Bangor Air National Guard Base Bangor Air National Guard Base is a United States Air National Guard base . Created in 1927 as the commercial Godfrey Field , the airfield was taken over by the U . S . Army just before World War II and renamed Godfrey Army Airfield and later Dow Army Airfield . It became Dow Air Force Base in 1947 , when the new U . S . Air Force took over many Army air assets . In 1968 , the base was sold to the city of Bangor , Maine , to become Bangor International Airport but has since continued to host Maine Air National Guard units . Overview . The base is the home of the 101st Air Refueling Wing ( 101 ARW ) , Maine Air National Guard . Part of the Northeast Tanker Task Force , the 101 ARW provides 24 - hour air and ground refueling for DoD and allied aircraft bound across the Atlantic . It also deploys around the world under under the control of the Air Force ' s Air Mobility Command ( AMC ) for operations such as Noble Eagle , Enduring Freedom , and Iraqi Freedom . The wing also provides logistics support to the State of Maine during natural disasters or as otherwise directed by the governor . The wing has operated KC - 135 Stratotanker aircraft since April 1976 . History . Godfrey Field opened in 1927 as a commercial airport . Northeast Airlines began commercial operations there in 1931 . World War II . Just before World War II , the United States Army Air Corps took over the base , renamed it Godfrey Army Airfield , and placed it under the 8th Service Group , Air Service Command . Godfrey AAF prepared and maintained the Lend - Lease aircraft that would be flown by AAC Ferrying Command to RCAF Stations in Newfoundland for eventual transport to Britain . The Army expanded the civil airport , adding three hard - surfaced 7 , 000 - foot runways , aligned 01 / 10 ( N / S ) , 08 / 26 ( NE / SW ) and a main ( NW / SE ) runway aligned 14 / 32 ; along with many hardstands and taxiways to allow the temporary parking of large numbers of aircraft . In 1942 , the station ' s name was changed to Dow Army Airfield to honor James Frederick Dow , an Army Air Corps pilot whose bomber collided with another near Mitchel Field on Long Island , New York , on 17 June 1940 . On 28 February 1942 , Dow Army Airfield was transferred to Air Service Command ( ASC ) because of its proximity to the Air Transport Command ( ATC ) North Atlantic air ferry route to the United Kingdom . Its mission became servicing long - range B - 17 Flying Fortress and , later , B - 24 Liberator heavy bombers and other combat aircraft before they flew via the Great Circle Route to Prestwick Airport , Scotland ; and airfields in Northern Ireland . ( Once in the British isles , the aircraft were modified for combat missions by Eighth Air Force units over Nazi - occupied Europe . ) On 5 March 1944 , Dow AAF was transferred to Air Transport Command ' s North Atlantic Wing . In 1944 , more than 8 , 400 aircraft passed though Dow , and about 2 , 150 in January through May 1945 . After the end of the European war in May 1945 , many aircraft returned to the United States via Dow . Cold War . Air Defense Command . The base was drawn down during the demobilization in late 1945 , and placed in a standby status on 7 May 1946 as a satellite base of Westover Field , Massachusetts . Still , Dow remained part of ATC ' s North Atlantic Transport route for strategic air transportation between the United States and the United Kingdom , and ATC aircraft passed through the field occasionally . In November 1946 , First Air Force , Air Defense Command , took over the airfield and activated the 14th Fighter Group there , consisting of the P - 47N Thunderbolt s of the 37th , 48th and 49th Fighter Squadrons . One of the first USAAF groups assigned to Air Defense Command , the unit was responsible for the air defense of the northeastern United States . In July 1947 , the group deployed to Muroc AFB , California , to perform acceptance tests on the new F - 84B Thunderjet s . ( The 14th Fighter Group became the 14th Fighter Wing in August 1947 . ) First operational production USAF F - 84Bs arrived at Dow AFB on 7 November ; the last P - 84B was delivered in February 1948 . Throughout the winter of 1947 - 48 , the 14th Fighter Wing lost three F - 84s at Dow . Investigators found that the aircraft performed better in the cold Maine climate than during testing in the California desert , yet accidents continued even as spring arrived in 1948 . On 25 August 1948 , Dow Air Force Base was assigned to one of ADC ' s first Air Divisions , the 26th AD . Its new mission was defending the northeastern United States from New York City to the Maine - New Brunswick during daylight and fair weather ; the F - 82 Twin Mustang s of the 52d Fighter Group ( All - Weather ) at Mitchel AFB , New York , flew the missions at night and in poor weather . In July 1949 , the 14th Fighter Wing sent sixteen F - 84Bs to celebrate New York City ' s new Idlewild Airport . The group was inactivated on 2 October 1949 due to budget cuts . In the early 1950s , Dow AFB was expanded and rebuilt . A long jet runway was laid down parallel to the wartime NW / SE main runway , and a permanent Air Force Base was built on the north side of the World War II and prewar facility . The older facilities were abandoned and ultimately were torn down . Today , they are a wooded area on the southwest side of the airport . Dow AFB was activated on 1 January 1951 . The 4009th Air Base Squadron supported the facility and supervise the remaining construction . During the Korean War , the Maine Air National Guard was brought into active service at the base . The 101st Fighter - Interceptor Wing activated two F - 80C Shooting Star interceptor squadrons ( 101st FIS , 132d FIS ) which were placed under ADC ' s Eastern Air Defense Force . In 1952 , the ANG squadrons were returned to state control and ADC activated the 49th Fighter - Interceptor Squadron at Dow . The ADC 32d AD also activated several Aircraft Control and Warning Squadrons ( 128th ( WI ANG ) , 679th , 765th ) , which were Ground Intercept Radar units . These squadrons were formed at Dow , and later deployed to new radar stations being constructed in Maine which were equipped with long - range radars and then directed the interceptor aircraft at Dow to unknown aircraft which entered their coverage . On 9 September 1952 , Military Air Transport Service Atlantic Division at Westover AFB activated 83d Air Transport Squadron ( 1600th Air Transport Wing ) to Dow AFB as a tenant unit . This was done primarily to relieve overcrowding . The 83d ATS operated C - 54 Skymaster s from Dow , and its primary mission was to support Northeast Air Command bases and radar stations in Newfoundland and Labrador , Baffin Island , and Greenland . It was reassigned to the 1610th Air Transport Group at Grenier AFB , New Hampshire effective 1 July 1953 , however , on 29 May 1953 , the eight C - 54s of the 83rd ATS departed in a permanent change of station . In November 1952 , jurisdiction of Dow AFB was officially transferred from ADC to Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) . The ADC units remained at the base in a tenant status for a few years , until the 49th FIS was moved and placed under the 4707th Air Defense Wing at Hanscom AFB , Massachusetts in November 1955 . ADC returned to on 1 June 1959 , when the 30th Air Defense Missile Squadron was activated 4 miles north - northeast of the base , equipped with 28 CIM - 10 Bomarc - A liquid - fuled surface - to - air missiles . Also that month , the 75th Fighter - Interceptor Squadron which was moved from the closing Presque Isle AFB , Maine to Dow to keep interceptors in Maine . The Bomarc missiles remained active until 15 December 1964 when they were inactivated due to limited funding The 75th FIS remained until April 1968 when Dow was inactivated . Strategic Air Command . The SAC 506th Strategic Fighter Wing was activated at Dow on 20 November 1952 and was assigned to SAC ' s Eighth Air Force . The wing composed of the 457th , 458th and 462d Strategic Fighter Squadrons and was equipped with F - 84G Thunderjet s . SAC was founded by men who had flown bomb raids against Germany during World War II . They usually encountered swarms of enemy fighters and knew the importance of having fighter escorts , so they had fighter wings placed under their own operational control . Although assigned to SAC , the group was associated with the ADC units at Dow . The wing was deployed to Misawa Air Base , Japan between 13 August and 7 November 1953 to support SAC ' s rotational deployment of fighter units to northern Japan to perform air defense duties , relieving the 12th Strategic Fighter Wing . Under the self - supporting concept , the 506th SFW gained the KB - 29P Superfortress 506th Air Refueling Squadron on 23 September 1953 . The 506th ARS remained with the wing until 1 March 1955 . Upon the wing ' s return to the United States , the 506th was re - equipped with new F - 84F Thunderstreak s , in January 1954 becoming the first SAC fighter wing to be equipped with the swept - wing Thunderjet model . The wing remained at Dow for just over a year until being reassigned to Second Air Force and was transferred to Tinker AFB , Oklahoma on 20 March 1955 . The escort fighters were replaced by the SAC Eighth Air Force 4060th Air Refueling Wing , activated on 8 March 1955 . Equipped with KC - 97 Stratotanker s , the 4060th was a provisional organization with a mission to support B - 47 Stratojet deployments to Europe and Morocco , with air refueling taking place over the Atlantic Ocean . In addition , during the late 1950s , SAC extended the runway at Dow to 11 , 000 ' and alert pads were constructed at the end of Runway 15 . On 15 February 1960 , SAC established the 4038th Strategic Wing at Dow as part of SAC ' s plan to disburse its B - 52 Stratofortress heavy bombers over a larger number of bases , thus making it more difficult for the Soviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike . The wing consisted of the 341st Bombardment Squadron , consisting of 15 B - 52Gs , and the KC - 135 - equipped 71st Air Refueling Squadron . Half of the aircraft were maintained on fifteen minute alert , fully fueled , armed , and ready for combat . SAC Strategic Wings were considered a provisional unit by HQ , USAF and could not carry a permanent history or lineage . The 4038th SW was redesignated as the 397th Bombardment Wing ( 397th BW ) on 1 February 1963 in a name - only redesigation and was assigned to SAC ' s Eighth Air Force , 6th Air Division . The 341st BS was also redesignated as the 864th Bombardment Squadron , one of the unit ' s World War II historical bomb squadrons . The 71st ARS designation was unchanged , and component support units were also redesignated to the 410th numerical designation of the newly established wing . The 397th Bomb Wing continued to conduct strategic bombardment training and air refueling operations to meet operational commitments of Strategic Air Command , including deployments to Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War . By 1968 , Intercontinental ballistic missile s ( ICBM ) had been deployed and become operational as part of the United States ' strategic triad , and the need for B - 52s had been reduced . In addition , funds were also needed to cover the costs of combat operations in Indochina . The 397th Bombardment Wing was inactivated on 25 April 1968 and its aircraft were reassigned to other SAC units . As part of the inactivation , Dow AFB was closed . The city of Bangor purchased most of the base which then reopened in 1969 as Bangor International Airport . That portion of Dow AFB not turned over to the city became the basis for the current Bangor Air National Guard Base and the Maine Army National Guard ' s Army Aviation Support Facility . Maine Air National Guard . With the inactivation of Dow AFB in 1968 , most of the base was purchased by the city of Bangor and reopened the following year as Bangor International Airport . That portion of Dow AFB not turned over to the city became the basis for the current Air National Guard Base and the Maine Army National Guard ' s Army Aviation Support Facility . Under Maine ANG jurisdiction , the airfield was initially the home to the 101st Air Defense Wing of the Maine Air National Guard , an ANG associate of Aerospace Defense Command ' s ( ADC ) 36th Air Division at Topsham AFS , Maine . It operated F - 106 Delta Dart s until 1969 , then changed to F - 101 Voodoo interceptors until 1976 . It was reassigned to be an associate unit of SAC , and was renamed the 101st Air Refueling Wing ( 101st ARW ) . The wing was re - equipped with the Boeing KC - 135R Stratotanker , which it continues to operate today and shares the civilian airport facilities . Currently , the 101 ARW is operationally gained by the Air Mobility Command ( AMC ) . Over the horizon radar . About 1985 , the Electronic Systems Division of the then - Air Force Systems Command ( AFSC ) , now Air Force Materiel Command ( AFMC ) , re - activated the 776th Radar Squadron at Bangor ANGB . The mission of the squadron was to operate two over the horizon radar ( OTH - B ) very long - range early warning radar sites . The squadron operated an OTH - B transmitter site at Moscow AFS , Maine , and a receiver site at Columbia Falls AFS , Maine . These systems were inactivated in 1997 , and the unit was inactivated . F - 84G Jan 1953 to Jan 1954 Planes based here . F - 84F Jan 1954 to 1955