301st Air Refueling Wing

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301st Air Refueling Wing
301st Bombardment Wing -- Boeing B-29A-40-BN Superfortress 44-61640.jpg
301st Bombardment Wing – Boeing B-29A Superfortress 44-61640. Taken at Smoky Hill AFB, Kansas, 1948. Note Triangle-V SAC Tail Code, Eighth Air Force.
Active1947–1979, 1988–1992
Country United States
Branch United States Air Force
RoleBomber, Refueling
Part of SAC Shield.svg   Strategic Air Command
Motto(s)Who Fears? [1]
Insignia
301st Air Refueling Wing emblem (approved 22 July 1959) [1] 301 Bombardment Wg emblem.png

The 301st Air Refueling Wing is an inactive unit of the United States Air Force being last assigned to the Strategic Air Command at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, where it was inactivated on 1 June 1992.

Contents

History

See the 301st Operations Group for related history and lineage.

Activated 5 November 1947. Assigned to Strategic Air Command. Equipped with B-29 Superfortresses. Conducted strategic bombardment training, 1947–1948, and aerial gunnery training for other SAC organizations, November 1947 – January 1948.

Reassigned to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana in 1949, the 301st was one of the first units to conduct aerial refueling operations with the KB-29 tanker version of the Superfortress. Replaced the propeller-driven B-29s with new B-47E Stratojet swept-wing medium bombers in 1953, capable of flying at high subsonic speeds and primarily designed for penetrating the airspace of the Soviet Union. Also upgraded its KB-29 tankers to the dedicated Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter. The mission of the 301st was to train for strategic bombing missions and to conduct aerial refueling. The wing deployed to England in 1953 and to French Morocco in 1954.

It was reassigned to Lockbourne AFB, Ohio on 15 April 1958 where it became an Electronic Countermeasures (ECM) unit and was engaged in various clandestine intelligence missions. Although equipped with the B-47E Stratojet, the 301st added electronic countermeasure activities to other missions in 1958 with the addition of the RB-47E and later EB-47E. With these aircraft, the wing soon devoted most of its activity to ECM work. The RB-47 carried out many ferret missions around the periphery of Soviet territory, and sometimes inside. In the early 1960s, the B-47 was considered to be reaching obsolescence, and was being phased out of SAC's strategic arsenal. Began sending its stratojets to Davis-Monthan AFB in late 1963, the last EB-47E going to storage in 1964.

Became an air refueling wing in April 1964, discontinuing all previous missions. In addition, participated in the post attack command and control system from 3 March 1965 to 30 June 1966.

From around 9 June to 8 October 1972, most of the wing headquarters staff, all tactical aircraft and crews, and most of the maintenance personnel, plus support personnel in various categories, deployed in Southeast Asia (U-Tapao RTNAF), attached to other SAC organizations. A reduced wing headquarters remained in the United States to administer activities of the combat support group and hospital at Lockbourne AFB, Ohio.

From 19 December 1972 to 18 January 1973, the wing repeated previous deployed condition on a smaller scale, with deployed resources forming a provisional air refueling squadron at Clark AB in the Philippines.

The 301st ARW was inactivated on 30 November 1979 in conjunction with SAC turning over Rickenbacker to the Air National Guard. Its KC-135As were sent to various Air National Guard units.

The Wing was reactivated on 8 January 1988 at Malmstrom AFB, MT, and assigned to 4th Air Division, Strategic Air Command. It was equipped with KC-135s. It was inactivated on 1 June 1992.

Lineage

301st Bomb Wing emblem 301st-bombwing-patch.png
301st Bomb Wing emblem
Organized on 5 November 1947
Discontinued on 1 August 1948.
301st Bombardment Group, Medium, assigned as subordinate unit
Group element inactivated 16 June 1952
Re-designated: 301st Air Refueling Wing, Heavy on 15 June 1964
Inactivated on: 30 November 1979
Group element re-designated as 301st Operations Group, 29 August 1991
Re-designated: 301st Air Refueling Wing on 1 September 1991
Group element re-activated and assigned as group element
Inactivated on: 1 June 1992

Assignments

Attached to: 7th Air Division, 3 December 1952–c. 4 March 1953
Attached to: 5th Air Division, c. 10 February–c. 17 April 1954

Stations

Components

Wings

Groups

Squadrons

Aircraft flown

See also

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References

Notes
  1. 1 2 Ravenstein, pp. 144–146

Bibliography

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