The 63rd Air Refueling Squadron, sometimes written as 63d Air Refueling Squadron, is a

United States 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 ...

squadron, assigned to the 927th Operations Group at

MacDill Air Force Base MacDill Air Force Base (MacDill AFB) is an active United States Air Force installation located 4 miles (6.4 km) south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida. The "host wing" for MacDill AFB is the 6th Air Refueling Wing (6 ARW), assig ...

, Florida. It is a reserve associate of the active duty

91st Air Refueling Squadron The 91st Air Refueling Squadron is part of the 6th Air Mobility Wing at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. It operates the Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker aircraft conducting air refueling missions. The squadron was first activated in January 1941 ...

. The squadron operates the

KC-135 Stratotanker The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It is the predominant variant of the C-135 Stratolifter family of trans ...

aircraft conducting

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 ...

missions. The squadron was activated during

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 ...

as the 63d Troop Carrier Squadron. After Training in the United States, it deployed 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 and its mandate Territory of ...

, where it flew airlift missions, earning a Distinguished Unit Citation,

Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or s ...

, and

Philippine Presidential Unit Citation The Philippine Presidential Unit citation BadgeThe AFP Adjutant General, ''Awards and Decorations Handbook'', 1997, OTAG, p. 65. is a unit decoration of the Republic of the Philippines. It has been awarded to certain units of the United States mi ...

for its actions. After

V-J Day Victory over Japan Day (also known as V-J Day, Victory in the Pacific Day, or V-P Day) is the day on which Imperial Japan surrendered in World War II, in effect bringing the war to an end. The term has been applied to both of the days on ...

, the squadron remained in the Philippines until inactivating in May 1946. The squadron was again activated in the

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

in 1947. In April 1951, the squadron was called to active duty for the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. It moved to Japan, and again flew combat airlift missions, earning a

Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation The Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation () is a military unit award of the government of South Korea that may be presented to South Korean military units, and foreign military units for outstanding performance in defense of the Republic o ...

. 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 (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the United S ...

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

special operations Special operations (S.O.) 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 may include ...

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 South Pacific OPACCombat Air Transport Command (SCAT) was a joint command of US military logistics units in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II. It contributed notably to the success of U.S. forces in the battles for Guadalcanal (1942–194 ...

(SCAT) from October 1943 to July 1944.Armstrong

Air reserve operations

The squadron conducted tactical airlift 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 Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes Anat ...

in 1990 and 1991 during

Operations Desert Shield The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

and

Desert Storm The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

. 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

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 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

, 14 April 1959 *

927th Troop Carrier Group 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the Brahmi numerals, beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshat ...

(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 An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

, Nebraska, 18 December 1942 *

Pope Field Pope Field is a U.S. military facility located 12 miles (19 km) northwest of the central business district of Fayetteville, in Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States.. Federal Aviation Administration. effective 15 November 2012 ...

, North Carolina, 3 May 1943 *

Baer Field Baer (or Bär, from german: bear, links=no) or Van Baer is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: Baer * Alan Baer, American tuba player * Arthur "Bugs" Baer (1886–1969), American journalist and humorist * Buddy Baer (1915–198 ...

, Indiana, 20 June – 18 July 1943 *

Espiritu Santo Espiritu Santo (, ; ) is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of and a population of around 40,000 according to the 2009 census. Geography The island belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region o ...

, 6 August 1943 *

Los Negros Island Los Negros Island is the third largest of the Admiralty Islands. It is significant because it contains the main airport of Manus Province on its eastern coastline, at Momote. It is connected to Lorengau, the capital of the province, on Manus I ...

, 13 August 1944 *

Biak Biak is an island located in Cenderawasih Bay near the northern coast of Papua, an Indonesian province, and is just northwest of New Guinea. Biak is the largest island in its small archipelago, and has many atolls, reefs, and corals. The large ...

, 1 October 1944 (air echelon operated from

Wakde Wakde is an island group in Sarmi Regency, Papua, Indonesia, between the districts of Pantai Timur and Tor Atas. It comprises two islands, Insumuar (the larger) and Insumanai (much smaller). History Occupied by Japanese forces in April 1942, th ...

, 4–19 October 1944, and from Noemfoor, 29 October - 29 December 1944) *

Dulag Airfield Dulag Airfield is a World War II airfield located near Dulag in the province of Leyte, Philippines. It was closed after the war. History The airfield was built by the Japanese during the Occupation of the Philippines in 1943. Seized by the Americ ...

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

, 3 May 1945 * Clark Field,

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

, 23 January – 15 May 1946 *

Andrews Field Andrews may refer to: Places Australia *Andrews, Queensland *Andrews, South Australia United States *Andrews, Florida (disambiguation), various places *Andrews, Indiana * Andrews, Nebraska *Andrews, North Carolina * Andrews, Oregon * Andrews, Sou ...

(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 Selfridge Air National Guard Base or Selfridge ANGB is an Air National Guard installation located in Harrison Township, Michigan, near Mount Clemens. Selfridge Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the Unit ...

(later Selfridge Air National Guard Base), Michigan, 16 November 1957 *

, Florida, 1 May 2008 – present

Aircraft

Douglas C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF 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 and remained ...

(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 civilian a ...

(1946) *

Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar The Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar (Navy and Marine Corps designation R4Q) was an American military transport aircraft developed from the World War II-era Fairchild C-82 Packet, designed to carry cargo, personnel, litter patients, and mechani ...

(1952, 1953–1954, 1957–1969) *

Cessna U-3 Blue Canoe The Cessna 310 is an American four-to-six-seat, low-wing, twin-engine monoplane produced by Cessna between 1954 and 1980. It was the first twin-engine aircraft that Cessna put into production after World War II. Development The 310 first fle ...

(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 (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally desig ...

(1971–1992) * Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker (1992 – present)

References

Notes

; Explanatory notes ; Citations

Bibliography

* * * * *