Pepperrell Air Force Base
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Pepperrell Air Force Base 62nd Coast Artillery 6604th Air Base Wing |
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Pepperrell Air Force Base, previously known as Fort Pepperrell, is a decommissioned United States military base located in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada which operated from 1941 to 1961.[1]
The base was named in honour of Sir
Establishment
In October 1940, the governments of the United States and United Kingdom signed a contract known as the
A board of experts on naval and air bases arrived in St. John's by March 1940 to investigate areas necessary for developments being considered by the recently set-up Canadian/United States Defence Board, and with the agreements signed and most of the negotiations completed, the first movement of U.S. troops to Newfoundland was planned.[2]
Colonel L.W. Rook was
On March 27, 1941, a 99-year lease was acquired from the
. The Leased Bases Agreement provided wide powers to the United States military in taking necessary steps to defend the areas around its leased bases, including additional powers in time of war or emergency.One of the locations under consideration for a military base was St. John's, the capital city, which was approved by Newfoundland Governor Sir
Construction
Several steps had been taken by the British and Newfoundland governments pre-dating the official signing of the agreement, which identified the preferred site for a military installation along the north side of Quidi Vidi Lake, in the northeast part of St. John's.
Field work began on the site on October 15, 1940.
On January 15, 1941, the
The military base in St. John's was to be operated by the
The harbor facilities, population base, and seat of government at St. John's precluded some form of headquarters facility for the base under construction adjacent to Quidi Vidi Lake; therefore, it was decided that Newfoundland Base Command would be established in the capital to coordinate all US military operations in Newfoundland, as well as in the Danish territory of Greenland.
The new installation was to be named Fort Pepperrell, following the tradition of naming United States Army facilities, even though it was primarily to see use by the USAAF.
During April and May 1941, the Newfoundland base contractor's personnel began arriving on the island, and construction was taken over by their organization. On April 15 a lease was signed with Carpasian Park Limited, for 15 acres (61,000 m2) of land upon which to build Camp Alexander, a temporary tent camp named in honor of the ship USS Edmund B. Alexander, to be located on Carpasian Road.
On May 20, troops from the
Wartime operations
Lt. Col. J.J. Yates assumed command of Fort Pepperrell on November 28, 1941, and was replaced on December 2 by Colonel Paul N. Starling.
Troops of the
A Royal Canadian Navy-manned
Fort Pepperrell expanded significantly after the United States entered the war with the
Beginning with the 21st Signal Service Company, the US military began to link up Edmund B. Alexander with the temporary shore establishments. The communications link to Naval Station Argentia from St. John's was later installed and then across the entire island to Stephenville Air Base, thus providing a permanent dial telephone system between the bases.
Between May 1, 1942, and December 15, 1942, the Argentia-Holyrood Road was constructed and 500 miles (800 km) of telephone communication extended across Newfoundland. One such difficult link in the cross country communication line was the 110-mile (180 km) stretch from Stephenville to
On December 12, 1942, a number of servicemen were killed in the Knights of Columbus Hostel fire.
On January 7, 1943,
On October 10, 1944, Brigadier General Samuel Connell arrived at Fort Pepperrell and assumed command of the Newfoundland Base Command, and in November 1944, the first man to be called on temporary active duty status left the Newfoundland Base Command for the Zone of Interior. On February 8, Headquarters Company, St. John's Area, was formed and the Headquarters Detachment discontinued. On December 23, 1945, Colonel Albert Warren assumed command of the Newfoundland Base Command.
Units stationed
Fort Pepperrell was designed to accommodate 3,500 personnel with indoor storage for 310 vehicles, 146,315 square feet (13,593 m2) of covered warehouse space, and outdoor storage of approximately twenty acres for vehicles, lumber, equipment, and supplies. The base also had its own radio station VOUS which carried US radio network shows and
On February 27, 1942, the headquarters for the Newfoundland Base Command had moved from temporary quarters at 44 Rennie's Mill Road on the estate of the country's former prime minister, Sir Richard Squires. At this time, Fort Pepperrell's capacity was increased to 5,500 personnel. Roads on the base followed a unique survey design in the form of a stylized cowboy hat. The streets have undergone some minor changes over the years, however the pattern is still noticeable by following Roosevelt Avenue, Churchill Avenue and Charter Avenue - these street names being in honour of the Atlantic Charter.
The primary tenant unit at the base was the 6604th Air Base Wing, which maintained and operated Fort Pepperrell.
The Royal Canadian Air Force established RCAF Station Torbay on December 15, 1941, and shared this facility with the USAAF and USN, along with the Royal Air Force.
Cold War
Peacetime left the future of the Newfoundland Base Command and Fort Pepperrell unclear, since the deactivation of units and redeployment of forces had been going on at a rapid pace. But word finally came from the
In 1947, the USAAF became the United States Air Force. In accordance with the change, Fort Pepperrell, a USAAF installation, changed its name to Pepperrell Air Force Base (Pepperrell AFB).
In the summer of 1950, with the activation of the Northeast Air Command (NEAC), all units of the 1225th Air Base Group were reassigned to that command, bringing to a close the activities of the Newfoundland Base Command.
The Korean War and dawning of the Cold War highlighted the importance of the US military bases in Newfoundland, ensuring their survival in the short term.
By the end of June 1956, 23 separate installations were under the jurisdiction of Pepperrell AFB. Most of the facilities were located on the Avalon Peninsula with the only exception being the Long Lines Repeater Stations, part of the Pinetree Line network.
Pepperrell AFB's three primary facilities were the base on Quidi Vidi Lake, the USAF docks at St. John's Harbour, and its shared use of the former RCAF Station Torbay (renamed St. John's Airport following World War II) where terminal facilities were leased to the USAF.
From 1946 to 1956, USAF costs at RCAF Station Torbay/St. John's Airport totalled $2 million for rent, maintenance and construction. The USAF constructed two 25,000-square-foot (2,300 m2) aircraft hangars as well as a 36,000-square-foot (3,300 m2) machine shop and administrative offices at the airfield to support Pepperrell AFB.
Following the Korean War, the late 1950s saw the importance of Pepperrell AFB decline as the US military consolidated its Newfoundland facilities in light of changing threats and technology employed by the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact.
The food services and air installations were the responsibility of the 64th Air Division, which transferred responsibility to a smaller unit, the 6604th Operations Squadron on May 1, 1956. The responsibility for commercial transportation rested with the base's Maintenance and Supply Commander while military transportation was the responsibility of the 6604th Operations Squadron. In a 6-month period in 1956, 862,500 miles (1,388,100 km) were driven, using 93,900 gallons of gasoline, and the base handled requests for 18,560 taxi trips.
The 138th Engineer Aviation Group, SCARWAF (Special Category Army With Air Force) was inactivated on May 31, 1956, along with its 15 officers and 70 enlisted men.
The 622nd Engineer Aviation Maintenance Company was subsequently inactivated along with its 4 officers and 95 enlisted men. The Engineer Aviation Battalion remained at Pepperrell AFB and was placed under the control of the US Army from
For operational control and support, Headquarters 5th Weather Group and Detachment Number 12 were attached to the 6604 Operations Squadron on March 1, 1956. On June 1, 1956, the 6982nd Mobile Radio Squadron was attached to the squadron for logistic support. Colonel Floyd M. Johnson assumed command of the 6604th Squadron during this time due to the temporary absence of the Commander, Colonel Graeme S. Bond.
Costs
In 1956, maintenance and operational projects at Pepperrell AFB totalled $21,307,681. The total personnel assignment numbered 5,400 (2,702 in the Wing).
By the end of the year, the civilian complement decreased from 1,738 to 1,685; officers increased from 129 to 132 while airmen decreased from 814 to 777. The operational cost of the base averaged $2,000,000 monthly, the two highest costs being military pay (over $1,000,000 monthly) and civilian pay ($500,000 monthly). Operating costs at the Wing averaged over $1,000,000 a month with a high of $1,505,173 recorded in December 1955. Figured in the Wing costs were military pay ($350,000 monthly), civilian pay ($420,000), monthly supplies ($210,000 monthly), contractual services ($20,000 monthly) and other ($50,000 monthly).
A cost savings program was implemented at Pepperrell AFB, resulting in a total savings of $915,505.72. The largest recorded amount was by the 1805th AACS Wing when they succeeded in establishing direct route communications between
Civilian employment
Civilian employees were processed by the Civilian Personnel Office. In hiring civilian personnel, including U.S. nationals, it was required that the applicant furnish the names and addresses of all previous employers and five references, names and locations of all schools attended, a birth certificate and a certificate of conduct from the St. John's Constabulary. All names were checked against a civilian unsuitability list.
Letters were written to all schools attended by the prospective employee, to all former employers and to persons listed as references. If derogatory information is received, the letters were filed in the official personnel folder of the employee concerned. Prior to employment and every year after, each applicant underwent a complete physical examination.
Clearance was then completed and an identification card was issued.
Flight activities and training
Each pilot of the 6604th ABW was required to put in 100 hours of flying on an annual basis, divided equally between the first and second half of the fiscal year. Typical hours would include twenty hours of weather flying, fifteen hours of night flying (50% as co-pilot) and up to ten missions as instructor pilot. The total number of hours put in by the Wing was 16,800 for the 168 pilots.
In 1955, cross-island flights to the North American mainland were begun as a means of testing the pilots proficiency and making full use of the airplanes. This was set up over a three-day period of six flight hours per day, every six months.
Base closure
The strategic importance of the base continued to decline, and it was identified for closure in 1959.
On May 15, 1961, the last American forces departed Pepperrell AFB when the United States Army Transportation Terminal Command Arctic closed its headquarters.
On August 10, 1961, the
As a legacy to Newfoundland, and in honor of Dr.
The former brick junior/senior high school building on the base, which hosted classes for the first time during the 1956–57 school year, later became a Children's Rehabilitation Center and, most recently, has been renovated and converted into condominiums. The base theater, located just inside the main gate, was torn down in 1984, and the old Base Hospital was demolished in the 2008 timeframe, with the fire station/Security Police facility and warehouse/vehicle maintenance facilities near the old main gate coming down in the past decade. While a number of the original buildings constructed in the early 1940s do still remain, including the old base gymnasium/bowling alley and NCO quarters area, a majority number have now been demolished. Sadly for those formerly associated with the base, demolition dramatically increased during the 2013-2017 timeframe, during which all of the original base facilities in the approximate west quarter of the base were torn down, including both the entire junior officers' quarters (400 block) and senior officers' quarters (500 block) areas, as well as the Officers Club and five other adjacent buildings collocated in its same block.
See also
Notes
- ^ "Fort Pepperrell, St. John's".
- ^ Conn, pp. 354-367
- ^ Conn, pp. 385-386
- ^ Fort McAndrew at FortWiki.com
- ^ Gaines, p. 26
- ^ Stanton, p. 478
- ^ a b Harbor Defenses of St. John's at FortWiki.com
- ^ Technically, "transferred less personnel and equipment" back to their parent unit
- ^ Gaines, p. 28
- ^ Fort Pepperrell at FortWiki.com
- ^ Signal Hill Battery at FortWiki.com
- ^ Cape Spear Battery at FortWiki.com
- ^ "Fort Amherst history". Retrieved 2007-08-27.
- ^ Canadian Indicator Loop Stations at Indicatorloops.com
- ^ CBC, "Old Janeway hospital to be demolished", December 7, 2007
- Conn, Stetson; Engelman, Rose C.; Fairchild, Byron (2000) [1964], Guarding the United States and its Outposts, United States Army in World War II, Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, United States Army
- Gaines, William C., Coast Artillery Organizational History, 1917-1950, Coast Defense Journal, vol. 23, issue 2
- Hiller, Ian and Neary, Peter (eds.) (1980). Newfoundland in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Century: Essays in Interpretation. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
- 66O2nd Air Base Wing. EHAFB Information Pamphlet. January 19, 1951.
- Pepperrell Air Force Base microfilm, US Airforce Archives, Matthews AFB
- Lumsden, Ian (ed.) (1977). Close to the 49th Parallel: The Americanization of Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
- MacKenzie, David. (1986). Inside The Atlantic Triangle: Canada and the Entrance of Newfoundland Into Confederation 1939-1949. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
- MacLead, Malcolm. (1986). Piece of the Continent: The Impact of Second World War Canadian and American Bases in Newfoundland. St. John's: Harry Cuff Publications.
- Ray, Lt. Colonel Claxton. Interviews, correspondence, military records and diaries.
- Roberts, Honourable Kenneth. US House of Representatives Correspondence with Claxton Ray.
- Stacey C.P. (1976). Mackenzie King and the Atlantic Triangle. Toronto: Macmillan of Canada.
- Stanton, Shelby L. (1991). World War II Order of Battle. Galahad Books. ISBN 0-88365-775-9.
- Terranovan. "Bases boon to Newfoundland", St. John's Telegram. Topics Of The Day. April 16, 1948.
- Terranovan. "U.S. Signal Corps", St. John's Telegram. Topics Of The Day. April 17, 1948.
Further reading
- Chapter XV Manning and Organizing the New Atlantic Bases in Guarding the United States and its Outposts a publication of the United States Army Center of Military History