174th Tactical Fighter Squadron

174th Air Refueling Squadron
174th Air Refueling Squadron - KC-135R Stratotankers at Sioux City AGB IA
Active	1943 – present
Country	United States
Allegiance	Iowa
Branch	Air National Guard
Type	Squadron
Role	Air Refueling
Part of	Iowa Air National Guard
Garrison/HQ	Sioux City Air National Guard Base, Iowa
Nickname(s)	"Bats"
Tail Code	Yellow tail stripe "Sioux City"
Engagements	World War II
Insignia
174th Air Refueling Squadron emblem

The 174th Air Refueling Squadron (174th ARS) is a unit of the Iowa Air National Guard 185th Air Refueling Wing. It is assigned to Sioux City Air National Guard Base, Iowa and is equipped with the KC-135R Stratotanker aircraft.

Established on 27 April 1943 at Richmond Army Air Base, Virginia, as the 386th Fighter Squadron, equipped with P-47 Thunderbolts. Deployed to the European Theater of Operations (ETO), and assigned to Ninth Air Force in England. Arrived at RAF Gosfield, Essex on 23 December 1943. Their first combat air field training resumed for two months. On 22 February 1944, the squadron flew their first combat mission and over the next one to two months gradually converting from escorting Eighth Air Force heavy bombers to their fighter-bomber mode under Ninth Air Force that continued to the war's end.

The squadron was instrumental in determining the maximum bomb loads for the P-47. Two one-thousand pound bombs and an external fuel tank on the Billy Rack. They were the first group to fly a dive-bombing mission with that bomb load. Their firepower was eight fifty caliber machine guns and their total arsenal included rockets and napalm. This armament was standard for all thirteen P-47 fighter-bomber groups shortly after the D-Day Invasion on 6 June 1944.

Assigned to the IX Tactical Air Command, the squadron flew in direct support of General Hodges First Army. Their mission was two-fold. Protect the ground forces from enemy air attack and destroy any and all obstacles on the ground that prevented our forces from advancing. On two occasions to support Patton's Third Army. The first was shortly after 1 August 1944. The second was during the last months of the Battle of the Bulge. The squadron was active against specific targets on D-Day before, during and following. This was the first company breakthrough in the Battle of the Bulge in taking Germany. The squadron was part of the first group to move into Germany on 17 March 1945 at Aachen and the first to fly a combat mission off a German soil.