117th Air Refueling Squadron The 117th Air Refueling Squadron ( 117 ARS ) is a unit of the Kansas Air National Guard 190th Air Refueling Wing located at Forbes Field Air National Guard Base , Topeka , Kansas . The 117th is equipped with the KC - 135R Stratotanker . History . World War II . Established in mid - 1942 as the 440th Bombardment Squadron ; equipped with B - 26 Marauder medium bombers . Trained in the Southeastern United States under III Bomber Command . Was deployed to North Africa in late 1942 as part of Twelfth Air Force , operated from desert airfields in Morocco , Algeria and Tunisia . The squadron attacked enemy railroads , airfields , harbor installations , and shipping along the Mediterranean Coast . Moved to Sicily and Italy and participated in the Italian Campaign , attacking targets in Italy supporting the Fifth Army advanced in the Cassino and Anzio areas . The squadron later attacked targets in the Rome area , then moved to Corsica to support the Allied landings in Southern France . Remaining in Corsica , the squadron later hit railroad bridges in Northern Italy and late in the year attacked railroad lines through the Brenner Pass that connected Germany and Austria with Italy . In January 1945 , the squadron returned to the United States , where it began to train with A - 26 Invader aircraft for operations in the Pacific Theater . Between May and July 1945 , moved by ship to Okinawa , and on 16 July flew its first mission against Japan . From then until the end of the fighting in early August , the squadron attacked enemy targets such as airfields and industrial centers on Kyūshū and occupied Shanghai area of China , and shipping around the Ryukyu Islands and in the East China Sea . In November and December 1945 , the squadron returned to the United States and was inactivated . Pennsylvania Air National Guard . The wartime 440th Bombardment Squadron was re - designated as the 117th Bombardment Squadron ( Light ) and allocated to the Pennsylvania Air National Guard on 24 May 1946 . It was organized at Philadelphia International Airport and was extended federal recognition on 17 January 1947 by the National Guard Bureau . The 117th bombardment Squadron was bestowed the history , honors , and colors of the 440th Bombardment Squadron . The squadron was equipped with A - 26 Invader s and was assigned to the PA ANG 53d Fighter Wing . It was later assigned to the 111th Bombardment Group , upon its activation on 20 December 1948 . Korean War activation . On 1 April 1951 the 117th Bombardment Squadron was federalized and brought to active - duty due to the Korean War . It was initially assigned to Tactical Air Command ( TAC ) , and moved to Langley AFB , Virginia . At Langley , the squadron was assigned to the TAC 4400th Combat Crew Training Group . Its mission was the training of B - 26 Invader aircrews in Tactical night intruder air operations . The crews trained by the 117th were later deployed to Far East Air Force s for combat operations with B - 26s over North and South Korea . On 1 November 1952 the squadron was inactivated and returned to Pennsylvania Commonwealth Control on 1 January 1953 . Cold War . Returning to Philadelphia , the squadron was re - designated a Fighter - Bomber squadron , receiving F - 80C Shooting Stars and assuming an air defense mission over Philadelphia . A reorganization to make Pennsylvania ' s air defense squadrons more capable began in 1956 and as a result the 117th Fighter - Bomber squadron was inactivated effective 1 July 1956 , reducing the 111th Fighter - Bomber Group to a single squadron , the senior 103d FIS . Its personnel were reassigned to other units in its parent Group . Kansas Air National Guard . In early 1957 , the Kansas Air National Guard received authorization to expand from one to two squadrons , and the National Guard Bureau transferred the inactive 117th designation from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to the State of Kansas on 3 January 1957 . It was organized at the former Naval Air Station Hutchinson ( renamed Hutchinson Air National Guard Base ) . The squadron was re - designated as the 117th Fighter - Interceptor Squadron , and received federal recognition on 23 February 1957 by the National Guard Bureau . The 117th Fighter - Interceptor Squadron was bestowed the history , honors , and colors of the 117th Bombardment Squadron . The squadron was equipped with F - 80C Shooting Star s and was assigned to the KS ANG 184th Air Defense Wing located at McConnell Air Force Base . RB - 57 Canberra era . The Martin B - 57 Canberra was a rare example of a foreign - designed military aircraft being built under license by an American manufacturing company for use by the US armed forces . It was acquired as an interim replacement for the World War II B - 26 Invader until the Douglas B - 66 Destroyer could be brought into service . The RB - 57A was a reconnaissance version of the B - 57A bomber . Beginning in early 1958 with the introduction of the RB - 66 to the active - duty inventory , the 117th began to receive RB - 57A and twin - seat RB - 57B Canberra photographic reconnaissance aircraft and assumed a Tactical Reconnaissance mission . The RB - 57s were totally unarmed . It was painted with a high gloss black paint which was intended to minimize detection by searchlights . The crew was two ; one pilot and one photo - navigator . It was intended that only a minimum of effort would be required to convert the RB - 57A to a bomber mission , which was never actually done in practice . On 15 October 1962 , the 117th was authorized to expand to a group level , and the 190th Tactical Reconnaissance Group was established by the National Guard Bureau . The 117th TRS becoming the group ' s flying squadron . Other squadrons assigned into the group were the 190th Headquarters , 190th Material Squadron ( Maintenance ) , 190th Combat Support Squadron , and the 190th USAF Dispensary . The unit continued to operate its Canberras at Hutchinson ANGB until 1967 , when the 190th TRG and its personnel , aircraft and equipment permanently relocated to Forbes AFB , near Topeka after Strategic Air Command vacated its facilities and transferred Forbes AFB to the Tactical Air Command . The 117th continued to operate the RB - 57s until 1972 when the aged aircraft were retired and sent to AMARC at Davis - Monthan AFB , Arizona . In return the 190th began to receive the Martin B - 57G variant that were modified as night intruders for use in the Vietnam War under a project known as Tropic Moon . B - 57Bs were modified with a low light level television camera plus a forward - looking infrared ( FLIR ) set and a laser guidance system . The laser guidance system now made it possible to carry four 500 - lb " smart bombs " on the underwing pylons . With the receipt of the B - 57Gs from their combat service in Thailand , the unit was re - designated as the 190th Tactical Bombardment Group on 12 June 1972 . The service of the B - 57Gs was short , as operation of these B - 57Gs proved to be expensive , and the aircraft were hard to maintain in the field . They served until 1974 , when they were consigned to storage at Davis Monthan AFB . Forbes AFB was ordered closed by the Department of Defense as part of a post - Vietnam reduction in force on 17 April 1973 . Most of the facility was turned over for civilian use , however the 190th TBG retained a small portion of the base , being renamed Forbes Field Air National Guard Base . In April 1974 , the unit converted to EB - 57B Canberra electronic countermeasures aircraft and became the 190th Defense Systems Evaluation Group . The 190th deployed aircraft to bases throughout the USA , Canada , and Europe providing Electronic Counter - Measure ( ECM ) training and evaluation services to the various Aircraft Control and Warning ( Radar ) Squadrons . The 117th also used the EB - 57 as faker target aircraft against F - 102 Delta Dagger and F - 106 Delta Dart interceptors . The 190th operated the aircraft until 1978 when they were retired as part of the draw - down of Aerospace Defense Command . Air Refueling . In 1978 , the 190th was transferred to Strategic Air Command , being equipped with the KC - 135A Stratotanker and began an air refueling mission ; one it retains to the present - day . In 1984 the 117th was upgraded to the KC - 135E and in 1990 , the 190th was the first unit to arrive in Saudi Arabia in August 1990 for service during the 1991 Gulf Crisis , being assigned to the 1709th Air Refueling Wing ( Provisional ) at King Abdul Aziz Air Base , Jeddah , Saudi Arabia . The 117th flew air refueling missions in support of Operation Desert Shield and later Operation Desert Storm ; remaining in the middle east until returning to Forbes AGB in March 1991 . The 190th gaining command shifted to the Air Mobility Command ( AMC ) with the disestablishment of SAC in 1992 , and in 1995 the Group ' s status was expanded to a Wing . During 1999 , the 190th deployed twice to Incirlik Air Base , Turkey , in support of Operation Northern Watch , refueling Allied aircraft over the northern No - Fly Zone in Iraq . In its 2005 BRAC Recommendations , DoD recommended to realign McConnell Air National Guard ( ANG ) Base by relocating the 184th Air Refueling Wing ( ANG ) nine KC - 135R aircraft to the 190th Air Refueling Wing at Forbes Field AGS , which would retire its eight assigned KC - 135E aircraft . The 184th Air Refueling Wing ' s operations and maintenance manpower would transfer with the aircraft to Forbes . Realigning ANG KC - 135R aircraft from McConnell to Forbes would replace the 190th ' s aging , higher maintenance KC - 135E aircraft with newer models while retaining the experienced personnel from one of the highest - ranking reserve component tanker bases . In June 2007 , the 190 ARW gained custody of all KC - 135R aircraft from the 184th ARW . This action consolidated all of the Kansas ANG ' s KC - 135R assets into a single wing located at Forbes Field . The 184 ARW was subsequently re = designated as the 184th Intelligence Wing ( 184 IW ) , a non - flying unit at McConnell AFB .