Clark Air Base
Clark Air Base is a former Air Force Base of the US Air Force on the Philippine island of Luzon . The site is located approx. 80 (road) km northwest of Manila in the Pampanga Province and can be reached from Manila via the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX).
Clark Air Base was one of the largest military bases in history and the largest American base outside the United States . Since 1903 there has been a 37 km² air force base on a huge military area of 596 km². At times, 15,000 people lived here permanently. Until 1975, Clark Air Base was the backbone of logistical supplies for the US Army and US Air Force during the Vietnam War . Clark Air Field u. a. a warehouse with a total of 128,500 m² as well as extensive ammunition depots and four huge, underground storage halls . For fuel supply Clark Air Base was by a 60 km long pipeline to the naval base the United States Naval Base Subic Bay connected. The SCTEX ( Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway ) now also provides a motorway connection between these places.
history
Clark Air Base was originally established as Fort Stotsenberg in 1903 under the control of the US Army . In 1912 a flight school was built , and since 1919 the Clark Air Field was built.
In 1942, during World War II , the Japanese army captured the base, which US forces were only able to recapture in January 1945 after three months of fierce fighting.
On March 14, 1947, the United States and the Philippines signed a military base agreement after Clark Air Base was leased to the United States until 2046 ( shortened to 1991 by the Rusk-Ramos Agreement in 1966 ). In 1949 the base was transferred from the Army to the US Air Force and has since been referred to as Clark Air Base.
Due to the impending eruption of Mount Pinatubo , which is only 16 km away , Clark Air Base was largely evacuated on June 10, 1991. Around 1500 people stayed and only fled a few days later, immediately before the main eruption, in the thick ash rain.
In September of the same year, the Philippine Senate rejected the extension of the military base agreement, and so the base, which had been buried under volcanic ash and thereby completely unusable, was returned to the Philippine government on November 26, 1991.
Airplanes and military units
Clark Air Base was the home base of the 13th Air Fleet , the 405th Fighter Squadron, the 3rd Tactical Fighter Squadron, the 3rd Combat Support Group, the 3rd Security Police Group, and the 31st Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron (ARRS).
The main fighter force at Clark Air Base during the 1970s and 1980s consisted of F-4E and F-4G fighter jets. In addition, T-33 training aircraft , C-130 transport aircraft , HH-3E rescue helicopters and a small number of F-5 fighter aircraft from the 26th Aggressor Squadron of the 3rd Tactical Fighter Wing were stationed there.
Various planes, especially cargo planes, were there temporarily. Fighter planes regularly visited the base to take part in aerial combat exercises in the Crow Valley about 50 km north. The huge area of Clark Air Base enabled air combat, low-level flight and bomb dropping exercises .
Clark Air Base was regularly connected by cargo and passenger aircraft to and from Andersen Air Force Base , Guam , Kadena Air Base on the Japanese island of Okinawa , Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, Jakarta , Indonesia and, until 1975, Saigon . In the 1970s, passengers arrived on Trans International Airlines Douglas DC-8 flights from Travis Air Force Base , California (via Honolulu and Guam).
From 1980 the base had grown so much that it was connected to St. Louis (via Kadena Air Base in Japan, Anchorage in Alaska and Los Angeles ) on a weekly basis with a Boeing 747 of the Flying Tiger Line . In the late 1980s, Tower Air took over service with the 747 and was reinforced by a weekly Hawaiian Airlines connection via Guam, Honolulu to Los Angeles with an L-1011 .
Facilities
Residential and commercial areas were further west. At the base of Mount Pinatubo there were two large residential areas with access to a large golf course . The base was criss-crossed by five main boulevards 10 km in length.
The base had a 200-bed hospital , a department store , a mini-mall, various restaurants and a six-story dormitory. Clark Air Base was home to Wagner High School , Wagner Middle School, and Lily Hill Middle School. The base also had three elementary schools, Wurtsmith, MacArthur and VI Grissom Elementary Schools. Most of the teachers were American civilians, while the schools were run by the Department of Defense .
Although there were numerous, fairly legendary bars in Angeles City , alternatives existed within the military compound : The Officers Club (CABOOM) near Parade Ground, the Top Hat Club for NCOs near Lily Hill (moved to the nearby Silver Wing in 1986) and the Coconut Grove Airmen's Club. The NCOs' club was particularly attractive as major bands and artists were regularly flown in from the USA for events. Up to 100 sponsored clubs and organizations operated on the base, including the Knights of Columbus, a Latin American club, and more, including martial arts and two cinemas.
To inform residents, Clark had a fairly active radio station called the Far East Network Philippines (FEN), a division of the American Forces Network (AFN). The television station broadcast a 20-hour daily program, which until 1983 connected the three major American channels with local news and entertainment programs. After that, the program was broadcast from Los Angeles. FEN broadcast two 24-hour radio programs, one FM program with music in easy listenig style, as well as classical music and a medium wave program with news and pop music .
Three major Filipino settlements leaned against Clark Air Base, Angeles City on the southeast corner, Mabalacat on the northeast corner, and Sapangbato on the south side. The presence of the many American soldiers was associated with many amusement establishments, gambling dens, massage parlors, and extensive prostitution in neighboring Angeles City.
weather
Clark Air Base has two distinct seasons , the dry season from November to April and the rainy season from May to October. Typhoons come from the east in summer and fall. The worst storms that destroyed the base included Typhoon Rita on November 28, 1974, Typhoon Irma on November 24, 1981, Typhoon Ruby on October 25, 1988, and Typhoon Yunya on June 15, 1991, which coincided with the eruption of Pinatubo Volcano met.
Withdrawal and return from Clark Air Base
In 1992 the United States left Clark Airfield. The air force base was then converted into a special economic zone.
In 1995 years of neglect, cleaning up and disposal of volcanic ash began . After its conversion, the former air force base took on its new functions as Diosdado Macapagal International Airport ( Clark International Airport , IATA code CRK) and as the Clark Special Economic Zone (CSEZ). The airport infrastructure was upgraded to one of the most modern in Asia and received a second parallel runway. It also received a new golf resort, a number of industrial buildings, attractions and commercial facilities.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ four-part series "Escape from the Pinatubo" on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74QkHh45bjw
Coordinates: 15 ° 10 ′ 59 " N , 120 ° 32 ′ 59" E