That required the air crews to execute a sharp turn over the target, they practiced that endlessly over large white xs painted out in the desert. The wendover army air base is home to the hangar where the famous enola. Wendover army air base was activated on 28 march 1942 as a b17 and. A museum housed in the operations building, just south of the control tower, has exhibits pertaining. Wendover air force base is a former united states air force. It was during august 1945 that major sweeney flew the historymaking missions and dropped the bomb which brought world war ii to a close. It was the training site of the 509th composite group, the b29 unit that carried out the atomic bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki after the war, wendover was used for training exercises, gunnery range and as a. The air force transferred command jurisdiction of wendover afb to the tactical air command on 1 oct 1954. Conte national fish and wildlife refuge which covers the. Tacs 9th air force used the wendover range for gunnery practice and the base itself as a mobility staging area, while the ogden air materiel area at hill afb continued to provide administrative and logistical support. By january of 1952, the personnel roster totaled four officers and thirtythree airmen. During world war ii, it was a training base for b17 and b24 bomber crews.
This article is extracted from the book utah history encyclopedia, published in celebration of utahs centennial 1996 and edited by allan kent powell. It was the first base to operationally fly the f16 and f35 fighters. Photo, print, drawing wendover air force base, officers service club, south of interstate 80, wendover, tooele county, ut enlarge view 2 images in sequence. This water belonged to wendover air force base, and part of the base, itself, was transferred to the city 15 august 1977, soon after it had been listed in the national register of historic places. Wendover air force base, located just south of the town of wendover, utah, played an. Our destination was the decommissioned and historic wendover air force base, now simply called wendover air field, since private aircraft still operate there. They have no idea that the air force and our sister branches have history programs.
Historians at afhsd also provide historical information, analysis and perspective. It was a gunnery and bombing range throughout most of its active history. Hill air force bases history is the stuff of legend, and one newspaper reported it all. Wendover air field, utah united states nuclear forces. Staff assemble 1,500 bookmaking kits for k12 students during covid19 pandemic. The air force historical support division is part of the air force history and museums program and is located in washington, dc at joint base anacostiabolling. Nevadas wendover on the border to border route road. Come out to historic wendover airfield and learn about our unique history. The official website for the air force historical research agency.
At wendover airfield in utah, colonel clifford heflin, the head of the 216th, shared command with colonel paul tibbets, the. In march 1942, the army activated wendover airfield and it became a training base for b17 and b24 bomber crews. The remains of the wendover army air field stand just east of the. A street airport way, po box 104 wendover, ut 84083. March 1947 testing moved from wendover air force base to holloman air force base. The area near the town of wendover was wellsuited to these needs. Hired as an air force historian in 2009, clark oversees the hill aerospace museum and does double duty heading the hill air force base history office, the official custodian of the bases archives. Wendover air force base, renamed in 1947, was inactivated on 1 october 1949 and transferred to the ogden air material area in 1950. Air force bases history began in 1940, when the united states army began looking for additional bombing ranges. The former wendover air force base is one of the most complete and intact world war ii training airfields, which means that you can have actual world war ii era. Wendover air force base, squadron headquarters, south of interstate 80, wendover, tooele county, ut. Sorry, there are no tours or activities available to book online for the dates. Wendover air force range wendover air field, along the utahnevada border about 100 miles west of salt lake city, was the training site for the 509th group prior to their mission over japan to. Wendover air force base, officers service club, south of.
The wendover air force base has quite a history, it was mostly used in world war ii to train the aviation units that dropped the atomic bombs. Rattlesnake bomber base is actually a nickname for pyote air force base aka pyote army airfield aka pyote army air station. Located on approximately 2500 acres of land within the communities of chicopee and ludlow, westover resides within the silvio o. In two recent books photographers document sites that governments. Discover things to do in utah with, a comprehensive arts and events calendar for the state of utah. Wendover air force base 194163 arrington, leonard j. Wwii history historic wendover airfield foundation wendover, utah. Although most of the former super bases have been demilitarized and today are abandoned facilities being reclaimed by the desert, a few were refurbished and were subsequently used by army, air force and marine units. At that time, the 4753rd air base squadron was designated as the principle organization. Wendover air force base is a former united states air force base in utah now known as wendover airport. Federal military installations in utah, 18581966 book. Navy f18 hornet demo team, the mig fury fighters, the f35 lightning ii from hill air force base, the ace maker t33 aerobatic demo, an f4u1 corsair, a t6. The base is an old world war ii united states army air forces training base just outside of pyote, texas on 2,745 acres of university of texas land.
Operating between 1942 and 1969, this is one of the most intact world war iiera training airfields in the country. List of habs documentation of wendover air force base. The second period, september 1947 through 1960, saw a rapid expansion to support the rise of the united states air force as the major instrument of strategic deterrence. These crews bombed mockups of battleships and cities built in the desert. Presented by historic wendover airfield museum at wendover airport, wendover ut.
In 1951, a united states air force aerospace defense command unit was stationed at paine field and its name was officially changed to paine air force base. The airfield strives to maintain the maximum originality of the wendover air base and recreate authentic exhibits and displays in order. Wendover, like jackpot, is a bustling border town, with golf courseview subdivisions and at least five major casinohotels drawing gamblers from salt lake city, 120 miles to the east. During the war, wendover army air base was one of the countrys most secretive locations. Tactical air command tac reactivated the base in 1954 and tactical units deployed there for exercises.
Forts cameron, thornburgh, and duchesne ogdens arsenal of democracy, 19201955 utahs first line of defense. Ut125, wendover air force base, south of interstate 80, wendover, tooele county, ut, 4 photos, 4 measured drawings, 58 data pages, 1 photo caption page. Less famous, but equally important in the development of the bomb, was the special 216th army air forces base unit. Photographs of wendover air base and chernobyl the new york. During the first period, from 1907 through august 1947, expansion of the armys air force in response to two major wars established a foundation for the current basing network. For specifics about any event please see contact info provided with event listing or contact the host organization directly. Afhsd is primarily the historical research and book writing element of the air force history program. From a historical perspective, the base was a b17 and b24 heavy bombardment training base and was activated on march, 28, 1942.
It played a big role in world war ii, including the atomic bomb. The 509th composite group is well known as the army air force unit responsible for dropping the atomic bombs on hiroshima and nagasaki. Historic wendover airfield 2020 all you need to know before. Mike oreilly the base opened in 1943 after three years of construction, shortly following the army air corps acquisition of almost two million acres in utahs west desert. Wendover air force base wendover, utah military base. Rating is available when the video has been rented. The following is a listing of the documentation available for the former wendover air force base, utah, through the publicdomain historic american buildings survey habs historic american buildings survey habs no. Photos by mark klett, from the halflife of history, published by radius books. Bush picks jay up in a 20 ford f150 king ranch jay lenos garage duration. Historic wendover airfield is dedicated to preserving world war ii army air force history, educating present and future generations about this period and having visitors experience the feelings and understand the circumstances of the ww ii era participants. Several bombardment groups had already come through wendover to train on b17s, b24s, and b29s. It gained its notoriety and historical importance when it was named as the training site of the 509th composite group. The range continued to be utilized for bombing and gunnery practice.
Medical facilities, wendover afb wikimedia commons. Paine fields history paine field, wa official website. Greensboros forgotten and now mostly hidden history as military base a few physical traces still remain from the army air force that open in 1943 and. The destruction of the iraqi air force was probably one of the most complete such actions in the history of military aviation. The history of wendover army air field is examined in an article provided as a pdf document. Only 80 of the photographs were eventually used in the book. The captain of the enola gay prepared for his mission at wendover air base, with the assistance of hill air force base. Wendover field was conceived during the late 1930s, and congress appropriated funds in 1940 for the acquisition of land for.
In november 1945, major sweeney and the 393rd bombardment squadron returned home to roswell air force base, n. Fort douglas, 18621965 the utah military frontier, 18721912. Historical information world war ii mobilization as a result of the german armys sudden military assaults in europe in 19381939, the. Every minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile in the air force arsenal was built there. List of former united states air force installations. Nobody was to know exactly why the 509th composite group had come to wendover air base to train. Wendover air force base s history began in 1940, when the united states army began looking for additional bombing ranges. Westover air reserve base westover is the largest air force reserve base in the united states.
Wendover air force bases history began in 1940, when the united states army began looking for additional bombing ranges. Every minuteman icbm in the air force arsenal was built there. Greensboros forgotten and now mostly hidden history as. The fixed base operator fbo is open 7 days a week from 8 to 6. Historic wendover airfield foundation wendover, utah. At i80, us93 becomes the hypotenuse of an alternate route, which runs for 60 miles southeast to the utah border at wendover, then another 60 miles southwest to rejoin the main us93 at lages station. Wendover became a city of the third class 25 march 1982 with a population of 1,099. If youre looking for a filming location with a very interesting history, you should check out wendover airfield, a training base for b17 and b24 bomber crews during world war ii. Rattlesnake bomber base aka pyote air force base pyote. Military history on display during annual wendover air.
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