Open House doc.indd - Kirtland Air Force Base

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kirtland afb 1941-2011 The Albuquerque Municipal Airport opened for commercial air travel in 1939. Photo courtesy of Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center History Office 6 | OPeN HOuse | Thunderbirds Air show | KAFB Nucleus The military installation known today as “Kirtland Air Force Base” has been making significant contributions to America’s national defense for many decades. Two milestones occur in 2011 — the 70th anniversary of the Albuquerque Army Air Base’s construction and activation; and the 40th anniversary of the merger of the former Kirtland, sandia and Manzano bases into what has been Kirtland AFB since 1971. The Air Force Nuclear Weapons center Historian, Al Moyers, put those anniversaries into perspective for contemporary Airmen. “For today’s Airman, just as for Airmen of the past and the future, knowledge and understanding of the heritage of their service, their base and their organization provides them the perspective to better execute today’s mission while planning for tomorrow’s missions,” he said. The base’s history includes many high points. In January 1941, construction of Albuquerque Army Air Base began, adjacent to the new Albuquerque Municipal Airport. Army and Navy pilots had been using the city’s airport for aircraft refueling and maintenance since 1939, when a small Army detachment was established there to provide service for transient military planes. On March 18, 1941, lt. col. Frank D. Hackett arrived onstation and assumed responsibility as the base’s first permanently assigned commander. The first time a military airplane used the base’s new runways was April 1, 1941, when lt. sid Young landed a B-18 Bolo bomber on the north-south runway. On April 19, 1941, the air base was declared ready to receive the advance cadres of tactical units that would prepare Air corps crews for combat. That summer, the 19th Bombardment Group came to the Albuquerque base from March Field, calif., to conduct pre-deployment aircrew training for the Pacific campaign. On June 19, 1941, Trans World Airlines, which had experience flying large airplanes, set up a four-engine aircraft school here to train pilots. That contract service was the beginning of aircrew training on Kirtland. By February 1942, there were enough military pilots for the Army Air corps to take the base over as an advanced flying training school. On Feb. 25, 1942, Albuquerque Army Air Base was renamed “Kirtland Army Air Field,” in honor of the late col. Roy c. Kirtland, one of the Army’s earliest aviation pioneers. less than four months after the Air Force became a separate service, Kirtland Army Air Field was renamed “Kirtland Air Force Base” on Jan. 13, 1948. In 1942, the Army Air corps established “sandia Base” around Oxnard Field, which had been a private airport on Albuquerque’s east Mesa since 1928. By 1943, the mechanics’ training program had ended and sandia Base became a convalescent center for wounded aircrew members. After World War II, sandia Base became a storage and dismantling facility for surplus aircraft. More than 2,000 planes were taken apart and melted down, reclaiming 10 million pounds of aluminum. In June 1947, construction began in the foothills of the Manzano Mountains on a project that would be declared operational in April 1950. It was renamed “Manzano Base” on Feb. 22, 1952. That development took advantage of the area’s natural terrain features to store weapons in hardened facilities. On July 1, 1971, the three Albuquerque-area bases — Kirtland, sandia and Manzano — merged into one installation — Kirtland AFB — to reduce costs by consolidating common operations and functions.
event schedule 9 a.m. Gates open 10 a.m. Opening ceremony Wings of Blue team demo 11:30 a.m. 58 sOW demo 12:30 p.m. B-1 flyover 1 p.m. T-33 demo 2:30 p.m. B-2 flyover 3 p.m. Thunderbirds’ ground ceremony 3:30 p.m. Thunderbirds’ aerial demo 4:30 p.m. Open House ends Congratulates Kirtland AFB 40 years of service to the community and the nation THOMAS C. MONTOYA JON A. FEDER DAVID H. KELSEY PATRICK L. McDANIEL DENISE E. READY MARY ANN R. BAKER-RANDALL VIRGINIA R. DUGAN ALLISON P. PIERONI AMANDA A. PAGAN New Mexico's First and Most Experienced Divorce and Family Law Firm 505.883-3070 / www.atkinsonkelsey.com KAFB Nucleus | Thunderbirds Air show | OPeN HOuse | 7
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Page 8 and 9: First Aid Thunderbirds Information
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Page 14 and 15: t-33 demo The T-33 ushered in new c
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Open House doc.indd - Kirtland Air Force Base

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