301st Air Refueling Wing The 301st Air Refueling Wing is an inactive unit of the United States Air Force being last assigned to the Strategic Air Command at Malmstrom AFB , Montana . It was inactivated on 1 June 1992 . A predecessor unit , the World War II 301st Bombardment Group was a highly decorated group flying B - 17 Flying Fortress es that served primarily in North Africa and Italy . It operated as part of Eighth , Twelfth and Fifteenth Air Force s . After the war , the 301st Bomb Group was one of the USAAF units of Strategic Air Command ( August 1946 ) . History . Activated 5 November 1947 . Assigned to Strategic Air Command . Equipped with B - 29 Superfortress es . Conducted strategic bombardment training , 1947 – 1948 , and aerial gunnery training for other SAC organizations , November 1947 - January 1948 . Reassigned to Barksdale AFB , Louisiana in 1949 , the 301st was one of the first units to conduct aerial refueling operations with the KB - 29 tanker version of the Superfortress . Replaced the propeller - driven B - 29s with new B - 47E Stratojet swept - wing medium bombers in 1953 , capable of flying at high subsonic speeds and primarily designed for penetrating the airspace of the Soviet Union . Also upgraded its KB - 29 tankers to the dedicated Boeing KC - 97 Stratotanker . The mission of the 301st was to train for strategic bombing missions and to conduct aerial refueling . The wing deployed to England in 1953 and to French Morocco in 1954 . It was reassigned to Lockbourne AFB , Ohio on 15 April 1958 where it became an Electronic Countermeasures ( ECM ) unit and was engaged in various clandestine intelligence missions . Although equipped with the B - 47E Stratojet , the 301st added electronic countermeasure activities to other missions in 1958 with the addition of the RB - 47E and later EB - 47E . With these aircraft , the wing soon devoted most of its activity to ECM work . The RB - 47 carried out many ferret missions around the periphery of Soviet territory , and sometimes inside . In the early 1960s , the B - 47 was considered to be reaching obsolescence , and was being phased out of SAC ' s strategic arsenal . Began sending its stratojets to Davis - Monthan AFB in late 1963 , the last EB - 47E going to storage in 1964 . Became an air refueling wing in April 1964 , discontinuing all previous missions . In addition , participated in the post attack command and control system from 3 March 1965 to 30 June 1966 . From around 9 June to 8 October 1972 , most of the wing headquarters staff , all tactical aircraft and crews , and most of the maintenance personnel , plus support personnel in various categories , deployed in Southeast Asia ( U - Tapao RTNAF ) , attached to other SAC organizations . A reduced wing headquarters remained in the United States to administer activities of the combat support group and hospital at Lockbourne AFB , Ohio . From 19 December 1972 to 18 January 1973 , the wing repeated previous deployed condition on a smaller scale , with deployed resources forming a provisional air refueling squadron at Clark AB in the Philippines . The 301st ARW was inactivated on 30 November 1979 in conjunction with SAC turning over Rickenbacker to the Air National Guard . Its KC - 135As were sent to various Air National Guard units . The Wing was reactivated on 8 January 1988 at Malstrom AFB , MT , and assigned to 4th Air Division , Strategic Air Command . It was equipped with KC - 135s . It was inactivated on 1 June 1992 . Components . Wings Groups Squadrons References . " Commemorating the Tour of duty of the 301st Bombardment Wing in the United Kingdom , May – December 1950 , Album published by West Suffolk Newspapers Ltd . Bury St . St . Edmunds , Suffolk , UK on behalf of 301st BW Public Information Office