Wurtsmith Air Force Base

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Wurtsmith Air Force Base is a decommissioned United States Air Force base in northeastern Iosco County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The former base includes 4,626 acres located approximately two miles west of Lake Huron at 44°27′09″N, 83°22′49″W in the Charter Township of Oscoda, bordered by Van Ettan Lake, the Au Sable State Forest.

[edit] History

Wurtsmith got its start in 1923 as Loud-Reames Aviation Field, a soft-surface landing site for Army Air Corps aircraft from Selfridge Field. It was renamed Camp Skeel in 1924, for World War I pilot Captain Burt E. Skeel, and was used an an aerial gunnery range until the onset of World War II.

A 5,000 foot hard-surface runway was built in 1942 when the camp was renamed Oscoda Army Air Field. The field was used to train Free French Forces pilots, and also operated as a transient aircraft stopover under the auspices of the Continental Air Command.

The base was renamed Wurtsmith Air Force Base in 1953 after Michigan native Major General Paul Bernard Wurtsmith was killed when his B-25 Mitchell crashed near Cold Mountain, North Carolina in September 1946. The base became a permanent installation in 1955 when the United States Air Force designated it as a fighter-interceptor training base.

In 1960, the Strategic Air Command (SAC) decided Wurtsmith would be an ideal location to house the new B-52 Stratofortress bombers, as well as the KC-135 Stratotankers that would refuel them in mid-air. The Air Force extended the runway to 12,000 feet in 1959, and on May 9, 1961, the 379th Bombardment Wing took delivery of its first B-52H, the "State of Michigan." Two other SAC bases with B-52's were close by, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula; Kincheloe AFB in Kinross, south of Sault Ste. Marie, which closed in September 1977, and K.I. Sawyer AFB, south of Marquette, which was deactivated in September 1995. As of 2006, only two B-52 bases remain: Minot AFB, North Dakota, and Barksdale AFB, Louisiana.

The 379th and its subordinate units' mission was to operate at full readiness, and support activities included aircraft and vehicle maintenance, bombing crew and unit training, and air refueling support. In 1989, the Air Force selected Wurtsmith as one of seven bases that would house Peacekeeper Rail Garrison; December 1992 was set for delivery of the first asset, but the program was terminated in 1991. The base closed on June 30, 1993 as a result of the 1991 Base Realignment and Closure process, which determined that the development of new weapons and long-range satellite surveillance systems rendered many installations unnecessary.

The Wurtsmith Base Conversion Authority terminated in 1994, when the Charter Township of Oscoda took over as the Redevelopment Authority. The Michigan Legislature created the Wurtsmith Renaissance Zone in 1997, which exempted businesses and residents of the 5,000 acre zone from all state and most local taxes.

The Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport now occupies a portion of the base and is primarily used for cargo and light general aviation activities. Other tenants include the Aune Medical Center, Alpena Community College, Yankee Air Force Museum - Wurtsmith Division, and numerous private businesses. The former military housing units have been refurbished by the Villages of Oscoda, and now serve as a major population base in the Oscoda area.