622d Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron The 622d Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit . The squadron was first established during World War II as the 22d Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron . The squadron served in the European Theater of World War II , where it earned a Distinguished Unit Citation and a French Croix de Guerre with Palm for its actions in combat . The unit was again active in the Air Force Reserve as the 22d Reconnaissance Squadron from 1947 to 1949 but apparently was not equipped with its own aircraft . In 1985 the squadron was consolidated with the 622d Air Refueling Squadron . The 622d Air Refueling Squadron served with Tactical Air Command ( TAC ) beginning in 1955 . It was last assigned to the 4440th Aircraft Delivery Group at England Air Force Base , Louisiana , where it was inactivated on 1 Apr 1964 . History . World War II . The squadron was first activated in September 1942 as the 22d Photograpic Reconnaissance Squadron , a component of the 5th Photographic Group . The outfit existed essentially on paper until 21 December 1943 when 12 officers and 129 enlisted men were transferred from the 10th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron . After training , the unit left Colorado Springs on 17 May 1943 and traveled to England aboard the RMS Queen Mary . There it served as a photographic reconnaissance unit until the end of the war . The Squadron arrived at the RAF Mount Farm airfield on 8 June 1943 . The unit was equipped with Lockheed F - 5 ( P - 38 ) Lightning photographic aircraft and its first mission was flown on 24 June 1943 . The 22nd Reconnaissance Squadron was combined with the 13th Photographic Squadron and 14th Photographic Squadron into the 7th Photographic Reconnaissance and Mapping Group on 7 July 1943 . In 1943 , the 22nd was among the squadrons flying the first photoreconnaissance missions against Peenemünde . It received a Distinguished Unit Citation for its coverage of bridges , marshalling yards , canals , highways , and other targets that contributed to the success of the Normandy Campaign / It provided reconnaissance support for the Battle of the Bulge and the Rhine crossings . Its work was also recognized by the French , who awarded the unit the French Croix de Guerre with Palm . Air Force Reserve . The squadron was redesignated as the 22d Reconnaissance Squadron in 1947 and allotted to the Air Force Reserve . It apparently was not fully equipped and was inactivated in the summer of 1949 when Continental Air Command adopted the wing base organization ( Hobson Plan ) for its reserve units . Tactical Air Command . The 622d Air Refueling Squadron was established in 1955 by Tactical Air Command to provide dedicated in - flight refueling , initially for F - 100 Super Sabre s and later for other in - flight refueling capable TAC fighters , fighter bombers , and reconnaissance aircraft . The squadron was initially equipped with transferred Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) KB - 29M Stratofortrresses that were converted to aerial tankers using a British - developed Probe and drogue refueling system . The squadron re - equipped with KB - 50 Superfortress in 1957 which provided greater speed to refuel jet aircraft . KB - 50s were modified about 1960 to the KB - 50J configuration , which added a J - 47 turbojet engine underneath each wing in place of the auxiliary fuel tanks in order to further increase the speed of the aircraft while conducting air refueling operations . By 1963 aircraft were phased out due to age . SAC , with KC - 97s and KC - 135s became the Air Force ' s single manager for air refueling . The squadron inactivated in early 1964 when KB - 50Js sent to AMARC at Davis - Monthan AFB , Arizona . Recent Operations . The consolidated squadron was converted to provisional status and redesignated the 622d Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron . It is known to have operated from Istres le Tube , France from 2003 to 2004 to support Operation Joint Forge . Lineage . 22d Reconnaissance Squadron 622d Air Refueling Squadron