World War I The squadron's origins date to 19 May 1917, about a month after the United States' entry into World War I. On that date a group of recruits were organized at
Camp Kelly (later Kelly Field), Texas under the title of the Second Provisional Company F. That was later changed to First Provisional Company E. At Kelly Field, the new army recruits received basic military indoctrination by having drill in the mornings, then spending the balance of each day in the construction of facilities at the new camp, building roads, barracks and aircraft hangars in the afternoons. On 30 June the company was given the permanent designation of the 32d Aero Squadron. On 11 August, orders were received for the 32d to deploy to France. The 30th to 37th Aero Squadrons were sent as a group to
Fort Totten, New York, and embarked on the
RMS Baltic on 23 August for their trans-Atlantic voyage. They arrived on 15 September at Liverpool, England, where 50 men of the group were selected to remain to train for aircraft mechanic instruction with the
Royal Air Force. The balance of the squadron were ordered to
Le Havre, France, arriving on 18 September. There most of the men of the group were sent to various French aviation schools for training to maintain French aircraft. The remainder of the group was designated as the 32d Aero Squadron and sent to the new
Issoudun Aerodrome in central France. There the squadron was engaged in construction activities, building roads, barracks and hangars for what was designated as the 3d Air Instructional Center. In the late 1930s, the 32d received
Douglas B-18 Bolo medium and early model Y
B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers. In 1940, it received the new B-17B Flying Fortress, the first production version of the B-17. The squadron was reassigned to
Albuquerque Army Air Base, New Mexico on 4 June 1941. Its purpose was to train air and ground crews for reconnaissance and bombing duty with the B-17 before deployment to Clark Field in the Philippine Islands. On 23 November it moved to
Hamilton Field, California to stage for its subsequent movement to Clark Field. It was at Hamilton Field on 7 December 1941 during the
Pearl Harbor Attack. The ground echelon departed San Francisco aboard ship on 6 December 1941, but returned on 9 December 1941. although the unit remained active. becoming part of the
301st Bombardment Group. It moved to
Alamogordo Army Air Field, New Mexico in May, but the air echelon returned to Muroc and again flew antisubmarine patrols off the
California coast from late May to early June 1942. The squadron and its companion squadrons of the 301st Group were the first B-17F unit to arrive in England.
Operations from England visiting the 301st Bombardment Group in 1942. The ground and air echelons were reunited at
RAF Chelveston on 19 August 1942. The squadron flew its first mission on 5 September 1942. From England it attacked targets primarily in France, including
submarine pens, airfields, railroad targets, and bridges. On 14 September, the 301st Group and its squadrons were reassigned to
XII Bomber Command in preparation for
Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa, but they continued to operate under the control of
VIII Bomber Command. Between 20 and 23 November 1942, the air echelon moved forward to bases in southeastern England, from which it flew directly to
Tafaraoui Airfield, Algeria. The ground echelon sailed for Algeria from
Liverpool on 8 December 1942.
Combat in the Mediterranean Until August 1943, the squadron operated from airfields in Algeria, bombing docks, shipping facilities, airfields and
marshalling yards in Tunisia, Sicily, and Sardinia. It also attacked enemy ships operating between Sicily and Tunisia. On 6 April 1943, the squadron withstood heavy
flak from shore defenses and enemy vessels, when it attacked a merchant convoy near
Bizerte, Tunisia carrying supplies essential for the
Axis defense of Tunisia. For this mission it was awarded the
Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC). In May and June, it participated in
Operation Corkscrew, the bombing and invasion of
Pantelleria, prior to the invasion of Sicily.
Return to the United States Following
V-E Day, the squadron remained in Italy until July 1945. In August, it was designated as a "very heavy" unit in preparation for conversion to the
Boeing B-29 Superfortress and deployment to Pacific Theater. Before the squadron arrived at its planned training base,
Pyote Army Air Field, Texas,
Japan had surrendered and there was no need for additional bomber units. The squadron was inactivated in October 1945, shortly before Pyote ended training operations and became an aircraft storage depot.
Cold War On 4 August 1946, the
788th Bombardment Squadron at
Smoky Hill Army Air Field was inactivated and its mission, personnel and equipment were transferred to the 32d Bombardment Squadron, which was simultaneously activated. It was deployed to
Furstenfeldbruck Air Base, Germany, from July to August 1948; to
RAF Scampton, England, from October 1948 until January 1949; and to
RAF Lakenheath and
RAF Sculthorpe, from May to November 1950 for "show of force" missions in Europe as a result of the
Berlin Blockade by the Soviet Union and rising
Cold War tensions in Europe. The squadron was equipped in 1953 with
Boeing B-47 Stratojets, and trained with
electronic countermeasures from 1958 until 1964. In 1965 the squadron was redesignated
32d Air Refueling Squadron and assumed the mission, personnel and equipment of the
321st Air Refueling Squadron, which was simultaneously inactivated, at
Lockbourne Air Force Base. The unit performed
air refueling operations worldwide from 1965–1979 and since 1981. From c. 10 June–8 October 1972, all personnel and aircraft were on loan to units in the
Pacific or other
Strategic Air Command units, leaving the squadron unmanned. It deployed most aircraft and personnel to
Southeast Asia October–December 1972, in support of
Operation Linebacker II. It again deployed aircrews and tankers to various locations for air refueling support in
Southwest Asia from August 1990–April 1991.
Modern era The 32d received the first
McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender delivered to the Air Force, at
Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana on 17 March 1981. ==Lineage==