The 508th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

unit. It was an

air refueling Aerial refueling, 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 another (the receiver) while both aircraft a ...

unit that operated the

Boeing KB-29 The Boeing KB-29 was a modified Boeing B-29 Superfortress for air refueling needs by the USAF. Two primary versions were developed and produced: KB-29M and KB-29P. The 509th and 43d Air Refueling Squadrons (Walker AFB, NM and Davis-Montha ...

and

Boeing KC-97 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 ...

from at

Turner Air Force Base Turner may refer to: People and fictional characters *Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name *Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name *One who uses a lathe for turnin ...

, Georgia from 1953 to 1957. In 1985, the squadron was consolidated with the 608th Bombardment Squadron, a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

training unit of the

Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

(AAF). The 608th was active from 1943 to 1944 training

heavy bomber Heavy bombers are bomber aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually bombs) and longest range (takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy bombers have therefore usually been among the larges ...

crews until it was disbanded in a general reorganization of AAF training and support units.

History

World War II

The

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

's first predecessor was the 608th Bombardment Squadron, which was activated at

Pyote Army Air Base Pyote Air Force Base was a World War II United States Army Air Forces training airbase. It was on a mile from the town of Pyote, Texas, on Interstate 20, 20 miles west of Monahans and just south of U.S. Highway 80, east of El Paso. It was ...

, Texas on 1 March 1943, but made four moves before the end of the year. The squadron was one of the four original squadrons of the 400th Bombardment Group. It served as an

Operational Training Unit Royal Air Force Operational Training Units (OTUs) were training units that prepared aircrew for operations on a particular type or types of aircraft or roles. OTUs ; No. 1 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit RAF (1 OTU): The Unit was formed in ...

(OTU) for

Consolidated B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

units until December.Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 683Maurer, ''Combat Units'', p. 285 The OTU program involved the use of an oversized parent unit to provide cadres to "satellite groups"Craven & Cate, Introduction, p. xxxvi In December, the squadron moved to Charleston Army Air Base, South Carolina, where it became a Replacement Training Unit (RTU). Like OTUs, RTUs were oversize units, however their mission was to train individual

pilots An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

and

aircrew Aircrew, also called flight crew, 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 ...

s. With this mission change, the 400th Group and its components were reassigned from

Second Air Force The Second Air Force (2 AF; ''2d Air Force'' in 1942) is a USAF numbered air force responsible for conducting basic military and technical training for Air Force enlisted members and non-flying officers. In World War II the CONUS unit defended ...

First Air Force The First Air Force (Air Forces Northern; 1 AF-AFNORTH) 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 is the air defense of the Co ...

. However, the

was finding that standard military units like the 605th, which were assigned personnel and equipment based on relatively inflexible

tables of organization A table of organization and equipment (TOE or TO&E) is the specified organization, staffing, and equipment of units. Also used in acronyms as 'T/O' and 'T/E'. It also provides information on the mission and capabilities of a unit as well as the un ...

were not proving well adapted to the training mission. Accordingly, it adopted a more functional system in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit, which was manned and equipped based on the station's requirements. The 608th Squadron was disbanded, and along with operational and supporting units at Charleston was used to form the 113th AAF Base Unit (Bombardment (Heavy)).

Air refueling

The squadron was established in 1953 to provide strategic

for the 508th Strategic Fighter Wing. In 1956, the 508th Wing was inactivated and the squadron transferred to SAC's other fighter wing at Turner, the 31st Strategic Fighter Wing. In April 1957, the 31st Wing transferred to

Tactical Air Command Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. It was inactivated on 1 J ...

, which moved the 431st Air Refueling Squadron to Turner. The 508th began transferring its planes to the 431st as it prepared for it inactivation in July.

Lineage

608th Bombardment Squadron * Constituted as the 608th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 15 February 1943 : Activated on 1 March 1943 * Disbanded on 10 April 1944 * Reconstituted on 19 September 1985 and consolidated with the 508th Air Refueling Squadron as the 508th Air Refueling SquadronDepartment of the Air Force/MPM Letter 662q, 19 Sep 85, Subject: Reconstitution, Redesignation, and Consolidation of Selected Air Force Tactical Squadrons 508th Air Refueling Squadron * Constituted as the 508th Air Refueling Squadron, Strategic Fighter ''ca'' 4 November 1953 : Activated on 25 November 1953 : Inactivated 1 July 1957 * Consolidated with the 608th Bombardment Squadron on 19 September 1985 as the 508th Air Refueling Squadron, Heavy (remained inactive)

Assignments

* 400th Bombardment Group: 1 March 1943 – 10 April 1944 * 508th Strategic Fighter Wing: 25 November 1953 (attached to 31st Strategic Fighter Wing 10 February 1954 – 1 June 1954,Ravenstein, pp. 54–57 unknown 4 July 1954 – 15 October 1954) * 31st Strategic Fighter Wing: 11 May 1956 * 4050th Air Refueling Wing: 1 April 1957 – 1 July 1957

Stations

* Pyote Army Air Base, Texas, 1 March 1943 * Davis–Monthan Field, Arizona, 11 April 1943 *

Pueblo Army Air Base Pueblo Memorial Airport is a public airport located six miles east of Pueblo, in Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. It is primarily used for general aviation. Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 4,345 passenger board ...

, Colorado, c. 2 May 1943 *

Smoky Hill Army Air Field Salina Regional Airport , formerly Salina Municipal Airport, is three miles southwest of Salina, Kansas, United States. The airport is owned by the Salina Airport Authority. It is used for general aviation, with service by one passenger airline, ...

, Kansas, 31 July 1943 *

Alamogordo Army Air Field Alamogordo () is the seat of Otero County, New Mexico, United States. A city in the Tularosa Basin of the Chihuahuan Desert, it is bordered on the east by the Sacramento Mountains and to the west by Holloman Air Force Base. The population was ...

, New Mexico, 14 September 1943 * Charleston Army Air Base, South Carolina, 15 December 1943 – 10 April 1944Stations from 1943 to 1944 in Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 683 *

, Georgia, 25 November 1953 – 1 July 1957

Aircraft

* Consolidated B-24 Liberator, 1943–1944 *

Boeing KB-29 Superfortress The Boeing KB-29 was a modified Boeing B-29 Superfortress for air refueling needs by the USAF. Two primary versions were developed and produced: KB-29M and KB-29P. The 509th and 43d Air Refueling Squadrons (Walker AFB, NM and Davis-Month ...

, 1953-unknown *

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 developm ...

, unknown-1957

Awards and campaigns

References

Notes

; Explanatory notes ; Citations

Bibliography

* * {{Strategic Air Command Air refueling squadrons of the United States Air Force