Griffiss Air Force Base
Griffiss Air Force Base Air Force Base | |
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Site information | |
Controlled by | United States Air Force |
Site history | |
Built | 1941–1942 |
In use | 1942–1995 |
Events | World War II, Cold War |
Griffiss AFB | |||||||||||
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AMSL 504 ft / 154 m | | ||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||
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Griffiss Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force installation in the northeastern United States, located in Central New York state at Rome, about fifteen miles (25 km) northwest of Utica.
Missions included
Closed in September, 1995 by the
Griffiss was the site of the Woodstock '99 Festival in July, 1999. Notorious for overpricing, triple-digit heat, aggressive music and lack of water, it descended into chaos, although no base assets were harmed.[1][2][3]
Location, geography
Griffiss Air Force Base is located in central New York state at Rome, in the
History
On 3 April 1941, the
After a series of names and realignments, the base was finally named "Griffiss Air Force Base" in 1948 to honor
Rome Air Depot
On 1 February 1942, the Rome Air Depot was activated and throughout World War II the depot provided aircraft engine maintenance and repair, and trained air depot groups in engine repair. With the end of the war and the sharp reduction of AAF aircraft operations, activities were sharply curtailed in the fall of 1945. The Rome Air Depot continued operations well into the 1960s as an
Air Defense
Although many aircraft landed at Griffiss during the war, the airfield had no permanently-stationed flying units. It wasn't until after World War II that the
On 3 October 1950, the
In October, 1955, the
Rome Laboratory
Electronic research began at the Rome Air Depot in 1949. The Watson Laboratory complex was transferred to Rome from
Strategic Air Command
The 416th Bombardment Wing (416 BW), a
- SR-71 Mach 3.2 Reconnaissance "spy plane" supersonic jet visit
In 1986, prior to the US/NATO bombing of Libya, an SR-71 Mach 3.2 supersonic reconnaisssnce "spy plane" left California's Beale Air Force Base and, using multiple KC-135 midair refuelings plus a Griffiss land refueling each way, did the approximately 12,000-mile round-trip in less than half a day.
On 1 June 1992, as part of an Air Force-wide reorganization and concurrent with the disestablishment of SAC, the 416 BW's KC-135 aircraft were transferred to the newly established Air Mobility Command (AMC). The 416th retained its B-52 aircraft and the wing was transferred to the newly established Air Combat Command (ACC), with Griffiss designated as an ACC base. The 416 BW was inactivated in 1995 as part of another post-Cold War drawdown of United States strategic forces pursuant to a 1993 BRAC decision. Closure of Griffiss AFB was part of this same BRAC action.
Among the tenant activities at Griffiss AFB, the base was also home to the aviation brigade of the
BRAC Realignment
Griffiss AFB was selected for realignment by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission in 1993.[12]
The facility is now[
At its peak, the base was the largest employer in Oneida County, New York.[citation needed] Griffiss was the site of the
Environmental contamination
The base was designated a
Redevelopment
The base closure on 30 September 1995 meant that 5,000 jobs or 30 percent of the city's economic base were lost. The population decreased by almost 10,000, from 44,350 in 1990 to 34,950 in 2000. The Air Force Research Laboratory had not been closed, and became core of the redevelopment plan, of making it part of a corporate business and to build a technology park around it. In 2004, a new $24 million facility opened.[14]
Major commands
- USAAF Materiel Div, 1 February 1942 (rdsgd Materiel Comd, 16 March 1942)
- USAAF Materiel and Services, 17 July 1944 (rdsgd AAF Technical Service Comd, 31 August 1944
- Air Technical Service Command, 1 July 1945
- Air Materiel Command, 9 March 1946)
- Air Research and Development Command, 2 April 1951
- Air Materiel Command, 1 July 1954
- Redesignated: Air Force Logistics Command, 1 April 1961
- Strategic Air Command, 1 July 1970 – 1 June 1992
- Air Combat Command, 1 June 1992 – 30 September 1995
- Air Force Materiel Command, 1 October 1995–present
Major units assigned
- Rome Air Depot, 1 February 1942 – 3 January 1955
- Rome Air Material Area, 1 February 1943 – 25 June 1947
- 4104th Army Air Force Base Unit, 1 April 1944 – 15 April 1945
- 65th Reconnaissance Group, 27 December 1946 – 27 June 1949
- 1st Fighter-Interceptor Group, 15 August 1950 – 3 June 1951
- 71st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 15 August – 21 October 1950
- 27th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 15 August 1950 – 1 October 1959
- 6530th Air Base Wing, 12 June 1951 – 1 August 1952
- Rome Air Force Depot, 3 January 1955 – 1 April 1967
- 465th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 8 October 1955 – 1 July 1959
- 2856th Air Base Wing, 16 February 1958 – 1 July 1970
- 4727th Air Defense Group, 8 February 1957 – 15 October 1959
- 49th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 1 July 1959 – 7 July 1987
- 4039th Strategic Wing, 1 August 1958 – 1 February 1963
- 41st Air Refueling Squadron, 5 January 1959 – 1992
- 416th Bombardment Wing, 1 February 1963 – 1995
- 485th Electronic Installation Squadron (later 485th Communications Installation Group, 485th Engineering Installation Group) January 1972 - 1995
- 21st Air Division, 31 August – 23 September 1983
- 24th Air Division, 1 December 1983 – 30 September 1990
- 509th Air Refueling Squadron, 1 July 1990 – 1 October 1994
- Air Force Communications Service, 1 May 1970 – 1 June 1981
- 2019th Airways & Air Communications Service Squadron (later 2019th Communications Squadron), 1 November 1954 – 31 July 1977
- 2019th Communications Squadron[15] (Later the 2019th Information Systems Squadron, 2019th Communications Squadron, 416th Communications Squadron), 1 July 1980 – 30 June 1995
References
- ^ a b Wartofsky, Alona (27 July 1999). "Woodstock '99 goes up in smoke". Washington Post. p. A1.
- ^ a b "Woodstock chaos blamed on small group". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. 27 July 1999. p. 5A.
- ^ a b Guzman, Isaac; Tayler, Letta (27 July 1999). "Discord disrupts Woodstock's harmony". Wilmington Morning Star. (North Carolina). (Newsday). p. 1A.
- ^ a b "Griffiss Air Force Base New York EPA ID#: NY4571924451" (factsheet). EPA Region 2. 25 October 2013. p. 3. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
- ^ Stephen Mulvey (14 February 2012). "Townsend Griffiss, forgotten hero of World War II". BBC News.
- ^ "Namesakes: Carswell". Air Force Magazine. 99 (10): 76. October 2016.
- ISBN 0-912799-02-1.
- ^ ISBN 0-405-12194-6.
- ^ Maurer, Combat Squadronspp. 571-572
- ^ a b Cornett, Lloyd H; Johnson, Mildred W (1980). A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization, 1946–1980 (PDF). Peterson AFB, CO: Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center. p. 89. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
- ^ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 213-214
- ^ "Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission - 1993 Report to the President" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. 1 July 1993. Retrieved 23 October 2007.
- ^ Griffiss Air Force Base Region 2 Superfund, 6 May 2015, US EPA, retrieved 21 September 2015
- ^ "Former Air Force base gaining altitude as business park". Elizabeth Cooper. Gatehouse Media, LLC. uticacod.com. 20 September 2015. Retrieved 22 September 2015.[permanent dead link]
- ^ This unit is not related to the previous one
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
Further reading
- Ravenstein, Charles A. Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947–1977. ISBN 0-912799-12-9.
- Mueller, Robert (1989). Volume 1: Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982. USAF Reference Series, Office of Air Force History, United States Air Force, Washington, D.C. ISBN 0-16-002261-4
- Aerospace Defense Command publication, The Interceptor, January 1979 (Volume 21, Number 1).