World War II The
squadron had its roots during
World War II, when the
321st Transport Squadron was one of five squadrons activated in November 1943 and assigned to the
27th Air Transport Group. The 321st was an
airlift support unit for
VIII Air Force Service Command in England. It initially provided air transport and
logistics support within the British Isles. The squadron moved to France in the fall of 1944 and became an element of the
302d Transport Wing, supporting combat and
occupation forces until it was inactivated in the fall of 1945.
Cold War The
320th Air Refueling Squadron had its origins when the
106th Air Refueling Squadron was activated by
Strategic Air Command (SAC) in 1952 at
March Air Force Base, California. The 106th was constituted on 18 June and activated on 8 July to serve as the
air refueling element of the
106th Bombardment Wing. The 106th wing was a
light bomber unit of the
New York Air National Guard that had been called to active duty because of the
Korean War, but had been converted to a
Boeing B-29 Superfortress wing and filled out by SAC with regular units. The squadron was short-lived, for on 1 December the 106th wing and its
102d and
114th Bombardment Squadrons were relieved from active duty and replaced by the
320th Bombardment Wing. The remaining operational units of the 106th wing, including the 106th Air Refueling Squadron, were inactivated. and
Elmendorf and
Eielson Air Force Bases, Alaska. In 1958 the squadron won the Frank Ellis Trophy as the best air refueling squadron in
Fifteenth Air Force and also earned an
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award. In June 1960 the 320th Bombardment Wing inactivated and the squadron was transferred to the
22d Bombardment Wing at March. By 1962 the 22d was preparing to transition from B-47s to
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress aircraft. This eliminated the need for two refueling squadrons at March and the 320th was inactivated on 15 September 1962. The
320th Transport Squadron and the
320th Air Refueling Squadron were consolidated in 1985 but have not been active since then. ==Lineage==