101st Air Refueling Wing

Military unit

The 101st Air Refueling Wing (101 ARW) is a unit of the Maine Air National Guard, stationed at Bangor Air National Guard Base, Bangor, Maine. If activated to federal service with the United States Air Force, the 101 ARW is operationally-gained by the Air Mobility Command (AMC).

Units

In the late 2010s the wing consists of the following major units:

• 101st Operations Group

132d Air Refueling Squadron (KC-135R)

• 101st Maintenance Group
• 101st Mission Support Group
• 101st Medical Group

132d AREFS KC-135A 57-1491 about 1980 in SAC markings

101st ARW KC-135Es at Pisa Airport, Italy, 1996

History

133d Fighter Squadron – Republic F-47D Thunderbolt, AF Ser. No. 44-89766, the first aircraft assigned to the New Hampshire Air National Guard

The mission of the 101st FIW was the air defense of New England. Its assigned squadrons were dispersed and equipped as follows:

• 132d Fighter-Interceptor Squadrons, Dow AFB (F-80C)
• 133d Fighter-Interceptor Squadrons, Grenier AFB (F-47D)
• 134th Fighter-Interceptor Squadrons, Burlington Municipal Airport (F-51H)

Lineage

Operation Enduring Freedom Deployment Patch, 2005

North East Tanker Task Force Patch, 1994

• Established as the 101st Fighter Wing in October 1950

Activated on 25 October 1950

Federalized and ordered to active service on 1 February 1951

• Redesignated 101st Fighter-Interceptor Wing on 10 February 1951^[1]

Inactivated on 6 February 1952^[1]

• Released from active duty and returned to Maine state control on 1 November 1952

Activated and received federal recognition on 1 November 1952

• Redesignated 101st Air Defense Wing on 14 April 1956
• Redesignated 101st Fighter-Interceptor Wing on 10 June 1972
• Redesignated 101st Air Refueling Wing on 1 July 1976

Assignments

• Maine Air National Guard, 25 October 1950
• Eastern Air Defense Force, 10 February 1951^[1]
• Western Air Defense Force 2 August 1951 – 6 February 1952^[1]
• Maine Air National Guard, 1 November 1952 – present

Gaining commands

Air Defense Command (later Aerospace Defense Command), 1 November 1952

Strategic Air Command, 1 July 1976

Air Combat Command, 1 June 1992

Air Mobility Command, 1 June 1993 – present

Components

• 101st Fighter-Interceptor Group (later 101st Fighter Group), 10 February 1951 – 6 February 1952; 1 November 1952 – 30 April 1954, 1 June 1954 – 31 March 1956, 15 April 1956 – 1 September 1960^[2]
• 101st Fighter Group (later 101st Fighter-Interceptor Group, 101st Air Refueling Group, 101st Operations Group), 1 September 1960 – 31 March 1976, 16 March 1992 – present
• 158th Fighter Group (Air Defense), 15 April 1956 – 1 July 1960

132d Fighter Squadron (later 132d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 132d Air Refueling Squadron), 31 March 1976 - (present?)

Stations

• Dow Air Force Base, Maine, 25 October 1950^[1]
• Grenier Air Force Base, New Hampshire, 23 April 1951^[1]
• Larson Air Force Base, Washington, 2 August 1951 – 6 February 1952^[1]
• Dow Air Force Base (later Bangor International Airport, Bangor Air National Guard Base), 1 November 1952 – present

Aircraft

• F-80C Shooting Star, 1950–1952
• F-86F Sabre 1952–1955
• F-94A Starfire, 1955–1957
• F-89D Scorpion, 1957–1959
• F-89J Scorpion, 1959–1969
• F-102A Delta Dagger 1959
• F-101B Voodoo 1969–1976
• KC-135A Stratotanker, 1976–1984
• KC-135E Stratotanker, 1984–2007
• KC-135R Stratotanker, 2007 – present

References

Notes

1. Cornett & Johnson, p. 63
2. The 101st Fighter Group (Air Defense) was withdrawn from the Maine Air National Guard in 1954. In 1960, it was a unit of the New Hampshire Air National Guard. When it converted to the airlift mission, it was redesignated 157th Air Transport Group and a new 101st Fighter Group was activated in the Maine Air National Guard.

Bibliography

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• Cornett, Lloyd H; Johnson, Mildred W (1980). A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization, 1946 - 1980 (PDF). Peterson AFB, CO: Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
• McLaren, David (2004), Lockheed P-80/F-80 Shooting Star: A Photo Chronicle, Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.; First Edition, ISBN 0887409075
• Rogers, Brian. (2005). United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978. Hinkley, UK: Midland Publications. ISBN 1-85780-197-0.

External links

• 134th Fighter Squadron lineage and history
• 158th Fighter Wing History
• Cornett, Lloyd H. and Johnson, Mildred W., A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946 – 1980, Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, Peterson AFB, CO (1980). Archived 13 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine
• 101st Air Refueling Wing website