301st Air Refueling Wing

301st Air Refueling Wing
301st Bombardment Wing -- Boeing B-29A Superfortress 44-61640. Taken at Smokey Hill AFB, Kansas, 1948. Note Triangle-V SAC Tail Code, Eighth Air Force.
Active	1947–1979, 1988–1992
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Bomber, Refueling
Part of	Strategic Air Command
Insignia
Emblem of the 301st Air Refueling Wing

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 AFB, Montana. It was inactivated on 1 June 1992.

A predecessor unit, the World War II 301st Bombardment Group was a highly decorated group flying B-17 Flying Fortresses that served primarily in North Africa and Italy. It operated as part of Eighth, Twelfth and Fifteenth Air Forces. After the war, the 301st Bomb Group was one of the USAAF units of Strategic Air Command (August 1946).

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 Stratotanker. 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.