In 1945 the U. S. Army Air Field was deactivated and the cemetery reverted to the City of Blytheville Arkansas. [3] Unfortunately, Eaker Air Force Base topped the Strategic Air Command's list of base closures in 1991 and with the Cold War coming to an end, the installation was officially chosen; in March 1992, the last aircraft left the base. Streamline your workflow with our best-in-class digital asset management system. The deactivation of the Eakers (Blytheville) Air Force Base in 1992 hit the community hard as in 2019 the population is about 15,000 while the population of Fayetteville exploded to near 90,000. at the old Blytheville Air Force Base now called the Blytheville Aeroplex where the city is planning to invest $20 million . The last duty station for this aircraft was with a previous owner, the 93rd Bombardment Wing (H) at Castle AFB, where it arrived in December 1988. However, some F-15E Strike Eagle units have begun painting nose art again, so reports of its demise is probably premature. This Abandoned Air Force base is located three miles Northwest of Blytheville, Arkansas. Arkansas Razorbacks. The base contributed greatly to the economic and . 1942-1946, 1953-1992. Washington -- Today, Representatives Crawford, Hill, Westerman, and Womack, along with Senators Boozman and Cotton, introduced legislation to name the Blytheville/Eaker Air Force Base located in Blytheville, Arkansas, the "National Cold War Center." The Eaker base opened in 1942 as a World War II advanced pilot training school, and later became an alert center during the Cold War. As a result, the B-52Gs took heavy casualties in the first days of Operation Linebacker II in December 1972, losing 15 aircraft; it was decided to pull the Gs out of operations after the first week. Certain buildings are worth saving. The KC135, along with the B52 is one of the only fixed wing aircraft with over fifty years of service. In 1988, the facility was renamed Eaker Air Force Base in honor of World War II General of the Eighth Air Force, Ira C. Eaker. [1] Other aircraft stationed at Blytheville AFB included: KC-97 refueler, B-52G bomber, KC-135A tanker, T-33 jet fighter, and the T-37 traineramong others. Base Closure What happened to Blytheville, Arkansas? Two B-52G bombers were readied to strike the Soviet Union with nuclear weapons if necessaryfor which the wing received the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award for its performance during the crisis. Today, "Valkyrie" still wears her 1991-era SIOP camouflage and a SAC badge on the nose; the nose art is on the port side. Arkansas had six Army airfields. This gallery is to showcase old photographs from Blytheville, Arkansas. Since its organization on 21 March 1946, SAC had continuously used C-47s or Gooney Birds as they were usually called, for support and administrative purposes. It was retired in July 1991 and donated to the Pima Air and Space Museum in Arizona. The Southeast Asia War section of the Modern Flight Gallery at the National Museum of the United States Air Force (www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/). All of these were under the Strategic Air Command. When Castle closed in 1995, 57-6486 was retired and sent to AMARG in Arizona; it was scrapped soon thereafter as part of the START arms reduction treaty. The exhibits are impactful and tell the story of Base history. https://nuke.fas.org/guide/usa/bomber/kc-135.htm#:~:text=The%20KC%2D135%20can%20haul,transferable%20for%20global%20refueling%20missions. After extensive renovations, the "BAFB Exhibition", at the former Blytheville/Eaker Air Force Base, is open for business. He told me many stories about the German . As Soviet air defenses increased in numbers and lethality, the B-52 was switched from high-altitude attack to low-altitude penetration; the job of Hound Dog-equipped B-52s was to use the nuclear-tipped primitive cruise missiles to destroy SAM defenses, giving the follow-on B-52s equipped with gravity nuclear weapons a better chance at reaching their targets. Officers Club. During the second World War, the United States needed more areas to train pilots, and launch aircraft to respond to the threat on the Eastern front. See original furniture from the famous alert compound, pictures, uniforms & other memorabilia including a . Eaker Air Force Base was complete with swimming pools, tennis courts, a grocery store, a dental office, a nine hole golf course, a theater, multiple clubs, visitation centers, a gym, and on-base housing for military families. 326th Base Headquarters and Air Base Squadron; 21 July 1942-30 April 1944 2111th Army Air Forces Base Unit; 1 May 1944-16 June 1945 Became Blytheville Air Force Base / Eaker Air Force Base (1951-1992) Now: Arkansas International Airport (IATA: BYH, ICAO: KBYH, FAA LID: BYH) (1992-Present) Newport Army Air Field, 6 miles northeast of Newport Deactivated at the close of the conflict, the base was reactivated in the 1950s as Blytheville Air Force Base and was renamed Eaker Air Force Base in 1988 . It launched rescue missions from the base to Grenada in 1983 and in August 1990, the pilots of the 97th Bomber Wing began practicing for missions in the Middle East and eventually supported Operation Desert Storm. 2023 Getty Images. The first of 12 model aircrafts that were once housed at the Blytheville Air Force Base (later Eaker Air Force Base) was delivered on Wednesday to the exhibition building. Vietnam War, 1961-1975. Gosnell appears right center of the photo.. Today it is the headquarters for the group that runs the old base for civilian use and the aircraft are: I was promoted to Staff Sergeant after 37 months of active duty plus 5 months delayed enlistment program. They also tended, in some cases, to be far more raunchy than even World War II or Korean nose art even dared--one popular one was to show a heavily pregnant Lucy Van Pelt from "Peanuts" screaming "Damn you, Charlie Brown!" Pictures, photos and images from Blytheville, AR. Available for both RF and RM licensing. I never earned Air Force Wings, the wings that appear in the photo are those of the Commemorative Air Force of which I am a member. The airfield was used as the Southeastern Training Command's flight training school, which closed in October 1945 after the Second World War ended. Two North American AGM-28 nuclear Hound Dog Missiles were carried under the wings of the B-52 while eight Quails were carried in the bomb bay. Community Profile: Blytheville, Ark., Spreads Its Wings after Air Force Base Closing. View of the southern end of the former Blytheville AFB (Eaker AFB). machine guns in tail plus up to 60,000+ lbs. It is planned to be its own exhibit within the system of buildings. And the United States was about to enter war with Saddam Hussein. It boasted a vibrant downtown and it had an eclectic population due to the wide variety of people the base brought to the city. I thanked my dad for my upbringing. 3 items. The Cold War had come to and end. Eaker. The exhibits are impactful and tell the story of Base history. . Louisiana was the aircraft's next stop when in May 1974 it was transferred to the 2nd Bombardment Group (H) at Barksdale AFB. I completed USAF Technical School in Denver Co the end of June 1972 and received two weeks leave before reporting to my base and when I arrived home my old farm boss, USAAF Veteran Bill Morriss had a brand new Suzuki motorcycle in his garage. Blytheville herald-news Blytheville courier news (DLC)sn 89051348 Armament: Four defensive .50-cal. This VC-47D had been assigned to the 97th Bomb Wing, Blytheville Air Force Base, Arkansas. Location. Places to visit . Compared to hose style fueling systems, flying booms of KC135s are very unforgiving to errors. The Iron Curtain was torn down. Had many good times there. The 1980s saw something of a resurgence--oddly enough, mostly among Strategic Air Command units. Blytheville had their own team. Currently, the main tarmac is used as Blythevilles airport. This has been an ongoing project for over a year. My other picture of "Valkyrie" was taken from the right side, but the other day I realized I had never posted the picture of the aircraft's nose art. 27 items. Renamed Eaker Air Force Base in 1988 honoring Gen. Ira Eaker, the entire facility closed in 1992. Select from premium Blytheville Air Force Base of the highest quality. Veteran C. Young. Known as Operation Secret Squirrel, this 34-hour mission was at the time the longest aerial mission ever flown, and was not surpassed until the strikes on Afghanistan in 2001. After a brief hiatus of less than a decade, the facility reopened as the Blytheville Air Force Base. Fill out the form and sign up to help us protect: By signing up, you are not committing to anything, you are simply subscribing to be notified of upcoming volunteer dates. Base Fire Station. Was the first KC-135E conversion in 1982. Airmen from the 97th Bombardment Wing lost their lives and their photos appear on the lonely memorial at their abandoned base in Blytheville; Lt Col Keith R Heggen was in "Olive1", (now buried at Arlington Nat'l Cemetery) Lt Col Donald L Rissi, 1st LT Robert J Thomas and Msgt Walter L Ferguson were in "Charcoal 1" Major Bobby A Kirby, Capt Randall J Craddock, Capt George B Lockhart, Capt Ronald D Perry and 1st Lt Charles E Darr were in "Tan 3". Save up to 30% when you upgrade to an image pack. In August 1991 this Stratofortress was dropped from the Air Force inventory and made available to the USAF Museum Program. Blytheville Air Force Base. Who knew that 41 years later I would have a new Mustang or even still be alive. Honorable Discharged at the rank of E5 Staff Sgt. Donate to our causeCheck out our books! (KAIT) - Members of the United States Air Force in Little Rock and Louisiana landed aircraft on the Arkansas Aeroplex on the morning of . Five feet of water was pumped out of the basement of the building. The KC135 Stratotanker, as most other notary aircraft, was born out of necessity. Branch of Service: Air Force. Pinterest. After it became operational in 1955, the B-52 remained the main long-range heavy bomber of the US Air Force during the Cold War, and it continues to be an important part of the USAF bomber force today. Desert Storm was the swan song for the B-52G. At one point, sharkmouths were banned by 7th Air Force in Saigon as being "too warlike"--despite, of course, the "non-warlike" aircraft carrying tons of bombs and missiles. Have history here? Psychiatry and Psychology 1 The G models most noticeable feature was its 8-foot shorter tail, done to ease maintenance and to save weight. The Air Force packed up and left. Most of the Gs ended their days sliced into pieces in the Arizona desert. Eaker AFB was selected for closure under the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) round of 1991. Club was demolished. When Operation Linebacker and especially Linebacker II taxed the Southeast Asia-based B-52D fleet to the limit, President Richard Nixon authorized the G models to be deployed to Vietnam as well. Blytheville Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base from 1942, until it closed in 1992. Blytheville Air Force Base, Arkansas. Improve this listing. My 1966 Ford Mustang was setting in the parking lot the day we watched this jet fly. Evans at Blytheville air show in 1980. Any monthly plan. Touch . The Getty Images design is a trademark of Getty Images. Was stationed there from 1967 to 1970 with 97th AMS, the old A&E Squadron. . Merged with: Blytheville herald-news (non-extant), to form: Blytheville courier news. Holes in the roof create entryways for birds and rain. Several C-47s were fitted with pontoons and redesignated C-47C. Roof repairs began on February 19, 2022. Photo by Democrat-Gazette file photo . Blytheville AFB: See Eaker AFB: Bolling AFB ACTIVE: Location: Washington, DC . Abandoned Arkansas had noticed while touring the base, the former base bank had been torn down the week prior to January 1st, 2022. On Jan. 18, 1957, three B-52Bs completed the first non-stop round-the-world flight by jet aircraft, lasting 45 hours and 19 minutes and requiring only three aerial refuelings. The population suffered as well. The exhibit is on the old air base, which is now an FBO for the new steel and other corporations that fly in there, along with other airplane related functions. Nowadays, the base goes by a few names. In December 1972, after being repaired, it flew four additional missions over North Vietnam. The incident over Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico on January 21, 1976, would not only stretch to a second night but was also witnessed by pure chance by a student journalist known only as "Bruce.". Many buildings are gone, and will continue to disappear. Currently, there is a restoration program working to rebuild and reuse buildings that arent disappearing. During World War II, the site served as a training airfield as part of the 70,000 Pilot Training Program. Blytheville AFB experienced a great deal of activity throughout the Cold War era, when for instance, the 97th Bombardment Wing went on airborne alert on 22 October 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Due to the high amount of asbestos flying around in the air, and the safety concerns. An exploration of the base's history and its impact on the community. Over 1,000,000 pictures The B-52 has set numerous records in its many years of service. It was located 3 miles (5 km) northwest of central Blytheville, Arkansas. If you served in Blytheville Air Force Base, Join TWS for free to reconnect with service friends. But, right before the first man could bail, the pilot had realized they had marginal control over the aircraft. Airwomen were tasked with testing electronics of aircraft, testing aircraft by means of flights, and ferrying aircraft. In July 1963 the aircraft was stationed at Beale AFB, California, with the 456th Bombardment Wing (H). The plane . MEMORIES. Tin Roof. Hill Aerospace Museum officially received the aircraft for static display on July 11, 1991. Mold and asbestos float through the air like dust that just got kicked up. Some were torn down. [1] Then the airfield briefly became a processing center for the rapid demobilization of military personnel being discharged. The model is on a 1/72 scale with a 26" wingspan. "Valkyrie" would fly a few more missions during the war, the only time she would drop bombs in anger. I was stationed at Blytheville AFB in the late 1950s when it was a new SAC base and the first B-52s arrived. . This had the added benefit of giving the gunner an ejection seat, eliminating the need for a manual bailout system. Blytheville Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base from 1942, until it closed in 1992. Though it is referred to these names, the airport officially goes by Arkansas Aeroplex. Photographer unknown. Once more, however, the B-52G was called upon for the conventional role during Operation Desert Storm against Iraq in 1991.

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