32d Air Refueling Squadron - History

History

Established as an Army Signal Corps aero squadron in June 1917; deployed to France in September 1917. In France, the 32d served as an aircraft repair unit 1917–1918. Served as part of the Army of Occupation in the Rhineland after the 1918 armistice and returned to the United States in April 1919; inactivated.

Re-established and activated as an Army Air Corps bombardment squadron in 1932; assigned to California where the squadron flew a mixture of transport; observation and bombers. Received B-18 Bolo medium and early model YB-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers in 1935; subsequently B-17B and B-17Cs in the late 1930s.

At the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor the squadron was under orders to move to the Philippines. A portion of the squadron had already set sail from San Francisco on 6 December only to return on 9 December. The air echelon dispersed to Muroc Army Airfield after the attack for a possible attack on Japanese forces that might attack the California Coast. Later in December the air echelon was assigned to the Sierra Bombardment Group, which deployed to Australia, where it was dissolved and personnel assigned to other squadrons which had withdrawn from the Philippines.

Squadron was reformed in the United States in March 1942, by a redesignation of the newly-established 354th Bombardment Squadron; trained under Second Air Force. Flew antisubmarine patrols off the California coast from, late May–early June 1942, then over the Mid-Atlantic coast during June–July 1942.

Deployed to European Theater of Operations (ETO) in August 1942, being assigned to VIII Bomber Command, one of the first B-17 heavy bomb squadrons assigned to England. Engaged in strategic bombardment operations over Occupied Europe, attacking enemy military and industrial targets. Reassigned to Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) as part of Operation Torch invasion of North Africa. Operated from desert airfields in Algeria and Tunisia during North African and Tunisian campaign. Assigned to Northwest African Strategic Air Force during Invasion of Sicily and later Italy in 1943. Allocated to Fifteenth Air Force for strategic bombing of Nazi Germany and occupied Europe. Attacked enemy targets primarily in the Balkans; Southern France; Southern Germany and Austria from southern Italy; engaged in shuttle bombing missions to airfields in the Soviet Union during the summer of 1944.

Personnel largely demobilized after German capitulation in May 1945; squadron reassigned to the United States and was programmed for conversion to B-29 Superfortress operations and deployment to Pacific Theater, plans canceled after Japanese capitulation in August 1945. Aircraft sent to storage and unit inactivated largely as a paper unit in October 1945.

Reactivated in 1946 as a Strategic Air Command B-29 squadron. Deployed to Furstenfeldbruck AB, Germany, July-August 1948; to RAF Station Scrampton, England, October 1948-January 1949; and to RAF Stations Lakenheath and Sculthorpe, May-November 1950 for "show of force" missions in Europe as a result of the Berlin Blockade by the Soviet Union and rising Cold War tensions in Europe.

Equipped in 1953 with B-47 Stratojets; the squadron trained with electronic countermeasures from 1958–1964 and performed aerial refueling operations worldwide from 1965–1979 and since 1981. From c. 10 June–8 October 1972, all personnel and aircraft were on loan to units in the Pacific or other Strategic Air Command units, leaving the squadron unmanned. It deployed most aircraft and personnel to Southeast Asia October–December 1972, in support of Operation Linebacker II. It again deployed aircrews and tankers to various locations for air refueling support in Southwest Asia from August 1990–April 1991.

The 32d received the first KC-10A delivered to the Air Force, at Barksdale AFB, on 17 March 1981.