History of Little Rock Air Force Base Little Rock Air Force Base of- assigned to Second Ail,;.Force on The 384th Bombardment Group's ficially came into being on Febru- 1 August 1955. Colonel Joseph J. target was Halberstadt, Germany. ary 1, 1955. Preston was assigned as the first Though under 25 minutes of su~- Actually its beginning started in Commander of the 825th Air Divi- tained flack fire and an enemy air- October 1951, when an unofficial sion. craft trailing a bomb on a steel spokesman of the United States The 825th Air Division has the cable through their formation, the Air Force made an extemporaneous responsibility of monitoring and Group lost no aircraft. The 384th comment that, Air Force wise, coordinating the manning, train- Bombardment Group destroyed Arkansas looked like the "hole in ing, equipping and operational six enemy aircraft with two the doughnut." That comment was readiness of its assigned units for 'probables' and either destroyed or actually the conception of Little the primary purpose of conducting dealt heavy damage to targets. Rock Air Force Base. At the time strategic air warfare on a global The group received the first of its the comment was made, every scale. On 1 August 1955, the 825th two unit citations for participating state bordering Arkansas had at Air Division had two wings, the in the raid. The second citation least one Air Force station while 384th Bombardment Wing (Medi- came in April 1944 when the 384th Arkansas did not have a single um) and the 70th Strategic Recon- Bomb Group led a task force of active base. naissance Wing, the 4225th United 113 planes through enemy aircraft In January of 1952, the citizens States Air Force Infirmary and and flak to destroy a German air- of Little Rock and Pulaski County the 825th Air Base Group assigned craft componc'1t plant. The Group officially opened the drive to have under their command. All of these participated in 316 combat mis- an Air Force base located in the assigned units units were physical- sions. county. By the end of September ly located at Little Rock AFB, The "384th" appeared again al- 1952 the committee had raised al- Arkansas, except the 70th Strategic most nine years later at Little Rock most one million dollars. On De- Reconnaissance Wing which was Air Force Base as the 384th Bom- cember 12, 1953, the Army Corps located at Lockbourne Air Force bardment Wing (Medium). The of Engineers was instructed to al- Base, Ohio. Today the division has 384th Bombardment Wing is pres- lot $9.6 million for initial construc- two bombardment wings, the 384th ently composed of a Headquarters tion and to take possession of ap- BW and the 70th Bombardment Squadron, 544th, 545th and 546th proximately 7,500 acres just north Wing, the 825th Combat Support Bombardment Squadrons, 384th of the town of Jacksonville, Arkan- Group and the 825th Medical Group Armament & Electronics Squad- sas. located at Little Rock AFB. In ad- ron, 384th Organizational Mainten- By August 1, 1955, all units as- dition the division has the 68th ance Squadron, 384th Field Main- signed to the base were activated Bombardment Wing, the 68th Com- tenance Squadron, and its newest with the exception of the 70th bat Support Group and the 806th addition, the 70th Air Refueling Strategic Reconnaissance Win g Medical Group located at Chen- Squadron. which had been activated January nault AFB, Louisiana under their 24, 1955, at Lockbourne AFB, Ohio. command. The 70th started its move to Little 70th Bombardment Wing Rock AFB in September 1955 and 384th Bombardment Group The 70th Bombardment Wing had completed the move and was On 1 December 1942, the 384th was originally activated on Sep- in full operation by October of that Bombardment Group (Heavy) was tember 13, 1941, at Gray Field, year. activated at Gowan Field, Idaho. Fort Lewis, Washington, as the With the move of the 70th com- It was first commanded by Cap- 70th R e con n a i s san c e Group, pleted, the 825th Air Division was tain Ralph E. Switzer, whose pri- equipped with thirteen obsolete 0-47 in full operation with its four as- mary duty was that of flight sur- type aircraft. signed units. In September 1958, geon. Originally the Group had With the coming of Pearl Har- the 825th Air Base Group and the only 27 officers and 225 enlisted bor, the 70th Reconnaissance 4225th USAF Dispensary were personnel. The group remained at Group assumed a mission of coast- changed to the 825th Combat Sup- Gowan Field only a month before al scouting and anti-submarine port Group and 825th Medical being transferred to Sioux City patrol along the Pacific coast. Al- Group respectively. Army Air Base, Iowa, for training though this mission was not spec- The growth of the base con- in B-17s under the command of tacular, the personnel of the 70th tinued and in 1961 the missile age Colonel Bud J. Peaslee. After com- served with great pride and honor. came to Little Rock Air Force Base pleting this training, in early 1943, The reconnaissance group was with the construction of Titan II the group stopped briefly at Camp inactivated June 27, 1949, and re- missile sites in the northern part Kearney, Nebraska to equip with activated January 14, 1955, as the of the state. Little Rock Air Force new B-17s prior to overseas trans- 70th Strategic Reconnais san c e Base will be the headquarters for fer. Equipped with new aircraft Wing, assigned to the 801st Air Di- the 308th Missile Wing and its as- the Group arrived in the European vision, Second Air Force, SAC. signed units who will control, main- Theater of Operation in May 1943. On August 1, 1955, the 70th Wing tain, and use, if necessary, the June 22, 1943, was the day of the was moved to Little Rock Air Titan II ICBM which will be housed 384th Group's first combat mission. Force Base, and on June 2, 1958, in the giant silos in Arkansas. The first mission was unsuccessful. it went out of the reconnaissance Two airmen were killed, three business and assumed the mission wounded, two aircraft were lost of a combat crew training wing. 82Sth Air Division and 11 damaged. On January 11, It remained in this status until The 825th Air Division was acti- 1944, the 384thBombardment Group October 25, 1961, when it was re- vated at Little Rock Air Force participated in the first large scale organized and designated the 70th Base, Jacksonville, Arkansas, and air raid. Bombardment Wing. -2- 3 SATAF SATAF Little Rock is a detachment of the Bal- The top 28 feet of the silo wall is eight feet thick; listic Systems Division of the Air Force Systems the remaining sections are four feet thick. The silo Command, Los Angeles, California. It has the job contains the launch duct, a· flame deflector, two of seeing that the Titan II missile launch com- exhaust ducts, a 100,000-gallonwater tank, and nine plexes around Little Rock Air Force Base are built levels of equipment-mounting access space. to specifications and turned over to SAC in an oper- The control center prOVIdes a hardened and ational condition. Military and civilian personnel of separated area, with space for electrical and me- the Air Force and the Army Corps of Engineers chanical equipment rooms, and messing and sleep- make up the task force. ing quarters for operating personnel. It is a 37-foot ins.ide diameter, dome-shaped concrete sub-surface Titan II is a two-staged, liquid fueled, inertially structure connected to the silo by a 209-foot tunnel guided ballistic rocket, over 90 feet long and 10 feet and the blast lock and access portal structures. The in diameter. It is launched directly from its under- floor levels inside the control center are suspended ground silo, and is directed to its target by a self- from the dome, to minimize blast shock. contained, all inertial guidance system which can- The blast lock is a hardened, single-level struc- not be jammed by any known method, and which ture containing three rooms, one of which is for provides the capability of launching the entire Titan decontaminating purposes. The structure is 38'8"x II force in 'salvo'. Titan II uses storable liquid fuel, 34'8"x20' in height, with roof, walls, and foundation rather than the highly volatile cryogenic fuels used slabs from three to five feet thick. The blast lock on the Atlas and earlier Titan missiles. contains two pairs of blast doors, one to prevent The launch silo is a reinforced concrete cylinder nuclear blast reaching the control center from the with a concentric steel and concrete inner launch access portal, and one to prevent the resulting blast duct. The silo provides nine separate levels, is from an explosion of the missile in the silo from approximately 147 feet deep and 55 feet inside reaching the control center. diameter. The foundation is a seven-foot circular A cut-away drawing of a typical launch com- plate with no extension beyond the exterior face. plex as it will appear in operational status is shown. -8- WELCOME 308th Strategic Missile Wing ,:a~~" monstrous metal hopper and a tall concrete building- all resting below the earth's surface. Inside will be the latest Titan missile, which will be ready for launch in " moment's notice. Colorful History In assuming identity as the 308th Strategic Missile Wing, the new unit brought a colorful history to Little Rock AFB. Originally designated as a bombardment group, the unit compiled an outstanding combat record during World War II.