98th Air Refueling Squadron
Encyclopedia
The 98th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

 unit. Its last assignment was with the 92d Operations Group
92d Operations Group
The 92d Air Refueling Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Mobility Command Eighteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington...

, based at Fairchild Air Force Base
Fairchild Air Force Base
Fairchild Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately southwest of Spokane, Washington.The host unit at Fairchild is the 92d Air Refueling Wing assigned to the Air Mobility Command's 15th Expeditionary Mobility Task Force...

, Washington. It was inactivated on 1 July 1998.

History

Established in January 1942 as B-25 Mitchell
B-25 Mitchell
The North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, as well as many other air forces after the war ended, and saw service across four decades.The B-25 was named...

 medium bomber Operational Training Unit for Third Air Force
Third Air Force
The Third Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe . It is headquartered at Ramstein Air Base, Germany....

. Became B-26 Marauder
B-26 Marauder
The Martin B-26 Marauder was a World War II twin-engine medium bomber built by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in the Pacific Theater in early 1942, it was also used in the Mediterranean Theater and in Western Europe....

 OTU in June 1942, also flew antisubmarine patrols over the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...

.

Disbanded in October 1943; reconstituted as B-29 Superfortress
B-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...

 Very Heavy Bomber squadron, deployed to Central Pacific Area (CPA). Engaged in strategic bombardment operations over Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, January-August 1945. attacking Japanese military and industrial targets; also later engaging in night incendiary raids, flying at night and at low altitude to strike area targets in Japan.

After the Japanese capitulation in August 1945 it dropped food and supplies to Allied prisoners, participated in show-of-force missions, and flew over Japan to evaluate damage inflicted by bombardment operations. Moved to the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

  in March 1946. Inactivated at Clark Field on Luzon on June 15, 1946; its low-hour aircraft flown to storage depots in the United States.

On 16 August 1950 the unit was reactivated as the 98th Air Refueling Squadron at Spokane Air Force Base, Washington and assigned to the 98th Bombardment Group, Medium, while flying the KB-29. It was inactivated again on 8 April 1952. From 1952 to 1963, the squadron was activated and deactivated several times and moved from base to base.

The 98th Air Refueling Squadron (SAC) was formed at Lincoln AFB, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....

 in 1954. Made up of former members of the 55th ARS from Forbes AFB, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

. Inactivated in 1963 when SAC's heavy strategic bomber forces began to be drawn down in favor of ICBMs. In 1985, after 22 years of inactivation, the 98th ARS was reactivated and consolidated with the 398th Bombardment Squadron. It was re-designated the 98th Air Refueling Squadron, Heavy on 19 September 1986 and then renamed the 98th Air Refueling Squadron on 1 April 1994 at Fairchild AFB, Washington, flying KC-135T Stratotanker aircraft. The 98th ARS was again deactivated in 1998 as the Air Force drew down after the end of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

.

Lineage

  • Constituted 8th Reconnaissance Squadron (Medium) on 13 January 1942
Activated on 1 February 1942
Redesignated 398th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) on 22 April 1942
Disbanded on 10 October 1943.
  • Constituted 398th Bombardment Squadron (Very Heavy) on 28 February 1944
Activated on 11 March 1944
Inactivated on 15 June 1946
  • Consolidated on 1 June 1985 with the 98th Air Refueling Squadron which was activated on 16 August 1950.
Inactivated on 7 January 1963
  • Redesignated 98th Air Refueling Squadron, Heavy on 19 September 1986
Activated on 19 September 1986
Redesignated 98th Air Refueling Squadron on 1 April 1994
Inactivated on 30 September 1998.

Assignments

  • 21st Bombardment Group, attached on 1 February 1942, and assigned 22 April 1942-10 October 1943
  • 504th Bombardment Group
    504th Bombardment Group
    The 504th Bombardment Group was a World War II United States Army Air Forces combat organization. It was inactivated on 15 June 1946....

    , 11 March 1944-15 June 1946
  • 98th Bombardment Group, 16 August 1950
  • 98th Bombardment Wing, 16 June 1952-7 January 1963
  • 92d Bombardment Wing, 19 September 1986
Redesignated: 92d Wing, 19 September 1991
Redesignated: 92d Bomb Wing, 1 June 1992
Redesignated: 92d Air Refueling Wing, 19 July 1994-30 September 1998

Stations

  • Bowman Field, Kentucky
    Kentucky
    The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

    , 1 February 1942
  • Jackson Army Air Base, Mississippi
    Mississippi
    Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

    , 8 February 1942
  • Columbia Army Air Base, South Carolina
    South Carolina
    South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

    , 24 April 1942
  • Key Field
    Key field
    A key field is a field or set of fields of a database table which together form a unique identifier for a database record . The aggregate of these fields is usually referred to simply as "the key". Key fields also define searches...

    , Mississippi
    Mississippi
    Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

    , 26 May 1942
  • MacDill Field, Florida
    Florida
    Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

    , 28 June 1942-10 October 1943
  • Dalhart Army Air Field, Texas
    Texas
    Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

    , 11 March 1944

  • Fairmont Army Airfield
    Fairmont Army Airfield
    Fairmont State Airfield is a public use airport located three nautical miles south of the central business district of Fairmont, in Fillmore County, Nebraska, United States. It is owned by the Nebraska Department of Aeronautics. The airport serves the general aviation community, with no scheduled...

    , Nebraska
    Nebraska
    Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....

    , 12 March-5 November 1944
  • North Field
    North Field (Tinian)
    North Field is a former World War II airfield on Tinian in the Mariana Islands. Abandoned after the war, today North Field is a tourist attraction....

    , Tinian
    Tinian
    Tinian is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.-Geography:Tinian is about 5 miles southwest of its sister island, Saipan, from which it is separated by the Saipan Channel. It has a land area of 39 sq.mi....

    , Mariana Islands
    Mariana Islands
    The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...

    , 23 December 1944
  • Clark Field, Luzon
    Luzon
    Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...

    , Philippines
    Philippines
    The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

    , 13 March-15 June 1946
  • Fairchild AFB, Washington, 16 August 1950
  • Lincoln AFB, Nebraska
    Nebraska
    Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....

    , 16 April 1954-7 January 1963
  • Fairchild AFB, Washington, 19 September 1986-30 September 1998


Aircraft

  • B-25 Mitchell
    B-25 Mitchell
    The North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, as well as many other air forces after the war ended, and saw service across four decades.The B-25 was named...

    , 1942
  • B-26 Marauder
    B-26 Marauder
    The Martin B-26 Marauder was a World War II twin-engine medium bomber built by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in the Pacific Theater in early 1942, it was also used in the Mediterranean Theater and in Western Europe....

    , 1942–1943
  • B-17 Flying Fortress, 1944
  • B-29 Superfortress
    B-29 Superfortress
    The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...

    , 1944–1946
  • KB-29 Superfortress (Tanker), 1950–1952
  • KC-97 Stratotanker
    KC-97 Stratotanker
    The Boeing KC-97 Stratotanker was a United States strategic tanker aircraft based on the Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter. It was succeeded by the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker.-Design and development:...

    , 1952–1960
  • KC-135 Stratotanker
    KC-135 Stratotanker
    The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an aerial refueling military aircraft. It and the Boeing 707 airliner were developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype. The KC-135 was the US Air Force's first jet-powered refueling tanker and replaced the KC-97 Stratotanker...

    , 1960–1963; 1986–1998
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