History
Activated in early 1940 as part of the pre-World War II build up of the United States Army Air Corps after the breakout of war in Europe. Assigned to the GHQ Northeast Air District, equipped with pre-production YB-17s; later early model B-17C/D heavy bombers. After the Pearl Harbor Attack. flew antisubmarine patrol missions in the Caribbean from, January–June 1942.
Returned to the United States in June 1942 and was assigned to II Bomber Command. Was an Operational Training (OTU) and later Replacement Training Unit (RTU) for B-17 heavy bomber units and replacement personnel until March 1944 with the end of Heavy Bomber training.
Redgesignated as a B-29 Superfortress very heavy bombardment Squadron under Second Air Force. Deployed to the Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO), assigned to North Field, Guam under XXI Bomber Command. Flew very long range strategic bombardment missions over the Japanese Home Islands, attacking military, industrial and transportation targets. Switched to night incendiary raids attacking major Japanese cities in the spring of 1945, causing massive destruction of urbanized areas. Continued strategic bombing raids and incendiary attacks until Japanese Capitulation in August 1945.
Squadron remained in Western Pacific, although largely demobilized in the fall of 1945. Some aircraft scrapped on Tinian; others flown to storage depots in the United States. Remained as a paper unit assigned to Twentieth Air Force until inactivated in early 1948.
The 6th performed air refueling training from, 1959–1962 and flew worldwide air refueling from, 1963–1967, including support of tactical aircraft flying in Southeast Asia. The squadron has again flown worldwide air refueling since 1989, including support of deployments to Southwest Asia from, 1990–1991. It provided humanitarian airlift to Somalia from, 1992–1993.
On 19 Sep 1985 the 6th Air Refueling Squadron was consolidated with the 6th Bombatdment Squadron (Very Heavy), a unit that was last active 27 Jun 1949. This action was directed by Department of the Air Force Letter DAF/MPM 662q Attachment 2 (Inactive Units), 19 Sep 1985. The Consolidated Unit will retain the Designation of 6th Air Refueling Squadron, Heavy".
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—Milan Kundera (b. 1929)
“They are a sort of post-house,where the Fates
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Leaving at last not much besides chronology,
Excepting the post-obits of theology.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)
“The true theater of history is therefore the temperate zone.”
—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831)