171st Air Refueling Squadron The 171st Air Refueling Squadron ( 117 ARS ) is a unit of the Michigan Air National Guard 127th Wing located at Selfridge Air National Guard Base , Michigan . The 171st equipped with the KC - 135T Stratotanker . History . World War II . Established in early - 1943 as a P - 47 Thunderbolt fighter squadron , trained under I Fighter Command in the mid - Atlantic states . Also flew air - defense missions as part of the Philadelphia Fighter Wing . Deployed to the European Theater of Operations ( ETO ) , being assigned to VIII Fighter Command in England , November 1943 . The unit served primarily as an escort organization , covering the penetration , attack , and withdrawal of B - 17 / B - 24 bomber formations that the USAAF sent against targets on the Continent . The squadron also engaged in counter - air patrols , fighter sweeps , and strafing and dive - bombing missions . Attacked such targets as airdromes , marshalling yards , missile sites , industrial areas , ordnance depots , oil refineries , trains , and highways . During its operations , the unit participated in the assault against the Luftwaffe and aircraft industry during the Big Week , February 20 – 25 , 1944 , and the attack on transportation facilities prior to the Normandy invasion and support of the invasion forces thereafter , including the Saint - Lô breakthrough in July . The squadron supported the airborne attack on the Netherlands in September 1944 and deployed to Chievres Airdrome , ( ALG A - 84 ) , Belgium between February and April 1945 flying tactical ground support missions during the airborne assault across the Rhine . The unit returned to Little Walden and flew its last combat mission on April 20 , 1945 . Demobilized during the summer of 1945 in England , inactivated in the United States as a paper unit in October . Michigan Air National Guard . The wartime 374th Fighter Squadron was re - designated as the 171st Fighter Squadron , and was allotted to the Michigan Air National Guard , on 24 May 1946 . It was organized at Wayne County Airport , Michigan and was extended federal recognition on 25 April 1948 . The 171st Fighter Squadron was entitled to the history , honors , and colors of the 374th . The squadron was equipped with F - 47D Thunderbolt s and was assigned to the Michigan ANG 127th Fighter Group . The unit was ordered into active service on February 1 , 1951 as a result of the Korean War and assigned to Air Training Command . In March 1951 being assigned F - 51 Mustangs , F - 80 Shooting Stars and F - 84 Thunderjets while serving as a training organization . The unit was relieved from active duty in November 1952 , was redesignated as a Fighter - Bomber squadron . Mission aircraft were F - 51H , F - 86E and F - 89C . Redesignated at Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron in 1958 . The squadron flew RF - 84F ' s . Moving to Selfridge Air National Guard Base in 1971 and upgrading to the newer RF - 101 Voodoo . Became an Aerospace Defense Command ( ADCOM ) Fighter - Interceptor squadron in 1973 , equipped with F - 106 Delta Dart interceptors . Performed air defense duties of the Great Lakes and Detroit area until 1978 when ADCOM was merged into Tactical Air Command . Continued air defense mission for ADTAC component of TAC with F - 4 Phantom II s , transferring to First Air Force when ADTAC was replaced in 1985 . Upgraded to F - 16A Fighting Falcon s in 1990 . Realigned into an airlift squadron in 1993 , equipped with C - 130 Hercules Tactical Airlifters . Flew the C - 130 until September 2007 when it was realigned as an Air Refueling Squadron , being equipped with the KC - 135T Stratotanker .