Pope Field

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Pope Field
Pope Air Force Base Overhead.jpg
Characteristics
ICAO code KPOB
IATA code POB
Coordinates

35 ° 10 ′ 15 "  N , 79 ° 0 ′ 52"  W Coordinates: 35 ° 10 ′ 15 "  N , 79 ° 0 ′ 52"  W
Height above MSL 66 m (217  ft )
Transport links
Distance from the city center about 12 km north of Fayetteville
Street US 401 / NC 87 / NC 210
Basic data
opening 1918 ( Camp Bragg airfield ), 1947 ( Pope AFB )
operator US Army
surface 740 ha
Runways
05/23 2286 m × 46 m
05R / 23L 914 m × 18 m asphalt

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Pope Field is a military facility in Cumberland County , North Carolina . The former Pope Air Force Base (short: Pope AFB ) was a military airfield of the US Air Force and has been integrated into the Fort Bragg base of the US Army since 2011 .

overview

Coat of arms of the 43d Airlift Wing

The Pope AFB , located on the northern outskirts of Fayetteville (North Carolina) and the adjacent Fort Bragg and is, according to United States Census Bureau km² 7.4.

Stationed there are the "43rd Airlift Wing" (air transport squadron ), the air transport component of the US 82nd Airborne Division and the 75th US Army Rangers - Regiment , the "23rd Fighter Group" and the "18th Air Support Operations Group".

The base plays a key role in the global air transport of the US paratroopers and special military task forces and for the provision and development of close air support ( close air support ).

In addition to the military tasks, a considerable part of the US development and humanitarian aid is processed through this base.

In addition to the most modern flight operations facilities, Pope AFB comprises a total of around 450 individual buildings (hangars, depots, barracks and training facilities) and has a staff of around 4,700 military personnel and around 650 civilian employees.

Technically, the air force base is able to supply, equip and load all transport aircraft for individual missions in the shortest possible time.

It is planned to hand over control of Pope AFB to the US Army in some time , with large parts of the Air Force personnel and aircraft being relocated to other bases ( above all Moody AFB and Little Rock Air Force Base ) . a. the headquarters of the United States Army Forces Command and the United States Army Reserve Command are to be relocated to Pope.

Stationed units

C-130 Hercules drops parachutists

history

In 1918 flight operations with double-deckers and tethered balloons were started north of the newly established artillery training area in "Camp Bragg". The Camp Bragg airfield was named after Lieutenant Harley Halbert Pope ("Pope Field"), who was killed in a plane crash in January 1918 near the Cape Fear River north of Fayetteville (North Carolina) .

In 1919, parts of the 276th Aero Squadron were stationed for the first time on the former Camp Bragg airfield. Nevertheless, only flight operations for artillery observation, forest fire prevention and mail transport took place on the basis for the next few years.

At the beginning of the thirties, the base was massively expanded for the first time. In 1935, as part of an exercise, the enormous number of 535 aircraft were assembled on it for one day.

In 1940 the base was given asphalt runways for the first time. In the following war years, Pope AFB developed into an air transport center and a hub for the relocation of the newly established paratrooper units at the neighboring Fort Bragg base. Here the tactical and logistical basis for the use of this new arm of the Army was developed.

Accident in March 1994 with the destroyed C-141 transport aircraft on the airfield

In 1947, after the US Air Force was founded, Pope Field became Pope AFB .

In 1950, Pope AFB became the headquarters of the 9th Air Force and the training center for advanced military air traffic controllers for use in the Korean War .

In the fifties and sixties all new types of transport aircraft were tested and flown by the 464th Troop Carrier Wing stationed there , e.g. B. the Fairchild C-119 , the Fairchild C-123 and from 1963 also the Lockheed C-130 Hercules , which is still in use today .

During the Vietnam War , the Pope AFB became the main training center for C-130 crews , as it was ideally suited with its nearby test areas for drop operations (e.g. cargo or paratroopers), low-level flight zones and the still existing unpaved airfield parts to simulate the operating conditions prevailing in Vietnam .

In 1971, the 464th Troop Carrier Wing was disbanded and the 317th Tactical Airlift Wing moved to Pope.

On March 23, 1994, an F-16 fighter plane collided with a C-141 Starlifter transport plane , which was manned by several paratroopers. 21 soldiers were killed and over 100 injured in the accident .

Military bases in the vicinity

Web links