| Sioux City Air National Guard Base Colonel Bud Day Field |
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|---|---|
| Part of Iowa Air National Guard (IA ANG) | |
| Located at: Sioux Gateway Airport Iowa | |
KC-135T 58-0067, 185th Air Refueling Wing, Iowa Air National Guard |
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| Type | Air National Guard Base |
| Built | 1942 |
| In use | 1942-1945; 1946-Present |
| Controlled by | United States Air Force |
| Garrison | 185th Air Refueling Wing |
Sioux City Air National Guard Base is a United States Air Force base, located at Sioux Gateway Airport It is located 7.2 miles (11.6 km) south-southeast of Sioux City, Iowa. On 25 May 2002, the airport was named "Colonel Bud Day Field" in honor of United States Air Force Colonel George Everette "Bud" Day, a Sioux City, Iowa native and is the only person ever awarded both the Medal of Honor and the Air Force Cross.
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Sioux Gateway Regional Airport is home for the Iowa Air National Guard's 185th Air Refueling Wing. The wings main mission is to provide mid-air refueling and mobility sustainment in direct support of the global mission of the Air Force. As a community based organization the wing and its subordinate units are also tasked to support the state of Iowa in the event of a state emergency.
The station was established in March 1942 as Sioux City Army Air Base (AAB) and was a major training center during World War II[1] under II Bomber Command for crew members of B-24 Liberators and B-17 Flying Fortresses. During the 1950s, the airfield was an Air Defense Command fighter-interceptor base. Beginning in 1956, the ADC flying activity was reduced and Sioux City became an ADC command and control station for Ground Control Intercept (GCI) Radar Stations in the Midwest, later becoming a Direction Center (DC-22) for the ADC Sioux City Air Defense Sector and later the 30th Air Division. In 1968 ADC closed it's facilities, with the Iowa Air National Guard becoming the host unit at the base.
The construction of Sioux City AAB began in March 1942, about three months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Opened on 5 July 1942, it became a major training center during World War II,[1] initially for B-17 Flying Fortress, and later B-24 Liberator groups. The base performed primarily Phase III advanced group training, and once completed, the groups were deployed overseas to either the Eighth Air Force (ETO), or Fifteenth Air Force (MTO) for combat operations.
The host unit at the base was the 354th Army Air Force Base Unit,[2] and the major training organization was the 393d Combat Training School (later redesignated 224th Combat Crew Training School in 1944).[3][4] At its peak, (October 1943) there were 940 officers and 5,183 enlisted men either assigned or attached to the base. The major training activities at Sioux City included aerial gunnery, bombardment, navigation, formation flying, and other related courses.[5]
Initially training at the field was intended to prepare an entire bomb group for overseas combat (OTU - Operational Training). After July 1943, sufficient Bomb Groups had been formed and trained, and the base switched to training individual crews as replacements or additions to various bomb groups (RTU - Replacement Training). Hollywood actor, pilot and Army Air Force Captain (later Brigadier General) James Stewart was posted to Sioux City with his squadron in 1943, where he and his crew completed their initial B-24 Liberator qualification prior to deployment overseas. [6]
The training of B-17 crews continued until May 1945. Around that time, the field received a new mission which required the conversion of the facilities for B-29 Superfortress training.[7]
The base was transferred to the 17th Bombardment Operational Training Wing and began the transition to start B-29 training.[8] By early June, there were ten B-29's on the field. The new training program was short lived, however because in August 1945 it was canceled. With the end of World War II, the former training base switched to becoming a processing center to discharge personnel out of the service and back into civilian life.[5]
With its mission completed, Sioux City Army Air Base closed in December 1945.[5][9]
However, the facility would not remain closed for long, as in September 1946 the airfield was opened by the Air Force Reserve. Sioux City Air Base was one of the first Air Force Reserve bases established after the war, and in December 1946 the 185th Iowa Air National Guard unit was established at Sioux City.[5]
Assigned to the new Air Defense Command (ADC) upon reactivation, the 140th Army Air Force base unit was activated as its host unit.[10] The mission of the 140th AFBU was to offer flight and ground training to all commissioned and enlisted members of the Air Force Reserve residing in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming.[11]
During the 1950s, ADC based the 521st Air Defense Group at Sioux City beginning on 15 February 1953 as part of the Central Air Defense Force. The 521st had the 14th, 87th and 519th Fighter-Interceptor Squadrons, equipped with F-86 Sabres, F-84 Thunderstreaks, and F-102 Delta Daggers. In 1955, the 521st was reassigned and replaced by the 13th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, which flew with the 14th FIS from the base until 1960.[12]
Beginning in 1959, the ADC flying activity was reduced and Sioux City became an ADC command and control base. The Sioux City Air Defense Sector (SCADS) was established on 1 October 1959 assuming control of former ADC Central Air Defense Force units in western Iowa, most of Nebraska along with southern South Dakota.
In 1959 a Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) Data Center (DC-22) was established at Sioux City AFS. The SAGE system was a network linking Air Force (and later FAA) General Surveillance Radar stations into a centralized center for Air Defense, intended to provide early warning and response for a Soviet nuclear attack. The operation of DC-22 with its AN/FSQ-7 computer was the primary mission of SCADS, as well as providing air defense over parts of Minnesota, Colorado and Wyoming
The Sector was disestablished on 1 April 1966 as part of an ADC consolidation and reorganization; its units were reassigned to the newly-established 30th Air Division which took over operation of the SAGE DC-22. The 30th AD administered and trained subordinate units, and participated in numerous air defense training exercises. In addition, it supervised training of Air National Guard units with a pertinent mobilization assignment.
DC-22 was inactivated in September 1968 as ADC phased down its interceptor mission as the chances of a Soviet bomber attack on the United States seemed remote, its mission being consolidated into North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
With the inactivation of the 30th AD, the Air Force closed Sioux City Air Force Station as an active-duty facility. Its facilities were turned over to Sioux Gateway Airport, along with the Air Force Reserve and Iowa Air National Guard for limited military use. Today, the Sioux City SAGE building is reportedly now a turkey processing plant.
The 185th Air Refueling Wing was established in December 1946. The Army Air Force's 386th Fighter Squadron, flying P-47 Thunderbolts was activated in 1943 and then deactivated in 1945 at the end of World War II. The unit was subsequently re-designated the 174th Fighter Squadron and allocated to the Iowa National Guard on May 24, 1946. On December 2, 1946, the 174th was extended Federal recognition and equipped with P-51 Mustangs. Today, the 174th is still the flying squadron at the 185th Air Refueling Wing, formerly the 185th Fighter Wing.
For three years, the 174th flew the P-51 "Mustang." In 1949-50, the unit received its first jet, the F-84B "Thunderjet." The squadron was called to active duty on April 1, 1951 for service during the Korean War and moved to Dow AFB in Bangor, Maine. Most jet pilots transferred to USAF units in Europe and the Far East. The squadron was re-equipped with the F-51D. The unit finished their tour and was transferred back to state control on December 31, 1952. In July 1953, the unit converted from F-51Ds to Lockheed F-80C "Shooting Star.
N 1955, the 174th FSB was re-designated the 174th Fighter Interceptor Squadron and was transitioned to the F-84E "Thunderstreak." As a component of the 132nd Fighter Interceptor Wing. In 1961, the unit was re-designated the 174th Tactical Fighter Squadron and converted to flying F-100C "Super Sabre." On October 1, 1962, the unit reached group status. It was reorganized and re-designated as the 185th Tactical Fighter Group.
On January 26, 1968, the 185th was recalled to active Federal service as a result of the "Pueblo Crisis". The 174th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the 185th augmented by many of the other personnel from the Group, deployed with their F-2nd century to Phu Cat, Vietnam on May 11, 1968. During the course of the next 90 days, the balance of the 185th was deployed to six military bases in Korea and several others within the continental United States. As for the 174th, on May 28, 1969, the personnel and aircraft were recalled with the 185th and returned to Sioux City and released from active duty.
In 1977, the 185th converted to the A-7D "Corsair." On December 19, 1991, they received F-16 Falcons. On March 16, 1992, the 185th Tactical Fighter Group was re-designated the 185th Fighter Group. As the Air Force and Air Guard standardized unit structures, the 185th was designated the 185th Fighter Wing. The F-16 "Fighting Falcon" would be the last jet that the unit would fly before conversion to KC-135 tankers in 2003 and being re-designated the 185th Air Refueling Wing. In 2007, the 185th began transitioning from KC-135E to KC-135R models, newer planes, with larger engines, capable of more missions.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
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