197th Air Refueling Squadron
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The 197th Air Refueling Squadron (197 ARS) is a unit of the Arizona Air National Guard
161st Air Refueling Wing The 161st Air Refueling Wing (161 ARW) is a unit of the Arizona Air National Guard, stationed at Goldwater Air National Guard Base, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Arizona. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the Un ...
located at
Goldwater Air National Guard Base Goldwater Air National Guard Base, formerly Sky Harbor Air National Guard Base, is a facility of the United States Air National Guard that exists adjacent to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. It was built as the result of a 99-year lease ...
, Phoenix, Arizona. The 197th is equipped with the
KC-135R Stratotanker The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It is the predominant variant of the C-135 Stratolifter family of transport ...
.


History


World War II

: ''see:
373d Fighter Group The 373rd Fighter Group is an inactive United States Army Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with First Air Force stationed at Mitchel Field, New York. It was inactivated on 7 November 1945. During World War II the group was assigned to Nin ...
for expanded World War II history'' Formed at Westover Field, Massachusetts, in August 1943. During World War II the 412th Fighter Squadron was assigned to the
European Theater of Operations The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It commanded Army Ground For ...
(ETO), Ninth Air Force in Western Europe. It was equipped with
P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...
s. The 412th flew its first combat mission on 8 May 1944, a fighter sweep over
Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
. It then took part in preinvasion activities, e.g., escorting
B-26 Marauder The Martin B-26 Marauder is an American twin-engined medium bomber that saw extensive service during World War II. The B-26 was built at two locations: Baltimore, Maryland, and Omaha, Nebraska, by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in t ...
s to attack airdromes, bridges and railroads in
Occupied France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...
. The squadron patrolled the air over the beachhead when the Allies launched the Normandy invasion on 6 June 1944, and hit troops, tanks, roads, fuel depots and other targets in the assault area until the end of the month. The 412th moved to the Continent in July 1944 where it struck railroads, hangars, boxcars, warehouses and other objectives to prevent reinforcements from reaching the front at St. Lo, where the Allies broke through on 25 July 1944. The squadron bombed such targets as troops in the Falaise-Argentan area in August 1944. During the
Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive (military), offensive military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted fr ...
, December 1944 – January 1945, the 412th concentrated on the destruction of bridges, marshalling yards and highways. It flew reconnaissance missions to support ground operations in the Rhine Valley in March 1945, hitting airfields, motor transports, etc. The squadron continued tactical air operations until 4 May 1945. Returned to the United States and prepared for transfer to the
Pacific Theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
during the Summer of 1945, the Japanese Capitulation in August led to the squadron's inactivation in November 1945.


Arizona Air National Guard

The wartime 412th Fighter Squadron was reactivated and re-designated as the 197th Fighter Squadron, and was allotted to the Arizona Air National Guard, on 24 May 1946. It was organized at Luke AFB, Arizona and was extended federal recognition on 12 December 1946. The 197th Fighter Squadron was entitled to the history, honors, and colors of the 412th. The squadron was equipped with F-47D Thunderbolts and was allocated to the
Fourth Air Force The Fourth Air Force (4 AF) is a numbered air force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). It is headquartered at March Air Reserve Base, California. 4 AF directs the activities and supervises the training of more than 30,000 Air Force Reser ...
, Continental Air Command by the
National Guard Bureau The National Guard Bureau is the federal instrument responsible for the administration of the National Guard established by the United States Congress as a joint bureau of the Department of the Army and the Department of the Air Force. It was cre ...
. During the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, the 197th was federalized on 1 February 1951 and assigned to
Air Training Command Air Training Command (ATC) is a former United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command designation. It was headquartered at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, but was initially formed at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. It was re-designated as Ai ...
. ATC equipped the squadron with F-84B Thunderjet aircraft and used it as a training organization. Some fighter pilots went to Korea to fly combat missions. Other squadron personnel, because of their experience, were sent to bases in the U.S. and Japan to train new people entering the Air Force. The squadron was released from active duty and returned to Arizona state control, 1 November 1952. With the release from active service, the federal government authorized the construction of a new base at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix for the Arizona Air National Guard. The 197th returned to flying the
F-51H Mustang Over twenty variants of the North American P-51 Mustang fighter were produced from 1940, when it first flew, to after World War II, some of which were employed also in the Korean War and in several other conflicts. Allison-engined Mustangs NA ...
s as part of
Tactical Air Command Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. It was inactivated on 1 J ...
.


Air Defense mission

In 1954, the unit was reassigned to
Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for continental air defense. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air Defense Command, was est ...
(ADC), with a new mission of Air Defense of the Phoenix area. The prop-driven Mustangs were replaced by
F-86A Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Sov ...
day fighters, and the squadron was re-designated as the 197th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron. On 2 October 1957, the Arizona Air National Guard 197th FIS was authorized to expand to a group level, and the 161st Fighter-Interceptor Group was established by the National Guard Bureau. The 197th FIS becoming the group's flying squadron. Other squadrons assigned into the group were the 161st Headquarters, 161st Material Squadron (Maintenance), 161st Combat Support Squadron, and the 161st USAF Dispensary. The F-86A Sabre day fighters were replaced in 1958 by the all-weather/day-night F-86L Sabre Interceptor aircraft, and in 1960, the 197th was one of three selected ANG units to receive
F-104A Starfighter The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic air superiority fighter which was extensively deployed as a fighter-bomber during the Cold War. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the "Century Series" of ...
interceptors from the ADC active-duty interceptor forces. The Copperheads, as a result of the national recognition as one of the best air defense units in the nation, were chosen to fly the new high performance jet fighter. The 161st FIG was called into active service in November 1961 as the construction of the infamous "Berlin Wall" pushed the world to the brink of war. Within a month after mobilization, 750 personnel and 22 197th FIS F-104 aircraft were in place at Ramstein Air Base, West Germany as the unit took up flying daily air defense patrols at the edge of the Iron Curtain. With world tension easing, the squadron returned home in August 1962.


Transport mission

With the return to Arizona, the unit was reassigned from ADC to the
Military Air Transport Service The Military Air Transport Service (MATS) is an inactive Department of Defense Unified Command. Activated on 1 June 1948, MATS was a consolidation of the United States Navy's Naval Air Transport Service (NATS) and the United States Air Force's ...
(MATS) in October 1962. The Mach-2 Starfighters were exchanged for large, 4-engined
C-97G Stratofreighter The Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter was a long-range heavy military cargo aircraft developed from the B-29 and B-50 bombers. Design work began in 1942, the first of three prototype XC-97s flew on 9 November 1944 (none saw combat), and the first of s ...
s with a mission of worldwide transport of personnel, supplies and equipment. The 197th Air Transport Squadron (later Military Airlift Squadron) flew missions to the
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
,
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
,
South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
,
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
and
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. During the height of the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, the squadron routinely flew trans-Pacific medical evacuation missions from hospitals in
South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, and the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
of wounded servicemen and women to the United States, being designated as an Aeromedical Transport Squadron. In 1969 the Military Airlift Squadron designation was returned and the unit again flew scheduled transport missions for Military Airlift Command (MAC).


Air Refueling

In 1972, military requirements resulted in a change in mission when the group was reassigned from MAC transport duties to the
Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...
(SAC). Under SAC the group became an Air Refueling unit, being with the air refueling version of the C-97 transport, the KC-97 Stratofreighter. Familiarity with the aircraft led to a smooth transition from MAC to the new refueling mission. In 1977, SAC announced that Air National Guard refueling units would begin to upgrade to the
Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It is the predominant variant of the C-135 Stratolifter family of transpor ...
. The 197th Air Refueling Squadron has been flying the KC-135 for almost 40 years. During the
1991 Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
, Air National Guard tanker units were quickly called into action. An around-the-clock airlift began to support the buildup to the conflict, Operation Desert Shield. Tankers and crews from the 161st were some of the first to arrive in
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
. Elements of the 197th ARS were assigned to the 1709th Air Refueling Wing (Provisional), flying from King Abdul Aziz Air Base, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. From the start and for the duration, tankers servicing the conflict left Phoenix weekly, loaded with maintenance and support technicians who worked in the Saudi Arabian desert up to 45 days, and in some cases more. As the allies prepared to move against Iraq, aircraft crews, maintenance personnel, medics, fire fighters, security forces and food service technicians were dispatched to bases in Europe and the United States. Before the war in the
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...
was concluded more than two-thirds of the force assigned to the 161st Air Refueling Group had served on active duty in some capacity to support the Middle East effort. In 1994, 1995 and 1997 the unit deployed to Pisa, Italy where our tankers supported NATO operations in Bosnia. 1997 also saw the 161st facing challenges in the United Arab Emirates. The unit was vital to the success of Operation Deny Flight and Operation Southern Watch. 1 October 1995, marked another key change in the unit's long history. The 161st Air Refueling Group was redesignated as the 161st Air Refueling Wing under the USAF Air Mobility Command (AMC). 1996 saw the Copperheads turn 50 years old. The unit celebrated with year-round contests and a 50th Anniversary Celebration in December. The 161st sent about 130 personnel to Operation Northern Watch early in 1999. Based at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, the unit supported flight operations within the northern no-fly zone over Iraq. Early in the second quarter of 1999, 161st Copperheads were quickly pressed into service over Kosovo for Operation Allied Force. Nearly 200 unit airmen served on active duty for about two months, flying 125 missions to offload almost 2.5 million gallons of fuel. The airmen returned to Phoenix in late June 1999. Although not directly called as a unit the "Copperheads" played a vital role in support units during Operation Enduring Freedom in 2003. Many Security Forces saw duty overseas directly supporting bases while maintenance and operations personnel were called to support the ongoing operations.


Lineage

* Constituted as 412th Fighter Squadron on 25 May 1943 : Activated on 15 August 1943 : Inactivated on 7 November 1945 * Re-designated: 197th Fighter Squadron and allotted to Arizona ANG on 24 May 1946 : Extended federal recognition on 12 December 1946 : Federalized and placed on active duty, 1 February 1951 : Released from active duty and returned to Arizona state control, 1 November 1952 : Re-designated: 197th Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 1 November 1952 : Re-designated: 197th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron on 1 March 1954 : Federalized and placed on active duty, 1 November 1961 : Released from active duty and returned to Arizona state control, 15 August 1962 : Re-designated: 197th Air Transport Squadron on 1 October 1962 : Re-designated: 197th Military Airlift Squadron on 1 January 1966 : Re-designated: 197th Aeromedical Transport Squadron on 16 August 1968 : Re-designated: 197th Military Airlift Squadron on 1 December 1969 : Re-designated: 197th Air Refueling Squadron on 1 August 1972


Assignments

*
373d Fighter Group The 373rd Fighter Group is an inactive United States Army Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with First Air Force stationed at Mitchel Field, New York. It was inactivated on 7 November 1945. During World War II the group was assigned to Nin ...
, 15 Aug 1943 – 7 Nov 1945 *
146th Fighter Group The 146th Airlift Wing (146 AW) is a unit of the California Air National Guard, stationed at Channel Islands Air National Guard Station, Oxnard, California. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the United States Air Force Ai ...
, 12 December 1946 * 127th Pilot Training Group, 1 Feb 1951 – 1 Nov 1952 * 146th Fighter-Bomber Group, 1 November 1952 * 146th Fighter-Interceptor Group, 1 July 1955 * 161st Fighter-Interceptor Group, 2 October 1957 * 86th Air Division, 25 November 1961 * 161st Fighter-Interceptor Group, 11 July 1962 * 161st Air Transport Group, 1 October 1962 * 161st Military Airlift Group, 8 January 1966 * 161st Aero Medical Airlift Group, 16 August 1968 * 161st Military Airlift Group, 1 December 1969 * 161st Air Refueling Group, 1 August 1972 * 161st Operations Group, 1 October 1995


Stations

* Westover Field,
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
, 15 August 1943 *
Norfolk Airport Norfolk International Airport is seven miles (11 km) northeast of downtown Norfolk, an independent city in Virginia, United States. It is owned and operated by the Norfolk Airport Authority: a bureau under the municipal government. The ai ...
,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, 23 October 1943 *
Richmond Army Air Base Richmond International Airport is a joint civil-military airport in Sandston, Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community (in Henrico County, Virginia, Henrico County). The airport is about 7 miles (11 km) southeast of downtown ...
,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, 15 February – 15 March 1944 *
RAF Woodchurch Royal Air Force Woodchurch or more simply RAF Woodchurch is a former Royal Air Force Advanced Landing Ground located in Kent, England. The airfield is located approximately west of Ashford; about southeast of London. Opened in 1943, Woodc ...
(AAF-419), England, 4 April – 4 July 1944 *
Tour-en-Bessin Airfield Tour-en-Bessin Airfield is a now-abandoned World War II military airfield near the Communes of France, commune of Tour-en-Bessin in the Normandy Regions of France, region of northern France. The United States Army Air Force established a temp ...
(A-13), France, 19 July 1944 * Saint James Airfield (A-29), France, 19 August 1944 * Reims/Champagne Airfield (A-62), France, 19 September 1944 * Le Culot Airfield (A-89),
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, 22 October 1944 *
Venlo Airfield Royal Air Force Brüggen, more commonly known as RAF Brüggen, in Germany was a major station of the Royal Air Force until 15 June 2001. It was situated next to the village of Elmpt, approximately west of Düsseldorf on the Dutch-German bo ...
(Y-55),
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, 11 March 1945 * Lippstadt Airfield (Y-98), Germany, 20 April 1945 *
AAF Station Illesheim Storck Barracks/Illesheim Kaserne is a United States Army facility adjacent to Illesheim, Germany, located about 15 miles northwest of Ansbach (Bavaria), about 240 miles south-southwest of Berlin. Storck Barracks is part of the United States Arm ...
, Germany, 20 May–July 1945 * Sioux Falls Army Air Field,
South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...
, 4 August 1945 *
Seymour Johnson Field Seymour Johnson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located in Goldsboro, North Carolina. The base is named for U.S. Navy Lt. Seymour A. Johnson, a test pilot from Goldsboro who died in an airplane crash near Norbeck, Maryland, ...
,
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
, 20 August 1945 *
Mitchel Field Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territory ...
, New York, 28 September – 7 November 1945 * Luke Army Airfield (later AFB), Arizona, 12 December 1946 * Sky Harbor Airport, Arizona, 1 November 1952 : Designated:
Goldwater Air National Guard Base Goldwater Air National Guard Base, formerly Sky Harbor Air National Guard Base, is a facility of the United States Air National Guard that exists adjacent to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. It was built as the result of a 99-year lease ...
, 1991–Present : Operated from: Ramstein AB, West Germany, Nov 1961-15 Aug 1962


Aircraft

*
P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...
, 1943–1945 * F-51D Mustang, 1947–1950, 1952–1954 * F-84B Thunderjet, 1950–1951 * F-84E/G Thunderjet, 1951–1952 *
F-86A Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Sov ...
, 1954–1958 * F-86L Sabre Interceptor, 1958–1960 *
F-104A Starfighter The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic air superiority fighter which was extensively deployed as a fighter-bomber during the Cold War. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the "Century Series" of ...
, 1960–1962 *
C-97G Stratofreighter The Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter was a long-range heavy military cargo aircraft developed from the B-29 and B-50 bombers. Design work began in 1942, the first of three prototype XC-97s flew on 9 November 1944 (none saw combat), and the first of s ...
, 1962–1972 *
KC-97L Stratotanker The Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter is a four-engined, piston-powered United States strategic tanker aircraft based on the Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter. It replaced the KB-29 and was succeeded by the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker. Design and develop ...
, 1972–1977 *
KC-135A Stratotanker The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It is the predominant variant of the C-135 Stratolifter family of transpo ...
, 1977–1982 * KC-135E Stratotanker, 1982–2007 *
KC-135R Stratotanker The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It is the predominant variant of the C-135 Stratolifter family of transport ...
, 2007–Present


Aircraft flying in this unit

KC-135
55-3143(E) (Dec'93); 57-1452(E) (Dec'93); 57-1475(E) (Dec'93); 57-1496(E) (Dec'93)


References


197th Air Refueling Squadron lineage and history
* Cornett, Lloyd H; Johnson, Mildred W (1980). A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization, 1946–1980. Peterson AFB, CO: Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center. * * Rogers, B. (2006). United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978.


External links

{{US Air Force navbox Squadrons of the United States Air National Guard Air refueling squadrons of the United States Air Force Military units and formations in Arizona