World War II The
340th Fighter Squadron was first activated at
Mitchel Field, New York at the end of September 1942 as one of the original three squadrons of the
348th Fighter Group. Mitchel was only an activation base for the squadron, which moved on paper the same day to
Bradley Field, Connecticut. The squadron trained at various bases in the Northeastern United States with
Republic P-47 Thunderbolts until ready for overseas shipment in May 1943. Upon arrival in New Guinea, the squadron flew patrol and
reconnaissance missions and escorted
bombers attacking Japanese targets in New Guinea and
New Britain. Between 16 and 31 December 1943, the squadron flew missions covering Allied landings and supporting the advance of ground forces in New Britain, for which it was awarded a
Distinguished Unit Citation. It moved to the
Ryuku Islands shortly before the end of the war, and conducted escort and attack missions to Japan before the war ended. In October 1945, it moved to
Itami Airfield as part of the occupation forces and was inactivated there in May 1946. It was not until January 1954 that it joined its parent wing at
Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. The move to Whiteman was without personnel or equipment, with its planes and manpower being transferred to the
90th Air Refueling Squadron. When it arrived at Whiteman, the 340th Wing was just beginning to receive its aircraft and the squadron did not become operational again until August 1954. The squadron flew the
Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter, providing air refueling to USAF units until it was inactivated in October 1962. In 1961, the squadron was selected to represent
Second Air Force in
Strategic Air Command's annual bombing competition. It was inactivated in 1962. The two squadrons were merged as the
340th Air Refueling Squadron in September 1985, but the consolidated squadron was not active before conversion to provisional status.
Expeditionary operations Reactivated as a provisional squadron about 2002 as a part of the global
war on terror. It is equipped with
Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers and conducts combat air refueling as one of the largest squadrons in the Air Force, doubling in size in 2014 due to increased operations in Syria. Elements of the
155th Air Refueling Wing were deployed to the squadron during March 2016, and elements of the
117th Air Refueling Wing during April–June 2016. ==Lineage==