341st Air Refueling Squadron The 641st Bombardment Squadron was an inactive United States Air Force unit . After training with Douglas A - 20 Havoc s in the United States the squadron deployed to the European Theater of World War II , where it engaged in combat until the Surrender of Germany . It was last assigned to the 409th Bombardment Group at Westover Field , Massachusetts , where it was inactivated on 7 November 1945 . The 341st Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit . After organizing and training at Castle Air Force Base , California it moved to Dow AFB , Maine . It provided air refueling for Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) units from Dow until it was inactivated on 1 February 1963 as SAC replaced its tanker force with more modern Boeing KC - 135 Stratotanker s . The two squadrons were consolidated in 1985 , but the consolidated squadron has not been active . History . World War II . The 641st Bombardment Squadron was activated in June 1943 at Will Rogers Field , Oklahoma as one of the four original squadrons of the 409th Bombardment Group . The squadron trained under Third Air Force in Oklahoma , Texas and Louisiana with A - 20 Havoc light bombardment aircraft . The squadron deployed to the European Theater of Operations ( ETO ) in March 1944 , where it became part of IX Bomber Command of Ninth Air Force . The 641st initially flew sweeps over Occupied France from its base in England , attacking coastal defenses , V - 1 flying bomb and V - 2 rocket sites , airfields , and other targets in France in preparation for Operation Overlord , the invasion of Normandy . After D - Day , the squadron supported ground forces during the Battle of Normandy by hitting gun batteries , rail lines , bridges , communications , and other objectives . During July 1944 , it aided the Allied offensive at Caen and the breakthrough at Saint - Lô with attacks on enemy troops , flak positions , fortified villages , and supply dumps . The squadron moved to Advanced Landing Ground s in France in September 1944 , providing Third Army with close air support in its advance toward Germany through November . In December , the squadron converted to Douglas A - 26 Invader s . It then participated in the Battle of the Bulge by attacking lines of communications and logistics . The squadron continued combat operations until May , flying its last combat mission against an ammunition dump in Czechoslovakia on 3 May . The unit returned to the United States and initially was assigned to Seymour Johnson Field , North Carolina where it prepared to deploy to the Pacific Theater of Operations ( PTO ) for operations against the Japanese Home Islands . The deployment to the Pacific Theater was cancelled with the Surrender of Japan in August . The 641st was inactivated at Westover Field , Massachusetts in early November . Cold War . The 341st Air Refueling Squadron was activated in June 1955 at Castle Air Force Base , California , although it did not become operational until 20 July . After completing training with the 93d Bombardment Wing at Castle , the squadron moved to its permanent home at Dow Air Force Base , Maine where it was assigned to the 4060th Air Refueling Wing . The squadron mission was to provide air refueling for Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) units . The squadron flew KC - 97F and KC - 97G Stratotankers from activation in 1955 until it was discontinued in 1963 . The 341st provided refueling support for SAC wings deploying and redeploying from Europe and North Africa during Reflex operations . It also deployed to locations such as Ernest Harmon Air Force Base , Newfoundland and Thule Air Base , Greenland . In 1960 the squadron transferred to the 4038th Strategic Wing , which replaced the 4060th wing at Dow as part of a SAC program to disperse its Boeing B - 52 Stratofortress bombers over a larger number of bases , thus making it more difficult for the Soviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike . During October and November 1962 the 341st temporarily curtailed training and assumed an increased alert posture in response to the Cuban Missile Crisis . The squadron became non - operational on 15 July 1963 and was inactivated on 1 September as part of the phaseout of the KC - 97 from SAC . The 641st Bombardment Squadron and the 341st Air Refueling Squadron were consolidated into a single unit on 19 September 1985 but the consolidated squadron has not been active . Lineage . 641st Bombardment Squadron 341st Air Refueling Squadron