Sioux City Air National Guard Base: Difference between revisions
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With its mission completed, Sioux City Army Air Base closed in December 1945.<ref name="thole"/><ref>[http://airforcehistoryindex.org/data/000/178/231.xml USAFHRA Document 00178240]</ref> |
With its mission completed, Sioux City Army Air Base closed in December 1945.<ref name="thole"/><ref>[http://airforcehistoryindex.org/data/000/178/231.xml USAFHRA Document 00178240]</ref> |
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===Fighter-Interceptor base=== |
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However, the facility would not remain closed for long, as in September 1946 the airfield was opened by the [[Air Force Reserve]]. Sioux City Air Base was one of the first Air Force Reserve bases established after the war, and in December 1946 the 185th Iowa Air National Guard unit was established at Sioux City.<ref name="thole"/> |
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Assigned to the new [[Air Defense Command]] (ADC) upon reactivation, the 140th Army Air Force base unit was activated as its host unit.<ref>[http://airforcehistoryindex.org/data/000/178/231.xml USAFHRA Document 00180051]</ref> The mission of the 140th AFBU was to offer flight and ground training to all commissioned and enlisted members of the Air Force Reserve residing in Iowa, [[Minnesota]], [[Nebraska]], [[South Dakota]] and [[Wyoming]].<ref>[http://airforcehistoryindex.org/data/000/178/231.xml USAFHRA Document 00180054]</ref> |
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During the 1950s, ADC based the 521st Air Defense Group at Sioux City beginning on 15 February 1953 as part of the [[Central Air Defense Force]]. The 521st had the 14th, 87th and 519th Fighter-Interceptor Squadrons, equipped with [[F-86 Sabre]]s, [[F-84 Thunderstreak]]s, and [[F-102 Delta Dagger]]s. In 1955, the 521st was reassigned and replaced by the 13th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, which flew with the 14th FIS from the base until 1960.<ref name="madc1">Aerospace Defense Command publication, The Interceptor, January 1979 (Volume 21, Number 1).</ref> |
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===ADC Radar Control Center=== |
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Beginning in 1959, the ADC flying activity was reduced and Sioux City became an ADC command and control base. The [[30th Air Division]] headquarters was reassigned to the base on 1 July, with the responsibility for the air defense of most of the midwest United States. The 30th was briefly replaced by the [[31st Air Division]] in 1966. However, by the mid-1960s ADC was reducing its forces, and on 1 April 1966 the 31st AD was reassigned and the airport was turned over to the Air Force Reserve and [[Iowa]] [[Air National Guard]] for limited military use. |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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Revision as of 21:53, 25 January 2011
Sioux City Air Force Station
 | |
|---|---|
| Part of Air Defense Command (ADC) | |
| Coordinates | 42°23′54″N 096°22′19″W / 42.39833°N 96.37194°W |
| Type | Air Force Station |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by |  United States Air Force |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1959 |
| In use | 1956-1968 |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison | Sioux City Air Defense Sector 30th Air Division |
Sioux City Air Force Station is a closed United States Air Force station. It is located 7.2 miles (11.6 km) south-southeast of Sioux City, Iowa. It was closed in 1968.
The station was established in March 1942 as Sioux City Army Air Base and was a major training center during World War II[1] for crew members of B-24 Liberators and B-17 Flying Fortresses. During the 1950s, the airfield was an Air Defense Command fighter-interceptor base. Beginning in 1956, the ADC flying activity was reduced and Sioux City became an ADC command and control station.
History
World War II
The construction of Sioux City Army Air Base began in March 1942, about three months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Opened on 5 July 1942, it became a major training center during World War II[2] for crew members of B-24 Liberators and B-17 Flying Fortresses. The host unit at the base was the 354th Army Air Force Base Unit [3], and the major training organization was the 393d Combat Training School (later redesignated 224th Combat Crew Training School in 1944).[4][5] At its peak, (October 1943) there were 940 officers and 5,183 enlisted men either assigned or attached to the base. The major training activities at Sioux City included aerial gunnery, bombardment, navigation, formation flying, and other related courses.[6]
During 1943, training at the field was intended to prepare an entire bomb group for overseas combat. Later, after sufficient Bomb Groups had been formed and trained, the base switched to training individual crews as replacements or additions to various bomb groups. Hollywood actor, pilot and Army Air Force Captain (later Colonel) James Stewart was posted to Sioux City with his squadron in 1943, where he and his crew completed their initial B-17 Flying Fortress qualification prior to deployment overseas. Stewart would later transition to the B-24 Liberator.[6]
The training of B-17 crews continued until May 1945. Around that time, the field received a new mission which required the conversion of the facilities for B-29 Superfortress training.[7]
The base was transferred to the 17th Bombardment Operational Training Wing and began the transition to start B-29 training.[8] By early June, there were ten B-29's on the field. The new training program was short lived, however because in August 1945 it was canceled. With the end of World War II, the former training base switched to becoming a processing center to discharge personnel out of the service and back into civilian life.[6]
With its mission completed, Sioux City Army Air Base closed in December 1945.[6][9]
Fighter-Interceptor base
However, the facility would not remain closed for long, as in September 1946 the airfield was opened by the Air Force Reserve. Sioux City Air Base was one of the first Air Force Reserve bases established after the war, and in December 1946 the 185th Iowa Air National Guard unit was established at Sioux City.[6]
Assigned to the new Air Defense Command (ADC) upon reactivation, the 140th Army Air Force base unit was activated as its host unit.[10] The mission of the 140th AFBU was to offer flight and ground training to all commissioned and enlisted members of the Air Force Reserve residing in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming.[11]
During the 1950s, ADC based the 521st Air Defense Group at Sioux City beginning on 15 February 1953 as part of the Central Air Defense Force. The 521st had the 14th, 87th and 519th Fighter-Interceptor Squadrons, equipped with F-86 Sabres, F-84 Thunderstreaks, and F-102 Delta Daggers. In 1955, the 521st was reassigned and replaced by the 13th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, which flew with the 14th FIS from the base until 1960.[12]
ADC Radar Control Center
Beginning in 1959, the ADC flying activity was reduced and Sioux City became an ADC command and control base. The 30th Air Division headquarters was reassigned to the base on 1 July, with the responsibility for the air defense of most of the midwest United States. The 30th was briefly replaced by the 31st Air Division in 1966. However, by the mid-1960s ADC was reducing its forces, and on 1 April 1966 the 31st AD was reassigned and the airport was turned over to the Air Force Reserve and Iowa Air National Guard for limited military use.
See also
References
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- ^ USAFHRA Document 00178204
- ^ USAFHRA Document 00178204
- ^ USAFHRA Document 00178208
- ^ USAFHRA Document 00178209
- ^ USAFHRA Document 00178213
- ^ a b c d e Lou Thole, Forgotten Fields of America : World War II Bases and Training, Then and Now - Vol. 2
- ^ USAFHRA Document 00178231
- ^ USAFHRA Document 00178233
- ^ USAFHRA Document 00178240
- ^ USAFHRA Document 00180051
- ^ USAFHRA Document 00180054
- ^ Aerospace Defense Command publication, The Interceptor, January 1979 (Volume 21, Number 1).
- A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946 - 1980, by Lloyd H. Cornett and Mildred W. Johnson, Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado
- Winkler, David F. (1997), Searching the skies: the legacy of the United States Cold War defense radar program. Prepared for United States Air Force Headquarters Air Combat Command.
- Information for Sioux City AFS, IA
External links
[[Category:Military facilities