147th Air Refueling Squadron The 147th Air Refueling Squadron ( 146 ARS ) is a unit of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard 171st Air Refueling Wing located at Pittsburgh IAP Air Reserve Station , Pennsylvania . The 147th is equipped with the KC - 135T Stratotanker . History . World War II . Activated on 1 October 1942 at RAF Duxford , England by special authority of the USAAF by Eighth Air Force . Assigned to VIII Fighter Command , equipped with a mixture of United States personnel reassigned from the 31st and 52d Fighter Group s , and Americans transferred from the Royal Air Force who had volunteered to join the RAF prior to the United States entry into the European War , 11 December 1941 . Squadron was initially equipped with export / Lend - Lease version of P - 39D Aircobra , designated Airacobra I by the RAF with additional aircraft that had been sold to France that been impounded by the British after the Fall of France . These aircraft were re - designated as P - 400 . Deployed to French Morocco and assigned to Twelfth Air Force where the unit engaged in combat during the North African campaign . Briefly equipped with P - 38 Lightnings from June to Sept 1943 each Squadron was assigned two P - 38s to intercept and destroy high flying Luftwaffe reconnaissance aircraft sent to photograph the allied invasion fleet gathering along the North African coast for the invasion of Sicily . Re - equipped with P - 47D Thunderbolt s , January 1944 and engaged in combat during Italian Campaign . Also covered Allied landings on Elba in June 1944 and supported the invasion of southern France in August . Returned to Italy and fought in Po Valley , 1944 – 1945 until the end of the European War in May 1945 . Pennsylvania Air National Guard . The wartime 346th Fighter Squadron was re - designated as the 147th Fighter Squadron , and was allotted to the Pennsylvania Air National Guard on 24 May 1946 . It was organized at Greater Pittsburgh Airport and was extended federal recognition on 22 April 1949 by the National Guard Bureau . The 147th Fighter Squadron was bestowed the history , honors , and colors of the 346th Fighter Squadron . The squadron was equipped with F - 47D Thunderbolt s and was assigned to the 112th Fighter Group . Air Defense . The 147th Fighter Squadron ' s mission was air defense over Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania . Not activated during the Korean War , the squadron retired its F - 47s in 1951 was re - equipped with long - distance F - 51H Mustang interceptors , due to the lack of jets which were being used in Korea . After the Korean War ended the squadron began to receive new F - 84F Thunderstreak s in July 1955 . In January 1958 , the 146th replaced their F - 84Fs with all - weather F - 86L Sabre Interceptor s . Aeromedical airlift . On 1 February 1961 , the 147th was authorized to expand to a group level , and the 171st Air Transport Group was established by the National Guard Bureau . The 147th being transferred from the 112th Fighter - Interceptor Group to become the 171st ATG flying squadron . Other squadrons assigned into the group were the 171st Headquarters , 171st Material Squadron ( Maintenance ) , 171st Combat Support Squadron , and the 171st USAF Dispensary . The 147th Aeromedical Transport Squadron was converted to twin engine C - 119J Flying Boxcar aircraft and began training for its new mission . After two years with the C - 119J , the 147th converted to the C - 121G Super Constellation . With the Super Constellation the primary mission of the 147th was to perform military airlift , with a secondary mission of aeromedical evacuation . In 1968 , the unit was re - designated as the 171st Aeromedical Airlift Group , the first of its kind in the Air National Guard ( ANG ) . Later that year , the 171st was called to active duty to augment the airlift capability of the 375th Aeromedical Airlift Wing , Scott AFB , Illinois . Equipped with C - 131 Samaritan aircraft its mission was to move patients from rough combat airfield casualty staging bases and military installations in South Vietnam to destination treatment hospitals . The Group flew 35 % of these missions , flying 510 sorties and airlifting 11 , 947 patients . The unit was finally released from active duty in December 1968 and returned to Pennsylvania commonwealth control . Air refueling . Conforming to the new policy of the Department of Defense , the Air National Guard began to play an even greater role in fulfilling total U . S . force requirements . An extensive reorganization of the National Guard system was accomplished . As a result of these actions , the 171st Aeromedical Airlift Group was re - designated as the 171st Air Refueling Wing ( ARW ) in October 1972 , transitioning from the C - 121G to the KC - 97L Stratotanker . On 1 July 1976 , the Wing received notice of reassignment to the Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) . A year later , the Wing transitioned to the KC - 135A Stratotanker , a four - engine jet aircraft . This was a significant upgrade , increasing the Wings air refueling capacity and expanding its global mission capability . In 1982 , the ANG increased its mission capability through an interim program by retrofitting commercial Boeing 707 engines to their tankers re - designating the aircraft to the KC - 135E . Members of the 171 ARW volunteered for duty in Saudi Arabia in order to participate in air refueling missions for Operation Desert Shield . These operations were upgraded to a full federal activation in December 1990 through May 1991 . During this period over 300 members of the unit were deployed throughout the world in numerous functions supporting both Desert Shield and combat operations during Operation Desert Storm . During this period the 171st ARW refueled nearly 3 , 000 allied aircraft while stationed near the Iraqi border in support of air combat missions against Iraqi forces . Maintaining a remarkable 100 % mission effectiveness rate , the 171st flew 556 combat missions and offloaded 4 . 6 million gallons of fuel during the 1991 Gulf War . Post Cold War era . Strategic Air Command was inactivated in June 1992 and the 112th ARG became a part of the Air Combat Command ( ACC ) . On 1 October 1993 , with both the 112th Air Refueling Group and the 171st Air Refueling Wing at Pittsburgh , the two tanker units were consolidated with the 146th Air Refueling Squadron being reassigned to the 171st Operations Group and once again reuniting with the 147th under the same group . The 112th Air Refueling Group was inactivated . With the consolidation , The 171st ARW consisted of 16 aircraft assigned to two squadrons , making it one of only three Super Tanker Wings within the Air National Guard . In May 1999 , the 171st activated over 500 members and fourteen aircraft to Budapest , Hungary and Frankfurt , Germany , in support of Operation Allied Force deterring ethnic aggression in Yugoslavia . The 147th became part of the 171st Expeditionary Operations Group that flew 411 sorties and refueled 2 , 157 receivers . All members returned home by the beginning of July 1999 . In November 2000 , the 171st deployed 228 personnel to Istres AB , France in support of Operation Joint Forge , a NATO - led stabilization mission in Bosnia - Herzegovina . During this deployment the crews flew 51 sorties in seven of our KC - 135s , and offloaded 1 . 4 million pounds of fuel . Global War on Terrorism . the 171st found itself among the first units called to duty almost immediately after the 9 / 11 terrorist attacks in New York City , Washington D . C . and in its own backyard in southwestern Pennsylvania on September 11 , 2001 with the hijacking and crash of United Airlines Flight 93 . At the time , almost all of the Wing ' s aircraft were in a stand - down mode , while nearly all of its assigned aircraft were being converted to with the new Pacer - Crag cockpit and navigation upgrade . Within minutes of the first aircraft crashes , the 171st Air Refueling Wing was airborne with its only flyable KC - 135E . Its mission was to provide aerial refueling to the fuel - thirsty jet fighter aircraft that were providing Combat Air Patrol s ( CAPs ) over the skies of the eastern United States as part of Operation Noble Eagle ( ONE ) . On the ground back in Pittsburgh , the maintainers and aircrews made more aircraft airworthy and then keeping them flying . Almost seamlessly , the 171st went into a wartime footing . Within 24 hours after the first attacks , the 171st was flying round - the - clock CAPs support sorties with eight Fully Mission Capable KC - 135s . Before the continuous CAP missions were ended in early 2002 , more than 13 , 000 combat missions were flown over U . S . soil . During the first decade of the 2000s , the 171st was engaged in combat operations in supporting Operation Enduring Freedom , Operation Noble Eagle , Operation Iraqi Freedom , deployed to Guam , participated in the Hurricane Katrina Relief Effort , supported numerous Raven assignments , supported our AEF cycles and other missions . In an effort to support the international response to the unrest in Libya and enforcement of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 of a no - fly zone over Libya , the 313th Air Expeditionary Wing , with the 171st as the lead unit , was stood up in March 2011 by a blend of active duty , guard and reserve airmen . A total of 1500 sorties , 11000 flying hours , and 70 million pounds of fuel transferred aircraft from more than ten countries was accomplished by this citizen - airmen volunteer milita force . Initially , the operation for the no - fly zone was called Operation Odyssey Dawn . As it transitioned to a full - fledged , NATO - led effort , it became Operation Unified Protector . OUP officially ended Oct . 31 , 2011 .