Hill Air Force Base
| Hill Air Force Base | |
|---|---|
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|
|
| Characteristics | |
| ICAO code | KHIF |
| IATA code | HIF |
| Coordinates | |
| Height above MSL | 1460 m (4790 ft ) |
| Transport links | |
| Distance from the city center | 10 km south of Ogden |
| Street | I-15 / I-84 |
| Basic data | |
| opening | November 7, 1940 |
| operator | Air Force Materiel Command |
| Start-and runway | |
| 14/32 | 4115 m × 61 m concrete / asphalt |
The Hill Air Force Base (in short: Hill AFB ) named after Ployer Peter Hill is one of the largest air bases of the United States Air Force (USAF). It is located about 10 km south of Ogden and almost 50 kilometers north of Salt Lake City in the state of Utah .
It is a main base of the F-35A , which completed the conversion to the "Joint Strike Fighter" at the end of 2019 as the first base of the US Air Force.
history
In the mid-1930s, the United States Army had the idea of setting up a depot in the greater Salt Lake City area, and in mid-1939 the American Congress released the funds for the establishment of the Ogden Air Depot.
Hill Field , the name of the Army Airfield, opened in 1940 and after the USA entered the war in 1941, the depot became an important maintenance and support base for a number of different types of aircraft operated by the United States Army Air Forces . At its peak in 1943, 22,000 military and civilian personnel were employed here. From 1944 the base was also used to store aircraft and equipment.
In February 1948, Hill Field became Hil Air Force Base as part of the USAF formation .
During the Korean War , the depot once again played an important role in providing operational aircraft, and maintenance of jet-powered combat aircraft began in the 1960s. In addition, C-130s and missiles are also serviced.
The 388th Combat Squadron, stationed in Hill since the end of 1975, moved to Hill from Thailand without personnel or equipment and began flight operations with the F-4D in early 1976. Three years later, in January 1979, the squadron began converting to the F-16A / B. The squadron was at the time the first F-16 squadron of the USAF and flew this aircraft type, most recently specimens of the C / D series, for a good 35 years. In addition to the three squadrons of the active squadron, another F-16 squadron of the Air Force Reserve Command was added from 1984 , which belonged to the 419th Combat Squadron. A first F-16 squadron, the 34th Fighter Squadron , was deactivated in 2010 and the last F-16s left Hill in September 2017.
The 34th Fighter Squadron was reactivated in Hill in 2015 as the USAF's first F-35A squadron .
Todays use
The facility has been maintained by the 75th Air Base Wing since 1994 . The following larger associations are stationed here.
- Ogden Air Logistics Complex , as it has been known since 2012, has been a center for depot maintenance for aircraft, engines, missiles and associated systems and equipment since 1943
- The 388th Fighter Wing , with three flying squadrons that were converted to the F-35A between 2015 and 2019, is the Twelfth Air Force
- The 419th Fighter Wing , with one flying squadron, has also been using the F-35A since 2017, owned by the Air Force Reserve Command
In addition to the Ogden Complex, there are a number of other Air Force Material Command facilities on the base.
On the edge of the area is a museum, the Hill Aerospace Museum and Hill is also subordinate to the Utah Test and Training Range in western Utah.
