The 40th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive
United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the
310th Strategic Aerospace Wing at
Schilling Air Force Base, Kansas, where it was inactivated on 15 March 1963. The
squadron's first predecessor is the 540th Bombardment Squadron, which served as a
heavy bomber training unit during
World War II until inactivating in a 1944 reorganization of
Army Air Forces training units. The 40th Squadron was activated at Schilling in 1952 and performed worldwide refueling missions until inactivated.
In October 1943, the squadron moved to
Peterson Field, Colorado, where it flew
Consolidated B-24 Liberator and changed its mission to become a
Replacement Training Unit (RTU). Like OTUs, RTUs were oversized units, but their mission was to train individual
aircrews.[4] However, the AAF was finding that standard military units like the 540th, which were based on relatively inflexible
tables of organization were not 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 for the specific training mission.[5] As a result, the 383d Group, its elements and supporting units were inactivated or disbanded[2][3] and replaced by the 214th AAF Base Unit (Combat Crew Training School, Heavy), which was simultaneously organized at Peterson.
Air refueling operations
The squadron's second predecessor was activated in July 1952 at
Smoky Hill Air Force Base and assigned to the
40th Bombardment Wing.[6] The squadron remained a paper unit and did not become operational until 8 September 1952. Because its parent
wing remained unmanned, the squadron was attached to the
310th Bombardment Wing until 30 April 1953.[7][8]
SAC had begun to include refueling in its war plans,[9] and the squadron made frequent deployments with its KC-97s to forward locations, placing it ahead of the faster Boeing B-47 Stratojets it would refuel, and on their programmed route,[10] as part of
Operation Reflex. Reflex placed
Boeing B-47 Stratojets and KC-97s at bases closer to the Soviet Union for 90-day periods, although individuals rotated back to home bases during unit Reflex deployments[11] During Operation Reflex deployments with the wing, the squadron's aircraft also served as transports, carrying extra air crew, support personnel, and spare parts.[12] The percentage of
Strategic Air Command (SAC) planes on alert gradually grew over the next three years to reach its goal of 1/3 of SAC's force on alert by 1960.[13]
In 1960, the 40th Wing moved to
Forbes Air Force Base, Kansas. The squadron remained behind and was reassigned to the 310th Bombardment Wing. During the
Cuban Missile Crisis, on 24 October SAC went to
DEFCON 2, placing all its aircraft on alert.[14] On 29 October, additional KC-97s were dispersed to forward locations to provide refueling for B-47s on increased alert status.[15] Dispersed B-47s and supporting tankers were recalled to their home bases on 24 November and on 27 November, SAC returned to normal alert posture.[16] The squadron became nonoperational on 1 January 1963 and was inactivated in March 1963 as part of the phaseout of the KC-97 from SAC.[6][8]
Consolidation
On 19 September 1985, the 40th Air Refueling Squadron was consolidated with the 540th Bombardment Squadron, but the consolidated unit has not been active.[6]
Lineage
540th Bombardment Squadron
Constituted as the 540th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 28 October 1942
Consolidated with the 40th Air Refueling Squadron as the 40th Air Refueling Squadron on 19 September 1985[6]
40th Air Refueling Squadron
Constituted as the 40th Air Refueling Squadron, Medium on 18 June 1952
Activated on 8 July 1952
Discontinued on 15 March 1963
Consolidated with the 540th Bombardment Squadron on 19 September 1985[6]
Assignments
383d Bombardment Group, 3 November 1942 – 1 April 1944[17]
40th Bombardment Wing, 8 July 1952 (attached to 310th Bombardment Wing, 8 September 1952 – 30 April 1953, detached 1–10 March 1954, 4 May–27 June 1954, 25 June–5 September 1956, c. 1 July–c. 1 October 1957, c. 1 October 1958 – 10 January 1959)[7][8]
310th Bombardment Wing (later 310th Strategic Aerospace Wing), 1 June 1960 – 15 March 1963[6]
Stations
Salt Lake City Army Air Base, Utah, 3 November 1942
Rapid City Army Air Base, South Dakota, 12 November 1942
^Aircraft was the last C-97 built, originally as Boeing KC-97G-29-BO Stratofreighter, serial 53-3816, upgraded to KC-97G-145-BO. This Aircraft was retired to
Military Aircraft Storage and Disposition Center on 17 December 1965. It was converted to KC-97L configuration and returned to service in the
Arizona Air National Guard on 26 March 1970. It was later on the Mexican civil registry as XA-PII operated by
Aero Pacifico under contract for
Grupo Bimbo. It was later purchased by the Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation to provide spares for its display KC-97 and scrapped. Baugher, Joe (2 April 2023).
"1953 USAF Serial Numbers". Joe Baugher. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
Goss, William A. (1955). "The Organization and its Responsibilities, Chapter 2 The AAF". In Craven, Wesley F.; Cate, James L. (eds.).
The Army Air Forces in World War II(PDF). Vol. VI, Men & Planes. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
LCCN48003657.
OCLC704158. Retrieved 17 December 2016.