Thule Air Base

Thule Air Base

Air Force Space Command.png
Air Force Space Command
Aerial Picture Of Thule Air Base.jpg
IATA: THU – ICAO: BGTL
Summary
Airport type Military: Air Force Base
Operator U.S. Air Force
Location Thule (formerly Pituffik), Greenland
Occupants 821st Air Base Group
Elevation AMSL 251 ft / 77 m
Website 821st Air Base Group
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
08T/26T 3,047 9,997 Asphalt
Source: Danish AIS[1]

Thule Air Base or Thule Air Base/Pituffik Airport (IATA: THU, ICAO: BGTL), is the United States Air Force's northernmost base, located 1,118 km (695 mi) north of the Arctic Circle and 1,524 km (947 mi) from the North Pole on the northwest side of the island of Greenland. It is approximately 885 km (550 mi) east of the North Magnetic Pole. Thule is an unincorporated enclave within Qaasuitsup municipality in northern Greenland. It is the site of the former town of Dundas, which was moved to Qaanaaq for the construction of the base. The permanent population of the base was 235 as of January 1, 2005.

Contents

History

Major commands to which assigned

Major units assigned

  • 6622d Air Base Squadron, July 20, 1951
    Redesignated: 6612th Air Base Group, January 1, 1952
    Redesignated: 6607th Air Base Wing, June 1, 1954 – April 1, 1957
  • 318th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, July 1, 1953 – August 5, 1954
  • 74th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, August 20, 1954 – June 25, 1958
  • 320th Air Refueling Squadron, May 4, 1955 – June 10, 1957
    Detached from 320th Bombardment Wing, March AFB, California
  • 509th Air Refueling Squadron, c. June 17, 1955 – c. August 3, 1955
    Detached from 509th Bombardment Wing, Walker AFB, New Mexico
  • 96th Air Refueling Squadron, July 13, 1955 – September 14, 1955
    Detached from 96th Bombardment Wing, Altus AFB, Oklahoma
  • 26th Air Refueling Squadron, September 9, 1955 – November 2, 1955; September 5, 1956 – December 15, 1956
    Detached from 380th Bombardment Wing, Plattsburgh AFB, New York
  • 42d Air Refueling Squadron, November 2, 1955 – December 28, 1955; January 1, 1957 – March 7, 1957
    Detached from 42d Bombardment Wing, Loring AFB, Maine
  • 71st Air Refueling Squadron, December 29, 1955 – March 27, 1956
    Detached from 2d Bombardment Wing, Barksdale AFB, Louisiana
  • 341st Air Refueling Squadron, March 27, 1956 – June 26, 1956
    Detached from 341st Bombardment Wing, Dyess AFB, Texas
  • 40th Air Refueling Squadron, June 27, 1956 – September 4, 1956; c. October 1, 1958 – January, 9 1959
    Detached from 40th Bombardment Wing, Smoky Hill AFB, Kansas
  • 340th Air Refueling Squadron, October 29, 1956 – December 30, 1956
    Detached from 340th Bombardment Wing, Whiteman AFB, Missouri
  • 4083d Strategic Wing, April 1, 1957 – July 1, 1959
  • 4083d Air Base Group, April 1, 1957
    Redesignated: 4083d Air Base Wing, July 1, 1960
    Redesignated: 4083d Air Base Group, October 1, 1960
    Redesignated: 4683d Combat Support Group, July 1, 1965
    Redesignated: 4683d Air Base Group, July 1, 1970 – October 1, 1977
  • 4683d Air Defense Wing, July 1, 1960 – July 1, 1965
  • 327th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, July 3, 1958 – March 25, 1960
  • 332d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, September 1, 1960 – July 1, 1965
  • OL-5, 6594th Test Wing (Satellite), Air Force Systems Command, October 15, 1961
    Redesignated: 22nd Space Operations Squadron, June 1, 1997
    Redesignated: Det. 3, 22d Space Operations Squadron, May 1, 2004 – present
  • 12th Missile Warning Group, March 31, 1977
    Redesignated: 12th Missile Warning Squadron on June 15, 1983
    Redesignated: 12th Missile Warning Group on October 1, 1989
    Redesignated: 12th Space Warning Squadron on May 15, 1992 – present
  • 4711th Air Base Squadron, March 31, 1977
    Redesignated: 4685th Air Base Squadron, October 1, 1980 – March 31, 1981
  • 821st Air Base Group, June 1, 2002 – present

Source for major commands and major units assigned:[2][3][4][5][6]

Origins

Map of Greenland

The first military installations at Thule were constructed just after the beginning of World War II, after the US Secretary of State Cordell Hull and Danish Ambassador Henrik Kauffmann signed The Agreement relating to the Defense of Greenland in Washington on April 9, 1941. President Roosevelt approved it on June 7, 1941. In the agreement, the United States agreed to take over the security of Greenland. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the allies established weather stations at Narsarsuaq Airport (Bluie West-1), Sondrestrom Air Base (Bluie West-8), Ikateq (Bluie East-2), and Gronnedal (Bluie West-9). In 1943 the Army Air Forces set up weather stations, Scoresbysund (Bluie East-3) on the east coast around the southern tip of Greenland, and Thule (Bluie West-6) to be operated by Danish personnel. The weather stations gave the allies an edge over the Germans in battle planning and was of great value in the preparation of Operation Overlord.

Construction of a worldwide system of modern air bases was one of the Air Force's most important tasks following World War II. The US studied the possibility of establishing a major operating base in Greenland when it became clear that round trip flights of planes carrying atomic bombs between US or Canadian bases and European objectives were impractical. The shortest route from the US to the Soviet Union’s most important industrial areas was over the North Pole, and Thule is at the precise midpoint between Moscow and New York City. Thule became a key point in the whole American military strategy. Strategic Air Command (SAC) bombers flying over the Arctic presented less risk of early warning than using bases in England. Defensively, Thule could serve as a base for intercepting bomber attacks along the northeastern approaches to Canada and the US.

A board of Air Force officers made a recommendation to pursue a base at Thule in November 1950. It was subsequently supported by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and approved by President Truman. To replace the agreement entered into during WWII between the US and Denmark, a new agreement with respect to Greenland was ratified on April 27, 1951 (effective on June 8, 1951). At the request of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), the agreement became a part of the NATO defense program. The pact specified that the two nations would arrange for the use of facilities in Greenland by NATO forces in defense of the NATO area known as the Greenland Defense Area.

Thule AB was constructed in secret under the code name Operation BLUE JAY. Construction for Thule AB began in 1951 and was completed in 1953. The construction of Thule is said to have been comparable in scale to the enormous effort required to build the Panama Canal. The United States Navy transported the bulk of men, supplies, and equipment from the naval shipyards in Norfolk, Virginia. On June 6, 1951 an armada of 120 shipments sailed from Naval Station Norfolk. On board were 12,000 men and 300,000 tons of cargo. They arrived Thule on July 9, 1951. Construction took place around the clock. The workers lived on-board the ship until quarters were built. Once they moved into the quarters, the ships returned home.

1950s

Reconnaissance route from Thule AB to Soviet Union.

Originally established as a SAC installation, Thule would periodically serve as a dispersal base for B-36 Peacemaker and B-47 Stratojet aircraft during the 1950s, as well as providing an ideal site to test the operability and maintainability of these weapon systems in extreme cold weather. Similar operations were also conducted with B-52 Stratofortress aircraft in the 1950s and 1960s.

In 1954, Globecom Tower, a tower for military radio communication, was built. At the time of its completion it was the third tallest man-made structure on earth.

In the winter of 1956/57 three KC-97 tankers and alternately one of two RB-47H aircraft made polar flights to inspect Soviet defenses. Five KC-97s prepared for flight with engines running in at temperatures of −50 °F (−46 °C) in order to ensure three could achieve airborne status. After a two hour head start, a B-47 would catch up with them at the northeast coastline of Greenland where two would offload fuel to top off the B-47's tanks (the third was an air spare). The B-47 would then fly seven hours of reconnaissance, while the tankers would return to Thule, refuel, and three would again fly to rendezvous with the returning B-47 at northeast Greenland. The B-47 averaged ten hours and 4,500 km (2,800 mi) in the air, unless unpredictable weather closed Thule. In that case the three tankers and the B-47 had to additionally fly to one of three equidistant alternates: England, Alaska, or Labrador. All of this in sometimes moonless, 24 hour Arctic darkness, December through February. These flights demonstrated the capability of American nuclear power also known as Strategic Air Command to Soviet Anti-Air Defense.

In 1959, the airbase was the main staging point for the construction of Camp Century, some 150 mi (240 km) from the base.[7] Carved into the ice, Camp Century was a scientific research base. Powered by a nuclear reactor, the camp operated from 1959 until 1967.

1960s

BMEWS, shown in red

In 1961, a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) radar was constructed at "J-Site," 21 km (13 mi) northeast of main base. BMEWS was developed by the Raytheon Corporation in order to provide North America warning of a transpolar missile attack from the Russian mainland and submarine-launched missiles from the Arctic and North Atlantic oceans. At this time, Thule was at its peak with a population of about 10,000. Starting in July 1965, there was a general downsizing of activities at Thule. The base host unit was deactivated. By January 1968, the population of Thule was down to 3,370. On January 21, 1968, a B-52G bomber carrying four nuclear weapons crashed just outside Thule – see below.

1970s

Thule is also the location where the fastest sea level surface wind speed in the world was measured when a peak speed of 333 kilometres per hour (207 mph) was recorded on March 8, 1972. Thule is the only Air Force Base with an assigned tugboat. The tugboat is used to assist ship movements in the harbor during the summer, and is hauled onto shore during the winter season. The tugboat is also used for daily sightseeing tours of Northstar Bay during the summer months. Thule became an Air Force Space Command base in 1982.

B-52 nuclear bomber crash

Thule Air Base control tower, 1989.
Main article: B-52 Crash at Thule Air Base

On January 21, 1968, a B-52G bomber crashed and burned on the ice near Thule Air Base. The impact detonated the high explosives in the primary units of all four of the B28 nuclear bombs it carried, but nuclear and thermonuclear reactions did not take place due to the PAL and fail-safe mechanisms in the weapons. More than 700 Danish civilians and U.S. military personnel worked under hazardous conditions without protective gear to clean up the nuclear waste.[8] In 1987, nearly 200 of the Danish workers unsuccessfully attempted to sue the United States. However, some information has been released by the U.S. authorities under the Freedom of Information Act. But Kaare Ulbak, chief consultant to the Danish National Institute of Radiation Hygiene, said Denmark had carefully studied the health of the Thule workers and found no evidence of increased mortality or cancer.[9][10][11]

The Pentagon maintained that all four weapons had been "destroyed" but in November 2008, an investigative reporter from BBC News made use of the U.S. Freedom of Information Act to gain access to the files. These revealed that the aircraft had been carrying four nuclear bombs and that within weeks of the incident, investigators piecing together the fragments realized that only three of the weapons could be accounted for.[8] By August 1968, a Star III submarine was sent to the base to look for the lost bomb, serial number 78252, under the sea ice. Apparently, the missing bomb was not found.[8] In 2009, the assertions of the BBC were refuted in a Danish report, according to which Star III was searching for a small piece of uranium metal, the spark plug of a secondary.[12]

Today

1989 Aerial view

Today Thule is still a military base, home to the 821st Air Base Group, which exercises Air Base support responsibilities within the Thule Defense Area. The base hosts the 12th Space Warning Squadron, a Ballistic Missile Early Warning Site designed to detect and track Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) launched against North America. The 21st Space Wing operates around the world to provide missile warning and space surveillance information to North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) command centers located in Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado. Thule is also host to Detachment 3 of the 22d Space Operations Squadron, part of the 50th Space Wing's global satellite control network, as well as operating many new weapons systems. In addition, the modern airfield boasts a 3,047 by 42 m (9,997 by 138 ft) asphalt runway and 2,600 U.S. and international flights per year.

At Northmountain there is a 378 m (1,240 ft) tall radio mast called Globecom Tower, which is the tallest structure north of the Arctic Circle in the Western hemisphere. The world's northernmost deep water port is also located at Thule.

Thule Air Base in the novel Deception Point.

There is only a brief period each year in the summer when sea ice thins sufficiently to send supply ships to the base. The US sends one heavy supply ship each summer in what is called Operation Pacer Goose.[13]

Airlines and destinations

Airlines Destinations
Air Greenland Qaanaaq [14]
Air Greenland (settlement flights) Moriusaq, Savissivik
Air Greenland (charters) Copenhagen

There are also charters to Thule Air Base.

Gallery

Thule Air Base

Air Transport International DC-8 with supplies

Larger image from above

Radomes, golf ball-like coverings for satellite dishes at Thule

See also

References

  1. ↑ BGTL – Thule Airport (PDF). Greenlandic Aeronautical Information Publication from Statens Luftfartsvæsen (CAA-DK).
  2. ↑ Fact Sheet: Det. 3, 22nd Space Operations Squadron
  3. ↑ Fact Sheet:821st Air Base Group
  4. ↑ Fletcher, Harry R. (1989) Air Force Bases Volume II, Active Air Force Bases outside the United States of America on 17 September 1982. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0912799536
  5. ↑ USAFHRA Document 00460649
  6. ↑ USAFHRA Document 00461736
  7. ↑ Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Thule Air Base/Camp Century information, verified 31 August 2008
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Corera, Gordon (10 November 2008). "Mystery of lost US nuclear bomb". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7720049.stm. Retrieved 2008-11-10. 
  9. ↑ Schwartz, Stephen (1998). "Atomic Audit: The Costs and Consequences of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Since 1940". Brookings Institution. http://www.brookings.edu/projects/archive/nucweapons/box7_3.aspx. Retrieved 2008-01-22. 
  10. ↑ Kristensen, Hans (2004). "Denmark's Thulegate: U.S. Nuclear Operations in Greenland". Nukestrat.com. http://www.nukestrat.com/dk/gr.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-22. 
  11. ↑ Mulvey, Stephen (2007-05-11). "Denmark challenged over B52 crash". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6647421.stm. Retrieved 2008-01-25. 
  12. ↑ Christensen, Svend Aage (3 August 2009). "The Marshal's Baton. There is no bomb, there was no bomb, they were not looking for a bomb" (in en). Danish Institute for International Studies. http://www.diis.dk/thuleaccident. Retrieved 2009-08-14. 
  13. ↑ Choi, April, "Ship Heads To Greenland For Once-A-Year Supply Trip", Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, July 9, 2010.
  14. ↑ Air Greenland, Departures and Arrivals

Other sources

  •  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
  •  This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document "Thule Air Base".
  • Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office 1961 (republished 1983, Office of Air Force History, ISBN 0-912799-02-1).
  • Ravenstein, Charles A. Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947–1977. Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Office of Air Force History 1984. ISBN 0-912799-12-9.
  • Fletcher, Harry R. (1989) Air Force Bases Volume II, Active Air Force Bases outside the United States of America on 17 September 1982. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0912799536

External links