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===Strategic Air Command===
===Strategic Air Command===
Detonation in August of 1949 by the [[Soviet Union]] of an Atomic Bomb spawned a new strategy in the military, calling for massive retaliation in the event of an attack. General [[Curtis LeMay]] carried the strategy to its furthest conclusion: the military had to carry out a pre-emptive attack if it became clear that there were preparations for nuclear attack by an enemy in progress. This strategy was to be made manifest through the Strategic Air Command (SAC)

In 1955 the Strategic Air Command, the creation of Curtis LeMay, came to Westover with activation of the 4050th Air Refueling Wing and the Eighth Air Force head-quarters. The 99th Bomb Wing kept bombers and tankers on ground alert at all times, and SAC crews lived on 24 hour alert for two weeks at a time. In case of nuclear war, an alternate SAC command bunker, called "The Notch", was constructed deep within Mt. Holyoke. Nuclear weapons were stored at the Stony Brook section of the base and planes loaded with these devices were kept on the ground ready to take off at a moment's notice.
In 1955 the Strategic Air Command, the creation of Curtis LeMay, came to Westover with activation of the 4050th Air Refueling Wing and the Eighth Air Force head-quarters. The 99th Bomb Wing kept bombers and tankers on ground alert at all times, and SAC crews lived on 24 hour alert for two weeks at a time. In case of nuclear war, an alternate SAC command bunker, called "The Notch", was constructed deep within Mt. Holyoke. Nuclear weapons were stored at the Stony Brook section of the base and planes loaded with these devices were kept on the ground ready to take off at a moment's notice.


Line 140: Line 142:


The last SAC aircraft at Westover left in the spring of 1975. They were three KC-135s of Det. 1, 42nd Bomb Wing out of [[Loring Air Force Base|Loring AFB]], Maine. The tankers had pulled satellite alert at the Molehole. SAC's 4040th Air Base Group, the caretaker unit for Westover, left in 1976.
The last SAC aircraft at Westover left in the spring of 1975. They were three KC-135s of Det. 1, 42nd Bomb Wing out of [[Loring Air Force Base|Loring AFB]], Maine. The tankers had pulled satellite alert at the Molehole. SAC's 4040th Air Base Group, the caretaker unit for Westover, left in 1976.

===Air Defense Command===
===Air Defense Command===


Revision as of 09:50, 27 October 2011

Westover Air Reserve Base
Part of Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC)
Located near: Chicopee, Massachusetts
A Westover C-5B Galaxy taxies in from a local training mission
Coordinates42°11′38″N 072°32′05″W / 42.19389°N 72.53472°W / 42.19389; -72.53472 (Westover ARB)
Site information
Controlled by United States Air Force
Site history
Built1939
In use1939-Present
Garrison information
Garrison 439th Airlift Wing
Airfield information
Summary
Elevation AMSL241 ft / 73.5 m
Websitewww.westover.afrc.af.mil
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
5/23 11,597 3,535 Asphalt/Concrete
15/33 7,082 2,159 Asphalt/Concrete
Westover ARB is located in Massachusetts
Westover ARB
Westover ARB
class=notpageimage|
Location of Westover Air Reserve Base, Massachusetts
For civil use of this facility and airport information, see Westover Metropolitan Airport.
Main entrance sign
View of Westover ARB
Map of part of the base

Westover Air Reserve Base (IATA: CEF, ICAO: KCEF, FAA LID: CEF) is an Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) airport located in the Massachusetts communities of Chicopee and Ludlow, near the city of Springfield, Massachusetts. Westover hosts the largest Air Reserve Base in the world, is a backup landing site for the NASA Space Shuttle and in the past few years has expanded to include a growing civilian access airport sharing Westover's military-maintained runways[2]. The installation was named for Major General Oscar Westover, commanding officer of the Army Air Corps in the 1930s, killed in the crash of his high-speed Northrop A-17AS, 36-349, c/n 289, in a crosswind short of the runway at Lockheed Aircraft's air field in Burbank, California, now known as Bob Hope Airport, on 21 September 1938.[3] The host unit is the 439th Airlift Wing (439 AW) of the Twenty-Second Air Force (22 AF), Air Force Reserve Command. Outside of the AFRC command structure, the 439 AW and Westover are operationally gained by the Air Mobility Command (AMC).

Overview

Physically, Westover is currently the largest Air Force Reserve base in the United States and will expand significantly over the next decade to further encompass Active and Reserve Component activities of the Navy, Marines, Army, and mainline Air Force functions from installations closed by the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process.

Current military operations at Westover Air Reserve Base are centered around its exceptionally long runways. The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) uses Westover for its largest cargo aircraft. It maintains a fleet of sixteen C-5 Galaxy aircraft operated by the 439th Airlift Wing (439 AW), an Air Force Reserve unit that is operationally gained by the Air Mobility Command (AMC). In 2003, the Air Force Reserve Command briefly changed the name of Westover Air Reserve Base to that of Westover Joint Air Reserve Base. It has since been renamed to its previous designation of Westover Air Reserve Base as a military installation and is referred to as Westover Air Reserve Base / Metropolitan in DoD and FAA Flight Information Publications (FLIP).[4]

The Westover complex serves the "Joint Use" mission of military and civilian cooperation. The core aviation facilities at Westover are owned by the Department of Defense while nearly a 100 acres (400,000 m2) are under private ownership. The two parties coordinate operations in order to promote national defense and economic development. The 11,597-foot (3,535 m) and 7,082-foot (2,159 m) long runways provide the flexibility for significant separation between military and civilian operations.

Units

439th Airlift Wing

  • 439th Operations Group
337th Airlift Squadron
  • 439th Maintenance Group
  • 439th Mission Support Group

Air Force Auxiliary

Army

  • 287th Medical Detachment, 804th Medical Brigade
  • 226th Transportation Company (Railway Operating)
  • Naval Mobile Construction Battalion-27

Marines

  • Marine Wing Support Squadron 472, Detachment B
  • Marine Air Support Squadron-6
  • Machine Gun Platoon, Support Company, Anti-Terrorism Battalion, 4th Marine Division

All Services

  • Springfield Military Entrance Processing Station
  • 302nd Combat Support Brigade

History

Major General Oscar Westover
Westover Field Massachusetts, January 1945
World War II postcard from Westover

Plans for Westover Field were made in 1939 as a result of the Nazi Germany invasion of Poland in 1939. Up to then, the country had only seventeen unimproved and ill-maintained air bases. The Army Air Corps began a rapid at the direction of President Franklin D. Roosevelt to provide an adequate air force for defense of the United States. The Mayor of Chicopee, Massachusetts, Anthony Stonina lobbied long and hard to a new military airfield in the Northeast, arguing convincingly for the town's flat, open tobacco fields as a natural air field. Within two weeks of the Polish invasion, Chicopee was chosen for a new base.

President Roosevelt signed a $750,000 Works Progress Administration (WPA) project bill for the air base's construction in November 1939. Fourteen hundred WPA and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers cleared the land, and actual construction was started in February 1940. The Quartermaster Corps proved to be unequal to the gigantic task of rapidly designing and building hundreds of military installations across the country, so to ease their burden, the Army Corps of Engineers was given all Army Air Corps work in November of 1940.

The original airfield at Westover consisted of three runways in the standard "A" pattern to accommodate landings in all directions based on wind direction. They were concrete, aligned 7000x150(N/S), 7000x150(NE/SW), 7000x150(NW/SE). A large parking apron was constructed to accommodate the aircraft with maintenance hangars and supporting buildings.

Since the Constructing Quartermaster had already planned the base, the first permanent masonry buildings were constructed east of the airfield to those designs, which were intended to be lasting and attractive. Wartime demands, made necessary several hundred buildings based on standardized plans and architectural drawings. The buildings were designed to be the "cheapest, temporary character with structural stability only sufficient to meet the needs of the service which the structure is intended to fulfill during the period of its contemplated war use." To conserve critical materials, most facilities were constructed of wood, concrete, brick, gypsum board and concrete asbestos. Metal was sparsely used.

Westover Field was designed to be nearly self-sufficient, with not only hangars, but barracks, warehouses, hospitals, dental clinics, dining halls, and maintenance shops were needed. There were libraries, social clubs for officers, and enlisted men, and stores to buy living necessities. The early permanent buildings were retained after the war and which have survived, while of the hundreds of temporary buildings later constructed to meet the tremendous needs of the war mobilization by the Corps of Engineers only a few remain.

On April 6, 1940, "Army Day" nationwide, the dedication, flag raising and ground breaking ceremony was held on site. The new air base was named for Major General Oscar Westover, Chief of the Air Corps, US Army, who had died in September 1938. Major General Oscar Westover was in part responsible for the beginning of a period of expansion that ended with the emergence of the U.S. Air Force as a separate service. He was named Chief of the Air Corps and promoted to Major General on December 22, 1935. He spent the next two-and-a-half years flying to bases around the country to step up pilot training and increase the emphasis on aviation which would be important in the 1940s. On September 21, 1938, General Westover lost his life in an airplane accident near the Lockheed plant at Burbank, California, when his plane burst into flames on landing.

Building at the base was constant throughout 1941. At first, the base had been planned to accommodate 1,400 men as an airplane overhaul facility, but by 1940 this had been increased to 3,000 men. At the start of 1942 there was housing for approximately 3,300 enlisted and 500 officers, and at the close of that year there were quarters for about 8,000 officers and men. All but a few of these temporary buildings are now gone.

The first organization at the base was the 10th Signal Platoon that began working in June 1940. The first Air Corps arrived in July. Throughout 1941 many organizations passed through being activated and deactivated. For a brief time the all-black 369th Antiaircraft Coast Artillery Regiment, known as "Harlem's Finest" was stationed here.

World War II

Westover Field was placed under the jurisdiction of the Northeast Air District, later First Air Force, with the 25th Base Headquarters and Air Base Squadron the main Base Operating Unit. During the course of the war, it became the largest military air facility in the Northeast.

The mission of Westover was to organize and provide initial training to new combat units. Pilots, navigators, bombardiers, flexible gunners and other aircrew would arrive and be assigned to newly-organized squadrons and groups. Newly-manufactured B-17 Flying Fortress bombers and P-47 Thunderbolt fighters and other aircraft would be ferried to Westover and be assigned to the newly-formed units to begin their first phase of combat group training. After the personnel were assigned to aircraft as aircrews and squadrons, the airmen training consisted of aircraft familiarity, formation flying and other basic skills. Aircrews consisted of new graduates from Training Command and experienced aircrews being transferred into the new units. Along with the flight crews, ground echelon personnel were formed into aircraft maintenance squadrons, and the command and staff echelons were organized. From Westover, the units would proceed on to second-stage advanced training at other bases prior to their deployment into operational services

In 1942 Westover Field was training center for anti-submarine, engineering, chemical platoons, bomber and fighter groups. In 1943, training mainly focused on fighter groups and anti-submarine combat units, and in the fall of 1943 the base's main mission shifted from fighter training to training heavy bombardment groups.

On 7 April 1944, the Base Operating Unit was reorganized into the 112th Army Air Force Base Unit. As victory in Europe was achieved, some aircrews were brought back to be trained for re-deployment to the Pacific Theaer. At the end of die war troops were prepared for inactivation.

Military Air Transport Service

In February of 1946 Westover became an Air Transport Command (ATC) base which meant that it was the terminus for air routes around the world. During World War II, ATC had developed into a huge military air carrier with a worldwide route pattern. Routes had been established to places that had seen few white men before the war, and where aircraft had been unheard of. Airline personnel who had never left the United States before the war, had become veterans of long over-water flights to the remotest regions of earth. Four-engine C-54 Skymaster and shorter-range C-47 Skytrain transports took supplies and reinforcements from Westover to the armed forces and returned with the wounded and discharged troops.

In 1948 Air Transport Command was reorganized into the Military Air Transport Service (MATS), and Westover was designated as Headquarters, Atlantic Division, MATS, on 1 June 1948. From Westover, MATS airlifters provided service across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe; to the Caribbean and South America; to North Africa and the Middle East to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.

Westover was also the launching point of the heroic Berlin Airlift for 327 days during the Soviet blockade. Altogether 276,926 flights by C-47s and C-54s were flown, bringing an average of one ton of supplies and food to each Berlin resident. Chicopee schoolchildren responded to the plight of German children and organized "Operation Little Vittles" sending ten tons of candy attached to handkerchief parachutes which were dropped from the air.

Westover took part in the Korean War transporting freight and passengers to the forces in Japan and South Korea, and casualties were brought to the Westover Hospital from 1950 to 1954.

Strategic Air Command

Detonation in August of 1949 by the Soviet Union of an Atomic Bomb spawned a new strategy in the military, calling for massive retaliation in the event of an attack. General Curtis LeMay carried the strategy to its furthest conclusion: the military had to carry out a pre-emptive attack if it became clear that there were preparations for nuclear attack by an enemy in progress. This strategy was to be made manifest through the Strategic Air Command (SAC)

In 1955 the Strategic Air Command, the creation of Curtis LeMay, came to Westover with activation of the 4050th Air Refueling Wing and the Eighth Air Force head-quarters. The 99th Bomb Wing kept bombers and tankers on ground alert at all times, and SAC crews lived on 24 hour alert for two weeks at a time. In case of nuclear war, an alternate SAC command bunker, called "The Notch", was constructed deep within Mt. Holyoke. Nuclear weapons were stored at the Stony Brook section of the base and planes loaded with these devices were kept on the ground ready to take off at a moment's notice.

SAC operations began at Westover in 1955 and the 1959 "mole hole", building 7450, was the first building erected as part of the SAC massive retaliation strategy. Here was where long-range B-52 bombers armed with nuclear devices were kept on continuous alert on a nearby runway, known as the Christmas Tree. Their crews rotated through the mole hole, spending one week of 24-hour alert in underground quarters going everywhere together during that week so they were always ready for launch in a few moments. The lower control room was outfitted for SAC operations in case of nuclear war.

The facility was a major base of operations for the Strategic Air Command (SAC) from 1955 until 1974. The 99th Bombardment Wing moved from Fairchild AFB, WA to Westover AFB in late 1956, and began operation of the B-52. SAC operations ended in 1973 when the Wing was inactivated. The 348th Bomb Squadron operated the B-52 from December of 1956 through April of 1972 while assigned to the 99th Bombardment Wing at Westover AFB. On 11 November 1957 a KC-135 tanker piloted by Gen. Curtis LeMay flew 6,350 miles from Westover AFB to Buenos Aires in 13 hours 2 minutes, a world record for nonstop nonrefueled jet flight.

The Target Intelligence Training Building [Building 1875] was constructed in 1957 during the Strategic Air Command years at Westover base. The Corps of Engineers in Boston oversaw its construction to designs by McClintock & Craig Engineers and Architects of Springfield. It was designated as Target Intelligence Training Building for the Reconnaissance Technical forces in 1957, but its functions were always highly secret. What is known is that this was one of four photographic labs on the base during the SAC era, processing film secretly made by U-2 airplanes. The quantity of film taken was so great that another building on base operated primarily as a silver recovery facility. Original drawings of Building 1875 indicated rooms for radar bomb training, se-cure storage, predictions, mission support and operational intelligence maps. Here also were Link Trainers that simulated aircraft for training purposes.

Photography which had always been an important military activity was now a critical activity for SAC. Film made on high-speed spy planes over enemy land was developed and translated to maps in Buildings 1900 and 1875. The climax came in 1962 when Russian missiles were being installed in Cuba. The Cuban missile crisis was in large part played out at Westover where U-2 film of the Russian trawler approaching Cuba was developed.

In 1967, SAC crews were sent to Vietnam on B-52 bombing missions and anti-war activists began protesting the war on a daily basis at Westover's main gate. President Nixon ordered the deactivation of the Eighth Air Force in 1970, although the 99th Bomb Wing continued its missions into Vietnam. Many American prisoners of war returned from Vietnam through Westover, but when this operation ended in 1973 the base was in part sold off and in 1974 the remainder was turned over to the Air Force Reserve.

The last SAC aircraft at Westover left in the spring of 1975. They were three KC-135s of Det. 1, 42nd Bomb Wing out of Loring AFB, Maine. The tankers had pulled satellite alert at the Molehole. SAC's 4040th Air Base Group, the caretaker unit for Westover, left in 1976.

Air Defense Command

Air Force Reserve

One year later, SAC leadership turned the base over to the Air Force Reserve. From that time until October, 1987 the 439th Tactical Airlift Wing operated C-130 Hercules and C-123 Provider aircraft. The wing converted to C-5s in 1987 and the unit eventually became designated as the 439th Airlift Wing. Westover continues to operate as the world's largest Air Reserve Base and as Tactical Wing, and is one of the country's two centers for Galaxy C-5A military transport aircraft.

Between March and July of 1991, soldiers returning from the Gulf War landed at Westover where they were met by their families and friends.

On July 30, 2002, the old air traffic control tower at Westover ARB was destroyed using five earthmovers to pull down the 40-year-old building. Destruction of the tower followed the completion of a new 10-story, $4.1 million facility that rises 123 feet above the airfield, providing 100 percent visibility of the field as well as 21st century air traffic control equipment.

Previous names

Major commands to which assigned

Major units assigned

Expansion

The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission ruled that Westover would absorb other military units in New England. The expansion proposed the transfer of all military operations at Bradley International Airport to Westover and the nearby Barnes Municipal Airport. The exception to this decision is the 103rd Airlift Wing, which will remain at Bradley. A $32 million building project is underway to accommodate the additional 1600 service members required by the plan.[5]

The new Armed Forces Reserve Center will host Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy Reserve operations. The Massachusetts Army National Guard will also make its debut at the base.[6]

Economic Impact

The air base is one of the biggest employers in the Springfield area and produces an estimated $231 million in economic activity at current levels. Much of base's extensive landholdings have been sold as surplus and developed into industrial parks for tenants such as Friendly Ice Cream.

The local government credits Westover with spurring development of the Memorial Drive corridor, including several planned hotels and a high-end retail plaza.[6]

Environmental Impact

As a center for military air operations, Westover Air Reserve Base poses several hazards to local residents. These include air pollution, noise pollution, and water contamination hazards - all of which are shared with similar-sized commercial airports [7].

Air Pollution

Due to its sheer size, the C-5 Galaxy comes fitted with powerful engines (GE TF-39 on classic models), which burn fuel at an elevated rate, causing concern over the release of air pollutants. As with all military aircraft, the C-5 Galaxy runs on JP-8 fuel - a practical and economic fuel, but one renowned for its high impurity levels (e.g. sulfur) and variable composition. During operation, C-5 Galaxy aircraft are expected to release significant levels of contaminants - including sulfur dioxide, arising from the oxidation of sulfur present in the fuel; carbon monoxide, due to the incomplete oxidation of hydrocarbon molecules; and particulate matter. The release of such air pollutants is not exclusive to C-5 Galaxy aircraft. Comparable commercial aircraft, such as the Boeing 747 airliner, employ GE CF-6 engines - a direct descendant of the GE TF-39 model found in C-5 Galaxy aircraft - which burn fuel at comparable rates, and can produce similar levels of air pollutant concentrations.

Noise Pollution

The engine model employed by the C-5 Galaxy, General Electric's TF-39, holds the unique distinction of being the first successful high-bypass turbofan engine ever developed, and is the predecessor to modern-day engines employed in large airliners - such as the General Electric CF-6, employed in some Boeing 747 airliners. Despite this distinction, the TF-39 was not optimized for noise control, as were its commercial successors. As a result, the C-5 Galaxy has become known as a notoriously loud aircraft, with a very distinctive high-pitched sound. This has led to concerns among local residents regarding the loud engine noise, which can become obtrusive for residents living very near the base. To moderate concerns of air pollution, Westover A.R.B. has in place a strict curfew on maintenance engine runs, which are not allowed to take place after 10PM - although, depending on operational requirements, aircraft may still depart any time. Westover A.R.B. operates a noise complaint phone line, which can be used by residents concerned with elevated engine noise levels.

Water Contamination

As a C-5 Galaxy maintenance hub, Westover A.R.B. makes significant use of aerospace chemicals which pose well-known environmental hazards. These include aircraft deicing fluid, used to deice aircraft during winter operations, and which has been reportedly found in the chemical analysis of water in the Cooley Brook, which feeds into the Chicopee water reservoir. Other chemicals are used during day-to-day maintenance operations - including JP-8 fuel, hydraulic fuel, and a variety of lubricants, among others. Westover A.R.B. implements strict chemical disposal policies, designed to prevent entry of these and other harmful chemicals into the local environment.

However, Westover's extended operations history has produced numerous hazardous waste sites. The Institute for Science and Interdisciplinary Studies concluded that

Fifty years of military operations at Westover have created a complex set of hazardous waste sites. USAF has identified over two-dozen sites on the active Base and on nearby Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS) that were sold off as the Westover has downsized.[8] According to the military's estimates, the waste sites may affect 21,000 people who live within a one mile radius of the Base, Chicopee Memorial State Park and the Chicopee Reservoir (both active recreational areas for surrounding communities), underground drinking water resources, wetlands areas, and critical wildlife habitats.[9]

Facilities and aircraft

The Westover complex covers an area of 2,500 acres (10 km²) which contains two runways: 5/23: measuring 11,597 x 301 ft (3,535 x 92 m) and 15/33 measuring 7,082 x 150 ft (2,159 x 46 m).[1] A new Air Traffic Control tower was constructed in 2002 and the old tower was demolished.

According to FAA records for the 12-month period ending September 26, 1994, the airport had 38,137 aircraft operations, an average of 104 per day: 81% military, 18% general aviation and 1% air taxi. There were 46 aircraft based at this airport: 35% military, 50% single engine, 9% multi-engine, 2% jet aircraft, 2% helicopters and 2% ultralight.[1]

Military facilities are under control of the commanding officer, currently Col. Robert R. Swain Jr.[10]. The civilian portion of the airport is run by the Director of Civil Aviation, an employee of the Westover Metropolitan Corporation.

See also

References

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Westover Air Reserve Base

  1. ^ a b c FAA Airport Form 5010 for CEF PDF, effective 2011-07-30 Cite error: The named reference "FAA" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  2. ^ Westover AFB, Mass - 99th Bomb Wing - B-52 - NEED INFO
  3. ^ Bowers, Peter M., "Captain of the Clouds", Airpower, Granada Hills, California, July 1972, Volume 2, Number 4, page 33.
  4. ^ Westover Air Reserve Base, Mass - Home
  5. ^ Groundbreaking held for new reserve center - MassLive.com
  6. ^ a b Westover project good for economy - MassLive.com
  7. ^ "ALLEY CITIZENS FOR A SAFE ENVIRONMENT, Plaintiff, Appellant, v. Edward C. ALDRIDGE, etc., et al., Defendants, Appellees".
  8. ^ "Military Waste Cleanup Project".
  9. ^ "Military Waste Cleanup Project".
  10. ^ Biographies : Col. Robert R. Swain Jr.
  • Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office 1961 (republished 1983, Office of Air Force History, ISBN 0-912799-02-1).
  • Ravenstein, Charles A. Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947–1977. Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Office of Air Force History 1984. ISBN 0-912799-12-9.
  • Mueller, Robert, Air Force Bases Volume I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982, Office of Air Force History, 1989
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