Carswell Air Force Base
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Carswell Air Force Base, called Tarrant Field (from 1932 to 1943), Fort Worth Army Air Field (until January 1948), Fort Worth Air Force Base (in January 1948), Griffiss Air Force Base (for a few days in January 1948), and Carswell Air Force Base (from 1948); now known as Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, it is located in Tarrant County, Texas, about 5 miles northwest of Fort Worth, Texas. It is located at . Carswell, and was named after Medal of Honor recipient Major Horace S. Carswell, Jr.
The host Air Force units at Carswell were:
- 404th Base HQ and Air Base Sq, 18 Aug 1942 - 1 May 1944
- 2519th AAF Base Unit (Pilot School, Spec 4E), 1 May 1944 - 18 Nov 1945
- 233d AAF Base Unit, 18 Nov 1945 - 17 Nov 1947
- 7th Bombardment Wing, 17 Nov 1947 - 1 Oct 1993
The site of the base was originally selected in 1941 as a Consolidated Vultee factory for the production of B-24 Liberator bombers. A separate contract was let for a landing field, Tarrant Field, to be built to support the aircraft factory. The construction of an air force base on the east side of Tarrant Field was authorized after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and Tarrant Field Airdrome was assigned to the Army Air Forces Flying Training Command in July 1942.
The base began as a pilot transition school for the B-26 Marauder before becoming one of the first B-24 transition schools in operation. After more than 4,000 students were trained in B-24s at the base, its mission was changed to B-34 transition because of the nearness to the Consolidated factory. In 1945 the mission was changed from B-34 to B-29 aircraft training.
The base was assigned to the newly formed Strategic Air Command in March 1946. In June 1948 the first B-36 was delivered to the 7th Bombardment Wing. The 7th Bomb Wing controlled two B-36 groups beginning in December 1948, and added a third, Dec 1948-Feb 1951, and three additional B-36 squadrons in February 1951. The wing's mission was to prepare for global strategic bombardment in the event of hostilities.
In February 1949, a B-50D (developed from the famed B-29) and named Lucky Lady II took off from Carswell for the first nonstop flight around the world. She returned to Carswell after mid-air refueling, flying 23,108 miles, and remaining aloft for ninety-four hours and one minute.
In 1958 the B-36s of the 7th BW were replaced by the all-jet B-52 and KC-135 Stratotankers in January 1959. B-52s from Carswell were constantly in the air and deployed to SAC Reflex bases in Europe, Asia, and North Africa during the Cold War.
On 13 April 1965, the 7th BW deployed its forces to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam to support SAC combat operations in Southeast Asia. All of the wing's bombers and tankers, along with aircrews and some support personnel, were deployed. At Andersen AFB, the wing flew more than 1,300 missions over Vietnam, and returned to Carswell in December 1965. Rotational deployments to Guam, and also to U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield, Thailand continued on a reduced scale until 1975.
In the 1980s the base received several new weapons systems, including modified B-52H aircraft. In 1983, B-52 crews began training with a new weapon system, the SRAM (Short Range Attack Missile) and later, in 1985, the ALCM (Air Launched Cruise Missile). Also, the wing flew numerous atmospheric sampling missions during 1986 and 1987 in response to the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident.
By 1984 Carswell was the largest unit of its kind in the Strategic Air Command. The west side of the airfield was home to Air Force Plant #4, a 602-acre industrial complex occupied over the decades by Convair, General Dynamics, and Lockheed Martin. The bulk of the Air Force Convair B-36, B-58 Hustler, F-111 Aardvark, and F-16 Fighting Falcon fleet was built there.
The 7th BW contributed personnel and recruits to Operation Desert Storm in the Middle East in 1991, but began preparations for the base closure at Carswell AFB in January 1992 as a result of a Base Realignment and Closure round. The wing was released of all operational capabilities on 1 January 1993, and was transferred to Dyess AFB, TX on 1 October 1993.
In 1994 Carswell was re-opened as a joint reserve base. The west side of the base still serves as Air Force Plant #4 and employs 17,000. More recently in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina the Emergency Operation Center became the central communication point for FEMA and United States Navy coordination.
Currently, the portion of the base occupied by the Texas Air National Guard's 136th Airlift Wing and the Air Force Reserve Command's 301st Fighter Wing is still called Carswell Field.
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[edit] Federal Medical Center, Carswell
The Federal Medical Center, Carswell is a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility in Fort Worth, Texas that provides specialized medical and mental health services to female offenders. FMC Carswell is located in the northeast corner of the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base. The FMC has come under fire in the past few years for prisoner abuse.
[edit] Trivia
- This is the location where objects from the Roswell UFO incident were sent for analysis to determine the type of object that landed.
- Carswell was featured and used as a filming location in a movie with Jimmy Stewart called Strategic Air Command.
[edit] References
- Ravenstein, Charles A., Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947-1977, Office of Air Force History, 1984
- Mueller, Robert, Air Force Bases Volume I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982, Office of Air Force History, 1989
- Endicott, Judy G., USAF Active Flying, Space, and Missile Squadrons as of 1 October 1995. Office of Air Force History
[edit] External links
- United States Geological Survey (2005). "Carswell Air Force Base". Retrieved 26 July 2005.
