Lt Col George a. Larson Usaf (Ret ). Libros

Dive into the military history of Hill Air Force Base as author George Larson explores why this base in northern Utah has played such an important role in supporting the conflicts in both World Wars as well as in Korea and Vietnam, and has helped to develop the United States Air Force into what it is today. Hill Air Force Base is located 30 miles north of Salt Lake City, Utah. It was named in honor of Maj. Ployer Peter Hill, who was killed in a crash of a Boeing B-17 at Wright Field. In World War II, the base became a maintenance, supply, and temporary surplus aircraft storage depot. Hill supported US forces in the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. It also became a maintenance and support facility for the Air Force's turbojet aircraft and missiles during the Cold War. One of the base's important missions is support for the Utah Test and Training Range. Currently, Hill Air Force Base has 78 F-35s assigned to the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings. Lt. Col. George A. Larson, USAF (Ret.), served more than 22 years as an intelligence officer. He is a military and aviation writer who has published numerous books and hundreds of magazine articles.

The Strategic Air Command equipped the 4136th Strategic Wing at Minot Air Force Base with B-52Hs in 1961. The first landing of the first B-52H was part of a celebration on the base referred to as "Peace Persuader Day." Over 10,000 area citizens came to the base to witness the historic landing. The wing was redesignated as the 450th Bomb Wing on February 1, 1963, and then again on July 25, 1968, as the 5th Bomb Wing--the name that it retains today. The base's location in the geographic center of North America made it perfect for a Minuteman missile wing complex to be built in 1961. This is the story of the Cold War-era construction of Minot Air Force Base and its continued operation as an Air Force Strike Command B-52H bomber and Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile base. With new nuclear threats arising from countries in Asia and the Middle East, Minot once again assumes an important role in the nation's defense.

Malmstrom Air Force Base is located east of Great Falls, Montana. The base was activated as an operational Second Air Force training installation in 1942, when the first B-17 landed on Great Falls Army Air Force Base. B-17 combat crew training ended in October 1943, and Lend-Lease operations were begun to provide support to Russia during World War II. The base also served as the primary C-54 training site for Berlin Airlift aircrews. In 1954, the base was named after the 407th vice wing commander, Col. Einar Axel Malmstrom, who died in a T-33 crash. From 1954 to 1991, Strategic Air Command tankers were on the base, and in 1961, the 341st Missile Wing was activated and became the nation's first Minuteman ICBM wing, which continues today with the Minuteman III, one-third of the nation's land-based missile deterrent. Today, Malmstrom Air Force base is preparing to field the new Northrop Grumman Ground Based Strategic Deterrent intercontinental ballistic missile weapon system, program to replace the decades-old Minuteman III.

The South Dakota Air National Guard's 114th Fighter Wing's history began during World War II with the 356th Fighter Group. It became a post-World War II Air Guard unit, initially flying the North American F-51D Mustang removed from storage as the active duty Air Force began transitioning to turbojet fighters. It was slowly upgraded to turbojet aircraft, first with the T-33 trainer to assist pilots into to the F-94 Starfighter. One of the most dramatic upgrades was with the F-89D Norhtrop Scorpion, which had onboard radar for all-weather interception, and the F-89J, armed with the nuclear warhead Genie rockets to shoot down Russian bombers. Its first supersonic fighter was the Convair F-102A Delta Dagger, a delta-wing fighter. The wing continued to transition through various turbojet fighters to the current General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon from 1992 to the present. The unit is fully integrated into the US Air Force's aerial defense of the United States and the Global War on Terrorism.