Kirtland Air Force Base

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Kirtland Air Force Base is located in the southeast quadrant of Albuquerque, New Mexico, adjacent to the Albuquerque International Sunport. The base is the third largest installation in Air Force Materiel Command, covering 51,558 acres (209 km²) and employing over 23,000 people, including more than 4,200 active duty and 1,000 Guard, plus 3,200 part-time Reserve personnel.

The installation is home to the 377th Air Base Wing, Kirtland AFB's host organization. The mission of the wing is to provide world-class munitions maintenance, readiness and training, and base operating support to approximately 76 Federal government and 384 private sector tenants and associate units. Among these is the Defense Threat Reduction Agency's Defense Nuclear Weapons School, the mission of which is to provide nuclear weapons core competencies and chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high explosive (CBRNE) response training to DoD, other Federal and State Agencies, and National Laboratory personnel.

The Air National Guard unit on KAFB is the 150th Fighter Wing, which is part of the Air Combat Command.

[edit] History

In 1939 the U.S. Army leased land east of Albuquerque airport to establish a flight training base. By early 1941 construction had begun. The following month the base got its first military aircraft, a lone B-18 Bolo and by summer the first troop train had arrived, along with 2,195 trainees for the new B-17 Flying Fortress.

In February 1942, Albuquerque's Army Air Base was renamed Kirtland Army Air Field. It was named for Colonel Roy C. Kirtland, one of the Army's oldest pilots.

During World War II Kirtland trained flight crews for the B-17, B-24 and B-29 bombers.

In February 1946, Kirtland was placed under the Air Materiel Command and it ceased its flight training activities. Kirtland's new role was to develop proper aircraft modifications for weapons delivery and to determine ballistic characteristics for nuclear weapons. Kirtland's role in the testing and evaluation of special weapons increased in 1947 when Kirtland Army Air Field, became Kirtland Air Force Base.

In September 1948 the first Convair B-36 was modified to carry nuclear weapons at Kirtland, followed by the first B-47 Stratojet in December of that year.

In December 1949, Kirtland became headquarters for the Air Force Special Weapons Center. In 1963, the Special Weapons Center gave up much of its research and development work to the newly created Air Force Weapons Laboratory.

April 11, 1950, – A B-29 bomber carrying a nuclear weapon, four spare detonators, and a crew of thirteen crashed into a mountain near Manzano Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico, three minutes after departure from the Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque. The crash resulted in a major fire which was reported by the New York Times as being visible from "fifteen miles." The bomb's casing was completely demolished and its high explosives ignited upon contact with the plane's burning fuel. However, according to the Department of Defense, the four spare detonators and all nuclear components were recovered. A nuclear detonation was not possible because the weapon's core, while being carried on-board, was not placed in the weapon for safety reasons. All thirteen crew members were killed. [4]

On July 1, 1971, Kirtland merged with Manzano Base and Sandia Base, its neighbors to the east.

Early in 1974, at the direction of the Air Force Chief of Staff, the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center was organized at Kirtland to direct and oversee operational testing of aircraft and other equipment.

The Air Force Special Weapons Center was dismantled on 1 April, 1976.

On 1 October, 1982, the Air Force Space Technology Center was activated at Kirtland. On 13 December, 1990, it was combined with three Air Force laboratories to become Phillips Laboratory. It recently joined other laboratories and became part of the Air Force Research Laboratory.

In 1992, the Kirtland Underground Munitions Storage Complex (KUMSC) was activated at Kirtland AFB. KUMSC is the largest storage facility for nuclear weapons in the world. The facility provides storage, shipping and maintenance for the United States Air Force and Navy. It is operated by the 898th Munitions Squadron (898 MUNS) and the 377th Security Forces Squadron (377 SFS). The facility is state of the art, with more than 300,000 square feet located entirely underground. Total capacity of warheads stored there is over 3,000. The majority of munitions stored there include the B83 and B61 gravity bombs, and W80, W87, and W88 warheads for the Air Launched Cruise Missle (ALCM), Minuteman III and Peacekeeper ICBM's.