349th Air Refueling Squadron
Encyclopedia
The 349th Air Refueling Squadron (349 ARS) is part of the 22d Air Refueling Wing
at McConnell Air Force Base
, Kansas
. It operates the KC-135 Stratotanker
aircraft conducting aerial refueling
missions.
in the southeast, then transferring to Second Air Force
in the Pacific Northwest. Operated as an Operational Training Unit (OTU) in the Midwest until being deployed to the European Theater of Operations
(ETO), being assigned to VIII Bomber Command
in England
in June 1949.
Engaged in strategic bombardment operations over Occupied Europe and Germany
, sustaining very heavy losses of personnel and aircraft while conducting many unescorted missions over enemy territory attacking airfields, industries, naval facilities and transportation hubs. During the summer of 1944, aircrews bombed enemy positions at Saint-Lô
, followed by similar campaigns at Brest
in August and September. In October 1944, the squadron attacked enemy and ground defenses in the allied drive on the Siegfried Line
, then bombed marshaling yards, German occupied villages, and communication targets in the Ardennes
during the Battle of the Bulge
from December 1944 to January 1945. Attacked enemy targets in Germany
during the spring of 1945, ending combat operations with the German Capitulation in May 1945.
Remained in Europe as part of the United States Air Forces in Europe
occupation forces, dropping food to the people in the west of the Netherlands
, and in June transported French Allied former prisoners of war from Austria
to France
. Demobilizing in England, in December 1945 the squadron inactivated as a paper unit.
Activated in the Reserves in 1947 at Miami Airport, Florida
. Unclear whether or not the unit was manned or equipped; inactivated in 1949 due to budget restrictions. Reactivated under Strategic Air Command
received new, swept wing B-47 Stratojet
s in 1956 which were designed to carry nuclear weapons and to penetrate Soviet air defenses with its high operational ceiling and near supersonic speed. The squadron flew the B-47 for about a decade when by the mid-1960s it had become obsolescent and vulnerable to new Soviet air defenses. The squadron began to send it's stratojets to AMARC at Davis-Monthan AFB for retirement in 1965, the last being retired in 1966, one of the last B-47 Squadrons.
Redesignated as a strategic
reconnaissance
from, 1966–1976. The squadron flew air refueling in support of the SR-71 Blackbird
from, 1976–1990 and provided cargo and air refueling support to combat units in Southwest Asia
from, August 1990–March 1991.
22d Air Refueling Wing
The 22d Air Refueling Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Mobility Command's Eighteenth Air Force. It is stationed at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas and also functions as the host wing for McConnell AFB....
at McConnell Air Force Base
McConnell Air Force Base
McConnell Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located four miles southeast of the central business district of Wichita, a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States. The base was named in honor of Wichita brothers Fred and Thomas McConnell, both Air Force pilots and World War II...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
. It operates the KC-135 Stratotanker
KC-135 Stratotanker
The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an aerial refueling military aircraft. It and the Boeing 707 airliner were developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype. The KC-135 was the US Air Force's first jet-powered refueling tanker and replaced the KC-97 Stratotanker...
aircraft conducting aerial refueling
Aerial refueling
Aerial refueling, also called air refueling, in-flight refueling , air-to-air refueling or tanking, is the process of transferring fuel from one aircraft to another during flight....
missions.
History
Established as a B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombardment squadron in mid-1942; trained initially under Third Air ForceThird Air Force
The Third Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe . It is headquartered at Ramstein Air Base, Germany....
in the southeast, then transferring 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....
in the Pacific Northwest. Operated as an Operational Training Unit (OTU) in the Midwest until being deployed to the European Theater of Operations
European Theater of Operations
The European Theater of Operations, United States Army was a United States Army formation which directed U.S. Army operations in parts of Europe from 1942 to 1945. It referred to Army Ground Forces, United States Army Air Forces, and Army Service Forces operations north of Italy and the...
(ETO), being assigned to VIII Bomber Command
VIII Bomber Command
The VIII Bomber Command is an inactive United States Army Air Forces unit that is better known as the later appellation Eighth Air Force, as was popularized in post-World War II filmsand is frequently called the First Eighth Air Force by its veterans and successors in the services.The command was...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in June 1949.
Engaged in strategic bombardment operations over Occupied Europe and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, sustaining very heavy losses of personnel and aircraft while conducting many unescorted missions over enemy territory attacking airfields, industries, naval facilities and transportation hubs. During the summer of 1944, aircrews bombed enemy positions at Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô is a commune in north-western France, the capital of the Manche department in Normandy.-History:Originally called Briovère , the town is built on and around ramparts. Originally it was a Gaul fortified settlement...
, followed by similar campaigns at Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
in August and September. In October 1944, the squadron attacked enemy and ground defenses in the allied drive on the Siegfried Line
Siegfried Line
The original Siegfried line was a line of defensive forts and tank defences built by Germany as a section of the Hindenburg Line 1916–1917 in northern France during World War I...
, then bombed marshaling yards, German occupied villages, and communication targets in the Ardennes
Ardennes
The Ardennes is a region of extensive forests, rolling hills and ridges formed within the Givetian Ardennes mountain range, primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, but stretching into France , and geologically into the Eifel...
during the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
from December 1944 to January 1945. Attacked enemy targets in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
during the spring of 1945, ending combat operations with the German Capitulation in May 1945.
Remained in Europe as part of the United States Air Forces in Europe
United States Air Forces in Europe
The United States Air Forces in Europe is the United States Air Force component of U.S. European Command, a Department of Defense unified command, and is one of two Air Force Major Commands outside of the continental United States, the other being the Pacific Air Forces...
occupation forces, dropping food to the people in the west of the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, and in June transported French Allied former prisoners of war from Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Demobilizing in England, in December 1945 the squadron inactivated as a paper unit.
Activated in the Reserves in 1947 at Miami Airport, 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...
. Unclear whether or not the unit was manned or equipped; inactivated in 1949 due to budget restrictions. Reactivated under Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
received new, swept wing B-47 Stratojet
B-47 Stratojet
The Boeing Model 450 B-47 Stratojet was a long-range, six-engined, jet-powered medium bomber built to fly at high subsonic speeds and at high altitudes. It was primarily designed to drop nuclear bombs on the Soviet Union...
s in 1956 which were designed to carry nuclear weapons and to penetrate Soviet air defenses with its high operational ceiling and near supersonic speed. The squadron flew the B-47 for about a decade when by the mid-1960s it had become obsolescent and vulnerable to new Soviet air defenses. The squadron began to send it's stratojets to AMARC at Davis-Monthan AFB for retirement in 1965, the last being retired in 1966, one of the last B-47 Squadrons.
Redesignated as a strategic
Military strategy
Military strategy is a set of ideas implemented by military organizations to pursue desired strategic goals. Derived from the Greek strategos, strategy when it appeared in use during the 18th century, was seen in its narrow sense as the "art of the general", 'the art of arrangement' of troops...
reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
from, 1966–1976. The squadron flew air refueling in support of the SR-71 Blackbird
SR-71 Blackbird
The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft. It was developed as a black project from the Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft in the 1960s by the Lockheed Skunk Works. Clarence "Kelly" Johnson was responsible for many of the...
from, 1976–1990 and provided cargo and air refueling support to combat units in Southwest Asia
Southwest Asia
Western Asia, West Asia, Southwest Asia or Southwestern Asia are terms that describe the westernmost portion of Asia. The terms are partly coterminous with the Middle East, which describes a geographical position in relation to Western Europe rather than its location within Asia...
from, August 1990–March 1991.
Lineage
- Constituted 349 Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 28 Jan 1942
- Activated on 1 Jun 1942
- Redesignated 349 Bombardment Squadron, Heavy, on 20 Aug 1943
- Inactivated on 1 Dec 1945
- Redesignated 349 Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy, on 13 May 1947
- Activated in the Reserve on 29 May 1947
- Inactivated on 27 Jun 1949
- Redesignated 349 Bombardment Squadron, Medium, on 1 Aug 1955
- Activated on 1 Jan 1956
- Redesignated: 349 Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron on 25 Jun 1966
- Redesignated: 349 Air Refueling Squadron, Heavy, on 30 Sep 1976
- Redesignated: 349 Air Refueling Squadron on 1 Sep 1991
- Inactivated on 1 Jun 1992
- Activated on 1 Jan 1994.
Assignments
- 100th Bombardment Group, 1 Jun 1942-1 Dec 1945; 29 May 1947-27 Jun 1949
- 100th Bombardment (later, 100 Strategic Reconnaissance; 100 Air Refueling) Wing, 1 Jan 1956
- 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, 15 Mar 1983
- 9th Operations Group9th Operations GroupThe 9th Operations Group is the operational flying component of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing, stationed at Beale Air Force Base, California....
, 1 Sep 1991-1 Jun 1992 - 22d Operations Group, 1 Jan 1994-Present
Bases stationed
- Orlando ABOrlando Executive AirportOrlando Executive Airport is a public-use airport located three nautical miles east of the central business district of Orlando, a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. It is owned by the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority...
, Florida 1 June 1942 - Barksdale Field, LouisianaLouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, c. 18 June 1942 - Pendleton FieldEastern Oregon Regional AirportEastern Oregon Regional Airport , also known as Eastern Oregon Regional Airport at Pendleton, is a public airport located three miles northwest of the central business district of Pendleton, a city in Umatilla County, Oregon, USA. The airport covers and has three runways. It is used primarily...
, Oregon c. 26 June 1942 - Gowen FieldBoise AirportBoise Airport , also known as Boise Air Terminal or Gowen Field, is a joint civil-military, commercial and general aviation airport located three nautical miles south of downtown Boise in Ada County, Idaho, USA...
, IdahoIdahoIdaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, 28 August 1942 - Walla WallaWalla Walla Regional AirportWalla Walla Regional Airport is a public airport located three miles northeast of the central business district of Walla Walla, a city in Walla Walla County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is owned by the Port of Walla Walla.- History :...
, Washington, c. 1 November 1942 - Wendover Field, UtahUtahUtah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, c. 30 November 1942 - Sioux City AABSioux Gateway Airport-History:The construction of Sioux City Army Air Base began in March 1942, about three months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Opened on 5 July 1942, it became a major training center during World War II for crew members of B-24 Liberators and B-17 Flying Fortresses...
, IowaIowaIowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, c. 28 December 1942 - Kearney AAFld, 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....
, c. 30 January – May 1943 - RAF Thorpe AbbottsRAF Thorpe AbbottsRAF Thorpe Abbotts is a former World War II airfield in England. The field is located 4 miles E of Diss in Norfolk.-Overview:Thorpe Abbotts airfield was built during 1942 and early 1943 for the RAF as a satellite airfield for RAF Horham but the rapid buildup of the 8th Air Force resulted in both...
(USAAF Station 139), England, 9 June 1943 – December 1945 - Camp KilmerCamp KilmerCamp Kilmer, New Jersey is a former United States Army camp that was activated in June 1942 as a staging area and part of an installation of the New York Port of Embarkation. The camp was organized as part of the Army Service Forces Transportation Corps. Troops were quartered at Camp Kilmer in...
, New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, c. 20–21 December 1945
- Miami Army Air Field, Florida (1947–1949)
- Not equipped or manned
- Portsmouth (later, Pease) AFB, New HampshireNew HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, 1 January 1956 – 30 April 1966- Deployed: RAF Brize NortonRAF Brize NortonRAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, about west north-west of London, is the largest station of the Royal Air Force. It is close to the settlements of Brize Norton, Carterton and Witney....
, England (4 January - 4 March 1958) - Deployed: Torrejon Air BaseTorrejon Air BaseMadrid-Torrejón Airport is a commercial airport in Spain. It is a joint-use facility between the Spanish Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Public Works. The civil part is dedicated primarily to executive and private aviation. The airport is located northeast of Madrid, west of Alcalá de...
, SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
(4 March - 4 April 1958)
- Deployed: RAF Brize Norton
- Davis-Monthan Air Force BaseDavis-Monthan Air Force BaseDavis–Monthan Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located within the city limits, and approximately south-southeast of downtown, Tucson, Arizona....
, 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...
, 25 Jun 1966-1 Jul 1976 - Beale Air Force BaseBeale Air Force BaseBeale Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately east of Marysville, California. Originally known as Camp Beale....
, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, 25 Jan 1982 - McConnell Air Force BaseMcConnell Air Force BaseMcConnell Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located four miles southeast of the central business district of Wichita, a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States. The base was named in honor of Wichita brothers Fred and Thomas McConnell, both Air Force pilots and World War II...
, KansasKansasKansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
(1994–Present)
- Portsmouth (later, Pease) AFB, New Hampshire
Aircraft Operated
- B-17 Flying Fortress (1942–1945)
- AT-6 Texan (1947–1949)
- AT-7 Navigator (1947–1949)
- AT-11 Kansan (1947–1949)
- B-47 StratojetB-47 StratojetThe Boeing Model 450 B-47 Stratojet was a long-range, six-engined, jet-powered medium bomber built to fly at high subsonic speeds and at high altitudes. It was primarily designed to drop nuclear bombs on the Soviet Union...
(1956–1966) - U/WU-2Lockheed U-2The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "Dragon Lady", is a single-engine, very high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency . It provides day and night, very high-altitude , all-weather intelligence gathering...
(1966–1976) - KC-135 StratotankerKC-135 StratotankerThe Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an aerial refueling military aircraft. It and the Boeing 707 airliner were developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype. The KC-135 was the US Air Force's first jet-powered refueling tanker and replaced the KC-97 Stratotanker...
(1976–1992, 1994–Present)