History Grand Forks Air Force Base

1 history

1.1 air defense command
1.2 safeguard anti-ballistic missile
1.3 strategic air command

1.3.1 cold war aircraft incidents


1.4 modern era
1.5 base realignment, 2005
1.6 major commands assigned
1.7 major units assigned

history

grand forks air force base established on 1 december 1955, construction beginning in fall of year. occupied use on 28 january 1957, , named after neighboring city of grand forks.

air defense command

due continuance of cold war between united states , soviet union, gfafb air defense command (adc) fighter-interceptor air base. site chosen in 1954 , land paid citizens of grand forks, site located 15 miles (24 km) west of city. beginning of 5,400-acre (22 km) air base started in 1956 construction of 12,300-foot (3,750 m) runway.

on 18 february 1957, 478th fighter group (defense) activated @ grand forks. 18th fighter-interceptor squadron moved wurtsmith afb, michigan on 1 may 1960, , flew f-101b voodoo until 15 april 1971, when inactivated , voodoos retired. replaced 460th fis, moved kingsley field @ klamath falls, oregon. 460th fis flew f-106 delta darts until inactivated on 15 july 1974.

main gate @ grand forks afb

in addition interceptor squadrons, semi automatic ground environment (sage) data center (dc-11) established @ grand forks in 1958. sage system network linking air force (and later faa) general surveillance radar stations centralized center air defense, intended provide warning , response soviet nuclear attack. dc-11 operated grand forks air defense sector (gfads), activated on 8 december 1957 under 31st air division @ snelling afs, minnesota. on 1 january 1959, gfads transferred operational control of 29th air division @ malmstrom afb @ great falls, montana.

sage operations extremely expansive , gfads inactivated on 1 december 1963, when merged minot air defense sector @ minot afb west. inactivation of dc-11, grand forks afb reassigned air defense mission strategic air command (sac).

in 1971, 18th fighter-interceptor squadron inactivated , 460th fighter-interceptor squadron replaced unit. although 460th fis won first place @ william tell air-to-air competition @ tyndall afb, florida, inactivated in 1974 due restructuring of air defense system, , ended activities of adcom @ grand forks.

the dc-11 sage blockhouse later headquarters of sac 321st strategic missile wing. following end of minuteman iiiminuteman iii]] missile operations in 1998, large sage blockhouse torn down 5 years later, in june 2003.

safeguard anti-ballistic missile

on 3 november 1967, department of defense revealed gfafb 1 of 10 initial locations host sentinel anti-ballistic missile (abm) site. president richard nixon s 14 march 1969, announcement constructing safeguard installation @ grand forks became top priority. however, construction stalled throughout mid-1969, congress debated merits of bmd. finally, after senate defeated amendments kill safeguard deployment, u.s. army proceeded under assumption appropriations forthcoming.

survey teams selected sites in flat wheatlands close canada-minnesota border, north-northwest of grand forks. twenty-five miles (40 km) separated 279-acre (113 ha) perimeter acquisition radar (par) , 433-acre (175 ha) missile site radar (msr) sites. 4 remote launch sites of 36 45 acres (15 18 ha) each situated in circle 20-mile (32 km) radius surrounding msr. groundbreaking occurred @ par , msr sites on 6 april 1970. excavation proceeded rapidly, , foundation holes par , msr in place mid-may.

on 26 may 1972, president nixon , soviet general secretary leonid brezhnev signed abm treaty, limited each nation 1 site protect strategic forces , 1 site protect national command authority. work 85 percent complete @ grand forks, united states chose finish construction @ north dakota site. on 21 august 1972, army corps of engineers turned on par safeguard systems command (safscom) site activation team. transfer of msr occurred on 3 january 1973. work on 4 remote launch sites fell behind schedule, last completed on 5 november 1972. testing of par commenced during summer of 1973.

on 3 september 1974, safscom site activation team relieved u.s. army safeguard command. named stanley r. mickelsen safeguard complex 48°35′21″n 098°21′24″w / 48.58917°n 98.35667°w / 48.58917; -98.35667 (stanley r. mickelson complex) (62.3 miles (100 km) northwest of base), north dakota abm site received complement of nuclear-tipped lim-49 spartan , sprint missiles during following spring. site declared operational on 1 april 1975. due congressional action, army operated site less year. exception of par, complex abandoned in february 1976.

in october 1977, par came under operational control of usaf, operated thereafter part of warning system. designated cavalier afs 48°43′29″n 097°53′58″w / 48.72472°n 97.89944°w / 48.72472; -97.89944 (cavalier afs) (57.8 miles (93 km) north-northwest of base), , remains active. operated air force space command 10th space warning squadron (10th sws).

strategic air command

minuteman iii missile @ gfafb entrance

on 1 september 1958, strategic air command (sac) established 4133d strategic wing @ grand forks part of plan disperse b-52 heavy bombers on larger number of bases, making more difficult soviet union knock out entire fleet surprise first strike. many of these bases near u.s. border canada; close gfafb in north central u.s. minot , glasgow west, , 3 in michigan east (sawyer, kinchloe, , wurtsmith).

the 4133d sw redesignated 319th bombardment wing (319th bw) on 1 february 1963 in name-only redesigation , assigned sac s second air force, 810th strategic aerospace division. upon redesignation, wing placed aircraft on peacetime quick reaction alert duty, , conducted global bombardment training emergency war order operations , air refueling operations meet sac commitments. aircraft in 1960s @ gfafb latest models: b-52h bombers , kc-135a tankers.

in 1973, 319th bomb wing acquired agm-69 short range attack missile (sram), replacing older agm-28 hound dog air-to-ground missile aboard b-52h aircraft. activities in southeast asia decreased, 319th bw focused full efforts on training crews fly strategic strike missions.

on 1 november 1964, 321st strategic missile wing organized minuteman ii intercontinental ballistic missile (icbm) wing @ gfafb, first in sac.

during 1965, wing’s 3 missile squadrons activated , crew training , certification began @ vandenberg afb in southern california. in august 1965, base received first minuteman ii missile, shipped train assembly plant 77 @ hill afb @ ogden, utah. during following march, base received first minuteman ii shipped via aircraft, air force first. minuteman iii replaced former in 1970s.

the 319th transitioned b-52h re-engined b-52g aircraft in 1983, , added agm-86 air launched cruise missile (alcm) in 1984. in december 1986, last b-52g permanently departed gfafb, replaced b-1b lancer in 1987. tanker aircraft changed, kc-135a kc-135r. change in host unit occurred again in 1988, when 42d air division assigned base support in place of 321st smw.

cold war aircraft incidents

on 2 november 1967, grand forks b-52h (61-0030) crashed near griffiss afb in central new york, killing 6 of 8 aboard. had engine difficulties , attempting emergency landing.
on 15 september 1980, b-52h on alert status experienced wing fire burned 3 hours, fanned evening winds of 26 mph (42 km/h). fortunately, wind direction parallel fuselage, had srams in main bay. 8 years later, weapons expert testified closed u.s. senate hearing change of wind direction have led conventional explosion , widespread scattering of radioactive plutonium.
mid-morning on 27 january 1983, b-52g (57-6507) exploded on maintenance ramp, killing 5 maintenance personnel , injuring eight. faulty fuel pump in wing tank being attended prior accident.

modern era

with restructuring of air force , disestablishment of sac in 1992, wing transferred air combat command (acc), came under air force space command (afspc) in 1993.

on 1 february 1993, acc dropped 319th bomb wing s primary nuclear mission , gave wing primary mission of b-1b conventional bombardment operations. 319th bw began planning , training support such mission counter worldwide regional threats.

following departure of last b-1b aircraft in 1994, base transferred new air mobility command (amc) , 319th bomb wing redesignated 319th air refueling wing (319 arw). kc-135r aircraft assets transferred amc, , strategic icbm assets went air force space command (afspc).

in march 1995, 1995 base realignment , closure commission (brac) selected 321st strategic missile wing inactivation; first downgraded group status, inactivated on 30 september 1998. gfafb s minuteman icbm silos imploded in accordance strategic arms reduction treaty (start ii), commencing in 1999 , completed in 2001. minuteman iii missiles transferred malmstrom afb in @ great falls, montana, replace retired minuteman ii models. minuteman iii icbms remain @ 3 usaf bases: malmstrom, minot, , f.e. warren @ cheyenne, wyoming.

base realignment, 2005

in may 2005, dod s 2005 brac recommended gfafb realignment. closure prevented, kc-135 tanker mission lost, significant reduction of personnel.

the unmanned rq-4 global hawk assigned grand forks, , on 1 march 2011, wing redesignated 319th air base wing (319 abw). first rq-4 arrived in may 2011, operated 69th reconnaissance group of acc. starting in 2012, base received several new block 40 global hawks.

major commands assigned

air defense command, 25 july 1956
strategic air command, 1 july 1963
air combat command, 1 june 1992
air mobility command, 1 october 1993
air combat command, 13 june 2017 – present

major units assigned

references history introduction, major commands , major units