168th Air Refueling Squadron

168th Air Refueling Squadron
File:168th Air Refueling Squadron emblem.jpg 168th Air Refueling Squadron Emblem
Active	since 1942
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Type	Squadron
Role	Air Refueling
Part of	Air National Guard/Pacific Air Forces
Garrison/HQ	Eielson Air Force Base
Nickname(s)	Chena
Commanders
Current commander	Lt. Colonel Robert Mackelprang

The 168th Air Refueling Squadron (168 ARS) is a unit of the [168th Air Refueling Wing]] located at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska.

History

World War II

Legacy emblem of the World War II 437th Bombardment Squadron

Activated in mid-1942 as a B-26 Marauder medium bombardment group. Trained under Third Air Force in Louisiana; reassigned to the European Theater of Operations (ETO), being assigned initially to VIII Air Support Command in England in September 1942. Flew several missions over France and Belgium from its base in England during October, then being reassigned to the new Twelfth Air Force in Algeria.

During the North African Campaign, engaged in tactical bomb strikes of enemy targets, primarily in eastern Algeria and Tunisia, including railroads, airfields, harbor installations, and enemy shipping along the Mediterranean Coast.

Squadron returned to French Morocco in March 1943, then returned to combat in June 1943, attacking enemy targets on Italian island in the Mediterranean, including Sicily, Sardinia, and Pantelleria. From bases in Algeria and Tunisia, the group supported the Allied invasion of Italy, bombing bridges and marshalling yards during the late summer and early autumn of 1943.

In November, it moved to Sardinia, to strike Axis targets in central Italy. Early in 1944, the squadron supported Allied ground forces as they advanced in the Cassino and Anzio areas. Later in the year, the group attacked German supply lines in northern Italy, bombing bridges, marshalling yards, and roads. During the summer, it bombed bridges over the Po River in northern Italy to block the stream of German supplies and reinforcements going southward. Supported the invasion of southern France in August 1944 by attacking coastal batteries, radar stations, and bridges. From Corsica, it hit railroad bridges in Northern Italy and late in the year attacked railroad lines through the Brenner Pass that connected Germany and Austria with Italy.

In January 1945, the squadron returned to the United States, where it began to train with A-26 aircraft for operations in the Pacific Theater. Between May and July 1945, moved by ship to Okinawa, and on 16 July flew its first mission against Japan. From then until the end of the fighting in early August, the squadron attacked enemy targets such as airfields and industrial centers on Kyūshū and occupied Shanghai area of China, and shipping around the Ryukyu Islands and in the East China Sea. In November and December 1945, the squadron returned to the United States and was inactivated.

Operations and Decorations

• Combat Operations: World War II

• Campaigns: Algeria-French Morocco, with Arrowhead; Tunisia; Sicily; Naples-Foggia; Anzio; Rome-Arno; Southern France; North Apennines; Air Combat, EAME Theater; Air Offensive, Japan; Ryukyus; China Offensive.

Western Pacific; Leyte; Luzon; Southern Philippines; Ryukyus

• Decorations:

Distinguished Unit Citations: Rome, Italy, 3 Mar 1944; Florence, Italy, 11 Mar 1944

French Croix de Guerre with Palm; Apr, May and Jun 1944.

Lineage

• Constituted 437th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) on 19 Jun 1942

Activated on 26 Jun 1942

Redesignated 437th Bombardment Squadron (Light) on 3 Feb 1945

Inactivated on 4 Jan 1946

• Redesignated 168th Bombardment Squadron (Light), and allotted to Illinois Air National Guard, on 24 May 1946.

Extended federal recognition on 19 Oct 1947

Re-designated: 168th Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 1 Jan 1953

Re-designated: 168th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron on 1 Jul 1955

Inactivated on 31 May 1958

• Redesignated 168th Air Refuling Squadron on 1 Oct 1986.

Assignments

• 319th Bombardment Group, 26 Jun 1942
• VII Bomber Command, 18 Dec 1945-4 Jan 1946
• 126th Bombardment Group (Light), 19 Oct 1947
• 126th Composite Group, Nov 1950
• 126th Bombardment Group (Light), Feb 1951
• 126th Fighter Bomber Group, 1 Jan 1953
• 126th Fighter Interceptor Group, 1 Jul 1955-31 May 1958
• Alaska Air National Guard, 1 Oct 1986
• 168th Air Refueling Group, 23 Oct 1990-Present

Stations

• Barksdale Field, Louisiana, 26 June 1942
• Harding Army Air Field, Louisiana, 8–27 August 1942
• RAF Shipdham (USAAF Station 115), England, 12 September 1942
• RAF Horsham St Faith (USAAF Station 123), England, c. 4 October 1942
• Saint-Leu Airfield, Algeria, c. 11 November 1942
• Oran Tafaraoui Airport, Algeria, 18 November 1942
• Maison Blanche Airport, Algeria, 24 November 1942
• Telergma Airfield, Algeria, c. 12 December 1942
• Oujda Airfield, French Morocco, 3 March 1943
• Rabat-Salé Airport, French Morocco, 25 April 1943
• Sedrata Airfield, Algeria, 1 June 1943
• Djedeida Airfield, Tunisia, 26 June 1943

• Decimomannu Airfield, Sardinia, c. 1 November 1943
• Serragia Airfield, Corsica, c. 21 September 1944–1 January 1945
• Bradley Field, Connecticut, 25 January 1945
• Columbia Army Air Base, South Carolina, c. 28 February–27 April 1945
• Kadena Airfield, Okinawa, c. 2 July 1945
• Machinato-Naha Airfield, Okinawa, 21 July–21 November 1945
• Fort Lawton, Washington, 17–18 December 1945
• Orchard Place Airport (Later O’Hare IAP), Illinois, 19 Oct 1947-31 May 1958

Operated from: Langley AFB, Virginia, Jul 1951

Operated from: Bordeaux-Merignac AB, France, Oct-Nov 1951

Operated from: Laon-Couvron AB, France, May 1952-1 Jan 1953

• Eilson AFB, Alaska, 1 Oct 1986-Present.

Aircraft

• B-26 Marauder, 1942–1944
• B-25 Mitchell, 1944–1945
• A-26 Invader, 1945–1946
• A-26B/C, 1947-1954
• F-51D, 1953-1955

• F-84F, 1955-1957
• F-86L, 1957-1958
• KC-135E, 1986-1995
• KC-135D, 1990-1995
• KC-135R, 1995-Present

References

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

• Mauer, Mauer (1969), Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II, Air Force Historical Studies Office, Maxwell AFB, Alabama. ISBN 0-89201-097-5
• Lineage and History, 168th Air Refueling Squadron

External links

• 168th Air Refueling Wing (official site)
• Eielson Air Force Base
• Alaska Air National Guard