The 429th Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

unit. It was last assigned to the

4505th Air Refueling Wing The United States Air Force's 4505th Air Refueling Wing (Tactical) was an Air Refueling unit located at Langley AFB, Virginia. It was established on 1 Jul 1958 at Langley AFB, Virginia. The 4505th was the only aerial refueling wing in the Tactic ...

at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, where it was inactivated on 8 October 1963.

History

The squadron was activated in 1954 by

Tactical Air Command Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Lang ...

(TAC) to provide a dedicated

air refueling Aerial refueling (American English, en-us), or aerial refuelling (British English, en-gb), also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from ...

capability, initially for F-100 Super Sabres and later for other air refueling capable TAC fighter and fighter bombers. The 429th was initially equipped with Boeing KB-29M Superfortresses, modified bombers equipped with a British-developed hose air refueling systems and transferred from

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile compon ...

(SAC). The 429th retired its KB-29s by November 1957, and was fully equipped with Boeing KB-50 tankers by the end of the year. These were existing B-50A, B-50D or RB-50 aircraft, with armament removed and equipped with a probe and drogue refueling system installed by Hayes Aircraft Corporation and capable of refueling three fighters at the same time. Even before the change to KB-50s was complete, in September 1957, the 429th sent the first KB-50 in the Air Force to be modified to KB-50J configuration. These tankers added a General Electric J47 turbojet engine underneath each wing to increase the speed and altitude capability of the aircraft. The unit's KB-50Js proved difficult to maintain to meet operational commitments, and modification of the aircraft to improve them would not be economical in view of their expected service life. Although TAC wanted to replace them with

Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling tanker aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It has a narrower fuselage and is shorter than the 707. Boeing gave ...

s, in 1960 the Air Force announced that

(SAC) would become the Air Force's single manager for air refueling. TAC's KB-50s would be phased out by 1964, while SAC would acquire additional KC-135s to support TAC. In October 1963, the 429th inactivated, and its KB-50Js were sent to the Military Aircraft Storage and Disposition Center at

Davis–Monthan Air Force Base Davis–Monthan Air Force Base (DM AFB) is a United States Air Force base southeast of downtown Tucson, Arizona. It was established in 1925 as Davis–Monthan Landing Field. The host unit for Davis–Monthan AFB is the 355th Wing (355 WG) ass ...

, Arizona.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 429th Air Refueling Squadron, Fighter-Bomber on 1 July 1954 : Activated on 19 July 1954 : Redesignated as 429th Air Refueling Squadron, Tactical on 1 July 1958 : Discontinued and inactivated on 8 October 1963 * Consolidated on 19 September 1985 with the 129th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron as the 969th Airborne Warning and Control SquadronDepartment of the Air Force/MPM Letter 662q, 19 Sep 85, Subject: Reconstitution, Redesignation, and Consolidation of Selected Air Force Tactical Squadrons (remained inactive)

Assignments

, 19 July 1954 (attached to 405th Fighter-Bomber Wing)Ravenstein, p. 275 *

Ninth Air Force The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint D ...

, 1954 (remained attached to 405th Fighter-Bomber Wing) *

, 1 July 1958 – 8 October 1963

Stations

Langley AFB Langley Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Hampton, Virginia, adjacent to Newport News. It was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the entry of the United States into World War I in April 1 ...

, Virginia, 19 July 1954 – 8 October 1963Mueller, p. 316

Aircraft

* Boeing KB-29M Superfortress, 1954–1957 * Boeing KB-50 Superfortress, 1957–1958 * Boeing KB-50J Superfortress, 1958–1963

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

* {{USAF air refueling units Air refueling squadrons of the United States Air Force