63rd Air Refueling Squadron

The 63rd Air Refueling Squadron, sometimes written as 63d Air Refueling Squadron, (63 ARS) is a United States Air Force Reserve squadron, assigned to the 927th Operations Group, stationed at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. It is a corollary unit of the active duty 91st Air Refueling Squadron, 6th Air Mobility Wing (6 AMW). The squadron operates the KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft conducting aerial refueling missions as the reserve associate to the 6th Air Mobility Wing.

63rd Air Refueling Squadron
63rd Air Refueling Squadron Patch
Active	12 December 1942 – 15 May 1946 21 June 1947 - Present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Type	Aerial refueling
Part of	Air Force Reserve Command 4th Air Force 927th Air Refueling Wing 927th Operations Group
Garrison/HQ	MacDill Air Force Base
Nickname(s)	Flying Jennies
Decorations	DUC NUC Navy MUC AFOUA PPUC ROK PUC RVGC w/ Palm

History

The 63d flew aerial transportation and casualty evacuation in the South and Southwest Pacific from, 6 August 1943-c. August 1945, and between Japan and Korea from, 19 May-31 December 1952. The squadron received a Navy Unit Commendation for its service at part of the South Pacific Combat Air Transport Command (SCAT) from October 1943 to July 1944.[1] The squadron conducted tactical airlift operations from, 1953–1969 and 1971–1992 and trained for tactical air support missions from, 1969-1971. It deployed personnel to Southwest Asia in 1990 and 1991 during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. It has flown air refueling missions since 1992.[2]

Operations[2]

• World War II
• Korean War
• Vietnam War
• Operation Desert Storm

Lineage[2]

• 63d Troop Carrier Squadron (1942–1949)
• 63d Troop Carrier Squadron, Medium (1949–1967)
• 63d Tactical Airlift Squadron (1967–1969)
• 63d Tactical Air Support Squadron (1969–1971)
• 63d Tactical Airlift Squadron (1971–1992)
• 63d Airlift Squadron (1992)
• 63d Air Refueling Squadron (1992 – present)

Assignments[2]

• 403d Troop Carrier Group (1942–1946)
  • Attached: South Pacific Combat Air Transport Command (10 October 1943 – 3 July 1944)
• 419th Troop Carrier Group (1947–1949)
• 403d Troop Carrier Wing (1949–1963)
• 927th Air Refueling Group (1963 – present)

Bases stationed[2]

Bowman Field, Kentucky (1942) Alliance Army Air Field, Nebraska (1942–1943) Pope Field, North Carolina (1943) Baer Field, Indiana (1943) Espiritu Santo (1943–1944) Los Negros (1944) Biak (1944–1945) Air Echelon: Wakde (4–19 October 1944) Air Echelon: Noemfoor (29 October - 29 December 1944)

Dulag, Leyte (1945–1946) Clark Field, Luzon (1946) Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland (1947–1949) Portland Municipal Airport, Oregon (1949–1952) Ashiya Air Base, Japan (1952–1953) Portland International Airport, Oregon (1953–1957) Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan (1957–2008) MacDill Air Force Base, Florida (2008 – present)

Aircraft Operated[2]

• C-47 Skytrain (1943–1946)
• C-46 Commando (1945–1946, 1951–1952, 1953–1957)
• C-54 Skymaster (1946)
• C-119 Flying Boxcar (1952, 1953–1954, 1957–1969)
• U-3 Blue Canoe (1969–1971)
• C-130 Hercules (1971–1992)
• KC-135 Stratotanker (1992 – present)

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

1. Armstrong, William. (2017). Marine Air Group 25 and SCAT (Images of Aviation). Arcadia. ISBN 1467127434.
2. AFHRA 63 ARS Page

• 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.
• AFHRA 63d Air Refueling Squadron History
• Armstrong, William. (2017). Marine Air Group 25 and SCAT (Images of Aviation). Arcadia. ISBN 1467127434.

See also