 In 1965, as Strategic Air Command (SAC) began to phase its B-47s and KC-97s out of service, the squadron was inactivated and its planes transferred to storage, while its parent became the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing and moved on paper to Beale Air Force Base, where it took over the resources of the 4200th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, which was discontinued.The squadron was reactivated on 1 January 1970, when it joined the 9th Wing at Beale Air Force Base, as the 456th Strategic Aerospace Wing expanded to include two tanker squadrons to support its own Boeing B-52 Stratofortresses and the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbirds of the 9th Wing.At Beale, the 9th flew the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker.