Sioux City Air National Guard Base: Difference between revisions
added photos and maps |
→ADC Radar Control Center: edited and expanded |
||
| Line 57: | Line 57: | ||
===ADC Radar Control Center=== |
===ADC Radar Control Center=== |
||
Beginning in 1959, the ADC flying activity was reduced and Sioux City became an ADC command and control base. The [[Sioux City Air Defense Sector]] was established on 1 October 1959 assuming control of former ADC [[Central Air Defense Force]] units in western [[Iowa]], most of [[Nebraska]] along with southern [[South Dakota]]. |
Beginning in 1959, the ADC flying activity was reduced and Sioux City became an ADC command and control base. The [[Sioux City Air Defense Sector]] (SCADS) was established on 1 October 1959 assuming control of former ADC [[Central Air Defense Force]] units in western [[Iowa]], most of [[Nebraska]] along with southern [[South Dakota]]. |
||
In 1959 a [[Semi Automatic Ground Environment]] (SAGE) Data Center (DC-22) was established at Sioux City AFS. The SAGE system was a network linking Air Force (and later FAA) General Surveillance Radar stations into a centralized center for Air Defense, intended to provide early warning and response for a Soviet nuclear attack. The operation of DC-22 with its [[AN/FSQ-7]] computer was the primary mission of SCADS, as well as providing [[air defense]] over parts of [[Minnesota]], [[Colorado]] and [[Wyoming]] |
|||
The Sector was disestablished on 1 April 1966 as part of an ADC consolidation and reorganization; its units were reassigned to the newly-established [[30th Air Division]]. The 30th AD administered and trained subordinate units, and participated in numerous air defense training exercises. In addition, it supervised training of [[Air National Guard]] units with a pertinent mobilization assignment. |
The Sector was disestablished on 1 April 1966 as part of an ADC consolidation and reorganization; its units were reassigned to the newly-established [[30th Air Division]] which took over operation of the SAGE DC-22. The 30th AD administered and trained subordinate units, and participated in numerous air defense training exercises. In addition, it supervised training of [[Air National Guard]] units with a pertinent mobilization assignment. |
||
DC-22 was inactivated in September 1968 as ADC phased down its interceptor mission as the chances of a Soviet bomber attack on the United States seemed remote, its mission being consolidated into [[North American Aerospace Defense Command]] (NORAD). |
DC-22 was inactivated in September 1968 as ADC phased down its interceptor mission as the chances of a Soviet bomber attack on the United States seemed remote, its mission being consolidated into [[North American Aerospace Defense Command]] (NORAD). |
||
Revision as of 16:23, 29 January 2011
Sioux City Air Force Station
 | |
|---|---|
| Part of Air Defense Command (ADC) | |
 1952 photo showing World War II configuration of base]] | |
| 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 | 1942 |
| In use | 1942-1945; 1946-1968 |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison | Army Air Forces Training Command (USAAF) 521st Air Defense Group Sioux City Air Defense Sector 30th Air Division |
- For the civil use of this facility, see: Sioux Gateway Airport
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 Sioux City Air Defense Sector (SCADS) was established on 1 October 1959 assuming control of former ADC Central Air Defense Force units in western Iowa, most of Nebraska along with southern South Dakota.
In 1959 a Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) Data Center (DC-22) was established at Sioux City AFS. The SAGE system was a network linking Air Force (and later FAA) General Surveillance Radar stations into a centralized center for Air Defense, intended to provide early warning and response for a Soviet nuclear attack. The operation of DC-22 with its AN/FSQ-7 computer was the primary mission of SCADS, as well as providing air defense over parts of Minnesota, Colorado and Wyoming
The Sector was disestablished on 1 April 1966 as part of an ADC consolidation and reorganization; its units were reassigned to the newly-established 30th Air Division which took over operation of the SAGE DC-22. The 30th AD administered and trained subordinate units, and participated in numerous air defense training exercises. In addition, it supervised training of Air National Guard units with a pertinent mobilization assignment.
DC-22 was inactivated in September 1968 as ADC phased down its interceptor mission as the chances of a Soviet bomber attack on the United States seemed remote, its mission being consolidated into North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
With the inactivation of the 30th AD, the Air Force closed Sioux City Air Force Station as an active-duty facility. Its facilities were turned over to Sioux Gateway Airport, along with the Air Force Reserve and Iowa Air National Guard for limited military use. Today, the Sioux City SAGE building is reportedly now a turkey processing plant.
See also
- List of USAF Aerospace Defense Command General Surveillance Radar Stations
- Iowa World War II Army Airfields
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
| Airfields |  | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Units |
| ||||||||||||||
- 1942 establishments
- USAAF Second Air Force Heavy Bombardment Training Stations
- USAAF Second Air Force Replacement Training Stations
- Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces
- Radar networks
- Radar stations of the United States Air Force
- Aerospace Defense Command
- Closed facilities of the United States Air Force
- Military facilities in Iowa