THE 316TH AIR DIVISION (DEFENSE) IN MOROCCO: Operations Section 1957 to 1960 A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the School of Social Sciences Morehead State University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in History by Michael W. Price 11 February, 1989 Accepted by the faculty of the School of Social Sciences. Morehead State University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts in History degree. Master' s Committee: , Chairman 13,"M AMDatet ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The work and completion of a thesis or paper is the hard effort of the author; however, failing to give credit to the effort and help given by other people is unacceptable. This paper is my work, yet I would not have been able to complete it without the help given by several people. Foremost among these were my wife, Martha and my father, Albert Price. Martha supplied many hours typing the material and the corrections. She provided expertise in the technical construction of the paper. She was my primary proof reader and my moral support. My father gave his time and personal memories, The two of us travelled to the Air Force Historical Research Center located on Maxwell Air Force Base in Mont- gomery, Alabama. We spent a week at the center going through military reports, many of which my father had helped write thirty years before. At the Center we received expert help from several staff members. One man especially stood out. Marvin Fisher spent many hours looking for ·and screening material for our use. Many reports were still class­ ified and Mr. Fisher spent much of his own time declassifying reports. This thesis was accomplished through the effort of a lot of people. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . , . iii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS V LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vi INTRODUCTION . 1 Chapter 1, MOROCCAN GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY 5 2. HISTORY OF THE 316TH AIR DIVISION 11 3. 316TH MISSION AND COMPOSITION 13 4, 1957 20 5, 1958 33 6, 1959 47 7. JANUARY, 1960 TO JULY, 1960 58 SUMMARY 63 APPENDIX 64 BIBLIOGRAPHY 75 iv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1. Map of Africa. 2 2. Map of Morocco 4 3, Map of Spain and Portugal 9 4. Photo of a radar unit .. 16 5. Drawing of an F-86D aircraft 23 6, Diagram of an F-86D aircraft 24 7. Drawing of an F-100 aircraft 25 8, Diagram of an F-100 aircraft 26 9. Photo of an F-80 aircraft. 30 10, Diagram of an F-S0B aircraft 31 11. Photo of an RF-84F aircraft. 41 12. Diagram of an F-84F aircraft 42 13. Drawing of an F-101 aircraft 43 14. Diagram of an F-101 aircraft 44 15. Diagram of an F-102 aircraft 52 16, Diagram of an F-102A aircraft 53 17. Map of Sale military facilities 62 V LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AlC Airman First Class A2C Airman Second Class A3C Airman Third Class AB Air Base ABS Air Base Squadron ACW Aircraft Control and Warning ADCC Air Division Command Center AF Air Force AFB Air Force Base AFM Air Force Manual AFR Air Force Regulation AFSC Air Force Specialty Code AMN Airman AP Air Police APR Airman Performance Record BE Base Exchange COM Commissary COMDR Commander cs Communications Squadron Def. Defense Dep. Dependent DET Detachment Div. Division vi DO Director of Operations ECM Electronic Counter Measures FIS Fighter Interceptor Squadron HQ Headquarters kt, Nautical miles Lt. Lieutenant Maj. Major MLO Moroccan Liaison Office MSG Master Sergeant NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization NCOIC Non-Commissioned Officer In Charge ORI Operational Readiness Inspection PCS Permanent Change of Station PPS Personnel Processing Squadron Recon. Reconnaissance Ret, Retired SAC Strategic Air Command SMSG Senior Master Sergeant so Special Orders Sq, Squadron SSGT Staff Sergeant TDY Temporary Duty TFW Tactical Fighter W~ng TSGT Technical Sergeant vii USAF United States Air Force USAFE United States Air Force, Europe WO Warrant Officer ZI Zone of Interior viii INTRODUCTION This paper will look at part of the United States Air Force's contribution to the strategy of the Gibraltar area and with one organi­ zation's operational section and its contribution to the area from 1957 to 1960. This was the Operations Section of the 316th Air Division (Defense), 1 The 316th Air Division (Defense) was an active military organi­ zation that took part in world affairs during the late 19SO'S and early 1960'S. When looking at the world picture it seemed like a small part, but it was an important part none-the-less. The Mediterranean Sea has always been a major center of political and military importance. This can be seen from man's earliest recorded history. This is true today. Hot spots have always been, and still are, located from one end of the sea to the other. One of the most important strategic sections has always been the Strait of Gibraltar. This strait is narrow and serves as the water connection between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean. Gibraltar and the Suez Canal are the only 2 water exits of the sea for major ships. This makes these major choke points. The world powers have always competed for their control, This paper will deal with the Gibraltar area. England has long had a military force on the Rock of Gibraltar; however, the United States has only recently maintained military forces in the area. 1see Figure #1 l 2 •.. I, • . • • • AFRICA l'ULS:S oi;:1 ===i1,.!il>cao;::===;:1,,~oo Figure 1. This map of Africa shows the Gibraltar area of the Mediterranean Sea. Morocco ana Che Western Sahara (Spanish Sahara) are shaded,· Map by author. 3 In the late 19SO's and early 1960 1 s, the United States maintained military forces in Morocco across the strait from Spain, It was during this time period that TSGT. Albert C. Price was assigned to the area with the military. His family went with him, and made an effort to learn about the people before moving. He and his wife were able to get along with the Moroccans because they respected their beliefs and feelings, This paper is an effort to understand the resentment many Moroccans had for the American military forces whose presence was intended to help them, A study of Moroccan history, conversations with TSGT Price, and this author's travels in the military made the understanding more complete. The first chapter of this paper is composed of a brief history and geographical description of Morocco, This is needed to better understand events in later chapters. This first chapter helps readers understand why foreign countries feel a need to have military forces in the area of Morocco. 2 2see Figure 112. \sP!tIN ,-/ "-...,,lIIRA LTAR 11EDITE/IRAIIEAN SEA ATLANTIC OCEA Ill • 0 C, 0 0 AL.GERI,\· PIZ"L ES D 100 \I EST HM SANARII. Figure 2. Map of Morocco with key locations and cities. Map by author. CHAPTER 1 MOROCCAN GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY Morocco, an old friend of the United States, was one of the first countries to recognize the United States as a nation after the American Revolution. Both nations signed the "Treaty of Peace and Friendship" on June 23, 1786. The American congress ratified it on July 18, 1787. It was renegotiated in 1836 and is still in force. This is the longest unbroken treaty relationship the United States has in its history. George Washington was the president of the United States and Sultan Muhammad ibn Abdullah (Muhammad III) was ruler of Morocco. 3 The United States and Morocco have had a long relationship. Although the relation­ ship has been inconsistent through the years, it still exists. This paper is about 1 part of that relationship. It is one part that lasted 4 years. Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia are the major part of what medieval Arabs called Geziret-el-Maghrib, "the island of the west." The region includes the Mediterranean in the north, the Sahara Desert in the south, the Atlantic in the west, and 300 miles of desert running eastward. This northwestern strip in Africa was characterized by isolation. Access to this area has been barred by a series of mountains except from the Mediterranean side. For the most part, the barriers follow a 2Embassy of the \(ingdom of Morocco, "Moroccan-American Rela­ tions: Unbroken Peace From Revolutionary Times to the Present," Press Release, May 1982, 1-16. 5 6 northeast/southwest line starting in lower Morocco with the Atlas (12,000 feet) and reaching to the Aures system in eastern Tunisia (4,500 feet). Steep valleys and narrow gorges prevented invaders from setting up permanent residence, until modern times. The borders, shared by the 3 nations, have been politically unstable. Each nation made claims on land concerning the borders they shared with each other. Morocco's geography consists of mountains, a northern coastal range, and 3 parallel ranges slanting across the interior. Morocco is strategically located on the northwestern corner of Africa. It's coastal lowlands are generally flat and are enclosed by sand dunes. These plains are the heart of the country and have been the target of invaders throughout history. The inland areas usually have poor soil except in the mountain valleys and river plains which have rich silt deposits. This influenced early settlement of the area, Arabic-speaking invaders began conquest of the area during the 7th century A,D. Local languages and religions were replaced by Arabic and Islam which dominate today. French influence appeared in the 19th century. The indigenous people, Berbers, once occupied the entire Maghrib.