506th Air Refueling Squadron

506th Air Refueling Squadron
Republic P-47D Thunderbolt 44-200097 of the 406th Fighter Squadron at Furth/Industriehafen
Active	1953-1955
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Air Refueling
Motto(s)	Any Time Any Where
Engagements	European Theater of World War II
Decorations	Distinguished Unit Citation
Insignia
506th Air Refueling Squadron Emblem
ETO Fuselage Code and Squadron Color	4W Yellow

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.

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 Thunderbolts under First Air Force before moving overseas in the spring of 1944.