DAVIS-MONTHAN AFB 1940 - 1976 PREFACE This history, in its final form, is the result of almost three years of off-and-on effort on the part of this historian. It has had to be sandwiched in between the myriad taskings associated with three different assignments. It began at Davis-Monthan AFB in 1979 while assigned there as the historian for the 390th Strategic Missile Wing. My research notes and supporting documents came with me when I was subsequently transferred to the Headquarters SAC Office of the Historian and then later to the 4000th Satellite Operations Group at Offutt AFB, Nebraska. The need for a complete base history became painfully obvious as soon as I began my initial research. There was very little data available at Davis-Monthan AFB concerning the history of the installation; other than a few short Information Office history handouts of the type often given to newcomers and visitors. The majority of substantive material on base activities over the years had been lost as host units switched repeatedly throughout the station’s existence. Those units were subsequently inactiviated or transferred to other bases. Accordingly, the majority of material presented herein had to be obtained at the Albert F. Simpson Historical Research Center, Maxwell AFB, Alabama. Without the invaluable assistance of the many dedicated professionals at the Simpson Center, this history could never have been compiled. The transfer of Davis-Monthan AFB from the Strategic Air Command to the Tactical Air Command on 30 September 1976 ends the period of coverage for this history. GARY P. MYERS, MSgt, USAF Historian 16 December 1982 i INTRODUCTION DEC 2 1940 TO: MAYOR TUCSON ARIZ UNDER LATEST APPROVED WAR DEPT PLANS UNITS OF ARMY AIR CORPS ARE TO BE STATIONED TUCSON AIRPORT–STOP–YOUR COOPERATION WITH WAR DEPT SURVEY BOARDS OF OFFICERS GREATLY APPRECIATED– STOP–THIS TELEGRAM MAY BE TAKEN AS OFFICIAL WAR DEPT NOTIFICATION OF INTENTION TO OCCUPY AIRPORT AND ADJACENT PREMISES MUTUALLY AGREED UPON–END-- ADAMS WASHINGTON On the 2nd of December, 1940, Tucson officials received the above Western Union telegram from the War Department notifying them that a decision had been made to establish a military airfield at the city’s municipal airport. This marked the culmination of an intense eleven-year effort on the part of many of the Old Pueblo’s most prominent citizens to get an air base established at Tucson. Throughout the subsequent years, the fledgling installation grew in spurts; prompted first by the outbreak of World War II and then by the buildup of the Strategic Air Command (SAC) in the era of the Cold War. The missions supported by the base have gone full circle over the years. Its first mission was strategic bombardment and reconnaissance. That ended with the attack on Pearl Harbor, after which the field was tasked with the training of combat crews for the big B-17, B-24, and B-29 bombers used during the war. With the creation of the Strategic Air Command in 1946, Davis-Monthan Field took on an new strategic role involving B-29s, B-50s, and later the all-jet B-47 bombers. The importance of the base was bolstered during the 1960s with the addition of the nation’s first Titan II intercontinental ballistic missile wing and a high- technology reconnaissance unit. The strategic bombardment mission, however, was lost during that period. Within the same decade, the Tactical Air Command first appeared at the base as a tenant unit charged with the training of combat crews for the F-4C jet fighter-bomber. The prominence of the Tactical Air Command at Davis-Monthan AFB became much more pronounced in the early 1970s with the arrival of the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing and its inventory of A-7Ds and later A- 10s. With the final wind down of the Southeast Asian conflict, the base lost its reconnaissance mission and only the Titan II wing remained to represent the Strategic Air Command. After 30 years of SAC stewardship, the base was turned over to the Tactical Air Command on 30 September 1976. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE ............................................................................ i INTRODUCTION .................................................................... ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................ iii CHAPTER I AN ARIZONA BACKGROUND PREHISTORY ........................................................................ 1 THE SPANISH YEARS 1539-1821 ........................................................ 2 The Missionary Effort .............................................................. 2 The Founding of Tucson ............................................................ 3 Indian Control .................................................................... 4 THE MEXICAN YEARS 1821-1854 ........................................................ 5 The Mexican War ................................................................. 5 THE FRONTIER YEARS 1854-1912 ....................................................... 6 Cochise and the Chiricahua Apaches .................................................. 8 The War Between the States ......................................................... 8 Fort Lowell ...................................................................... 9 The Indian Wars ................................................................. 10 Camp Grant Massacre ......................................................... 10 Crook’s Forces ............................................................... 11 Passing of the Frontier ............................................................. 12 Statehood ...................................................................... 12 CHAPTER II EARLY AVIATION ERA AN IDEAL PLACE FOR AVIATORS ...................................................... 13 AN AERIAL FIELD ................................................................... 14 DAVIS-MONTHAN FIELD (MUNICIPAL AIRPORT) .......................................... 15 Lieutenants Davis and Monthan ..................................................... 17 Early Airport Operations ........................................................... 22 Continued Negotiations ........................................................... 22 CHAPTER III WORLD WAR II ERA TUCSON AIR BASE .................................................................. 25 Community Acceptance ........................................................... 29 AN OLD NAME - BUT A NEW WAR ..................................................... 29 Colonel Lowell H. Smith ........................................................... 30 The Colonel’s Dog ............................................................ 33 Community Participation In The War Effort ............................................. 33 Expansion and Construction ........................................................ 37 Combat Crew Training ............................................................ 37 iii TABLE OF CONTENTS The Price of Vigilance ............................................................. 40 Conversion to the B-29 Superfortress .................................................. 41 Solo in a Superfortress ......................................................... 42 D-M SOLDIER HANGED .............................................................. 43 WOMEN ALSO SERVED .............................................................. 43 DEWEY SIMPSON RETIRES .................................................................. 44 PRISONER-OF-WAR CAMP .................................................................. 44 SEPARATION CENTER ...................................................................... 45 CHAPTER IV THIRTY YEARS OF SAC STEWARDSHIP A NEW STRATEGIC ROLE ............................................................. 46 Jackson City .................................................................... 46 43rd Bombardment Group .......................................................... 47 EIGHTH AIR FORCE ERA ............................................................. 47 Major Operations ................................................................ 47 Historic Flights .................................................................. 51 Pacusan Dreamboat ........................................................... 51 Hawaii to Cairo Flight ...................................................... 52 International 10,000 Kilometer Speed Record .................................... 52 International Closed Course Distance Record .................................... 52 Lucky Lady and Gas Gobbler .................................................... 52 B-36/B-50 Round-Trip Flight to Hawaii ............................................. 53 Lucky Lady II ................................................................ 53 FIFTEENTH AIR FORCE ERA ................................................................. 54 Reorganization ......................................................................... 54 Beginning the Jet Age ............................................................. 56 B-47 Distance and Endurance Record .............................................. 59 The Air Defense Mission ........................................................... 60 Major Construction ............................................................... 60 A PERIOD OF NEW ROLES 1960-1970 ................................................... 60 The Missile Era Arrives ............................................................ 60 Missile Site Construction and Activation ...........................................