 505th Bombardment Group
505th Bombardment Group
The 505th Bombardment Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Thirteenth Air Force, stationed at Clark Field, Philippines. It was inactivated on 30 June 1946...
. It was inactivated at Clark Field, Philippines on 10 June 1946.
History
The 303d Transport Squadron operated C-47 SkytrainC-47 Skytrain
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...
and C-16 Commando
Commando
In English, the term commando means a specific kind of individual soldier or military unit. In contemporary usage, commando usually means elite light infantry and/or special operations forces units, specializing in amphibious landings, parachuting, rappelling and similar techniques, to conduct and...
transports in the China-Burma-India theater for Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its mission was to meet the urgent demand for the speedy reinforcement of the United States' military bases worldwide during World War II, using an air supply system to supplement surface transport...
in 1943. It flew supplies, equipment and personnel over "the Hump
The Hump
The Hump was the name given by Allied pilots in the Second World War to the eastern end of the Himalayan Mountains over which they flew military transport aircraft from India to China to resupply the Chinese war effort of Chiang Kai-shek and the units of the United States Army Air Forces based in...
" from the Assam Valley of British India to airfields in Southeast China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
in support of Fourteenth Air Force
Fourteenth Air Force
The Fourteenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Space Command . It is headquartered at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California....
combat operations. It was a short-lived organization, activated in June and inactivated in December 1943.
The 483d Bombardment Squadron was activated in early 1944 as a B-29 Superfortress
B-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
Very Heavy bomber squadron and assigned to Second Air Force
Second Air Force
The Second Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command . It is headquartered at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi....
for B-29 Superfortress
B-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
conversion training. Deployed to Pacific Theater of Operations
Pacific Theater of Operations
The Pacific Theater of Operations was the World War II area of military activity in the Pacific Ocean and the countries bordering it, a geographic scope that reflected the operational and administrative command structures of the American forces during that period...
(PTO), being assigned to XXI Bomber Command
XXI Bomber Command
The XXI Bomber Command was a unit of the Twentieth Air Force in Guam for strategic bombing during World War II.- Lineage:* Constituted as XXI Bomber Command on 1 Mar 1944, and activated the same day.-Assignments:...
in the Northern Mariana Islands
Northern Mariana Islands
The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , is a commonwealth in political union with the United States, occupying a strategic region of the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines...
; assigned to North Field
North Field (Tinian)
North Field is a former World War II airfield on Tinian in the Mariana Islands. Abandoned after the war, today North Field is a tourist attraction....
, Tinian, Mariana Islands.
Flew very long range strategic bombardment missions over the Japanese Home Islands, attacking military, industrial and transportation targets. Switched to night incendiary raids attacking major Japanese cities in the spring of 1945, causing massive destruction of urbanized areas. Continued strategic bombing raids and incendiary attacks until Japanese Capitulation in August 1945. Remained in the Mariana Islands until the spring of 1946, inactivated the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
in June.
Lineage
- Constituted as 303d Transport Squadron, c. 4 June 1943
- Activated 21 June 1943
- Disbanded 1 December 1943
- Constituted 483d Bombardment Squadron (Very Heavy) on 28 Feb 1944
- Activated on 11 Mar 1944
- Inactivated on 30 Jun 1946
- Established as 303d Air Refueling Squadron, 4 April 1951
- Inactivated 8 April 1952
- Re-activated 18 February 1953
- Inactivated on 15 July 1959
- Re-activated on 1 November 1959
- Inactivated on 15 Jun 1963
- Reconstituted 19 September 1985 and consolidated with 483d Bombardment Squadron (Very Heavy) and 303d Air Refueling Squadron, Medium as 303d Air Refueling Squadron (remained inactive)
Assignments
- 30th Transport Group, June-December 1943
- 505th Bombardment Group505th Bombardment GroupThe 505th Bombardment Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Thirteenth Air Force, stationed at Clark Field, Philippines. It was inactivated on 30 June 1946...
, 11 Mar 1944-30 Jun 1946 - 303d Bombardment Wing, 4 April 1951-8 Apr 1952; 18 Feb 1953-1 Feb 1956
- Second Air ForceSecond Air ForceThe Second Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command . It is headquartered at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi....
, 1 Feb 1956-1 Jan 1959 ... (Geographic Separate Unit) - 38th Air Division, 1 Jan 1959-1 Oct 1959 ... (Geographic Separate Unit)
- 823d Air Division823d Air DivisionThe 823d Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Strategic Air Command, assigned to Second Air Force, being stationed at McCoy Air Force Base, Florida...
, 1 Oct 1959-1 Nov 1959 ... (Geographic Separate Unit) - 19th Bombardment Wing, 1 Nov 1959-1 Apr 1961 ... (Geographic Separate Unit)
- 4050th Air Refueling Wing, 1 Apr 1961 - 31 Dec 1962 ... (Geographic Separate Unit)
- 499th Air Refueling Wing499th Air Refueling WingThe United States Air Force's 499th Air Refueling Wing was an aerial refueling unit located at Westover AFB, Massachusetts. It was inactivated in 1966....
, 1 Jan 1963 - 15 Jun 1963 ... (Geographic Separate Unit)
Stations
- Mohanbari Airport, Assam, India, June-December 1943
- Dalhart Army Air Field, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, 11 Mar 1944 - Harvard Army AirfieldHarvard Army AirfieldHarvard State Airport , also known as Harvard State Airfield, is a public use airport located two nautical miles northeast of the central business district of Harvard, a city in Clay County, Nebraska, United States. It is owned by the Nebraska Department of Aeronautics...
, NebraskaNebraskaNebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, 12 Mar-6 Nov 1944 - North FieldNorth Field (Tinian)North Field is a former World War II airfield on Tinian in the Mariana Islands. Abandoned after the war, today North Field is a tourist attraction....
, TinianTinianTinian is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.-Geography:Tinian is about 5 miles southwest of its sister island, Saipan, from which it is separated by the Saipan Channel. It has a land area of 39 sq.mi....
, Mariana IslandsMariana IslandsThe Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...
, 24 Dec 1944-5 Mar 1946 - Clark Field, LuzonLuzonLuzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
, 14 Mar-30 Jun 1946 - Davis-Monthan AFB, ArizonaArizonaArizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, 4 April 1951-8 Apr 1952; 18 Feb 1953-1 Feb 1956 - Kindley AFB, BermudaBermudaBermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
, 1 Feb 1956-15 Jun 1963
Aircraft
- C-47 SkytrainC-47 SkytrainThe Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...
, 1943 - C-46 CommandoC-46 CommandoThe Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commando was a transport aircraft originally derived from a commercial high-altitude airliner design. It was instead used as a military transport during World War II by the United States Army Air Forces as well as the U.S. Navy/Marine Corps under the designation R5C...
, 1943 - B-17 Flying Fortress, 1944
- B-29 SuperfortressB-29 SuperfortressThe B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
, 1944-1946 - KB-29M Superfortress tanker, 1951-1952
- KC-97F Stratotanker, 1953-1956 (Also KC-97G)
- KC-97G Stratotanker, 1956-1959; 1959-1963