Wikipedia

Pituffik Space Base

Pituffik Space Base(/biːduːˈfiːk/bee-doo-FEEK;[2]Greenlandic:[pitufːik];IATA:THU,ICAO:BGTL), formerlyThule Air Base(/tuːliː/or/tuːleɪ/), is aUnited States Space Force's base located on the northwest coast ofGreenland.It is the northernmost installation of theU.S. Armed Forces,1,210 km (750 mi) north of theArctic Circleand 1,524 km (947 mi) from theNorth Pole.Pituffik's Arctic environment includes icebergs inNorth Star Bay,two islands (Saunders IslandandWolstenholme Island), a polar ice sheet, andWolstenholme Fjord.The base is home to a substantial portion of the global network of missile warning sensors ofSpace Delta 4,and space surveillance and space control sensors ofSpace Delta 2,providing space awareness and advanced missile detection capabilities toNorth American Aerospace Defense Command(NORAD), the United States Space Force, and joint partners.

Pituffik Space Base
NearQaanaaq,AvannaatainGreenland
Aerial view of Pituffik Space Base withSaunders Islandin the background and thetomboloon the right
Shield ofSpace Base Delta 1
Pituffik Space Base is located in Greenland
Pituffik Space Base
Pituffik Space Base
Location in Greenland
Pituffik Space Base is located in Arctic
Pituffik Space Base
Pituffik Space Base
Location in the Arctic Circle
Coordinates76°31′52″N68°42′11″W/ 76.53111°N 68.70306°W/76.53111; -68.70306(Pituffik Space Base)
TypeUS Space Force base
Site information
OperatorUnited States Space Force
Controlled bySpace Base Delta 1
ConditionOperational
Site history
Built1943(1943)
In use1943–present
EventsB-52 crash(1968)
Garrison information
Garrison821st Space Base Group
Airfield information
IdentifiersIATA:THU,ICAO:BGTL,WMO:042020
Elevation76.5 metres (251 ft)AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
08T/26T 3,047 metres (9,997 ft)Asphalt
Source:DanishAIS[1]
1989 aerial view

Pituffik Space Base is also home to the 821st Space Base Group and is responsible for space base support within the Pituffik Defense Area for the multinational population of "Team Pituffik". The base hosts the12th Space Warning Squadron(12 SWS) which operates aBallistic Missile Early Warning System(BMEWS) designed to detect and trackICBMslaunched against North America. The base is also host to Detachment 1 of the23rd Space Operations Squadron,part of theSpace Delta 6's global satellite control network. The airfield's 3,000 m (10,000 ft) runway handles more than 3,000 US and international flights per year. The base is also home to the northernmost deep water port in the world.[3]To assist with port operations, Pituffik is home to the only tugboat in the Department of the Air Force.[4]In the summertime, the 71-foot tugboat escorts fuel tankers and cargo ships, aligns them with the pier, and moves icebergs out of the way as vessels enter North Star Bay. The tugboat is also used for sightseeing tours of the surrounding bays and fjords during the summer. In the winter, it is hauled onto shore. In 2020, the tugboat was used to save a sinking ship and its crew of six 50 kilometers south of base, towing the distressed ship back to the port at Pituffik.[5]

Pituffik Space Base has served as the regional hub for nearby installations, includingCape Atholl(LORANstation),Camp Century(Ice Cap Camp),Camp TUTO(Ice Cap Approach Ramp and Airstrip), Sites 1 and 2 (Ice Cap Radar Stations), P-Mountain (radar and communications site), J-Site (BMEWS), North and South Mountains (research sites), and a research rocket firing site.[not verified in body]It also was essential in the construction and resupply of High Arctic weather stations, includingCFS Alert(Alert Airport) andStation Nord.

History

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Location and original population

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In 1818, SirJohn Ross's expedition made first contact with nomadicInuktunin the area.James Saunders's expedition aboardHMSNorth Starwas marooned inNorth Star Bayin 1849–50 and named landmarks.[6]Robert Pearybuilt a support station by a protected harbor at the foot of iconicMount Dundasin 1892. It served as a base camp for his expeditions and attracted a permanent population. In 1910 explorerKnud Rasmussenestablished a missionary and trading post there. He called the site "Thule" after classicalultima Thule;the Inuit called itUmanaq( "heart-shaped" ), and the site is commonly called "Dundas" today. The United States abandoned its territorial claims in the area in 1917 in connection with the purchase of theVirgin Islands.Denmark assumed control of the village in 1937.

A cluster of huts known asPituffik( "the place the dogs are tied" ) stood on the wide plain where the base was built in 1951; a main base street was named Pituffik Boulevard. The population wasforcibly relocatedto Thule. Later in 1953, the USAF planned to construct an air defense site near that village, and in order to limit contact with soldiers, the Danish government again relocated 130 inhabitants of "Old Thule", settling them 97 km (60 mi) north in a newly constructed village also named Thule (colloquially "New Thule", nowQaanaaq).

In a Danish Supreme Court judgment of 28 November 2003 the move was considered an expropriative intervention. During the proceedings it was recognized by the Danish government that the movement was a serious interference and an unlawful act against the local population. The Thule tribe was awarded damages of 500,000kroner,and the individual members of the tribe who had been exposed to the transfer were granted compensation of 15,000 or 25,000 each. A Danish radio station continued to operate at Dundas, and the abandoned houses remained. The USAF only used that site for about a decade, and it has since returned to civilian use.

Knud Rasmussen was the first to recognize the Pituffik plain as ideal for an airport. USAAF ColonelBernt Balchen,who builtSondrestrom Air Base,knew Rasmussen and his idea. Balchen led a flight of twoConsolidated PBY Catalinaflying boats to Thule on 24 August 1942 and then sent a report advocating an air base toUSAAFchiefHenry "Hap" Arnold.However, the 1951 air base site is a few kilometers inland from the original 1946 airstrip and across the bay from the historical Thule settlement, to which it is connected by an ice road. The joint Danish-American defense area, designated by treaty, also occupies considerable inland territory in addition to the air base itself.[7]

World War II

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After theGerman occupation of Denmarkon 9 April 1940,Henrik Kauffmann,Danish Ambassador to the United States, made an agreement "In the name of the king" with the United States, authorizing the United States to defend the Danish colonies on Greenland from German aggression – this agreement faced Kauffmann with a charge ofhigh treasonby theprotectorate Government.The first US-sponsored installations at Thule were established after the US Secretary of StateCordell Hulland the defected Danish Minister to the United States Henrik Kauffmann signedThe Agreement relating to the Defense of GreenlandinWashington, D.C.,on the symbolically chosen date of 9 April 1941. The treaty, denounced by the Danish government, allowed the United States to operate military bases in Greenland "for as long as there is agreement" that the threat to North America existed. Beginning in the summer of 1941, the US Coast Guard and the War Department established weather and radio stations atNarsarsuaq Airport(Bluie West-1),Sondrestrom Air Base(Bluie West-8), Ikateq (Bluie East Two), andGronnedal(Bluie West-9). In 1943 theArmy Air Forcesset upweather stationsScoresbysund(Bluie East-3) on the east coast around the southern tip of Greenland, and Thule (BluieWest-6) to be operated by Danish personnel. Many other sites were set up, but BW-6, isolated in the far North, was then of very minor importance.[8]

Joint weather station

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After liberation, Denmark ratified the Kauffmann treaty but began efforts to take over US installations. Nonetheless, in summer 1946, the radio and weather station was enhanced with a gravel airstrip and an upper-air (balloon) observatory. This was part of an American-Canadian initiative to construct joint weather stations in the High Arctic. This station was under joint US-Danish operation. The location changed from the civilian village at Thule (Dundas) to mainland Pituffik. In 1946–1951, the airstrip played an important role in Arctic resupply, aerial mapping, research, and search-and rescue.

The ratification of the treaty in 1951 did not change much, except that theDanish national flagmust be side by side with theUS national flagon the base.

Modern air base

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In 1949, Denmark joinedNATO(North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and abandoned its attempt to remove the United States bases. By the outbreak of theKorean Warnext year, the USAF embarked on a global program of base-building in which Thule (at the time) would be considered the crown jewel owing to its location across the Pole from theUSSR,as well as its merit of being the northernmost port to be reliably resupplied by ship. Thule became a key point in American nuclear retaliation strategy.Strategic Air Command(SAC) bombers flying over theArcticpresented less risk of early warning than using bases in the United Kingdom. Defensively, Thule could serve as a base for intercepting bomber attacks along the northeastern approaches to Canada and the US.

A board of Air Force officers headed byGordon P. Savillemade a recommendation to pursue a base at Thule in November 1950. It was subsequently supported by theJoint Chiefs of Staffand approved byPresident Truman.To replace the agreement entered into during World War II between the US and Denmark, a new agreement with respect to Greenland was ratified on 27 April 1951 (effective on 8 June 1951). At the request of NATO, the agreement became a part of the NATO defense program. The pact specified that the two nations would arrange for the use of facilities in Greenland by NATO forces in defense of the NATO area known as the Greenland Defense Area.

Thule Air Base was constructed in secret under the code nameOperation Blue Jay,but the project was made public in September 1952. Construction for Thule Air Base began in 1951 and was completed in 1953. The construction of Thule is said to have been comparable in scale to the enormous effort required to build thePanama Canal.[9]TheUnited States Navytransported the bulk of men, supplies, and equipment from the naval shipyards inNorfolk, Virginia.On 6 June 1951 an armada of 120 ships sailed fromNaval Station Norfolk.On board were 12,000 men and 300,000 tons of cargo. They arrived at Thule on 9 July 1951. Construction, aided by continuous daylight in summer, took place around the clock. The workers lived on board the ships until quarters were built. Once they moved into the quarters, the ships returned home.

On 16 June 1951, the base was accidentally discovered by French cultural anthropologist and geographerJean Malaurieand his Inuit friend Kutikitsoq, on their way back from the geomagnetic North Pole.[10]

Strategic Air Command

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74th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron F-89s, Thule Air Base, Greenland, 1955

Originally established as a Strategic Air Command installation, Thule would periodically serve as a dispersal base forB-36 PeacemakerandB-47 Stratojetaircraft during the 1950s, as well as providing an ideal site to test the operability and maintainability of these weapon systems in extreme cold weather. Similar operations were also conducted withB-52 Stratofortressaircraft in the 1950s and 1960s.

In 1954, the 378 m (1,240 ft)Globecom Tower,a tower for military radio communication, was built at Northmountain. At the time of its completion it was the third tallest human-made structure on earth[citation needed]and the tallest structure north of the Arctic Circle in the Western hemisphere.

Reconnaissance route from Thule Air Base to Soviet Union

In the winter of 1956/57 threeKC-97tankersand alternately one of twoRB-47Haircraft made polar flights to inspect Soviet defenses. Five KC-97s prepared for flight with engines running in temperatures of −46 °C (−50 °F) in order to ensure three could achieve airborne status. After a two-hour head start, a B-47 would catch up with them at the northeast coastline of Greenland where two would offload fuel to top off the B-47's tanks (the third was an air spare). The B-47 would then fly seven hours of reconnaissance, while the tankers would return to Thule, refuel, and three would again fly to rendezvous with the returning B-47 at northeast Greenland. The B-47 averaged ten hours and 4,500 km (2,800 mi) in the air, unless unpredictable weather closed Thule. In that case the three tankers and the B-47 had to additionally fly to one of three equidistant alternates: England,Alaska,orLabrador.All of this sometimes took place in moonless, 24-hourArctic darkness,December through February. These flights demonstrated the capabilities of the USStrategic Air CommandtoSoviet Anti-Air Defense.

In 1959, the airbase was the main staging point for the construction ofCamp Century,some 240 km (150 mi) from the base.[11]Carved into the ice, and powered by anuclear reactor,PM-2ACamp Century was officially a scientific research base, but in reality was the site of the top secretProject Iceworm.The camp operated from 1959 until 1967.

In the late 1950s, theDEW1 to 4 were built as "weather stations". Thule Air Base would act as a supply station for the DYE bases.[citation needed]

Aerospace defense

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In 1957 construction began on fourNike Missilesites around the base, and they and their radar systems were operational by the end of 1958.

In 1961, a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) radar was constructed at "J-Site", 21 km (13 mi) northeast of main base. BMEWS was developed by theRCACorporation in order to provide North America warning of a transpolar missile attack from the Russian mainland and submarine-launched missiles from the Arctic and North Atlantic oceans. At this time, Thule was at its peak with a population of about 10,000. Starting in July 1965, there was a general downsizing of activities at Thule. The base host unit, the4683d Air Defense Wing,was discontinued. By January 1968, the population of Thule was down to 3,370. On 21 January 1968, a B-52G bomber carrying four nuclear weapons crashed just outside Thule – see below.

Thule is the location where the fastest recorded sea level surface wind speed in the world was measured, when a peak speed of 333 km/h (207 mph) was recorded on 8 March 1972, immediately prior to the instrument's destruction.[12][13]

Air Force Space Command from 1982 to 2019

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Aurora over Thule Air Base in 2017

Thule became an Air Force Space Command base in 1982. Today Thule is home to the 821st Air Base Group, which exercises air base support responsibilities within the Thule Defense Area. The base hosts the12th Space Warning Squadron(21st Operations Group, 21st Space Wing), a Ballistic Missile Early Warning Site designed to detect and track ICBMs launched against North America. Missile warning and space surveillance information flows to NORAD command centers located atPeterson Space Force Base,Colorado.Thule is also host to Detachment 1 of the23rd Space Operations Squadron,part of the50th Space Wing's global satellite control network, as well as operating many new weapons systems. In addition, the airfield boasts a 3,047 by 42 m (9,997 by 138 ft) asphalt runway, with 3,000 US and international flights per year.

A delegation from theNATO Parliamentary Assemblyvisited Thule in early September 2010 and were told by the base commander that, at that time (summer), approximately 600 personnel were serving at Thule, a mix of mostly US and Danish active duty personnel and contractors.[14]

There is only a brief period each year in the summer when sea ice thins sufficiently to send supply ships to the base. The US sends one heavy supply ship each summer in what is calledOperation Pacer Goose.[15]

Transfer to Space Force

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In 2020, Thule Air Base was formally transferred to theUnited States Space Force.On 6 April 2023, Thule was renamed Pituffik Space Base, reflecting its status as a Space Force base and the native name for the region.[2]

Major commands to which assigned

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Major air and space units assigned

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Sources for major commands and major units assigned:[16][17][18][19][20]

Major Army units assigned

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  • 4th Battalion,55th Artillery,1 Sep 1958 – 20 Dec 1965. (Nike)[21]
  • 7th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Group, 1 July 1955 – 20 December 1965 (Redesignated 7th Artillery Group 20 March 1958) [A, B, C, and D Batteries 90mm AAA cannon; 549th 75mm AAA BN (Sky Sweeper); 51st Ordnance Company][21]

Remote tracking station

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Thule Tracking Station (TTS) is operated by Pituffik Space Base, using the callsign POGO. The station76°30′57″N68°36′0″W/ 76.51583°N 68.60000°W/76.51583; -68.60000) is a U.S. Space Force installation in Greenland, near the base, and has aRemote Tracking Station(callsign: Polar Orbiting Geophysical Observatory (POGO)) of the Satellite Control Network.[22]

It was originally the classified6594th Test Wing's Operating Location 5 designated byAir Force Systems Commandon 15 October 1961: the station was operational on 30 March 1962, with "transportable antenna vans parked in an oldStrategic Air Commandbomb assembly building. "[22] The permanent RTS equipment was emplaced in 1964,[22]and a communications terminal was emplaced on Pingarssuit Mountain—Thule Site N-32[23](moved toThule Site Jin 1983.[22]

Based units

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Notable units based at Pituffik Space Base:[24]

United States Space Force

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Space Operations Command

Accidents

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C-124 plane crash (1954)

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In 1954 aDouglas C-124C Globemaster IIoperated by the US Air Force crashed on approach to the air base, killing ten people.[25]

B-52 nuclear bomber crash (1968)

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Main article:B-52 Crash at Thule Air Base

On 21 January 1968, aB-52G Stratofortressfrom the380th Strategic Aerospace Wing,Plattsburgh Air Force Base,New York, on a secret airborne nuclear alert crashed and burned on the ice near Thule Air Base. The impact detonated thehigh explosivesin the primary units of all four of theB28 nuclear bombsit carried, but nuclear andthermonuclear reactionsdid not take place due to thePALandfail-safemechanisms in the weapons, thus preventing the actual detonation of the weapons themselves. The resulting fire caused extensiveradioactive contamination.[26]More than 700 Danish civilians and US military personnel worked under hazardous conditions, the former without protective gear, to clean up thenuclear waste.[27]In 1987, nearly 200 of the Danish workers tried unsuccessfully to sue the United States. Kaare Ulbak, chief consultant to the Danish National Institute of Radiation Hygiene, said Denmark had carefully studied the health of the Thule workers and found no evidence of increased mortality or cancer.[28][29][30]

The Pentagonmaintained that all four weapons had been destroyed. Although many of the details of the accident are still classified, some information was released by the US authorities under theFreedom of Information Act.After reviewing these files, an investigative reporter fromBBC Newsclaimed in May 2007 that the USAF was unable to account for one of the weapons.[27]In 2009, the assertions of the BBC were refuted by a Danish report after a review of the available declassified documentation.[31]

Airlines and destinations

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Airlines

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As of 2010,one airline provided commercial service to Pituffik.[32]

AirlinesDestinations
Air GreenlandQaanaaq,[32]Savissivik
Charter:Copenhagen,Kangerlussuaq

Cargo shipping

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Ocean transportation is provided by Schuyler Line Navigation Company, a US flag ocean carrier. Schuyler Line operates under government contract to supply sustainment and building supplies to the base.[33]

Climate

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Pituffik has atundraclimate(ET) with long, severely cold winters lasting most of the year and short and cool summers. Precipitation is very low year round, but peaks during summer. The structures of the base are built onpermafrostwhich makes them vulnerable to the effects ofclimate change.[34]

Climate data for Pituffik Space Base, Greenland
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) −2.2
(−19.0) 		−5.1
(−20.6) 		−4.2
(−20.1) 		9.0
(−12.8) 		27.3
(−2.6) 		39.6
(4.2) 		45.3
(7.4) 		43.2
(6.2) 		33.1
(0.6) 		19.9
(−6.7) 		8.8
(−12.9) 		-0.0
(−17.8) 		17.9
(−7.8)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) −16.6
(−27.0) 		−19.1
(−28.4) 		−18.0
(−27.8) 		−5.8
(−21.0) 		16.5
(−8.6) 		30.7
(−0.7) 		35.8
(2.1) 		34.9
(1.6) 		24.8
(−4.0) 		9.0
(−12.8) 		−4.2
(−20.1) 		−13.0
(−25.0) 		6.2
(−14.3)
Averageprecipitationinches (mm) 0.2
(5.1) 		0.2
(5.1) 		0.2
(5.1) 		0.2
(5.1) 		0.3
(7.6) 		0.3
(7.6) 		0.6
(15) 		0.9
(23) 		0.7
(18) 		0.5
(13) 		0.4
(10) 		0.3
(7.6) 		5.0
(130)
Source:https:// climate-charts /Locations/g/GL04202.html

See also

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Further reading

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References

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  1. ^GreenlandAIPforBGTL – Thule Air BaseArchived31 October 2020 at theWayback MachinefromNaviair
  2. ^abDillon, Connie (6 April 2023)."Thule Air Base Gets New Name".Space Force News.Retrieved6 April2023.
  3. ^"821st Air Base Group".Peterson Air Force Base.Retrieved7 November2017.
  4. ^Roza, David."Why the Air Force's Only Tugboat Lives on a Space Force Base".Air & Space Forces Magazine.Air & Space Forces Magazine.Retrieved21 September2024.
  5. ^Swartzell, Griffin."Thule Air Base coordinates ship rescue, saves 6".United States Space Force.United States Space Force Public Affairs.Retrieved21 September2024.
  6. ^"Icy Imprisonment: The 1849 Voyage of the HMS North Star".3 September 2014.
  7. ^Gilberg, Rolf."Thule"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 24 May 2011.Retrieved13 July2012.
  8. ^Bo Lidegaard:I Kongens Navn (In the Name of the King).Copenhagen, 2013
  9. ^"Groundhogs, Iceworms, and a New View of the North".
  10. ^Malaurie, Jean (5 April 1996).Les derniers rois de Thulé.Plon, collection Terre Humaine.ISBN9782259184670.Retrieved18 January2018.
  11. ^Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution,Thule Air Base/Camp Century information,verified 31 August 2008
  12. ^"FAQ: Tornado history, climatology".USA Today.1 November 2007.Retrieved13 July2012.
  13. ^"Two of Thule's Extreme Storms".Air Force Weather Observer.Air Force Weather Agency.9 November 2009.Retrieved13 July2012.
  14. ^NATO Parliamentary Assembly, press release 6 September 2010,30 August – 4 September 2010, Visit to Denmark, Greenland and IcelandArchived28 September 2011 at theWayback Machinesee "full report"; accessed 26 September 2010.
  15. ^Choi, April (9 July 2010)."Ship Heads to Greenland for Once-a-Year Supply Trip".Norfolk Virginian-Pilot.Archived fromthe originalon 8 December 2012.Retrieved13 July2012.
  16. ^"Units of the 21st Space Wing | USAF | Peterson Air Force Base".peterson.af.mil.Archived fromthe originalon 13 March 2007.
  17. ^"Units of the 21st Space Wing | USAF | Peterson Air Force Base".peterson.af.mil.
  18. ^Fletcher, Harry R. (1989) Air Force Bases Volume II, Active Air Force Bases outside the United States of America on 17 September 1982. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History.ISBN0-912799-53-6
  19. ^"USAFHRA Document 00460649".
  20. ^"USAFHRA Document 00461736".
  21. ^abMorgan, Mark; Berhow, Mark A. (2002).Rings of Supersonic Steel: Air Defenses of the United States Army 1950–1979: an Introductory History and Site Guide.Bodega Bay, California: Hole in the Head Press. p. 168.ISBN9780615120126.
  22. ^abcdThule Air Base, Greenland(PDF)(Report). MilitaryOneSource.mil.Retrieved16 March2014.
  23. ^Fletcher, Harry R.Air Force Bases(PDF)(Report). Vol. II: Air Bases Outside the United States of America.Retrieved16 March2014.
  24. ^"Pituffik SB, Greenland".Space Base Delta 1.US Space Force.Retrieved11 April2023.
  25. ^"Accident description"Aviation Safety Network. Accessed 13 October 2016
  26. ^"US B-52 nuclear bomber crash in Greenland 51 years ago has ill Danes seeking compensation".Fox News.3 June 2019.Archivedfrom the original on 8 June 2019.Retrieved20 August2019.
  27. ^abCorera, Gordon (10 November 2008)."Mystery of lost US nuclear bomb".BBC News.Retrieved10 November2008.
  28. ^Schwartz, Stephen (1998)."Broken Arrows: The Palomares and Thule Accidents".The U.S. Nuclear Weapons Cost Study Project.Brookings Institution.Archived fromthe originalon 9 November 2009.Retrieved22 January2008.
  29. ^Kristensen, Hans (2004)."Denmark's Thulegate: U.S. Nuclear Operations in Greenland".Nukestrat.Retrieved22 January2008.
  30. ^Mulvey, Stephen (11 May 2007)."Denmark challenged over B52 crash".BBC News.Retrieved25 January2008.
  31. ^Christensen, Svend Aage (3 August 2009)."The Marshal's Baton. There is no bomb, there was no bomb, they were not looking for a bomb".Danish Institute for International Studies. Archived fromthe originalon 25 May 2012.Retrieved14 August2009.
  32. ^ab"Air Greenland, Departures and Arrivals".Archived fromthe originalon 9 March 2010.
  33. ^"RAL tabte: Pituffik-kontrakt til USA-rederi".21 March 2019.
  34. ^Jensen-Petersen, Natasha (26 February 2023)."This Arctic US Air Base Has Its Eyes on Russia. But Climate is a Bigger Threat".Inside Climate News.Retrieved27 February2023.

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