The 68th 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 last assigned to the 305th Bombardment Wing at

Bunker Hill Air Force Base Grissom Air Reserve Base is a United States Air Force base, located about north of Kokomo, Indiana, Kokomo in Cass County, Indiana, Cass and Miami County, Indiana, Miami counties in Indiana. The facility was established as a U.S. Navy installat ...

, Indiana, where it was inactivated on 25 March 1965. The earliest predecessor of the squadron was the 468th Bombardment Squadron, which served as a heavy

bombardment A bombardment is an attack by artillery fire or by dropping bombs from aircraft on fortifications, combatants, or towns and buildings. Prior to World War I, the term was only applied to the bombardment of defenseless or undefended objects, ...

training unit until it was disbanded in a reorganization of

United States 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 ...

units in the United States designed to conserve manpower needed in the overseas theaters. The 68th Air Refueling Squadron served with

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both 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 ...

to extend the range of bombers assigned to the command as needed to perform their worldwide mission. It was discontinued in 1965 and its mission, personnel and equipment were transferred to the

305th Air Refueling Squadron The 305th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 305th Air Refueling Wing at Grissom Air Force Base, Indiana, where it was inactivated on 20 August 1993. The first predecessor of the squ ...

. In 1985 the two squadrons were consolidated into a single unit, but have not been active since then.

History

World War II

The 468th Bombardment Squadron was activated as a

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 ...

heavy bombardment

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, ...

in July 1942. The squadron was part of

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 ...

and served as an operational training unit (OTU). The OTU program involved the use of an oversized parent unit to provide cadres to "satellite groups". However, the

found that standard military units, based on relatively inflexible tables of organization were proving less well adapted to the mission. Accordingly, a more functional system was adopted in which each base was organized into a separate numbered unit. The squadron and its parent group were inactivated in 1944 and replaced by the 232d Army Air Forces Base Unit (Development, Heavy) as

Dalhart Army Air Field Dalhart Army Air Base is a former World War II military airfield complex near the city of Dalhart, Texas. It operated three training sites for the United States Army Air Forces from 1943 until 1945. The majority of the namesake city of Dalhart, ...

prepared to transition to

Boeing B-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Fl ...

training.

Strategic Air Command

The 68th Air Refueling Squadron was activated briefly in 1952 as a

(SAC)

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 ...

squadron, but was apparently not manned before being inactivated seven weeks later. It was reactivated toward the end of 1953 and equipped 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 developm ...

aircraft to support 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 ...

medium

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...

s of the 68th Bombardment Wing. In September 1957, the squadron moved to

when SAC assumed responsibility for the base from

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 ...

. It was the first operational SAC unit at Bunker Hill. In 1959 the squadron upgraded to the jet

Boeing 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 transpor ...

in anticipation of the arrival of the 305th Bombardment Wing at Bunker Hill and the wing's conversion from B-47s to the

Convair B-58 Hustler The Convair B-58 Hustler, designed and produced by American aircraft manufacturer Convair, was the first operational bomber capable of Mach 2 flight. The B-58 was developed during the 1950s for the United States Air Force (USAF) Strategic Air ...

.Ravenstein, p. 150 The squadron was inactivated in 1965 and replaced by the

, which assumed its mission, personnel, and equipment.''See'' Mueller On 19 September 1985 the 68th Air Refueling Squadron was consolidated with the 468th Bombardment Squadron. The consolidated unit retains the designation of 68th Air Refueling Squadron, Heavy.Department of the Air Force/MPM Letter 662q, 19 Sep 85, Subject: Reconstitution, Redesignation, and Consolidation of Selected Air Force Tactical Squadrons

Lineage

468th Bombardment Squadron * Constituted as 468th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 9 July 1942 : Activated on 15 July 1942 : Inactivated on 1 April 1944 * Consolidated with 68th Air Refueling Squadron on 19 September 1985 as the 68th Air Refueling Squadron (remained inactive) 68th Air Refueling Squadron * Constituted as 68th Air Refueling Squadron, Medium on 7 April 1952 : Activated on 8 April 1952 (not operational) : Inactivated on 28 May 1952 * Activated 25 November 1953 : Redesignated 68th Air Refueling Squadron, Heavy on 1 June 1959 : Inactivated on 25 March 1965 * Consolidated with 468th Bombardment Squadron on 19 September 1985 (remained inactive)

Assignments

* 333d Bombardment Group, 15 July 1942 – 1 April 1944 * 68th Strategic Reconnaissance Group, 8 April 1952 – 28 May 1952 (attached to 68th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing) * 68th Bombardment Wing, 25 November 1953 (detached from 14 June 1954 – 7 August 1954) * 4041st Air Base Group, 15 September 1957 * 305th Bombardment Wing, 1 June 1959 – 25 March 1965

Stations

Salt Lake City Army Air Base Salt Lake City International Airport is a civil-military airport located about west of Downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, in the United States. The airport is the closest commercial airport for more than 2.5 million people and is within a 30-minu ...

, Utah, 15 July 1942 * Topeka Army Air Base, Kansas, c. 21 August 1942 * Dalhart Army Air Field, Texas, 22 February 1943 – 1 April 1944 *

Lake Charles AFB A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a Depression (geology), basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the World Ocean, oce ...

, Louisiana, 8 April 1952 – 28 May 1952 * Lake Charles AFB, Louisiana, 25 November 1953 * Bunker Hill AFB, Indiana, 3 September 1957 – 25 March 1965

Aircraft

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 ...

, 1942–1943 *

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 ...

, 1952–1957 *

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 transpo ...

, 1959–1965

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * {{USAF air refueling units 068 Military units and formations established in 1952 068