Boeing KC-135R – 100th Air Refuelling Wing, Mildenhall UK 1/200

InFlight 1/200 scale IF135USA100R USAF Boeing KC-135R 58-0100 of 100th Air Refuelling Wing based at Mildenhall, Suffolk UK, With Magnetic optional position undercarriage, lowering refuelling boom, rotating jet engine fans and smart display stand.

Length 8.25 inches Wingspan 7.75 inches

The 100th Air Refuelling Wing (100th ARW), nicknamed the Bloody Hundredth, is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Third Air Force, United States Air Forces in Europe. It is stationed at RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk, United Kingdom. It is also the host wing at RAF Mildenhall.

The 100th ARW is the only permanent U.S. air refuelling wing in the European theatre, operating the Boeing KC-135R/T Stratotanker.

During World War II, its predecessor unit, the 100th Bombardment Group (Heavy), was an Eighth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortress unit in England, stationed at RAF Thorpe Abbotts. Flying over 300 combat missions, the group earned two Distinguished Unit Citations (Regensburg, 17 August 1943; Berlin, 4/6/8 March 1944). The group suffered tremendous losses in combat, with 177 aircraft missing in action (MIA), flying its last mission on 20 April 1945.

One of the wing’s honours is that it is the only modern USAF operational wing allowed to display on its assigned aircraft the tail code (Square-D) of its World War II predecessor. The 379th Bomb Wing used its Triangle-K tail code until inactivated in 1993, but when reactivated as the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing was assigned a rotating mix of flying squadrons who used their parent unit’s tail code. The Triangle-K is retained as an unofficial unit insignia.

The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refuelling tanker aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It has a narrower fuselage and is shorter than the 707. Boeing gave the aircraft the internal designation of Model 717. The KC-135 was the United States Air Forces first jet-powered refuelling tanker and replaced the KC-97 Stratofreighter. The KC-135 was initially tasked with refuelling strategic bombers, but it was used extensively in the Vietnam War and later conflicts such as Operation Desert Storm to extend the range and endurance of US tactical fighters and bombers.

The KC-135 entered service with the United States Air Force (USAF) in 1957; it is one of nine military fixed-wing aircraft with over 60 years of continuous service with its original operator. The KC-135 is supplemented by the larger McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender. Studies have concluded that many of the aircraft could be flown until 2030, although maintenance costs have greatly increased. The KC-135 is to be partially replaced by the Boeing KC-46 Pegasus.