Eaker Air Force Base

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Eaker Air Force Base

Part of Strategic Air Command (SAC)
Tactical Air Command (TAC)
Located near Blytheville, Arkansas

25 March 2001


Location of Eaker Air Force Base
Type Air Force Base
Coordinates 35°57′52″N 89°56′38″W / 35.96444, -89.94389
Built 1942
In use 1942-1946,1953-1992
Controlled by United States Air Force
Garrison 97th Bombardment Wing
For the civilian use of this facility after 1992, see Arkansas International Airport

Eaker Air Force Base (1942-1992) was a front-line United States Air Force base for over 40 years. It was located 3 miles (5 km) northwest of Blytheville, Arkansas,

During its operational lifetime its misssion was that of a training base during World War II and both a tactical as well as a strategic bomber base during the Cold War.

After the Cold War, the BRAC 1991 comission recommended Eaker be closed in a cost-cutting move. The facilty closed on December 15, 1992.

Contents

[edit] 97th Bombardment Wing

From 1 July 1959 until 1 April 1992, the host unit at Eaker was the 97th Bombardment Wing (97th BMW). The 97th BMW was initially equipped the B-52 Stratofortress, which it flew until the units inactivation in 1992. In October 1961, the wing added the KC-135 Stratotanker, which it also flew until 1992.

The 97th BMW earned an Air Force Outstanding Unit Award (AFOUA) for activities during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. During the Vietnam War, the wing supported SAC's combat operations in Southeast Asia. Tanker crews and aircraft refueled other Air Force units supporting the rescue of American citizens in Grenada in October and November 1983. During Operation Desert Storm, elements of the 97th conducted over 60 conventional bombing sorties and many air-refueling sorties over Iraq and Kuwait.

[edit] History

Known for most of its operational life as Blytheville Army Airfield (1942-1946) or Blytheville Air Force Base (1953-1988), the facility was renamed Eaker Air Force Base on May 26, 1988, in honor of General Ira C. Eaker, an air pioneer and first commander of Eighth Air Force during World War II.

Eaker was the architect of a strategic bombing force that ultimately numbered forty groups of 60 heavy bombers each, supported by a subordinate fighter command of 1,500 aircraft, most of which was in place by the time he relinquished command of Eighth Air Force at the start of 1944.

[edit] Major Units Assigned

  • 25th Twin Engine Flying Training Group, 25 July 1942 - 29 February 1944
  • Army Air Force Pilot School, 3 May 1942 - 31 May 1945
  • 211th Army Air Force Base Unit, 1 May 1944 - 15 June 1945
  • 809th Army Air Force Base Unit, 16 June 1945 - 31 March 1946
  • 334th Army Air Force Base Unit, 1 April 1946 - 25 November 1946
Redesignated: 97th Wing, 1 September 1991 - 1 April 1992

[edit] Major Aircraft Assigned

[edit] Operational Commands Assigned To

Redesignated Strategic Air Command, 21 March 1946 - 1 April 1946

[edit] Operational History

Oblique airphoto of Blytheville Army Airfield, looking from the southwest, about 1945
Oblique airphoto of Blytheville Army Airfield, looking from the southwest, about 1945

[edit] World War II

Blytheville Army Air Field was originally a 2,600-acre installation used by the United States Army Air Forces during World War II as a training airfield as part of the 70,000 Pilot Training Program. It was one of many air fields created in the country’s interior during the war. Mississippi County was a prime location because of its close proximity to the Mississippi River, where supplies could easily be shipped in.

Activated on June 10, 1942, the field was used as an advanced flying school in the Southeastern Training Command's pilot training program Flying training commenenced in the fall of 1942, advanced flying training started in the spring of 1943. Aircraft used at the facility were mostly AT-6 Texans, AT-9s, Beech AT-10s and Republic AT-12 Guardsmans. In September 1943, facilities for instrument flying training were completed. Throughout 1944, Blythville trained many female WASP pilots as B-25 co-pilots, and AT-10 pilots with TB-25 Mitchells. Assignments included engineering test pilots, instrument check pilots, ferrying, and flight checks for returning overseas pilots. The mission of the airfield changed in 1945 to that of a troop carrier combat crew training faciilty with C-46 Commando and C-47 Skytrain aircraft. The flight school closed in October 1945 after the war ended.

In the immediate postwar era, the airfield was then used as a processing center for military personnel who were being discharged at a rapid rate as the country demobilized. The War Assets Administration officially shut down the installation in 1946. Control of the land was transferred to the city of Blytheville.

[edit] Cold War

In the early 1950s, the United States Air Force approved a plan to convert the wartime airfield into an air base. A massive construction process began to rehabilitate the wartime facilities into a permenent base. The wartime runways were removed and reduced to aggrigate, being used in the construction of a 10,000 foot main runway, capable of being used by the Air Force's largest aircraft.

Blytheville Air Force Base was officially christened as a single-mission base on July 19, 1955. It consumed 3,771 acres of area farmland, most of which had been used by the original air field; the rest was purchased from local farmers. The Tactical Air Command (TAC) 461st Bombardment Wing was relocated to the newly constructed base from Hill Air Force Base, Utah. By the following spring, the base was fully operational with three squadrons of Martin B-57A tactical bombers.

On 1 April 1958, Strategic Air Command (SAC) assumed control of Boythville AFB. The 4229th Air Base Squadron assumed operational control in April 1958 and remained in charge until July 1, 1959, when the 97th Bombardment Wing took control. Official dedication ceremonies held on January 10, 1960, marked the arrival of the 97th BMW's first B-52G, The City of Blytheville.

In addition to the B-52G, the base also housed the KC-135A Stratotanker aerial refueling aircraft. It was also used by the 42d Strategic Aerospace Division during the 1960s and early 1970s.

Blytheville Air Force Base witnessed a great deal of activity throughout the Cold War era. The 97th Bombardment Wing was placed on airborne alert on October 22, 1962, when it was discovered that nuclear missile silos were being constructed in Cuba with Soviet assistance. The following day, the SAC declared defense readiness condition (DEFCON) II for the first time in American history. Two B-52G bombers were placed on airborne alert and were ready to strike the Soviet Union with nuclear weapons if necessary. The standoff ended, and the wing returned on November 15. The wing was presented with the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award for its performance during the crisis.

The 97th was also involved in the Vietnam War in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1965, it participated in the refueling of fighter jets in Operation Young Tiger. Pilots of the wing were stationed at Andersen AFB, Guam, while the B-52s remained at the base. In 1972, all of the bombers were temporarily moved to Guam. The 97th returned to the base and resumed normal functions after the conflict ended. It launched rescue missions from the base to Grenada in 1983. After August 1990, the 97th began practicing for missions overseas in the Middle East and eventually aided in Operation Desert Storm.

[edit] Closure

Eaker Air Force Base topped the Strategic Air Command’s list of base closures in 1991. The Cold War was slowly coming to an end, and the military had decided to start retiring the large B-52G, the housing and launching of which was the single mission of the base

Official closure of Eaker Air Force Base was announced in 1991, and on March 6, 1992, the last aircraft, The City of Blytheville, left the base. The official closure ceremony was held on December 15, 1992, and the transition from military to civilian, general aviation airport began.

The military still makes use of the Arkansas International Airport in flight training maneuvers, and as a landing site to pick up and drop off local National Guard Troops.

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[edit] External links