Castle Air Force Base
| Castle Air Force Base | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Characteristics | |
| ICAO code | KMER |
| IATA code | MER |
| Coordinates | |
| Height above MSL | 58 m (190 ft ) |
| Transport links | |
| Street | CA 59 / CA 99 |
| Basic data | |
| surface | 1120 ha |
| Start-and runway | |
| 13/31 | 3597 m × 46 m |
The Castle Air Force Base was from 1941 to 1995, a base of the US Air Force immediately northeast of Atwater , California . It has been a civil airfield since 1995. The base has a start and runway (13/31) of approximately 3,600 meters in length.
history
On July 8, 1941, the Army Air Forces began construction work on an airfield near Merced , California. On September 20, it was named Air Corps Basic Flying School, Merced and was commissioned on October 9, 1941. The name changed to Merced Army Flying School on April 7, 1942 and to Merced Army Airfield on May 8, 1943 . In autumn 1942 the Luftwaffe had the first two hangars built there.
During the Second World War, the United States Army Air Forces used the base for basic aviation training and for advanced training for Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). In July 1945, work began on expansion areas and a new runway.
On January 17, 1946, the name was changed to Castle Field , in honor of General Frederick Walker Castle (1908-1944), who was killed on Christmas Eve 1944 near Liège , Belgium , when his B-17 Flying Fortress was shot down. Since March 21, 1946, the base has belonged to the Strategic Air Command (SAC). It finally received its final name Castle Air Force Base on January 13, 1948.
Castle Air Force Base was the first to receive the new B-52 bomber . The first operational Stratofortress was flown to Castle on June 29, 1955 and put into service with the 93rd Bomb Wing (Heavy) , where it replaced the B-47 Stratojet . In the next few years, KC-135 Stratotankers were added to support.
The Castle Air Museum opened on June 20, 1981, and has over 70 aircraft, including a B-24 Liberator , RB-36 Peacemaker , F-100C Super Saber and an SR-71 Blackbird .
In 1991 the base was threatened with closure for the first time because, compared to other bases of the US Air Force, the Castle Air Force Base offered too little space for operations in an emergency. The closure could be averted for the time being. In July 1992, the base changed from Strategic Air Command to Air Combat Command (ACC).
At the end of 1995, the Air Force finally closed the base, the B-52s moved to Barksdale Air Force Base and Minot Air Force Base or were decommissioned. Then the civil Castle Airport ( ICAO code: KMER) began operations on the 11.2 km² site.