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 The 927th Air Refueling Wing (927 ARW) is an Air Reserve Component (ARC) unit of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the Fourth Air Force (4 AF) of Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) and is stationed at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. ...

at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. It is a reserve associate of the active duty 91st Air Refueling Squadron. 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 Boeing C-135 Stratolifter, C-135 Strat ...

aircraft conducting air refueling 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

as the 63d Troop Carrier Squadron. After Training in the United States, it deployed to the Southwest Pacific Theater, where it flew

airlift An airlift is the organized delivery of supplies or personnel primarily via military transport aircraft. Airlifting consists of two distinct types: strategic and tactical. Typically, strategic airlifting involves moving material long distan ...

missions, earning a

Distinguished Unit Citation The Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the uniformed services of the United States, and those of allied countries, for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed ene ...

, Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation, 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 ...

for its actions. After V-J Day, the squadron remained in the Philippines until inactivating in May 1946. The squadron was again activated in the reserve in 1947. In April 1951, the squadron was called to active duty for the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top: ...

. It moved to Japan, and again flew combat airlift missions, earning a Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation. 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 Unite ...

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 (SCAT) from October 1943 to July 1944.Armstrong

Air reserve operations

The squadron conducted tactical

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 Ana ...

in 1990 and 1991 during Operations Desert Shield and

Desert Storm The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

. 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 South Pacific Combat Air Transport Command 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, 14 April 1959 * 927th Troop Carrier Group (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 Bowman Field may refer to: Airports * Bowman Field (Kentucky), an airport in Louisville, Kentucky * Bowman Field (Maine), an airport in Livermore Falls, Maine * Bowman Field (Montana), an airport in Anaconda, Montana * Bowman Municipal Airport, an a ...

, 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, 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, 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 Is ...

, 13 August 1944 * Biak, 1 October 1944 (air echelon operated from Wakde, 4–19 October 1944, and from Noemfoor, 29 October - 29 December 1944) * Dulag Airfield, Leyte, 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, ...

, 23 January – 15 May 1946 * Andrews Field (later Andrews Air Force Base), Maryland, 21 June 1947 * Portland Municipal Airport, Oregon, 27 June 1949 – 29 March 1952 *

Ashiya Air Base is a military airdrome of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force . It is located north of Ashiya in the Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. History Ashiya Airfield was established as a Japanese Army Air Force facility in 1944, and was used primarily as a de ...

, Japan, 14 April 1952 – 1 January 1953 * Portland International Airport, Oregon, 1 January 1953 * Selfridge Air Force Base (later Selfridge Air National Guard Base), Michigan, 16 November 1957 * MacDill Air Force Base, 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 remain ...

(1943–1946) *

Curtiss C-46 Commando The Curtiss C-46 Commando is a twin-engine transport aircraft derived from the Curtiss CW-20 pressurised high-altitude airliner design. Early press reports used the name "Condor III" but the Commando name was in use by early 1942 in company pub ...

(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 ...

(1946) * Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar (1952, 1953–1954, 1957–1969) * Cessna U-3 Blue Canoe (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 des ...

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

References

Notes

; Explanatory notes ; Citations

Bibliography

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