509th Weapons Squadron

The 509th Weapons Squadron is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the USAF Weapons School, stationed at Fairchild AFB, Washington.

The 509th WPS is a Geographically Separated Unit (GSU) of the 57th Wing, assigned to Nellis AFB, Nevada. The mission of the squadron is to provide KC-135 Stratotanker instructional flying.

History
Activated in 1943 as a B-24 Liberator Operational Training Unit (OTU); then a Replacement Training Unit (RTU). Inactivated in April 1944 with the end of heavy bomber training.

Reactivated as an air refueling squadron at Roswell AFB (later Walker AFB), New Mexico, the first such unit in the United States Air Force. Initially equipped with KB-29M aerial tanker which carried a system of hoses, reels, winches and fuel pumps needed for the transfer of the fuel to the receiver aircraft. A power-driven reel for the refuelling hose was installed in the rear fuselage at the position where the lower aft turret had been located prior to its removal. The KB-29M also had a cable and associated winch (known as the contact line) that was used to assist in the setup of the connection between the two aircraft.

Although the hose refueling system proved to be feasible, in practice the system had the disadvantage in taking a long time to make the contact and engage the hoses. Once contact was made, the rate of fuel transfer was slow, and the hoses provided a lot of aerodynamic drag which limited the airspeed. Consequently, the hose system was used for only a few years before it was replaced by the Boeing-developed flying boom system (KB-29L).

Conducted air refueling using KC-97 and KC-135 stratotankers until being inactivated in 1994.

Lineage

 * Constituted 609th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 15 Feb 1943
 * Activated on 1 Mar 1943
 * Disbanded on 10 Apr 1944


 * Reconstituted, and consolidated (19 Sep 1985), with the 509th Air Refueling Squadron, Medium, which was constituted on 30 Jun 1948
 * Activated on 19 Jul 1948
 * Discontinued, and inactivated, on 25 Jun 1965


 * Re-designated 509th Air Refueling Squadron, Heavy, and activated, on 8 Aug 1966
 * Organized on 2 Oct 1966
 * Re-designated 509th Air Refueling Squadron on 1 Sep 1991
 * Inactivated on 1 Oct 1994


 * Re-designated 509th Weapons Squadron on 30 May 2003
 * Activated on 1 Jun 2003

Assignments

 * 400th Bombardment Group, 1 Mar 1943-10 Apr 1944
 * 509th Bombardment Group, 19 Jul 1948
 * 509th Bombardment Wing, 16 Jun 1952
 * 817th Air Division, 5 Jan 1958
 * 509th Bombardment Wing, 8 Jul 1958-25 Jun 1965; 2 Oct 1966
 * 416th Bombardment Wing, 1 Jul 1990
 * 416th Operations Group, 1 Sep 1991
 * 380th Operations Group, 1 Jun 1992-1 Oct 1994
 * USAF Mobility Weapons School, 1 Jun 2003
 * USAF Weapons School, 5 Jul 2006–Present

Stations

 * Pyote Army Air Base, Texas, 1 Mar 1943
 * Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona, 11 Apr 1943
 * Pueblo Army Air Base, Colorado, c. 2 May 1943
 * Smoky Hill Army Airfield, Kansas, 31 Jul 1943
 * Albuquerque Army Airbase, New Mexico, 19 Sep 1943
 * Charleston Army Airfield, South Carolina, 15 Dec 1943-10 Apr 1944


 * Walker AFB, New Mexico, 19 Jul 1948
 * Deployed at RAF Upper Heyford, England, 4 Jun-3 Sep 1952
 * Deployed at RAF Lakenheath, England, 26 Jan-1 May 1956


 * Pease AFB, New Hampshire, 5 Jan 1958-25 Jun 1965; 2 Oct 1966
 * Griffiss AFB, New York, 1 Jul 1990-1 Oct 1994
 * Fairchild AFB, Washington, 1 Jun 2003–Present

Aircraft

 * B-24 Liberator, 1943-1944
 * KB-29 Superfortress, 1948-1954
 * KC-97 Stratotanker, 1954-1965
 * KC-135 Stratotanker, 1966-1994