622d Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron

F-5C Lightning 'Dot And Dash' after landing on a shuttle flight to Russia in 1944[note 2]

The first predecessor of the squadron was activated at Peterson Field, Colorado in September 1942 as the 22d Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, a component of the 5th Photographic Group.[2] The outfit existed essentially on paper until 21 December 1943 when 12 officers and 129 enlisted men were transferred from the 10th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron. After training, the unit left Colorado Springs on 17 May 1943 and traveled to England aboard the RMS Queen Mary. There it served as a photographic reconnaissance unit until the end of the war.[2]

The squadron arrived at the RAF Mount Farm airfield on 8 June 1943. The unit was equipped with Lockheed F-5 Lightning photographic aircraft and its first mission was flown on 24 June 1943. The 22d Photographic Squadron, along with the 13th and 14th Photographic Squadrons into the on 7 July 1943, when the 7th Photographic Reconnaissance and Mapping Group transferred to England on paper.[3] In 1943, the 22d was among the squadrons flying the first photo reconnaissance missions against Peenemünde.

It received a Distinguished Unit Citation for its coverage of bridges, marshalling yards, canals, highways, and other targets that contributed to the success of the Normandy Campaign.[3] It provided reconnaissance support for the Battle of the Bulge and the Rhine crossings. Its work was also recognized by the French, who awarded the unit the French Croix de Guerre with Palm.[2]

The squadron was redesignated as the 22d Reconnaissance Squadron in 1947 and activated the reserve. It apparently was not fully equipped and was inactivated in the summer of 1949 when Continental Air Command adopted the wing base organization for its reserve units.[2]

The 622d Air Refueling Squadron was established at Alexandria Air Force Base, Louisiana in 1955 to provide dedicated air refueling, initially for North American F-100 Super Sabres and later for other in-flight refueling capable Tactical Air Command fighters, fighter bombers, and reconnaissance aircraft. The squadron was initially equipped with transferred Strategic Air Command Boeing KB-29M Superfortresses that were converted to aerial tankers using a British-developed probe and drogue refueling system.

The squadron re-equipped with Boeing KB-50 Superfortress tankers in 1957 which provided greater speed to refuel jet aircraft. KB-50s were modified about 1960 to the KB-50J configuration, which added a General Electric J47 turbojet engine underneath each wing in place of the auxiliary fuel tanks in order to increase the speed of the aircraft while conducting air refueling operations.

By 1963 aircraft were phased out due to age. SAC, with KC-97s and KC-135s became the Air Force's single manager for air refueling. The squadron inactivated in early 1964 when KB-50Js sent to Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona.

A squadron KC-135E refuels a F-16C Fighting Falcon over the Adriatic. The tanker was deployed from the 940th Air Refueling Wing and the receiver was assigned to the 555th Fighter Squadron.

The consolidated squadron was converted to provisional status and redesignated the 622d Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron. It operated from Istres le Tube in France from 2000 to 2004, providing air refueling to aircraft supporting the NATO Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Operation Joint Forge.

• 5th Photographic Group (later 5th Photographic Reconnaissance and Mapping Group): 2 September 1942 (attached to Eighth Air Force after 8 June 1943)
• 7th Photographic Reconnaissance and Mapping Group (later 7th Photographic Group, 7th Reconnaissance Group): 7 July 1943 – 21 November 1945
• 74th Reconnaissance Group: 23 October 1947 - 27 June 1949[6]
• Ninth Air Force: 1 July 1955[5] (attached to 366th Fighter-Bomber Wing)[7]
• Eighteenth Air Force: 1 October 1957[5] (attached to 366th Fighter-Bomber Wing)[7]
• Twelfth Air Force: 1 January 1958[5] (attached to 366th Fighter-Bomber Wing until 1 July 1958)[7]
• 4505th Air Refueling Wing: 18 July 1958[5]
• 4440th Aircraft Delivery Group: 8 October 1963 – 1 April 1964[5] (nonoperational)
• 16th Expeditionary Operations Group 24 July 2000 – 22 December 2004[5]

• Peterson Field, Colorado, 2 September 1942 – 17 May 1943
• RAF Mount Farm, England, 8 June 1943 (detachment operated from Attlebridge, England, 14 February - ca. 6 March 1944)
• RAF Chalgrove, England, 26 March 1945
• Villacoublay Airfield, France, c. 14 October 1945 - ca. 5 December 1945
• Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, 15 December 1945 – 15 December 1945
• Stewart Field, New York, 23 October 1947
• Stamford, Connecticut, 5 March 1948 - 27 June 1949[6]
• Alexandria Air Force Base (later England Air Force Base), Louisiana, 18 July 1955 – 1 April 1964[8]
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base, 24 July 2000[5] - 22 December 2004

• Lockheed P-38 Lightning, 1943-1945
• Lockheed F-5 Lightning, 1943-1945
• Supermarine Spitfire, 1943-1945
• North American P-51 Mustang, 1945[6]
• Boeing KB-29M Superfortress, 1955-1957[5]
• Boeing KB-50 Superfortress, 1957-1963[5]
• Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, 2003-2004[5]

Explanatory notes

Citations

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

• 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. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
• Watkins, Robert (2008). Battle Colors: Insignia and Markings of the Eighth Air Force In World War II. Vol. II (VIII) Fighter Command. Atglen, PA: Shiffer Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7643-2535-9.
• Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings, Lineage & Honors Histories 1947-1977 (PDF). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-12-9. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
• TacTankers.com - 622d Air Refueling Squadron