341st Air Refueling Squadron

The 641st Bombardment Squadron was activated in June 1943 at Will Rogers Field, Oklahoma^[1] as one of the four original squadrons of the 409th Bombardment Group.^[2] The squadron trained under Third Air Force in Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana with Douglas A-20 Havoc light bombardment aircraft.^[2]

The squadron deployed to the European Theater of Operations in March 1944, where it became part of IX Bomber Command of Ninth Air Force.^[2]

The 641st initially flew sweeps over Occupied France from its base in England, attacking coastal defenses, V-1 flying bomb and V-2 rocket sites, airfields, and other targets in France in preparation for Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy. After D-Day, the squadron supported ground forces during the Battle of Normandy by hitting gun batteries, rail lines, bridges, communications, and other objectives. During July 1944, it aided the Allied offensive at Caen and the breakthrough at Saint-Lô with attacks on enemy troops, flak positions, fortified villages, and supply dumps.^[2]

The squadron moved to Advanced Landing Grounds in France in September 1944, providing Third Army with close air support in its advance toward Germany through November.^[2]

In December, the squadron converted to Douglas A-26 Invaders. It then participated in the Battle of the Bulge by attacking lines of communications and logistics. The squadron continued combat operations until May, flying its last combat mission against an ammunition dump in Czechoslovakia on 3 May.^[2]

The unit returned to the United States and initially was stationed at Seymour Johnson Field, North Carolina where it prepared to deploy to the Pacific Theater of Operations for operations against the Japanese Home Islands. The deployment to the Pacific Theater was cancelled with the Surrender of Japan in August.^{[citation needed]} The 641st was inactivated at Westover Field, Massachusetts in early November.^[1]

The 341st Air Refueling Squadron was activated in June 1955 at Castle Air Force Base, California, although it did not become operational until 20 July.^[3] After completing training with the 93d Bombardment Wing at Castle, the squadron moved to its permanent home at Dow Air Force Base, Maine where it was assigned to the 4060th Air Refueling Wing. The squadron mission was to provide air refueling for Strategic Air Command (SAC) units. The squadron flew KC-97F and KC-97G Stratofreighters from activation in 1955 until it was discontinued in 1963.

The 341st provided refueling support for SAC wings deploying and redeploying from Europe and North Africa during Operation Reflex.^[4] It also deployed to locations such as Ernest Harmon Air Force Base, Newfoundland^[5] and Thule Air Base, Greenland.^[6] In 1960 the squadron transferred to the 4038th Strategic Wing, which replaced the 4060th wing at Dow^[7] as part of a SAC program to disperse its Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bombers over a larger number of bases, thus making it more difficult for the Soviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike.

During October and November 1962 the 341st temporarily curtailed training and assumed an increased alert posture in response to the Cuban Missile Crisis.^[8] The squadron became non-operational on 15 July 1963^[9] and was inactivated on 1 September as part of the phaseout of the KC-97 from SAC.

The 641st Bombardment Squadron and the 341st Air Refueling Squadron were consolidated into a single unit on 19 September 1985 but the consolidated squadron has not been active.^[10] In 2001, the squadron was converted to provisional status as the 341st Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron.

• 409th Bombardment Group: 1 June 1943 – 7 November 1945^[1]
• Fifteenth Air Force: 11 June 1954 (attached to 93d Bombardment Wing)^[3]
• 4060th Air Refueling Wing: 15 August 1955^[12]
• 4038th Strategic Wing: 1 February 1960^[7]
• 397th Bombardment Wing: 1 February 1963 – 1 September 1963^[9]
• United States Air Forces Europe to activate or inactivate as needed after 5 February 2001

• Douglas A-20 Havoc, 1943–1945
• Douglas A-26 Invader, 1945^[11]
• Boeing KC-97 Stratotanker, 1955–1963

Explanatory notes

Citations

  This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• Anderson, Capt. Barry (1985). Army Air Forces Stations: A Guide to the Stations Where U.S. Army Air Forces Personnel Served in the United Kingdom During World War II (PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
• Johnson, 1st Lt. David C. (1988). U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO) D-Day to V-E Day (PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 September 2015.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961]. Air Force Combat Units of World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-02-1. LCCN 61060979.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556.
• Mueller, Robert (1989). Air Force Bases, Vol. I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982 (PDF). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-53-6.
• Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947–1977. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-12-9.