157th Air Refueling Wing

157th Air Refueling Wing
133d Air Refueling Squadron - KC-135R-BN Stratotanker 62-3547
Active	14 April 1956-present
Country	United States
Allegiance	New Hampshire
Branch	Air National Guard
Type	Wing
Role	Air refueling
Part of	New Hampshire Air National Guard
Garrison/HQ	Pease Air National Guard Base, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Nickname(s)	Live Free or Die
Tail Code	A blue tailband with text "New Hampshire" included
Commanders
Wing Commander	Colonel Paul Hutchinson
Vice Wing Commander	Colonel Peter Sullivan
Operations Group Commander	Lieutenant Colonel Robert Burrus
Insignia
157th Air Refueling Wing emblem

The 157th Air Refueling Wing (157 ARW) is a unit of the New Hampshire Air National Guard, stationed at Pease Air National Guard Base, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United States. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command.

Missions are as follows:

The 157th Air Refueling Wing consists of the following major units:

The Wing Staff includes the Command Section, Legal Office, Public Affairs, Finance, Safety, Chaplain, Inspector General, Human Resource Advisor, Equal Opportunity, and Family Program.

The direct predecessor to the 101st Air Refueling Wing is the World War II 311th Fighter Group. The 311th was one of only three groups to use the A-36 Apache dive bomber version of the P-51 Mustang. It was created in 1942 as a light bombardment group, training with the Vultee Vengeance, before moving on to the A-36 (and the P-51) when it entered combat in India as part of the Tenth Air Force.

Trained with V-72 Vengeance aircraft. Moved to India, via Australia, July–September 1943. Assigned to Tenth Air Force. Operating from India and using A-36A Apaches. The unit's aircraft had yellow tails with two black bands, the 530th Fighter Squadron having its diagonal bands sloping from top right to bottom left, while the other two squadrons had theirs either vertical or sloping the opposite way. The red nose was also a squadron marking. Many planes of this group had a girl's name on the nose, but very few had any artwork.

The squadron supported Allied ground forces in northern Burma; covered bombers that attacked Rangoon, Insein, and other targets; bombed enemy airfields at Myitkyina and Bhamo; and conducted patrol and reconnaissance missions to help protect transport planes that flew The Hump route between India and China.