Vance Air Force Base
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| Vance Air Force Base
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| IATA: END – ICAO: KEND | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Military | ||
| Operator | United States Air Force | ||
| Location | Enid, Oklahoma | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 1,307 ft / 398.4 m | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 17L/35R | 5,024 | 1,531 | Concrete |
| 17C/35C | 9,202 | 2,805 | Concrete |
| 17R/35L | 9,202 | 2,805 | Concrete |
| 13/31 | 4,971 | 1,515 | Concrete |
Vance Air Force Base (IATA: END, ICAO: KEND) is a United States Air Force base located 4 miles south of Enid, Oklahoma, about 65 miles north northwest of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The host unit at Vance is the 71st Flying Training Wing (71 FTW), which is a part of Air Education and Training Command's Nineteenth Air Force. The commander of the 71 FTW is Colonel Richard A. Klumpp, Jr.. The vice-commander is Colonel Roderick Gillis and the command chief is Chief Master Sergeant Ruben Gonzalez.
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[edit] Mission
The mission of the 71 FTW is training professional airman to sustain combat capability of American Airpower with the next generation of Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps Warriors ... Meeting taskings of the Combatant Commanders.
[edit] Units
The 71st Flying Training Wing consists of three subordinate groups:
- 71st Operations Group (71 OG) Tail Code "VN"
T-38 Talon, T-37, T-1 Jayhawk, T-6 Texan II- 3rd Fighter Training Squadron, T-6
- 5th Flying Training Squadron, T-38C
- 8th Flying Training Squadron, T-6
- 25th Flying Training Squadron, T-38C
- 32nd Flying Training Squadron, T-1A
- 33rd Flying Training Squadron, T-6
- 71st Operations Support Squadron
- 71st Mission Support Group
- 71st Medical Group
[edit] History
[edit] Major Commands
- Gulf Coast Air Corps Training Cen, 18 Dec 1941 - 23 Jan 1942
- Air Corps Flying Training Comd, 23 Jan 1942 - 15 Mar 1942
- AAF Flying Training Comd, 15 Mar 1942 - 31 Jul 1943
- AAF Training Comd, 31 Jul 1943 - 1 Jul 1946
- Air Training Command, 1 Jul 1946 - 1 Jul 1993
- Air Education and Training Command, 1 Jul 1993 - Present
[edit] Base Operating Units
- 80th Air Base Sq, 29 Nov 1941 - 13 Jun 1942
- 80th Base HQ and Air Base Sq, 13 Jun 1942 - 1 May 1944
- 2518th AAF Base Unit (Pilot School, Basic), 1 May 1944 - 4 Feb 1945
- 2518th AAF Base Unit [Pilot School, Advanced-2E], 4 Feb 1945 - 26 Sep 1947
- 2518th AF Base Unit, 26 Sep 1947 - 26 Aug 1948
- 3575th Air Base Gp, 26 Aug 1948 - 1 Nov 1972
- 71st Air Base Gp, 1 Nov 1972 - Present
[edit] Major Units Assigned
- 60th Air Base Group 29 Nov 41 - 20 Dec 42
- 31st Flight Training Wing 16 Jan 43 - 15 May 45
- 2518th Army Air Force/Air Force Base Unit 1 May 1944 - 28 Aug 48
- 3575 Pilot Training Wing 26 Aug 48 - 1 Nov 72
- 8600 Pilot Training Wing 27 Jun 49 - 28 May 51
- 71st Flying Training Wing 1 Nov 72 - Present
[edit] Operational History
[edit] World War II
In 1941, for the sum of $1 a year, this land was leased from the city of Enid to the federal government as a site for a pilot training field, and on November 21 the base was officially activated. The installation was without a name but was generally referred to as Air Corps Basic Flying School. It was not until 1942, that the base was officially named Enid Army Flying School. The mission of the school was to train aviation cadets to become aircraft pilots and commissioned officers in the United States Army Air Corps. During World War II, the basic phase of training graduated 8,169 students, while the advanced phase of training graduated 826. As the demand for pilots decreased after the war, the Enid Army Flying Field (as it was named in 1943) closed in 1947.
[edit] Cold War
The base was reactivated, and its name changed to Enid Air Force Base in 1948, as one of the pilot training bases within Air Training Command. Its mission was to provide training for advanced students in multi-engine aircraft.
In keeping with the Air Force tradition of naming bases for deceased Air Force flyers, on July 9, 1949, the base was renamed after a local World War II hero and Medal of Honor recipient, Lt Col Leon Robert Vance, Jr.
The first aircraft flown at Vance was the BT-13A, followed shortly by the BT-15. In 1944 advanced students flew the TB-25 and TB-26. Following the establishment of U.S. Air Force as a separate service in September 1947, Vance began training in the AT-6 and eventually the T-33. The T-37 Tweet flew at Vance beginning in 1961, and the T-38 Talon in 1963.
[edit] Post Cold War
In 1995 Air Force officials announced that Vance would transition to the Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training curriculum. Under SUPT, Vance students begin their training in the T-37 Tweet, followed by the T-1A Jayhawk, T-38 Talon, or other trainer aircraft at separate military flight training bases. With the introduction of the Joint Primary Pilot Training syllabus to Vance in 2005, the 71st FTW began transitioning from the T-37 to the newer T-6 Texan II. Joint training with the United States Navy began at Vance in 1996.
[edit] Interesting facts
- Vance is located only 5 miles from the third largest free standing grain elevator in the United States.
- Students practice basic patterns and landings at Kegelman Air Force Auxiliary Field located near Cherokee, Oklahoma.
- Vance is considered the second busiest RAPCON in the United States, behind Nellis AFB. The only reason is because Nellis is open 24 hours, but Vance has more traffic per hour.
[edit] See Also
[edit] References
Much of this text in an early version of this article was taken from pages on the Vance Air Force Base Website, which as a work of the U.S. Government is presumed to be a public domain resource. That information was supplemented by:
- Mueller, Robert (1989). Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982. USAF Reference Series, Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-53-6
- Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947-1977. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0912799129.
[edit] External links
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