Air Force Missile Development Center

Last updated

Air Force Missile Development Center - Emblem.png Air Force Missile Development Center
Air Force Missile Development Center Sign - 1958.jpg
Air Force Missile Development Center sign in 1958
Active1 September 1957 [2] -1 August 1970 [3]
Country United States
Branch United States Air Force, assigned to:

with predecessors assigned to:

RoleResearch & Development
1948 April 23-1949 January 10: AMC Project EO-727-12 reactivated JB-2 launches at Holloman for testing missile guidance control and seeker systems, and telemetering/optical tracking facilities, as well as use as targets for new surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles. The above two-rail JB-2 launch ramp at Holloman was a 400 ft (120 m) on a 3deg earth-filled slope--a second 40 ft (12 m) ramp was on a trailer (1948-49 missile detection experiments used modified SCR-270 radar at Holloman.) Jb2-2.jpg
1948 April 23-1949 January 10: AMC Project EO-727-12 reactivated JB-2 launches at Holloman for testing missile guidance control and seeker systems, and telemetering/optical tracking facilities, as well as use as targets for new surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles. The above two-rail JB-2 launch ramp at Holloman was a 400 ft (120 m) on a 3° earth-filled slope—a second 40 ft (12 m) ramp was on a trailer (1948–49 missile detection experiments used modified SCR-270 radar at Holloman.)

The Air Force Missile Development Center and its predecessors were Cold War units that conducted and supported numerous missile tests using facilities at Holloman Air Force Base, where the center was the host unit ("Holloman" and "Development Center" were sometimes colloquially used to identify military installations in the Tularosa Basin).

Contents

Background

Planned for British Overseas Training which was not pursued, World War II construction for a Tularosa Basin USAAF base 6 mi (9.7 km) west of Alamogordo, New Mexico, began on 6 February 1942. A nearby military range was established by Executive Order No. 9029, [6] and the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range was designated on 14 May 1942. [7] On 27 May 1942 the USAAF base was designated Alamogordo Field Training Station for range support and was subsequently[ when? ] named Alamogordo Army Air Base. [7]

359th Base Headquarters

The 359th Base Headquarters was the base operating unit for Alamorgordo AAB beginning on 10 June 1942, and the base was redesignated Alamogordo Army Air Field on 21 November 1942 and supported numerous WWII Bomber Groups (range targets were added in late 1942.) [7] In October 1944 at Wendover Army Air Base, Utah, the Special Weapons Field Test Unit was established as a detachment of the Special Weapons Branch in Ohio [ specify ] to evaluate captured and experimental systems such as the Republic‐Ford JB‐2, a copy of the German V-1 flying bomb. [8] South of Alamogordo AAF between White Sands National Monument and Fort Bliss, water well drilling began construction of White Sands Proving Ground (WSPG) facilities on 25 June 1945. [9]

On 25 March 1944, the 231st AAF BU became the base operating unit, and in 1946 the post-war Alamogordo AAF was "manned by a skeleton crew merely as a plane refueling station, [for] emergency landings, etc" (the USACE property division "acquired...exclusive use of all private lands and interests within the Alamogordo Bombing Range until 1967".) [6] In March 1947, the 1st Experimental Guided Missiles Group of Florida began Republic-Ford JB-2 testing at the Alamogordo range, and the Special Weapons Field Test Unit was inactivated when Wendover transferred to Strategic Air Command. [10] Equipment and 1,200 personnel of the Test Unit moved to a new Alamogordo AAF unit organized 16 March 1947 (4145th Army Air Forces Base Unit), and the move continued until September 1947 for R&D of pilotless aircraft, guided missiles, and other programs. The Balloon Branch at Alamogordo AAF began in 1947 after an Air Materiel Command awarded a contract to New York University (NYU) to develop and fly high-altitude balloons. [11] The 4145th was redesignated an Air Force Base Unit on 27 September 1947[ citation needed ] during the month the USAF was created, and in late 1947 [12] [ verification needed ] the former USAAF bombing range and the White Sands Proving Ground merged to become the New Mexico Joint Guided Missile Test Range. [7] : 248  The former USAAF air base was designated Holloman Air Force Base on 14 January 1948, and the 2754th Air Force Base was its host unit after being established from the 4145th AFBU on 15 August 1948 (the 2754th AFB unit's "Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron" were established by 15 December 1948). [13]

Alamogordo Guided Missile Test Base

The Alamogordo Guided Missile Test Base near Holloman AFB continued to be used for testing in 1948 and later [14] (July 1951 – 31 August 1952), sub-base of the AFMTC in Florida, [2] and the 2754th subsequently developed additional launch support sites at/near the former bombing range (e.g., Four Bits Peak Instrumentation Annex assigned June 1949 "7 mi ESE of Alamogordo, NM"). [7] In March 1949, the 2754th took "control of [the Army's range] support airfield, Condron Field...from Biggs Army Air Field at Fort Bliss." [9] The 2754th and subsequent units' launches at the test base and other sites such as for the Tiny Tim (the first Army rocket), GAM-63 RASCAL, and XQ-2 Drone,[ citation needed ] e.g.:

Reorganizations changed the Holloman wing's name to the 2754th Experimental Wing (on 20 September 1949 [7] —the 2d Guided Missiles Squadron was a subordinate from 25 October-30 December 1950), the 6540th Missile Test Group (30 June 1951, later 6580th Missile Test Group on 1 September 1952) which had an "Aero-Medical Sub-Unit...to support the Aeromedical Field Laboratory." [2] In May 1952, an additional 40 mi × 117 mi (64 km × 188 km) area was set aside to add to the "Alamogordo bombing range, White Sands proving ground, and the Fort Bliss antiaircraft range". [24]

The 1958 cover of the base handbook featured the emblem of the Air Force Missile Development Center Holloman AFB Handbook - 1958.jpg
The 1958 cover of the base handbook featured the emblem of the Air Force Missile Development Center

Development centers

The Holloman Air Development Test Center (later Holloman Air Development Center, HADC) [7] was established from the 6580th Wing on 10 October 1952 while Colonel Don R. Ostrander was the commander [25] (7 June 1952 – 26 September 1954). [7] On 1 October 1953, HADC continued as the test unit after transferring "base operating unit" responsibilities to the 6580th Test Support Wing. [7] ARDC's Dr. Ernst Steinhoff "in the 1950s was building up the Air Development Center at Holloman Air Force Base through most of the decade". [26] The center supported tests for Air Force flights and upcoming manned space flights, [27] : Foreword  e.g., 1955 Project Manhigh, [27] 1959–60 Project Excelsior, the first human tests in the rocket sled firings, [28] and Ham, a chimpanzee, who went through astronaut training in 1959. [29]

The Air Force Missile Development Center (AFMDC. "AF Mil Dev Test Cen") was designated from HADC on 1 September 1957, [2] the year when a Matador missile from the center crashed in western Colorado [30] (the joint range was renamed White Sands Missile Range on 1 May 1958) [7] : 248  The 6571st Aeromedical Research Laboratory was activated 1 December 1961 as an AFMDC unit,[ citation needed ] and the center's Twin Buttes Instrumentation Annex "16 mi SSW of Alamogordo, NM" (assigned December 1949) transferred under the WSMR Army headquarters in November 1963. [7]

6585th Test Group

The AFMDC and the 6571st lab were inactivated on 1 August 1970; [3] more than 450 military and 570 civilian positions were lost;[ citation needed ] and the AFSWC's 6585th Test Group was established as a tenant of Tactical Air Command, to which Holloman AFB transferred. Associate units[ specify ] and programs transferred to other locations within Air Force Systems Command. In addition to the Holloman High Speed Test Track operated by the 6585th's "Armaments Division" in 1974, [31] remaining facilities included the Central Inertial Guidance Test Facility (CIGTF), the Radar Target Scatter Facility (RATSCAT), and the Target Drone Facility.[ citation needed ]

External videos
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Holloman Range Control (minute 4:55)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CIM-10 Bomarc</span> Long-range surface-to-air missile

The Boeing CIM-10 Bomarc was a supersonic ramjet powered long-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) used during the Cold War for the air defense of North America. In addition to being the first operational long-range SAM and the first operational pulse doppler aviation radar, it was the only SAM deployed by the United States Air Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aerobee</span> American sounding rocket

The Aerobee rocket was one of the United States' most produced and productive sounding rockets. Developed by the Aerojet Corporation, the Aerobee was designed to combine the altitude and launching capability of the V-2 with the cost effectiveness and mass production of the WAC Corporal. More than 1000 Aerobees were launched between 1947 and 1985, returning vast amounts of astronomical, physical, aeronomical, and biomedical data.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White Sands Missile Range</span> Military testing area in New Mexico, US

White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) is a United States Army military testing area and firing range located in the US state of New Mexico. The range was originally established in 1941 as the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range, where the Trinity test site lay at the northern end of the Range, in Socorro County near the towns of Carrizozo and San Antonio. It then became the White Sands Proving Ground on 9 July 1945.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirtland Air Force Base</span> US Air Force base at Albuquerque, NM, US

Kirtland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base. It is located in the southeast quadrant of the Albuquerque, New Mexico, urban area, adjacent to the Albuquerque International Sunport. The base was named for the early Army aviator Col. Roy C. Kirtland. The military and the international airport share the same runways, making ABQ a joint civil-military airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holloman Air Force Base</span> US Air Force base near Alamogordo, New Mexico, United States

Holloman Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base established in 1942 located six miles (10 km) southwest of the central business district of Alamogordo, and a census-designated place in Otero County, New Mexico, United States. The base was named in honor of Col. George V. Holloman, a pioneer in guided missile research. It is the home of the 49th Wing of the Air Education and Training Command (AETC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arnold Engineering Development Complex</span> U.S. Air Force flight testing facility

The Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC), Arnold Engineering Development Center before July 2012, is an Air Force Materiel Command facility under the control of the Air Force Test Center (AFTC). Named for General Henry "Hap" Arnold, the father of the U.S. Air Force, AEDC is the most advanced and largest complex of flight simulation test facilities in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1951 in spaceflight</span> List of spaceflights in 1951

The year 1951 saw extensive exploration of space by the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR) using suborbital rockets. The Soviets launched their first series of biomedical tests to the 100-kilometre (62 mi) boundary of space. Several American agencies launched more than a dozen scientific sounding rocket flights between them. The US Navy launched its Viking sounding rocket for the seventh time since 1949, this time to a record-breaking 136 miles (219 km) in August 1951.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Republic-Ford JB-2</span> Reverse engineered V-1 flying bomb

The Republic-Ford JB-2, also known as the Thunderbug, KGW and LTV-N-2 Loon, was a United States copy of the German V-1 flying bomb. Developed in 1944, and planned to be used in the United States invasion of Japan, the JB-2 was never used in combat. It was the most successful of the United States Army Air Forces Jet Bomb (JB) projects during World War II. Postwar, the JB-2 played a significant role in the development of more advanced surface-to-surface tactical missile systems such as the MGM-1 Matador and later MGM-13 Mace.

USS <i>Desert Ship</i> (LLS-1) American Navy facility in New Mexico

USS Desert Ship (LLS-1) is a concrete blockhouse providing assembly and launch facilities simulating shipboard conditions for Navy surface-to-air weapons testing at the Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) Weapons Division – White Sands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernst Steinhoff</span> Rocket scientist

Ernst August Wilhelm Steinhoff was a rocket scientist and member of the "von Braun rocket group", at the Peenemünde Army Research Center (1939–1945). Ernst Steinhoff saw National Socialist (Nazi) doctrines as "ideals" and became a member of the NSDAP in May 1937. He was a glider pilot, holding distance records, and had the honorary Luftwaffe rank of "Flight Captain".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4758th Defense Systems Evaluation Squadron</span> Military unit

The 4758th Defense Systems Evaluation Squadron is a discontinued United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 26th Air Division of Aerospace Defense Command at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, where it was inactivated on 31 October 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1st Experimental Guided Missiles Group</span> Military unit

The 1st Experimental Guided Missiles Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Air Proving Ground Command and stationed at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. It was inactivated on 22 July 1949.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3205th Drone Group</span> Military unit

The 3205th Drone Group is a discontinued United States Air Force unit that operated obsolete aircraft during the 1950s as radio-controlled aerial targets for various tests. It was the primary post-World War II operator of surplus Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress aircraft, and also operated Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star and a few Boeing RB-47 Stratojet bombers that were converted into drone aircraft during the early years of the Cold War. It was last active with the Air Proving Ground Center, based at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, where it was discontinued on 1 February 1961.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">46th Test Group</span> Military unit

The 46th Test Group was a United States Air Force group active from 1992 to 2012. It was last active with the 46th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The 46th Test Group was stationed as a tenant unit at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, throughout its existence. It was disbanded on July 18, 2012, and replaced by the 96th Test Group in an administrative reorganization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">96th Test Group</span> Military unit

The 96th Test Group was a United States Air Force unit, based at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. It was a Geographically Separate Unit (GSU), assigned to the 96th Test Wing, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SAM-A-1 GAPA</span> Surface-to-air missile

The Ground-to-Air Pilotless Aircraft (GAPA) was a short-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) developed in the late 1940s by Boeing for the United States Army Air Forces, and then the United States Air Force after 1948. It was given the reference number SAM-A-1, the first Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) in the 1947 tri-service designation system. By 1950, over 100 test rockets had been launched using a variety of configurations and power plants, with one launch in 1949 setting the altitude record for a ramjet powered vehicle at 59,000 ft (18,000 m).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holloman High Speed Test Track</span>

The Holloman High Speed Test Track (HHSTT) is a United States Department of Defense/Air Force aerospace ground test facility located at Holloman Air Force Base in south-central New Mexico. It is adjacent to the White Sands Missile Range and is operated by the 846th Test Squadron of the 704th Test Group of the Arnold Engineering Development Complex at Arnold Air Force Base.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RTV-A-3 NATIV</span> Missile

The RTV-A-3 NATIV was an experimental missile developed by North American Aviation for the United States Air Force in the late 1940s to test and evaluate guided missile technologies. The North American Test Instrumentation Vehicle (NATIV) was developed as part of the MX-770 program which was created towards the end of WWII with the intent of developing a long range missile.

The Cherokee was an experimental rocket built by the Cook Electric Co. for use by the United States Air Force during the 1950s for the testing of ejection seats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert II (monkey)</span> First primate and first mammal in space

Albert II was a male rhesus macaque monkey who was the first primate and first mammal in space. He flew from Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, United States, to an altitude of 83 miles aboard a U.S. V-2 sounding rocket on June 14, 1949. Albert died upon reentry after a parachute failure caused his capsule to strike the ground at high speed. Albert's respiratory and cardiological data were recorded up to the moment of impact.

References

  1. ↑ "New Missile Book, and Blue Fly" (PDF). December 2011. Archived from the original (Letters to AAFM) on 18 May 2014. Blue Fly, to exploit Soviet hardware when it comes more or less permanently into US or allied hands, Round Robin, to exploit Soviet hardware when it comes temporarily into US hands (e.g. Russian aircraft landing at international or US airfields) and Moon Dust, to exploit big booster or missile and satellite equipment which fell from the air hence the name applied (e.g. the piece of Soviet equipment which fell into Wisconsin).{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "History of Research in Space Biology and Biodynamics at the Air Force Missile Development Center" (PDF). Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. 1946–1958. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 May 2014. Project MX-1450R, Physiology of Rocket Flight ... Standards Laboratory at Holloman ... Scott Crossfield and the Air Force's Major Charles E. Yeager both flew a number of Keplerian trajectories ... in January 1953 [the Aeromedical Field Laboratory] became a function of the local [Holloman Air Development] Center ... the Aeromedical Field Laboratory in 1953 was placed directly under the Center's 6580th Test Group, and was thus on an equal standing with the 6580th Missile Test Squadron and the 6580th Special Test Squadron (which in turn included the Holloman Balloon Unit) ... in 1956 the Aromedical Field Laboratory was made part of a newly created Directorate of Research and Development. ... test installation
  3. 1 2 Air Force Systems Command Special Order G-94
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 U.S. Air Force Tactical Missiles, (2009), George Mindling, Robert Bolton ISBN   978-0-557-00029-6
  5. ↑ Stanley G. Zabetakis; John F. Peterson (Fall 1964). "The Diyarbakir Radar" (PDF). CIA.
  6. 1 2 Michael Welsh (1995). "Dunes and Dreams: A History of White Sands National Monument" (PDF). As early as January 30, 1946, he wrote to the regional director that "the [Alamogordo Army Air Base] will be manned by a skeleton crew merely as a plane refueling station, emergency landings, etc. ..." The Engineers' property division had "acquired the fee simple title to all private owned lands within the Fort Bliss Anti-Aircraft Range, has the exclusive use of all private lands and interests within the Alamogordo Bombing Range until 1967 ..."
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Mueller, Robert (1989). Air Force Bases (PDF) (Report). Vol. I: Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982. Office of Air Force History. ISBN   0-912799-53-6 . Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  8. ↑ [ full citation needed ]PD-icon.svg This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Peter L. Eidenbach. "A Brief History of White Sands Proving Ground 1941–1965" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 October 2014.
  10. ↑ AFHRA Document 00179518, Pictorial Brochure of the Special Weapons Field Test Unit, Wendover Army Air Base, Utah
  11. ↑ "Holloman Air Force Base – Alamogordo, New Mexico".
  12. ↑ Integration of the Holloman-White Sands Ranges, 1947–1952 (2nd Edition, 1957)
  13. ↑ "United States v. Allen". Court-Martial Reports of the Judge Advocate General of the Air Force. LLMC.
  14. ↑ Alamogordo Guided Missile Test Base: Progress Summary Report (Air Force History Index.org abstract) (Report). 1948. iris 01013761. Retrieved 3 October 2013. Early Warning Radars Razon, Radio Controlled Bombs Tarzon, Radio Controlled Bombs Radar Development
  15. ↑ Bushnell, David (25 August 1986). GAPA: Holloman's First Missile Program (Scribd.com image) (Report). Air Force Missile Development Center: Historical Branch. iris 00169113. Retrieved 11 August 2013. [1st ramjet GAPA] "was launched 14 November 1947 and the initial liquid-fuel variety 12 March 1948.8 ... The last of the GAPAs, number 114, was launched 15 August 1950, and the project officially terminated at Holloman the following month.11 (date identified at )
  16. ↑ Meeter, George F. (1967). The Holloman Story: Eyewitness accounts of Space Age research. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. p. 47. ISBN   9780826300775. OCLC   1430870 . Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  17. ↑ Turner Publishing Company (1998). Air Force Missileers. Turner Publishing Company. p. 20. ISBN   978-1-56311-455-7.
  18. ↑ "Untitled" (PDF). Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  19. ↑ "Hughes AIM-4 Falcon".
  20. ↑ Van Citters, Karen; Bissen, Kristen (June 2003). National Register of Historic Places: Historic Context and Evaluation for Kirland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico (PDF) (Report). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 June 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2013. first operational Genie rockets onto F-89J aircraft. Problems cleared during 1956 included rocket fin modifications, rocket engine temperature control and storage matters, final testing of systems components, flight-testing and examining possible weapon vulnerability, and hazards in operational situations. Results of ground firings at Holloman Air Development Center in 1956 revealed a fin instability problem.
  21. ↑ "Highlights – 500th Balloon Launch". HiddenHolloman website. 1 September 2012. Archived from the original on 18 May 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014. (cites "Chronology of Events, Air Force Missile Development Center 1941–1958, AFHRA IRIS 0487401")
  22. ↑ "SM-73 Bull Goose". FAS.org. 1997. Retrieved 10 November 2007.
  23. ↑ Lake, Dale (Fall 2008). "Call Sign Updates". TAC Missileers. 10 (3). Archived from the original (newsletter) on 12 December 2008. Retrieved 18 July 2013. The AN/MSQ/1A Training was done at the small community of Bonn, near Ramstein Air Base.
  24. ↑ "New Mexico Area Will Be Missile Range". The Milwaukee Journal. 28 May 1952.
  25. ↑ "Holloman Air Force Base – Fact Sheet (Printable) : 96TH TEST GROUP HISTORY". Archived from the original on 15 March 2013.
  26. ↑ Weitze, Karen J. (November 1999). Cold War Infrastructure for Strategic Air Command: The Bomber Mission (PDF) (Report). United States Army Corps of Engineers. p. 3. Retrieved 15 August 2013. German scientific-engineering community of World War II are many and subtle. Those who stayed within the U.S. military civil service system often worked at the GS-15 to GS-17 level—the uppermost grade levels within the system. Those who left were behind the scenes in noteworthy places. … Examples include Dr. Ernst A . Steinhoff, Dr. Martin Schilling, and Dr. Bruno Balke, among many. (see also:
    Weitze, Karen. 1997. "Guided Missiles at Holloman Air Force Base: Test Programs of the United States Air Force in Southern New Mexico, 1947–1970." Alamogordo: Holloman Air Force Base.
  27. 1 2 Bushnell, David (1958). History of Research in Space Biology and Biodynamics at the Air Force Missile Development Center, Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico 1946–1958. James Stephen Hanrahan, Chief of Historical Office. Holloman Air Force Base: United States Air Force, Air Force Missile Development Center. Archived from the original on 6 July 2009. Retrieved 9 August 2009.
  28. ↑ Burgess, Colin; Chris Dubbs (2007). Animals in Space: From Research Rockets to the Space Shuttle. Springer-Praxis Books in Space Exploration. Springer. p. 109. ISBN   978-0-387-36053-9 . Retrieved 17 August 2009.
  29. ↑ Gray, Tara (1998). "A Brief History of Animals in Space". National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Archived from the original on 12 May 2008. Retrieved 12 May 2008.
  30. ↑ "Missile Goes Wild, Crashes in Rockies". The Milwaukee Journal. 21 February 1957.
  31. ↑ The Holloman Track (Report). Holloman Air Force Base: Armament Division. 1974. (cited by NRHP nomination) Archived 2014-05-18 at the Wayback Machine
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.