Ben Guerir Air Base

Coordinates: 32°7′50″N 7°54′39″W / 32.13056°N 7.91083°W / 32.13056; -7.91083
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Ben Guerir Air Base
  • AMSL
430 m / 1,400 ft
Coordinates32°7′50″N 7°54′39″W / 32.13056°N 7.91083°W / 32.13056; -7.91083
Map
Ben Guerir Air Base is located in Morocco
Ben Guerir Air Base
Ben Guerir Air Base
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
18/36 4,182 13,720 Asphalt

Ben Guerir Air Base is a

Transatlantic Abort Landing (TAL) site for the Space Shuttle
.

History

Ben Guerir was established in 1951 by the U.S. Strategic Air Command (SAC), as one of five bases constructed in what was then French North Africa for SAC during a "crash program" which began in 1950.[1] The base was located to allow for the rapid deployment of nuclear-armed Boeing B-47 Stratojets, without requiring aerial refueling, Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighters were also deployed from the base.[2]

In 1956, the entire RB-47E force operated by the

324th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadrons spent 90 days at Ben Guerir on temporary duty assignment. SAC occupied the base until 1963. The base operating unit was the 3926th Air Base, later "Combat Support" Group, assigned to the 5th Air Division and later to the 4310th Air Division.[2]

The base was designated as a

inclination launch, meaning a diversion to the TAL site would require minimal use of fuel.[2][3] Ben Guerir last served as a TAL site in June 2002, for STS-111, which landed at Edwards Air Force Base at the conclusion of its flight. The base was deactivated in 2005, after supporting 83 shuttle missions.[3]

The base is home to an Escadre de Chasse (Fighter Wing), with three squadrons of General Dynamics F-16C/D Fighting Falcons: the "Falcon", "Spark", and "Viper" squadrons.[4]

Facilities

Ben Guerir has one runway oriented in a North-South direction. It is 61 metres (200 ft) wide, with 7.6 m (25 ft) shoulders, and is 4,182 m (13,720 ft) long, with a 305 m (1,000 ft) underrun and a 762 m (2,500 ft) compacted dirt overrun, for a total length of 4,791 m (15,720 ft). During renovations made by

Tactical Air Navigation (TACAN) system.[5]

The Moroccan Air Force is currently[when?] upgrading Ben Guerir Air Base to support its acquisition of F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft.

See also

References

  1. Time, Inc. March 31, 1952. Archived from the original
    on May 2, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c Pike, John (April 27, 2005). "Ben Guerir Air Base, Morocco". Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). GlobalSecurity.org. Archived from the original on 16 March 2007. Retrieved March 10, 2007.
  3. ^ a b "Space Shuttle Transoceanic Abort Landing (TAL) Sites" (PDF). NASAfacts. NASA. December 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 30, 2006. Retrieved March 10, 2007.
  4. ^ "Scramble". www.scramble.nl. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  5. ^ "Space Shuttle Transoceanic Abort Landing (TAL) Sites". NASA Facts Online. NASA. December 18, 2006. Archived from the original on 15 March 2007. Retrieved March 10, 2007.

Further reading

  • Gerald M. Adams, "A History of U.S. Strategic Air Bases in Morocco 1951-63" (Omaha: The Moroccan Reunion Association, 1992)
  • I. William Zartman, The Moroccan-American Base Negotiations,
    Middle East Journal
    , Vol. 18, No. 1 (Winter, 1964), pp. 27–40

External links

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