6th Air Refueling Squadron
6th Air Refueling Squadron Patch
Active	1 February 1940 - 20 May 1946 15 June 1947 - 27 June 1949 10 April 1951 - 1 August 1951 1 November 1957 - 25 January 1967 3 January 1989 - Present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Type	Aerial refueling
Part of	Air Mobility Command 18th Air Force 60th Air Mobility Wing 60th Operations Group
Garrison/HQ	Travis Air Force Base
Motto(s)	Vis Extensa Strength Extended
Engagements	World War II Operation Just hope
Decorations	DUC AFOUA

For the Strategic Air Command 6th Bombardment Squadron, see: 6th Bombardment Squadron

The 6th Air Refueling Squadron (6 ARS) is part of the 60th Air Mobility Wing at Travis Air Force Base, California. It operates the KC-10 Extender aircraft conducting aerial refueling missions.

Originally formed as a bomber squadron, the 6th flew antisubmarine patrol missions in the Caribbean from, January–June 1942. The squadron went on to serve as an operational and later replacement training unit from, 1942–1944 before flying combat in the Western Pacific from, c. 16 February–15 August 1945.^[1]

The 6th performed air refueling training from, 1959–1962 and flew worldwide air refueling from, 1963–1967, including support of tactical aircraft flying in Southeast Asia. The squadron has again flown worldwide air refueling since 1989, including support of deployments to Southwest Asia from, 1990–1991. It provided humanitarian airlift to Somalia from, 1992–1993.^[1]

• Constituted as 6 Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 22 Dec 1939

Activated on 1 Feb 1940

Redesignated as 6 Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy, on 28 Mar 1944

Inactivated on 1 Apr 1944

• Activated on 1 Apr 1944

Inactivated on 20 May 1946

• Activated in the Reserve on 15 Jun 1947

Inactivated on 27 Jun 1949

• Consolidated (19 Sep 1985) with the 6 Air Refueling Squadron, Medium, which was constituted on 6 Apr 1951

Activated on 10 Apr 1951

Inactivated on 1 Aug 1951

• Redesignated as 6 Air Refueling Squadron, Heavy, on 1 Apr 1957

Activated on 1 Nov 1957

Discontinued, and inactivated, on 25 Jan 1967

• Activated on 3 Jan 1989

Redesignated as 6 Air Refueling Squadron on 1 Sep 1991

• 29th Bombardment Group, 1 Feb 1940-1 Apr 1944; 1 Apr 1944-20 May 1946
• Tenth Air Force, 15 Jun 1947
• 482d Bombardment Group, 30 Sep 1947-27 Jun 1949
• 6th Bombardment Group, 10 Apr-1 Aug 1951
• Fifteenth Air Force, 1 Nov 1957
• 6th Bombardment (later, 6 Strategic Aerospace) Wing, 3 Jan 1958-25 Jan 1967
• 22d Air Refueling Wing, 3 Jan 1989
• 22d Operations Group, 1 Sep 1991
• 722d Operations Group]], 1 Jan 1994
• 60th Operations Group, 1 Aug 1995-Present

• YB-17 (1940)
• B-17 Flying Fortress (1940–1943, 1944)
• B-18 Bolo (1940–1941)
• B-24 Liberator (1943–1944)
• B-29 Superfortress (1944–1946)
• AT-6 Texan (1947–1949)
• AT-11 Kansan (1947–1949)
• KC-135 Stratotanker (1958–1967)
• KC-10 Extender (1989–Present)

• World War II
• Operation Restore Hope

• AFHRA 6th Air Refueling Squadron History

v t e Air Mobility Command
Numbered Air Forces	Eighteenth (Transportation)
Command Organizations	618th Air and Space Operations Center (Tanker Airlift Control Center) USAF Expeditionary Center Special Air Mission
Bases	Andrews Charleston Dover Dyess Fairchild Hickam Little Rock MacDill McChord McConnell McGuire Pope Ramstein Scott Travis
Group	43d Air Mobility Operations 317th Airlift Group
Wings	Air Base 87th 628th Air Mobility 60th 305th 375th Air Refueling (Tanker) 6th 22d 92d Airlift 19th 62d 89th 436th 437th Air Mobility Operations 515th 521st Contingency Response 621st

v t e United States Air Force
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