Whiteman Air Force Base

Whiteman Air Force Base
Characteristics
ICAO code	KSZL
IATA code	SZL
Coordinates	38 ° 43 '49 "  N , 93 ° 32' 52"  W Coordinates: 38 ° 43 '49 "  N , 93 ° 32' 52"  W.
Height above MSL	265 m (869  ft )
Transport links
Street	US 50 / MO 23
Start-and runway
01/19	3780 m × 61 m concrete

The Whiteman Air Force Base (short Whiteman AFB ) is an air base of the US Air Force and is located in Johnson County , Missouri , near the town of Knob Noster . The exclusively operated by the USAF Northrop B-2 - stealth bomber the 509th Bomb Wing are stationed. Whiteman AFB is the only long-term operational site of this type of aircraft worldwide.

history

A B-2 bomber over the Air Force Base

The base was opened in 1942, during the Second World War , under the name Sedalia Glider Base . In 1951 she was handed over to the Strategic Air Command and converted for use by long-range bombers , the first B-47 Stratojets were relocated there in 1954. In 1955 the name was changed to Whiteman AFB , after 2nd Lt. George A. Whiteman, an Air Force member who died in the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 and was from Sedalia , a nearby town.

1961 decided the US government , the Whiteman AFB as a support base for a squadron Minuteman - intercontinental ballistic missiles to use. In the following years 150 missile silos and 15 control centers were built for this purpose. The first missiles arrived in January 1964 and remained there throughout the Cold War until they were deactivated due to the START disarmament agreement in the 1990s.

Todays use

The next chapter in the history of Whiteman AFB began in the late 1980s when the decision was made to station the B-2 Spirit stealth bombers there, which in turn sparked massive construction. For example, new hangars were built especially for the Spirit , and the so-called Extra Large Deployable Aircraft Hangar Systems were also tested at Whiteman AFB. The first B-2 landed on December 17, 1993 at the base.

future

In a few years' time, it will be the third base of the Northrop Grumman B-21 .

Web links

Commons : Whiteman Air Force Base  - Collection of Pictures, Videos, and Audio Files

• Whiteman AFB website

Individual evidence

1. ↑ B-2 Shelter System