506th Air Refueling Squadron The 506th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit . It was last assigned to the 42d Air Division at Bergstrom Air Force Base , Texas where it was inactivated on 1 July 1957 and its personnel and equipment transferred to the 92d Air Refueling Squadron . The Squadron was first activated as the 406th Fighter Squadron in 1943 , one of the original squadrons of the 371st Fighter Group . The squadron saw combat in the European Theater of World War II before being inactivated in 1945 , earning a Distinguished Unit Citation for its attacks in March 1945 that led to the defeat of Axis forces in southern Germany . The 506th Air Refueling Squadron was established in 1953 by Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) at Dow Air Force Base , Maine and equipped with rigid flying boom KB - 29P Superfortress tankers . The squadron mission was to provide in - flight refueling for its parent wing and other USAF units . It moved to Bergstrom in 1955 and was inactivated there when SAC transferred its fighter force to Tactical Air Command . History . World War II . The 406th Fighter Squadron was activated ar Richmond Army Air Base , Virginia in the summer of 1943 as one of the three original squadrons of the 371st Fighter Group . The squadron trained in the northeastern United States with Republic P - 47 Thunderbolt s under First Air Force before moving overseas in the spring of 1944 . Upon arriving in England , the squadron became an element of Ninth Air Force at Bisterne Close , England . The squadron ' s first combat operation was a fighter sweep over Occupied France . Prior to Operation Overlord , the invasion of Normandy , the 406th flew fighter sweeps , dive bombing and escort missions . On D - Day the 406th patrolled the beachhead . attacking railroads , trains , vehicles . gun emplacements and other targets . Soon after the invasion , the squadron moved to France and participated in the air interdiction that preceded the Allied breakout at St Lo in late July and supported the following drive across northern France . It continued to operate in northeastern France and southwestern Germany through the winter of 1945 , attacking storage dumps , marshalling yard , factories , bridges , roads , and vehicles . In December 1944 it provided close air support for ground forces engaged in the Battle of the Bulge . The squadron was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for its attacks between 15 March and 21 March 1945 that contributed to the defeat of Axis forces in southern Germany . It continued combat operations until the Surrender of Germany in May . The squadron remained with the occupation forces in Germany until October 1945 when it returned to the United States and was inactivated . Cold War . The 506th Air Refueling Squadron was established on 25 September 1953 by Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) at Dow AFB and initally equipped with rigid flying boom KB - 29P Superfortress tankers . Its mission was to provide in - flight refueling to the Republic F - 84 Thunderjet strategic fighters of its parent wing . The squadron also supported other USAF units as directed . In 1954 the squadron deployed to Kindley Air Force Base , Bermuda to support SAC fighters of the 508th Strategic Fighter Wing . In 1955 SAC concentrated its strategic fighter units , and the 506th ' s parent 506th Strategic Fighter Wing moved to Tinker Air Force Base , Oklahoma in March . The squadron remained at Dow and was reassigned to the 4060th Air Refueling Wing until August , when it moved to Bergstrom Air Force Base , Texas , where it was assigned to the 42d Air Division , the parent of the 12th Strategic Fighter Wing , to which the squadron was attached . The 506th was inactivated at Bergstrom on 1 July 1957 and its mission , personnel , and equipment were transferred to the 92d Air Refueling Squadron , which was activated that same day to assume SAC resources at Bergstrom as the 42d Air Division and SAC fighter organizations were transferred to Tactical Air Command . The 406th Fighter Squadron and the 506th Air Refueling Squadron were consolidated in 1985 , but the consolidated unit has not been active . Lineage . 406th Fighter Squadron 506th Air Refueling Squadron