499th Air Refueling Wing The 499th Air Refueling Wing is an inactive United States Air Force ( USAF ) unit that was last active at Westover AFB , Massachusetts in June 1966 . The wing was first activated as the 499th Bombardment Group of the United States Army Air Forces , which flew combat in the Pacific Theater of Operations as part of Twentieth Air Force during World War II . The 499th BG engaged in very heavy ( B - 29 Superfortress ) bombardment operations against Japan for which it earned two Distinguished Unit Citation s . Its aircraft were identified by a " V " and a square painted on the tail . The 499th Air Refueling Wing was an air refueling and airborne command and control unit active from 1963 to 1966 . In 1984 USAF consolidated the group and wing into a single unit sharing a common history . History . World War II . The 499th Bombardment Group was established in late 1943 at Davis - Monthan Field , Arizona as a Boeing B - 29 Superfortress very heavy bombardment group . The unit ' s original operational squadrons were the 877th , 878th , 879th , and 880th Bombardment Squadron s . It was also assigned four bombardment maintenance squadrons ( one paired with each of its operational squadrons ) and a photographic laboratory , The group moved to Smoky Hill Army Air Field , Kansas in December 1943 to begin training . Due to a shortage of Boeing B - 29 Superfortress es , the group was equipped with Boeing B - 17 Flying Fortress es already at Smoky Hill that had been previously used for training heavy bomber replacements . In the spring of 1944 , the 499th finally received newly manufactured B - 29s . In May the United States Army Air Forces reorganized its very heavy bombardment units . The 880th Bombardment Squadron and the bombardment maintenance squadrons were inactivated and their personnel absorbed into the remaining three squadrons . The 499th deployed to Pacific Theater of Operations in September 1944 , where it became part of the XXI Bomber Command in the Northern Mariana Islands at Isley Field , Saipan . Upon arrival the group ' s personnel were engaged in Quonset hut construction . By mid - October most personnel were able to move into the huts from the initial tents which they were assigned on arrival . The group began operations with attacks in the Truk Islands and on Iwo Jima . It took part in the first attack on Japan by AAF planes based in the Marianas . The group flew numerous missions in daylight , operating from high altitude to bomb strategic targets in Japan . The 499th received a Distinguished Unit Citation ( DUC ) for striking the Mitsubishi aircraft engine plant at Nagoya on 23 January 1945 . In March 1945 the group began to conduct night attacks , flying at low altitude to drop incendiaries on area targets in Japan . It completed a series of attacks against enemy airfields on Kyūshū to aid the Invasion of Okinawa in April 1945 and received another DUC for this action . The group released propaganda leaflets over the Japanese home islands , in July and August , continuing strategic bombing raids and incendiary attacks until the Japanese surrender in August 1945 . After V - J Day , the 499th dropped supplies to Allied prisoners . In November 1945 the unit returned to the United States ; where it was assigned to Continental Air Forces ' s Fourth Air Force at March Field , California . However demobilization was in full swing and the group was inactivated on 17 January 1946 . Cold War . The origins of the 499th Air Refueling Wing date to 1 April 1955 , when Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) organized the 4050th Air Refueling Wing at Westover AFB , Massachusetts and assigned it to Eighth Air Force . The 4050th became the host organization when Westover transferred to SAC from Military Air Transport Service . In addition to the 384th Air Refueling Squadron , flying Boeing KC - 97 Stratotanker s , the wing was assigned three maintenance squadrons and an air base group . Three weeks later the wing added a second KC - 97 squadron , the 26th Air Refueling Squadron , which moved to Westover from Lockbourne AFB , Ohio . A little over a year later , the wing became a tenant of the 99th Bombardment Wing and the personnel , equipment , and mission of its 4050th Air Base Group were transferred to 99th ' s 99th Air Base Group . On 1 July 1957 , the wing was assigned the newly activated 99th Air Refueling Squadron , located at Turner AFB , Georgia . In August , the 99th moved to Westover and replaced the 26th Air Refueling Squadron , which moved to Plattsburgh AFB , New York and was reassigned from the wing . Unlike the wing ' s other squadrons , the 99th was a Boeing KC - 135 Stratotanker Squadron whose mission was to support the Boeing B - 52 Stratofortress es of the co - located 99th Bombardment Wing . In 1960 , the wing added the mission of commanding SAC air refueling squadrons that were forward positioned in the middle Atlantic states at bases hosted by other Major Commands . In January the 305th Air Refueling Squadron was reassigned to the wing when it moved from MacDill AFB , Florida to McGuire AFB , New Jersey . and in June the 11th Air Refueling Squadron at Dover AFB , Delaware was reassigned to the wing . In April the 19th Air Refueling Squadron at Dow AFB , Maine was assigned to the wing after the 4060th Air Refueling Wing at Dow was discontinued . With five air refueling squadrons assigned , the 4050th ( and later the 499th ) became the largest operational wing in SAC . The following April , the wing added a squadron in the mid Atlantic , the 303d Air Refueling Squadron at Kindley AFB , Bermuda . The 19th was transferred to the 4038th Strategic Wing the same day in preparation for conversion to KC - 135s to support the 4038th ' s B - 52s . However , SAC Major Command controlled ( MAJCON ) could not carry a permanent history or lineage . and SAC looked for a way to make its these wings permanent . In 1962 , in order to perpetuate the lineage of many currently inactive bombardment units with illustrious World War II records , SAC received authority from USAF to discontinue its MAJCON wings that were equipped with combat aircraft and to activate Air Force controlled ( AFCON ) units , most of which were inactive at the time which could carry a lineage and history . As a result the 4050th was replaced by the newly constituted 499th Air Refueling Wing which assumed its mission , personnel , and equipment on 1 January 1963 . The 4050th ' s air refueling squadrons were reassigned to the 499th . Component support units were replaced by units with numerical designation of the newly established wing . The 499th Air Refueling Wing continued to support SAC bombardment and Tactical Air Command aircraft with air refueling . The wing also deployed parts of its tanker force overseas to support unit movements and special operations . In addition to its tankers the 499th also flew the Boeing EC - 135 Looking Glass missions in support of the Post Attack Command and Control System airborne command post for Eighth Air Force . As SAC phased out its KC - 97 aircraft , the wing began to shrink . The 303d Air Refueling Squadron inactivated in late spring 1963 and in July 1964 the three squadrons located at other bases were transferred to other SAC headquarters . In December 1965 the last KC - 97 squadron assigned to the wing became non operational , although it remained with the wing on paper . The 499th ' s KC - 135 squadron was reassigned to the 99th Bombardment Wing the following month . The 499th Air Refueling Wing was inactivated on 25 June 1966 . Lineage . 499th Bombardment Group 499th Air Refueling Wing Components . Operational Squadrons Maintenance Squadrons Other