Aviation
first came to the seacoast area shortly after World War I, when in 1919
pilots barnstormed their way into the area providing airplane rides
to local residents. The Portsmouth Fairgrounds was their airport at
the time. A 300 acre airport was built in Portsmouth in the early 1930's.
One of its first commercial users was Northeast Airlines, operating
two flights daily in and out of Portsmouth. In early 1951, New Hampshire
Senator Styles H.Bridges announced that the Air force wanted to build
a bomber base in New Hampshire, with the seacoast area as the prime
location. The first Air Force visit took place in January 1951, when
officials met with City Manager Edward C.Peterson and Airport Commissioner
Vincent Tacetta. As in any situation where change threatens the status
quo, opposition to the Air force proposal materialized. The changes
involved large acquisitions of farmlands and homesteads in Newington,
NH. Although the opposition was organized, many supported the idea of
an Air Force base in the area. In May 1952, plans for the construction
of the air base was approved by the House Armed Services Committee and
shortly thereafter the Army Corps of Engineers began to acquire land
from the state, cities and private property owners. Clearing of the
land began in December 1952. A formal ground breaking ceremony took
place on July 3, 1954.
On
January 1, 1955, the first military unit, the 4018th Air Base Squadron,
was activated at the base. Lt Col. Andreas A.Andrae, Capt. Delmont Groth
and TSgt. John W.Smith formed the nucleus of that unit, which had been
assigned to the Eighth Air Force. The base readied to receive its first
operational unit, the 100th Bombardment Wing, nicknamed the "Bloody
100th" for bravery over Europe during World War II. By the end of December
1955, the base's primary operational and support facilities had been
completed. In January 1956, SAC reactivated and assigned the 100th BW
to the air base. The Wing consisted of the 349th, 350th and 351st Bombardment
Squadrons, three maintenance squadrons, a tactical hospital and six
support squadrons. Col.Chapman became the first Wing Commander, while
Lt Col. Andrae became the 100th Air Base Group Commander. In February
1956, the 817th Air Division, commanded by Brigadier General Walter
"Pop" Arnold, was activated and assumed overall responsibility for the
base. In April 1956, the first bomber, a B-47, landed at the base. Although
the base had been officially active since January 1, Portsmouth AFB,
as it was known then, formally opened on June 30, 1956. An estimated
110,000-120,000 people attended opening day ceremonies highlighted by
the Air Force "Thunderbird" aerial demonstration team. In September
1956, 13 KC-97 tanker aircraft of the 100th Air Refueling Squadron arrived
at Portsmouth to begin operations. In the final month of 1956, Congress
approved an 1100 family housing unit project for the base.
As
1957 began, one of the major issues facing the 817th AD was how to accommodate
the 509th BMW, then stationed at Walker AFB, New Mexico, as the second
bomb wing on the base. Like the 100th, the 509th also flew B-47 and
KC-97. The 509th was activated as a Composite Group (CG) in 1944 with
the particular mission to deliver atomic weapons. On August 6, 1945,
a B-29 from the 509th dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.
In January 1950, the wing exchanged its B-29s for the B-50D, a modified
and more powerful version of the B-29. On September 7. 1957, the base
was renamed Pease AFB in honor of Captain Harl Pease Jr., a native of
Plymouth, NH. Captain Pease posthumously earned America's highest award,
the Congressional Medal of Honor, for extraordinary heroism as a B-17
pilot during a bombing raid against the Japanese in Rabaul, New Britain,
on August 6 and 7, 1942. With barely any rest, in a crippled aircraft,
and facing intense enemy fighter attacks, Captain Pease completed his
bombing mission and was believed to have been shot down during withdrawal
from the target area.
In
October 1957, the 100th BMW increased its readiness in preparation for
a three month mobility exercise in Greenland and England. Upon completion
of this test, the wing became fully combat ready and assumed a position
in the SAC deterrent force. While the 100th completed this exercise,
the 509th ARS moved to Pease as a prelude to the entire 509th BMW move.
On May 29, 1958, the 509th was formally ordered by USAF Headquarters
to move to Pease, effective July 1, 1958. Transfer orders dictated movement
of the wing's 393rd, 715th and 830th Bombardment Squadrons, three maintenance
squadrons and one tactical hospital. By July 15, nine aircraft and seventeen
crews had moved to Pease. However, the Lebanon Crisis of 1958 set off
a chain of events that negated the original movement order. A SAC-wide
alert directed the remaining 509th aircraft at Walker AFB to deploy
to Pease on July 15, 1958. Once the alert ended, SAC ordered all 509th
aircraft to remain at Pease, with the rest of the wing to follow immediately.
By September 1, 1958, the 509th was fully operational at Pease and the
base had now two full B-47 wings, two KC-97 refueling squadrons and
125 aircraft on the ramp.
The
New Hampshire SAC installation was very busy at the beginning of 1959,
and it soon became much busier. On March 1, both the 100th BW and 509th
BW attained "Super strength" status when the former acquired the 418th
BS and the latter the 661st BS. Unfortunately, the 661st did not remain
in existence for long and was inactivated on January 1, 1962. This augmentation
was needed to support SAC's One-Third Alert program, a combat readiness
scheme that reached its initial goal in May, 1960 when one-third of
the nation's bomber and tanker force was placed on 15-minute ground
alert status. One-half alert status was reached in July 1961.
In
1961, SAC had actually considered establishing a Minuteman Intercontinental
Ballistic Missile (ICBM) wing at Pease, but engineers determined that
the soil was not suitable for underground silos. In October 1962, all
of SAC went on alert for the Cuban Missile Crisis. To increase the survivability
of the command, SAC directed its units to disperse their aircraft. Accordingly,
the 509th deployed 12 bombers to Logan International Airport, Boston,
Mass., and more additional KC-97s to Goose Bay AB. After the Soviets
agreed to remove the missiles from Cuba, the wing came off full alert
on Nov.15, 1962.The years 1964 and 1965 were of normal operations, but
changes loomed on the horizon. It had been revealed that the 509th BMW
would be inactivated and the 100th BMW equipped with B-52s and KC-135s.
During 1965, Pease personnel were required to support the early stages
of the Vietnam War. A cross section of base and wing personnel left
Pease to serve Vietnam tours in various capacities such as aircrew duties,
maintenance, security and other support activities.
As
SAC missile forces grew in size and capability, the planned phase-out
of the medium bomber force gained momentum. Some B-47 wings converted
to the larger B-52 Stratofortress, but many others were inactivated.
In October 1965, the Air Force initiated Project Fast Fly to oversee
the inactivation of the last five B-47 wings and supporting tanker squadrons.
The 100th ARS retired its last tanker on December 21, 1965, when aircraft
53-0282 flew to the boneyard in Arizona. The following day the 100th
ARS inactivated. The 100th BW retained its ground alert commitment at
Pease until December 31, 1965, and inactivated on June 25, 1966.
In
June 1965, the 509th ARS was inactivated and by October, the 509th BMW
had been relieved of its alert commitment. The 509th's last B-47 departed
Pease AFB on November 23, 1965. Then came a last-minute reversal when
in January 1966, the Air Force decided to retain the 509th at Pease
and inactivate the 100th. The 509th would receive B-52 and KC-135 aircraft,
tools, maintenance equipment, people and records of the 494th BMW at
Sheppard AFB, Texas. On March 1, 1966, the 509th became the host wing
at Pease AFB and assumed control of the 817th Combat Support Group,
and the 817th Medical Group. On March 23, 1966, Col. Frankosky piloted
the wing's first B-52 to Pease. Moments later, the first KC-135 touched
down. The aircraft were not fresh off the assembly line and came from
other units. The wing's 15 bombers came from the 494th BMW at Sheppard
AFB, Tx. while the initial complement of 10 KC-135s came from Sheppard's
900th AREFS. Ten more tankers came from the 910th AREFS at Bergstrom
AFB, Tx. The 900th remained at Pease for three months before being inactivated.
Concurrently, the command moved the 34th AFRES from Offut to Pease.
On its arrival, the 34th took over the ressources and personnel of the
900th as well as its own aircraft. Finally, SAC created plans to return
the 509th AREFS to active status with the arrival of aircraft formerly
assigned to the 910th. The reunion of the 509th AREFS and the 509th
BMW officially took place on October 2, 1966 when SAC activated the
squadron. By that time, the 509th had one squadron of B-52s and two
squadrons of KC-135s.
Shortly
after the wing became fully equipped and trained with the B-52s and
KC-135s, the 509th sent the first of three B-52s for Andersen AFB. The
next day, the first of three tankers took off for Kadena AB for a short
60 days TDY. Meanwhile, changes at Pease took place to solidify the
509th's host status unit. On January 2, 1967, the 817th Combat Support
Group and the remainder of the support squadrons bearing the 817th designation
were inactivated. In their place arose equivalent units bearing the
509th designation..
Much
of 1967 was spent preparing for a deployment to Guam in support of American
forces in Southeast Asia. The movement included 17 B-52s, 10 KC-135s,
aircrews and 1200 other people in support of Operation "Arc Light" during
1968. The wing's performance during this deployment was truly impressive.
During this six month period, 509th crews and maintenance personnel
generated over 2,000 combat sorties and released over 60,000 tons of
bombs on enemy positions. In fact, one of the wing's initial forays
involved operations against the now famous siege at Khe Sanh, South
Vietnam. The wing's involvement in the conflict wasn't over. Barely
six months later, SAC directed another deployment. Over 1,100 personnel,
along with the entire B-52 force and 10 KC-135s left Pease for Andersen
AFB on April 1, 1969.
Also
in 1968, Air Force Headquarters chose the 509th to receive SAC's newest
bomber, the FB-111A, sometime in 1969 or 1970. After the wing returned
from its first "Arc Light" deployment, it began training for another
one scheduled to take place in March 1969. In April 27, 1969, the Air
Force announced that a FB-111A wing would be activated at Pease AFB
in 1970. The six months passed quickly and by September 18, all crews,
support personnel and aircraft had returned. With the aircraft home,
the wing began the conversion. During the next two months, the B-52s
left one by one until the last one departed the New Hampshire base on
November 19, 1969. The last B-52D assigned to the 509th, 42672, left
Pease on November, 19, 1969, while aircrews completed initial FB-111
training at Carswell AFB, Texas. On Dec.1, 1969, SAC renamed the wing
and the 393rd to reflect their new duties and they became known as the
509th BW (Medium) and the 393rd Bomb Squadron (Medium). A month later,
the 715th BMS was reactivated at Pease AFB. Due to FB-111A production
slippages and the grounding of all Air Force F-111/FB-111 aircraft,
the 509th did not receive its new bombers until late 1970. On December
16, 1970, 509th BMW Commander Col. Winston E.Moore flew the wing's first
FB-111A and Pease entered a new era. The wing achieved full combat ready
status with the FB-111 in May 1972, and later received a new weapon,
the Short Range Attack Missile (SRAM), which gave the FB-111A a dual
strike capability. Pease, meanwhile, had acquired several new structures
worth more than $16 million, required to support its mission. These
included a hospital, 100 additional housing units, a control tower and
other essential facilities. During this period, Pease was host to the
54th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron with 200 personnel assigned
to operate and maintain five HC-130H/N "Hercules" in the search and
rescue role.`
Since
the wing's move to Pease, the 41st Munitions Maintenance Squadron took
care of the 509th's munitions needs. Although originally assigned to
the 100th BMW, the squadron remained behind when the 100th left. On
October 1, 1972, SAC inactivated the 41st and reactivated the 509th
MMS a day later as a part of a SAC-wide move to give munitions maintenance
squadrons the same numerical designation as the wing to which it is
assigned.
October
1972 saw the return of the wing to combat. On October 9, the 509th deployed
several of its tankers to Southeast Asia to help with the refueling
requirements associated with the increased air activity. On December
24, the last Pease tanker participating in the "Young Tiger" refueling
returned home. For the next several years, the wing was involved in
many activities in line with its specialized aircraft. Modifications
to the FB-111A and special training for the crews took place throughout
much of 1972. The wing reached a major milestone when its FB-111s actually
began carrying the SRAM on January 3, 1973.
1976
began on a sad note. In response to the turnover of numerous KC-135s
to the Air National Guard, the number of tankers at Pease dwindled.
The wing could no longer justify two Air Refueling Squadrons and on
March 31, 1976, SAC inactivated the wing's second Air Refueling Squadron,
the 34th AFRES. Since its arrival at Pease in the early 1970s, the FB-111A
experienced problems in several critical areas. First, the wing faced
a severe shortage of parts for its FBs. Next, unreliable and hard to
repair avionics components forced the grounding of many FBs. The Strategic
Air Command and the Air Force Logistics Command worked in tandem to
correct these deficiencies while the wing concentrated on rigorous training
for its crews and maintenance personnel. By 1981, the situation at Pease
had improved and the 509th BMW won the 1981 SAC Bombing and Navigation
Competition. The following years, the 509th earned numerous awards acknowledging
its accomplishments with the FB-111A. In 1983, the 509'ers won the Fairchild
Trophy for the third consecutive year during the SAC Bomb Comp.
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As
the wing continued its winning ways, events at the end of 1980s conspired
to bring major changes to the 509th and Pease AFB. The Air Force and
SAC had been preparing to welcome a new bomber, the B-2. In April 1988,
SAC announced it would transfer its FB-111A force to Tactical Air Command.
This action would leave the 509th with tankers only and becoming an
Air Refueling Wing. Col. Orin L.Godsey immediately sent a message to
SAC, citing the wing's unique bomber history and asked the command to
reconsider redesignating the 509th. On November 30, 1988, SAC announced
that it approved Colonel Godsey's recommendation. The wing was chosen
for transfer to the first home of the B-2, Whiteman AFB, Missouri. However,
another announcement in late December 1988 by the Department of Defense
caught the wing and SAC by surprise. The Commission on Base Realignment
and Closure compiled a list of bases to close and Pease AFB was in it
when the list was released on December 29, 1988 by Secretary of Defense
Frank C. Carlucci. During the next few years, the 509th continued with
the closing of Pease. On June 1, 1990, the first FB-111A left the base
bound for Cannon AFB, NM. Soon after, SAC transferred the 509th AREFS
to the 416th BW at Griffiss AFB, NY. The 509th AREFS was officially
activated at Griffiss AFB on September 20, and began flying Boeing's
newest tanker model, the KC-135R. However, some tankers stayed at Pease
with Detachment 1, 509th AREFS. On August 1, 1990, the wing's alert
commitment ended when the last KC-135 came off alert. Then on September
5, 1990, the last two FB-111A took off from Pease AFB for the last time.
23 days later, the tankers ended their tour of duty when Lt Col. James
R.Welteroth lead a six-ship MITO (Minimum Interval Take-Off) departure
of the last tankers to leave Pease AFB. For the last 32 years, Pease
KC-135s and crews have accumulated numerous trophies and awards to include:
The 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1983 Fairchild trophy for overall bomber and
tanker excellence during the annual SAC Bombing and Navigation Competition,
and the SAC Golden Boom Award Tanker Trophy for 1970 and 1978. Just
to name a few! With no aircraft to support, SAC decided to inactivate
many of the wing's subordinate units on September 30, 1990.
According
to special orders issued by SAC, the wing did not inactivate. Instead,
its headquarters moved without personnel or equipment from Pease to
Whiteman on September 30, 1990. On June 1, 1992, the 509th became part
of the new Air Combat Command and received its first B-2 in December
1993.
Pease
AFB was included on the Department of Defense's 1988 base realignments
and closures list with a closure date of March 31, 1991. In April 1989,
the State Legislature established the Pease Redevlopment Commission
(PRC) with the primary responsibility to plan for the closure and redevlopement
of Pease AFB. Pease Airport opened for civilian use on July 19, 1991.
In April 1992, the Air Force and the Pease Development Authority (PDA)
signed the Airport Public Benefit Transfer Application and Lease of
Airport Property which included 1,702 acres for the purpose of developing
a public airport. Land-side developments have been a success at Pease
International Tradeport with many high technology companies moving in
for expansion.
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