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Hickam Air Force Base

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Hickam Air Force Base
Honolulu,Hawaiiin theUnited States of America
The historic base operations building (DV1)
Coordinates21°19′07″N157°55′21″W/ 21.31861°N 157.92250°W/21.31861; -157.92250
TypeUS Air Force Base
Site information
OwnerDepartment of Defense
OperatorUS Air Force
Websitehickam.af.mil
Site history
Built1938(1938)(as Hickam Field)
In use1938 – 2010(2010)
FateMerged in 2010 to become an element ofJoint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam
Airfield information
IdentifiersIATA:HIK,ICAO:PHIK,FAA LID:HIK
Elevation3.9 metres (13 ft)AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
8L/26R 3,752.6 metres (12,312 ft)Asphalt
8R/26L 3,657.6 metres (12,000 ft) Asphalt
4R/22L 2,743.2 metres (9,000 ft) Asphalt
4L/22R 2,118.9 metres (6,952 ft) Asphalt
8W/26W 1,524 metres (5,000 ft) Water
4W/22W 914.4 metres (3,000 ft) Water
Airfield shared withHonolulu International Airport
Source:Federal Aviation Administration[1]
Official nameHickam Field
Designated16 September 1985
Reference no.85002725
Periods of significance1925–1949
Areas of significanceMilitary

Hickam Air Force Baseis aUnited States Air Force(USAF)installation,named in honor of aviation pioneerLieutenant ColonelHorace Meek Hickam.The installation merged in 2010 withNaval Station Pearl Harborto become part of the newly formedJoint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam,on the island ofOʻahuin the State ofHawaiʻi.The base neighborsDaniel K. Inouye International Airportand currently shares runways with the airport for its activities and operations.

Major units

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C-17A Globemaster IIIof the15th Wingat Hickam AFB in 2008

Hickam is home to the15th Wing(15 WG) and 67 partner units including Headquarters ofPacific Air Forces(PACAF),Hawaii Air National Guardand the154th Wing(154 WG) of the HawaiiAir National Guard.TheAir Mobility Command's515th Air Mobility Operations Wing(515 AMOW) provides tactical and strategic airlift within the Pacific region.

In addition, Hickam supports 140 tenant and associate units.

The 15th Wing is composed of four groups each with specific functions. The15th Operations Group(15 OG) controls all flying and airfield operations. The 15th Maintenance Group (15 MXG) performs aircraft and aircraft ground equipment maintenance. The 15th Mission Support Group (15 MSG) has a wide range of responsibilities but a few of its functions are Security, Civil Engineering, Communications, Personnel Management, Logistics, Services and Contracting support. The 15th Medical Group (15 MDG) provides medical and dental care.

The 535th Airlift, 96th Air Refueling, and 19th Fighter Squadrons are each hybrid units joined with the Hawaii Air National Guard's 204th Airlift, and 199th Fighter Squadrons, respectively. These units are structured according to the USAF Total Force Integration (TFI) concept, and as such have both an active duty Commander and a Guard Commander. They share missions as well as equipment.

History

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Origins

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In 1934, theArmy Air Corpssaw the need for another airfield in Hawaii whenLuke Fieldon Ford Island became too congested for both air operations and operation of the Hawaiian Air Depot. 2,225 acres (9.00 km2) of land and fishponds adjacent toJohn Rodgers AirportandFort Kamehamehawere purchased by theWar Departmentfrom theBishop,DamonandQueen Emmaestates for a new air depot and air base at a cost of $1,095,543.78.[2]It was the largest peacetime military construction project in the United States to that date and continued through 1941.

Hickam Field, 1940. Pearl Harbor Navy Yard is in the upper left corner and the main barracks is immediately left of the eight hangars in the center.
Boeing B-17D Fortresses of the5th Bombardment Groupoverfly the main gate at Hickam Field, Hawaii Territory during the summer of 1941. 21 B-17C/Ds had flown to Hawaii in May to reinforce the islands' defense.

TheQuartermaster Corpswas assigned the job of constructing a modernairdromefrom tangledalgarobabrush and sugar cane fields adjacent to Pearl Harbor. Planning, design, and supervision of construction were all conducted by Capt. Howard B. Nurse of the QMC. The site consisted of ancient, emergedcoral reefcovered by a thin layer of soil, with the Pearl Harbor entrance channel and naval reservation marking its western and northern boundaries, John Rodgers Airport (HNLtoday) to the east, and Fort Kamehameha on the south.[3]The new airfield was dedicated on 31 May 1935 and named in honor of Lt ColHorace Meek Hickam,a distinguished aviation pioneer who was killed in an aircraft accident the previous November 5 when hisCurtiss A-12 Shrike,33-250,hit an obstruction during night landing practice on the unlighted field atFort CrockettinGalveston, Texasand overturned. Construction was still in progress when the first contingent of 12 men and four aircraft under the command of 1st Lt Robert Warren arrived from Luke Field on September 1, 1937.[2]

Hickam Field was completed and officially activated on September 15, 1938. By November 1939 all Air Corps troops and activities—including most facilities such as the chapel, enlisted housing, and theater, which were dismantled and ferried in sections across the channel—had transferred from Luke Field with the exception of the Hawaiian Air Depot, which required another year to move.[2]In early 1939 construction began on the main barracks, a single three-story nine-winged structure to house 3,200 men at a cost of $1,039,000. Personnel began moving into the barracks in January 1940, and by its completion on 30 September 1940, it was fully occupied and the largest structure of any kind on an American military installation. It included barber shops, a 24-hour medical dispensary, a laundry, a post exchange, multiple squadron dayrooms, and a massive consolidated mess hall at its center, and thus was dubbed the "Hickam Hotel".[4]

Hickam was the principal army airfield in Hawaii and the only one large enough to accommodate theB-17 Flying Fortressbomber. In connection with defense plans for the Pacific, aircraft were brought to Hawaii throughout 1941 to prepare for potential hostilities. The first mass flight of bombers (21 B-17Ds) fromHamilton Field, Californiaarrived at Hickam on 14 May 1941. By December, theHawaiian Air Forcehad been an integrated command for slightly more than one year and consisted of 754 officers and 6,706 enlisted men, with 233 aircraft assigned at its three primary bases: Hickam,Wheeler Field(nowWheeler Army Airfield), andBellows Field(nowBellows Air Force Station).

World War II

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Hickam Army Airfield 1942 Yearbook

When theImperial Japanese Navyattacked Oahu on 7 December 1941,its planes bombed and strafed Hickam to eliminate air opposition[5]and prevent American aircraft from following them back to their aircraft carriers. Hickam suffered extensive damage and aircraft losses, with 189 people killed and 303 wounded. Notable casualties included nineHonolulu Fire Department(HFD) firefighters (three killed, six injured) who fought fires at Hickam during the attack; they later receivedPurple Heartsfor their heroic actions that day in peacetime history, the only civilian firefighters awarded as such to date.

DuringWorld War II,the base became a major center for training pilots and assembling aircraft. It also served as the hub of the Pacific aerial network, supporting transient aircraft ferrying troops and supplies to—and evacuating wounded from—the forward areas—a role it would reprise during theKoreanandVietnamwars and earning it the official nickname "America's Bridge Across the Pacific".

Cold War

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Emblem of the MATS 1502d Air Transport Wing (1955–1966)

After World War II, the Air Force in Hawaii consisted primarily of theAir Transport Commandand its successor, theMilitary Air Transport Service(MATS), until 1 July 1957 when HeadquartersFar East Air Forcescompleted its move fromJapanto Hawai‘i and was redesignated thePacific Air Forces(PACAF). The 15th Air Base Wing, host unit at Hickam AFB, supported theApolloastronauts in the 1960s and 1970s;Operation Homecoming(return of prisoners of war from Vietnam) in 1973;Operation Babylift/New Life(movement of nearly 94,000 orphans, refugees, and evacuees from Southeast Asia) in 1975; andNASA'sSpace Shuttleflights in the 1980s and 1990s. Hickam is home to the 65th Airlift Squadron which transports theater senior military leaders throughout the world in theC-37BandC-40 Clipperaircraft. In mid-2003, the 15th Air Base Wing (15 ABW) was converted to the 15th Airlift Wing (15 AW) as it prepared to bed down and fly the USAF's newest transport aircraft, theC-17 Globemaster III.The first Hickam-based C-17 arrived in February 2006, with seven more to follow during the year. The C-17s will be flown by the535th Airlift Squadron.

Hawaii ANG 199th Fighter Interceptor Squadron F-102s in maintenance hangar at Hickam, 1976 Convair F-102A-30-CO Delta Dagger 54-1373 identifiable, aircraft now on static display at Hickam.

On September 16, 1985, theSecretary of the Interiordesignated Hickam AFB aNational Historic Landmark,recognizing its key role in the World War II Pacific campaign.[6]A bronze plaque reflecting Hickam's "national significance in commemorating the history of the United States of America" took its place among other memorials surrounding the base flagpole. Dominating the area is a large bronze tablet engraved with the names of those who died as a result of the 1941 attack. Other reminders of the attack can still be seen. Bullet holes mark many buildings in use, including World War II era hangars and the base hospital.,[7]including the tattered American flag that flew over the base that morning. It is on display in the lobby of the Pacific Air Forces Headquarters building, whose bullet-scarred walls (the structure was abarracksandmess hallknown as "the Big Barracks" in 1941) have been carefully preserved as a reminder to never again be caught unprepared.

Accidents and incidents

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On 22 March 1955, aUnited States NavyDouglas R6D-1 Liftmasteron descent to a landing in darkness and heavy rain strayed off course andcrashedinto Pali Kea Peak in the southern part ofOahu'sWaianae Range,killing all 66 people on board. It remains the worst air disaster in Hawaii's history and the deadliestheavier-than-airaccident in the history of U.S.naval aviation.[8][9][10][11]

Previous names

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  • Flying Field, Tracts A and B, near Ft Kamehameha, United States Army (Origins)
  • Hickam Field, 21 May 1935
  • Army Air Base, APO #953 (official designation, 16 May 1942 – 31 May 1946)
  • Hickam Field, 1 Jun 1946
  • Hickam Air Force Base, 26 March 1948 – 1 October 2010

Major commands to which assigned

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Geography

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Hickam Air Force Base consists of 2,850 acres (11.5 km2), valued at more than $444 million. It was originally bounded on the north byPearl Harbor Naval Shipyard,on the west by the Pearl Harbor entrance channel, on the south byFort Kamehameha,and on the east by the airport complex. The original main gate is reached via Nimitz Highway (Hawaii Route 92) fromHonolulu,and it shares its western terminus with the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard's main gate. This part of Nimitz Highway can be reached from the expresswayInterstate H-1(Exit 15) southeast fromHalawaor west from Honolulu (Exit 15B) and fromKamehameha Highway(State Hawaii Route 99), the eastern termination of which is at Nimitz Highway.

The housing around the base is within theHickam HousingCDP.[12]

Hickam AFB is the location of Region 6 of theAir Force Office of Special Investigations.[13]

See also

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References

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  1. ^"Airport Diagram – Daniel K Inouye Intl (HNL) (PHNL)"(PDF).Federal Aviation Administration.December 5, 2019.RetrievedDecember 22,2019.
  2. ^abcArakaki and Kuborn (1991), p. 33 (p. 19 in text)
  3. ^Arakaki and Kuborn (1991), p. 32 (p. 18 in text)
  4. ^Arakaki and Kuborn (1991), pp. 35–36 (21–24)
  5. ^"Hickam Field".National Historic Landmark summary listing.National Park Service. Archived fromthe originalon December 6, 2008.RetrievedJuly 4,2008.
  6. ^HI NHL List
  7. ^NHL Summary[permanent dead link]
  8. ^Aviation Safety Network Aircraft Accident Douglas R6D-1 (DC-6) 131612 Honolulu, HI
  9. ^Associated Press, "66 Killed as Navy Plane Hits Hawaiian Peak,"St. Louis Post-Dispatch,story dated 22 March 1955, quoted in full atlifegrid Charles J. Coombs, Jr.
  10. ^"Chronology of Significant Events in Naval Aviation:" Naval Air Transport "1941–1999".Archived fromthe originalon March 31, 2016.RetrievedJanuary 11,2013.
  11. ^Grossnick, Roy A.,United States Naval Aviation 1910–1995,Washington, D.C.: Naval Historical Center, undatedArchived2012-09-12 at theWayback MachineISBN0-945274-34-3,p. 206.
  12. ^"Hickam Housing CDP, Hawaii[permanent dead link]."U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on May 21, 2009.
  13. ^"Units".Office of Special Investigations.
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