421st Air Refueling Squadron
Encyclopedia
The 421st Air Refueling Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force
unit. Its last was assigned to the 41st Air Division, stationed at Yokota Air Base
, Japan
. It was inactivated on 15 January 1965.
s and later for other in-flight refueling capable PACAF fighter and fighter bombers. Initially equipped with transferred Strategic Air Command
KB-29M Stratofortrresses that were converted to aerial tankers using a British-developed hose refueling system.
Upgraded to KB-50 Superfortress tankers in 1958 which provided greater speed to refuel jet aircraft. KB-50s were modified about 1959 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.
Some aircraft and crews deployed to Don Muang Royal Thai Air Force Base
, Thailand
in 1961 to support USAF advisory tactical jet aircraft over South Vietnam that were running low on fuel while still over enemy territory. Some of these refuellings were carried out at such low altitudes that they came under enemy fire from the ground. By 1964 aircraft were phased out due to age and being replaced by SAC KC-97 and KC-135s; squadron inactivated in early 1965 when KB-50Js sent to AMARC at Davis-Monthan.
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
unit. Its last was assigned to the 41st Air Division, stationed at Yokota Air Base
Yokota Air Base
, is a United States Air Force base in the city of Fussa, one of 26 cities in the Tama Area, or Western Tokyo.The base houses 14,000 personnel. The base occupies a total area of and has a runway...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. It was inactivated on 15 January 1965.
History
Activated as an advanced detachment of the 98th Bombardment Wing, which was being moved to Yokota Air Base, Japan from Spokane AFB, Washington. Mission of squadron was to provide dedicated in flight refueling, initially for F-100 Super SabreF-100 Super Sabre
The North American F-100 Super Sabre was a supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard until 1979. The first of the Century Series collection of USAF jet fighters, it was the first USAF fighter capable of...
s and later for other in-flight refueling capable PACAF fighter and fighter bombers. Initially equipped with transferred Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
KB-29M Stratofortrresses that were converted to aerial tankers using a British-developed hose refueling system.
Upgraded to KB-50 Superfortress tankers in 1958 which provided greater speed to refuel jet aircraft. KB-50s were modified about 1959 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.
Some aircraft and crews deployed to Don Muang Royal Thai Air Force Base
Don Muang Royal Thai Air Force Base
Don Muang Royal Thai Air Force Base is located approximately 25 miles north of Downtown Bangkok.It is the main operating and command base for the Royal Thai Air Force...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
in 1961 to support USAF advisory tactical jet aircraft over South Vietnam that were running low on fuel while still over enemy territory. Some of these refuellings were carried out at such low altitudes that they came under enemy fire from the ground. By 1964 aircraft were phased out due to age and being replaced by SAC KC-97 and KC-135s; squadron inactivated in early 1965 when KB-50Js sent to AMARC at Davis-Monthan.
Lineage
- Established as Detachment 2, 98th Bombardment Wing, Japan on 1 Jul 1953
- Activated on 6 Jul 1953
- Redesignated as 421st Air Refueling Squadron on 8 Jul 1953
- Inactivated on 15 Jan 1965
Assignments
- 98th Bombardment Wing, 6 Jul 1953
- 49th Fighter-Bomber Group, 15 Jan 1954
- 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, 1 Jul 1957
- 3d Bombardment Wing, 1 Jul 1960
- 41st Air Division, 20 Nov 1960-15 Jan 1965
Aircraft
- KB-29M SuperfortressB-29 SuperfortressThe B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
, 1954-1955 - KB-50/KB-50J SuperfortressBoeing B-50 SuperfortressThe Boeing B-50 Superfortress strategic bomber was a post-World War II revision of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, fitted with more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-4360 radial engines, stronger structure, a taller fin, and other improvements. It was the last piston-engined bomber designed by Boeing for...
, 1955-1965