The 431st 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 4440th Aircraft Delivery Group at

Biggs Air Force Base Biggs may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Biggs (TV channel), a Portuguese television channel formerly for kids, teens and youth and now for teens and youth. * Biggs Darklighter, a character in ''Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope'' * Biggs, a re ...

, Texas, where it was inactivated on 8 March 1965. From 1957 to 1965, it operated modified Superfortress bombers to refuel tactical Fighter, reconnaissance, and light bomber aircraft.

History

The 431st Air Refueling Squadron was established at

Turner Air Force Base Turner may refer to: People and fictional characters * Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name *One who uses a lathe for tur ...

in April 1957 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

North American F-100 Super Sabre The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft designed and produced by the aircraft manufacturer North American Aviation. The first of the Century Series of American jet fighters, it was the first United ...

s, and later for other in-flight refueling capable TAC

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strateg ...

s, fighters and reconnaissance aircraft. The squadron was briefly equipped on activation with Boeing KB-29M Stratofortresses 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 ...

's 508th Air Refueling Squadron, formerly assigned to the

31st Strategic Fighter Wing The 31st Fighter Wing (31 FW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe major command and the Third Air Force. It is stationed at Aviano Air Base, Italy, a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) base ...

, which was inactivated at Turner in July. These aircraft were bombers converted to tankers using a British-developed hose refueling system. The 431st re-equipped in June 1957 with the Boeing KB-50 Superfortress, which provided greater speed to refuel jet aircraft. KB-50s were modified about 1960 to KB-50J configuration which added a J-47 turbojet engine underneath each wing in place of the auxiliary fuel tanks to increase the speed of the aircraft. In `958, TAC placed its refueling units under 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 ...

, which was located at

Langley Air Force Base 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. In 1959, the squadron moved to

, Texas. By 1964 the unit's aircraft were being phased out due to age. They were being replaced by

Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter The Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter is a four-engined, piston-powered United States strategic tanker aircraft based on the Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter. It replaced the KB-29 and was succeeded by the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker. Design and developme ...

s and

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 The squadron inactivated in March 1965 and its KB-50Js were sent to the

Military Aircraft Storage and Disposition Center A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily Weapon, armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable ...

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. When it inactivated the squadron was the last USAF KB-50 unit.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 431st Air Refueling Squadron, Fighter-Bomber on 8 January 1957 : Activated on 1 April 1957 : Redesignated 431st Air Refueling Squadron, Tactical on 1 July 1958 : Inactivated on 8 March 1965

Assignments

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 ...

, 1 April 1957 (attached to 31st Fighter-Bomber Wing)Ravenstein, p. 55 * 31st Fighter-Bomber Wing, 1 November 1957 * 4505th Air Refueling Wing, 1 July 1958 * 4440th Aircraft Delivery Group, 8 October 1963 – 8 March 1965

Stations

* Turner Air Force Base, Georgia, 1 April 1957 * Biggs Air Force Base, Texas, 18 July 1959 – 8 March 1965

Aircraft

* Boeing KB-29M Superfortress, 1957 * Boeing KB-50J Superfortress, 1957–1965

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

TacTankers.com - 431st Air Refueling Squadron
{{Tactical Air Command Air refueling squadrons of the United States Air Force