World War II

398th Bombardment Group B-17s on a bombing run to Neumünster, Germany

The 602d Bombardment Squadron was activated at Ephrata Army Air Base, Washington, in early 1943, as one of the four original squadrons of the 398th Bombardment Group.^[1][3] The squadron trained under II Bomber Command with Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses.^[1] The squadron's training was interrupted in July 1943, when it became a replacement training unit.^[3] Replacement training units were oversized units which trained aircrews prior to their deployment to combat theaters.^[4] In November, replacement training ended and the squadron resumed its preparation for overseas deployment.^[3]

The 602d deployed to England in April 1944^[1] aboard the USS Wakefield (AP-21).^[5] Its parent group was the last B-17 group to be assigned to VIII Bomber Command.^[6] The squadron flew its first combat mission the following month. Until V-E Day, the squadron participated in the air offensive against Nazi Germany, bombing such targets as factories in Berlin, marshalling yards in Saarbrücken, shipping facilities in Kiel, oil refineries in Merseburg and aircraft factories in Münster.^[3]

In June 1944, prior to Operation Overlord, the Normandy invasion, the squadron temporarily suspended its strategic bombing to attack coastal defenses and enemy troop concentrations on the Cherbourg peninsula.^[3] Eighth Air Force took advantage of the diversion from strategic bombing to allow newly arrived units like the 602d to fly attacks against nearby targets to gain combat experience. The first target assigned was a V-1 flying bomb launch site near Sottevast, but the unit's inexperience and overcast conditions in the target area caused it to return to its home station without bombing.^[6]

The squadron also struck gun positions near Eindhoven to support Operation Market Garden, the airborne attacks in the Netherlands in September 1944, and attacked power stations, railroads and bridges during the Battle of the Bulge from December until January 1945. It attacked airfields in March 1945, during Operation Varsity, the airborne assault across the Rhine River.^[3]

The squadron flew its last combat mission on 25 April 1945, when it attacked the airfield at Plzeň, Czechoslovakia. After the German surrender, it transported liberated prisoners of war from Germany to France.^[3] It left Europe in May and returned to the United States aboard the RMS Queen Elizabeth, arriving at the New York Port of Embarkation on 29 June.^[5] Squadron members were given thirty days leave, and a cadre assembled at Drew Field, Florida, where the squadron was inactivated in August 1945.^[1][5]

Cold War

The 902d Air Refueling Squadron was activated in May 1958 at Clinton-Sherman Air Force Base, Oklahoma, by Strategic Air Command (SAC), but it apparently did not receive its Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers until the spring of 1959.^[7] It became the refueling component of the 4123d Strategic Wing when the wing moved from Carswell Air Force Base, Texas, in 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.^[8] The squadron operated Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers, providing air refueling support to the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers of its parent wing and other USAF units. Starting in 1960, one third of the squadron's aircraft were maintained on a fifteen-minute alert, fully fueled and ready for combat, to reduce vulnerability to a Soviet missile strike. This was increased to half the squadron's aircraft in 1962.^[9]

The squadron transferred to the 70th Bombardment Wing in 1963, when SAC replaced its Major Command Controlled strategic wings with wings carrying the honors of World War II organizations.^[10] In addition to its alert commitment, the squadron deployed crews and airplanes to support the Spanish and Eielson tanker task forces.^[11]

The 902d deployed personnel and aircraft to the Young Tiger Task Force in the western Pacific to support combat operations of deployed SAC units and tactical aircraft over Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War, between 1966 and 1969.^[12] For several months in 1968 and in 1969, most of its aircrews, plus maintenance and support personnel from its parent wing, were deployed to the Pacific.^[10] The squadron inactivated with its parent 70th Bombardment Wing in 1969, as Clinton-Sherman prepared to close.^[12]

In September 1985, the 602d Bombardment Squadron and the 902d Air Refueling Squadron were consolidated into a single unit in inactive status.^[13]

Assignments

• 398th Bombardment Group, 1 March 1943 – 1 September 1945^[14]
• Second Air Force, 11 December 1958
• 4123d Strategic Wing, 1 March 1959^[7]
• 70th Bombardment Wing, 1 February 1963 – 31 December 1969^[10]
• United States Air Forces Europe to activate or inactivate as needed

Stations

• Ephrata Army Air Base, Washington, 1 March 1943
• Bishop Army Air Field, California, 5 April 1943
• Geiger Field, Washington, 29 April 1943
• Rapid City Army Air Base, South Dakota, 10 June 1943 – 4 April 1944
• RAF Nuthampstead (AAF-131),^[17] England, 22 April 1944 – 26 May 1945
• Drew Field, Florida, 3 July 1945 – 1 September 1945^[14]
• Clinton-Sherman Air Force Base, Oklahoma, 11 December 1958 – 31 December 1969^[7][10]

Aircraft

• Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress, 1943–1945^[14]
• Boeing KC-135A Stratotanker, 1958–1969^[10]

Awards

Award streamer	Award	Dates	Notes
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	6 October 1959 – 15 July 1960	902d Air Refueling Squadron[18]
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award	15 April 1968 – 1 October 1968	902d Air Refueling Squadron[18]

Campaign streamer	Campaign	Dates	Notes
	American Theater	1 March 1943 – 4 April 1944	602d Bombardment Squadron[1]
	Air offensive, Europe	22 April 1944 – 5 June 1944	602d Bombardment Squadron[1]
	Normandy	6 June 1944 – 24 July 1944	602d Bombardment Squadron[1]
	Northern France	25 July 1944 – 14 September 1944	602d Bombardment Squadron[1]
	Rhineland	15 September 1944 – 21 March 1945	602d Bombardment Squadron[1]
	Ardennes-Alsace	16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945	602d Bombardment Squadron[1]
	Central Europe	22 April 1944 – 21 May 1945	602d Bombardment Squadron[1]
	Air combat, EAME Theater	22 April 1944 – 11 May 1945	602d Bombardment Squadron[1]

Notes

Explanatory notes

Citations

Bibliography

 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.
• Craven, Wesley F; Cate, James L, eds. (1955). The Army Air Forces in World War II. Vol. VI, Men & Planes. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press. LCCN 48-3657.
• Freeman, Roger A. (1970). The Mighty Eighth: Units, Men and Machines (A History of the US 8th Army Air Force). London, England, UK: Macdonald and Company. ISBN 978-0-87938-638-2.
• 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.
• 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.
• Watkins, Robert (2008). Battle Colors: Insignia and Markings of the Eighth Air Force in World War II. Vol. I (VIII) Bomber Command. Atglen, PA: Shiffer Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7643-1987-7.
• AF Pamphlet 900-2, Unit Decorations, Awards and Campaign Participation Credits Archived 4 August 2015 at the Wayback Machine Department of the Air Force, Washington, DC, 15 Jun 1971