Lowry Air Force Base

Lowry Air Force Base
Part of Air Training Command (ATC)
Located in Aurora and Denver, Colorado
9 October 1999 Location of Lowry Air Force Base
Coordinates	39°43′11.51″N 104°53′43.45″W
Type	Air Force Base
Site information
Owner	Land: City & County of Denver, and City of Aurora
Controlled by	United States Air Force
Condition	Lowry Campus, managed by Lowry Redevelopment Authority.
Site history
Built	1937
In use	Open 1938 - closed 30 Sept 1994, Runway closed June 1966
Demolished	selected buildings throughout campus
Garrison information
Garrison	Lowry Technical Training Center, 451st SMW Titan I (1961-1965)

Lowry Field, about 1945

Lowry Air Force Base (1938-1994) is a former United States Air Force base located in the cities of Aurora and Denver, Colorado. Its primary mission throughout its existence was Air Force technical training and was heavily involved with the training of United States Army Air Forces bomber crews during World War II.

Current status

Lowry was permanently closed by actions of the 1991 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC II) commission in 1994. The land is now being used for commercial and residential development, though many of the old military buildings are still in use. These include several massive hangars, two of which currently houses the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum (Hangar 1 and 2, Building 401 and 402, respectively). Another hangar, formerly Building 1499, has been converted to the Big Bear Ice Rink. One of the former dormitories is currently owned and used by The Logan School for Creative Learning and was remodeled beginning 2004 and ending in late 2006. Also, some of the base housing is now currently owned and used by Stanley British Primary School and other buildings are occupied by the Aurora Community College at Lowry.

Many buildings, such as the large Finance Claims Center and various other outbuildings and facilities have been demolished or are in the process of being demolished to make room for new development, while other buildings such as the former steam power plant and headquarters building are being renovated for new usage in the form of modern lofts and housing. Few abandoned, original buildings remain, although one dormitory facility and a former medical building on the east end of the base are owned by the state as part of the Higher Education and Technology campus and have not yet been renovated and are off-limits. Additionally, at least two buildings on the base are still considered active federal property (The former base exchange, or BX, near the US Post Office on 11th and Uinta Street is one, although not marked as such and the other is the Defense Finance and Accounting Service facility); Security patrols will question and detain people if they are loitering, photographing or performing other activities in close proximity to the buildings or in the parking lots.

History

In 1934 the Army Air Corps realized it was outgrowing its facilities at Chanute Field, Illinois and began looking for a new facility where it could consolidate all of its Air Service Technical training schools.

After looking at more than 80 sites across the nation, a military committee submitted a list to Congress with the names of six cities that would meet their needs. Denver ranked first, and Congress approved the Air Corps project in 1937, but Chanute remained the headquarters of the Air Corps Technical School & home to the aircraft mechanics school.

The Army formed a new branch for armament & photography training in Denver, and on October 4, 1937 the Works Progress Administration (WPA) began work to convert the grounds of the former Agnes Memorial Sanatorium into a modern airfield. The new field was named Lowry Field on 11 March 1938 in honor of Second Lieutenant Francis Lowry whose plane was shot down by German antiaircraft fire in World War I in which he flew as an observer. Despite bad weather Lieutenant Lowry and his pilot had attempted a photo-reconnaissance mission important to the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.

Classes in aerial photography began at Lowry in 1938 and aircraft arrived in June of that year. The first aircraft to land on the new paved runway was a B-18 Bolo. The sanatorium's main building became the base headquarters.

In January 1942, in the early course of World War II, the War Department assigned Lowry Field to the Army Air Forces Technical Training Command, and tasked Lowry with annually training 57,000 men. In 1944 Lowry changed from a technical training center to a predominantly flying installation when flight engineering; Boeing B-29 pilot transition and B-29 crew training was it's major mission. Forty-two B-29s arrived at Lowry in May 1944 & the six-week course began in July. At war’s end, two classes remained at Lowry along with thirty-nine Superfortresses. The classes never completed training, as the end of the war in Europe in May & V-J Day on August 15th ended Lowry’s short history as a pilot training school, and the base quickly returned to a peacetime schedule. Staffing decreased & student enrollment plummeted. It became a separation center for returning veterans. By the end of the 1945, Lowry was processing an average of 300 discharges a day.

On 1 July 1946, Lowry was assigned to the Army Air Forces new Air Training Command, which it would be a part of for almost the next 50 years. On 24 June 1948, Lowry Field was renamed Lowry Air Force Base as a result of the United States Air Force becoming a separate branch of the Armed Forces of the United States.

With the beginning of the Korean War, Lowry Air Force Base expanded its training program. Courses taught, in addition to photography and armament, included rocket propulsion, missile guidance, electronics, radar-operated fire-control systems, computer specialties, gun and rocket sights, and electronically operated turret systems.

Also during the 1950s, Lowry functioned as President Dwight D. Eisenhower's summer White House from 1952 - 1955. From 1954 until 1958 it was the interim home for the United States Air Force Academy until construction was completed in Colorado Springs.

On 18 April 1962, Lowry became the first operational base for Titan I ICBMs. The missiles remained on alert until 15 April 1965. In the 1960s, Lowry flight operations were shifted to Buckley Field, now Buckley Air Force Base. All flying activities ceased completely in June 1966 when the last aircraft was flown out of Lowry.

With the closure of Amarillo AFB, Texas in 1967, Lowry became the home of the 3320th Retraining Group, which provided eligible court-marshalled airmen correctional training to re-enter normal active-duty ranks after completion.

A vast construction program began in 1970 for enlisted and officer billeting facilities, which replaced many of the World War II vintage barracks. Five large (1,000 man) dormitories were constructed and a 187-space mobile home park were completed by 1974. Other facilities included a youth center, a child-care center, a chapel, and a new Airmen’s Open Mess. In 1976, the Air Force Accounting & Finance Center & the Air Reserve Personnel Center opened in the Gilchrist Building (Building 444).

Lowry first faced the base closure issue in 1978. Ultimately, the Air Force recommended keeping Lowry open at that time. With the base closure issue settled (for the time being), Lowry Technical Training Center introduced new & improved courses for the 1980s. The base became became the primary training center for USAF space operations courses and began Undergraduate Space Training for officers. Lowry also handled ground & armament training for the F-15, F-16, A-10, and B-1 bomber, as well as the Short Range Attack Missile (SRAM). Lowry was also instrumental in training munitions handling for modified B-52 bomber.

The 1990s saw the beginning of the end at Lowry. The end of the Cold War, along with the resultant budget cuts & downsizing made base closure a reality.

In 1993, Lowry prepared to end 56 years of technical training. While training continued, Lowry’s command structure planned to implement the closure in an efficient manner. The Air Force deactivated the 3400th Technical Training Group on April 27, 1994. A parade & pass-in-review was planned, but the death of former President Richard Nixon caused the ceremonies to be postponed to the 28th. The official deactivation date, however, remained the 27th.

On 30 September, 1994, the base officially closed.

See also

• Air Training Command
• Strategic Aerospace and Missile Wings 451st SMW Titan I (Jun. 1, 1961 - Jun. 25, 1965)
• Colorado World War II Army Airfields

References

• Neufeld, J. (1990). The development of ballistic missiles in the United States Air Force, 1945-1960. Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-62-5.
• Mueller, Robert (1989). Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982. USAF Reference Series, Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-53-6

External links

• Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum
• A Brief History of Lowry Air Force Base (Source of History)
• The Logan School
• The Neighborhood Network of the Lowry Community