SELFRIDGE
FIELD MICHIGAN USAS USAAC USAAF USAF ANG AIR RACERS WW2 JETS MISSILES ANG
IMAGES OF AVIATION SOFTBOUND
BOOK in ENGLISH by DEBORAH J. LARSEN and Lt. Col. LOUIS J. NIGRO
ORIGINS
THE PURSUIT AND AIR RACING YEARS
EXPANSION AND WORLD WAR TWO WW2
THE JET AND MISSILE AGE
A DECADE OF TRANSITION
THE AIR NATIONAL GUARD ERA
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Additional Information from
Internet Encyclopedia
Selfridge Air National Guard
Base or Selfridge ANGB is an Air National Guard installation located in
Harrison Township, Michigan, near Mount Clemens. Selfridge Field was one of
thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the United States entry
into World War I in April 1917
Units and organizations
The host organization is the
127th Wing (127 WG) of the Michigan Air National Guard, but a variety of Air
Force Reserve, Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Army Reserve, Army National
Guard and active duty Coast Guard units use the facility as well.[3] In 1971,
Selfridge ANGB became the largest and most complex joint Reserves Forces base
in the United States, a position it held until surpassed by NAS JRB Fort Worth
(former Carswell AFB) in the late 1990s.
"U.S. Army
Garrison-Selfridge serves the Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM)
supporting tank construction in the Detroit area."[4] Civil Air Patrol civilian
organizations at Selfridge are the 176th Selfridge Composite Squadron and the
headquarters of the Michigan Wing.
Selfridge is home to
Headquarters and Service Company, 1st Battalion, 24th Marines and Marine Wing Support
Group 47 (MWSG-47.)
Selfridge Military Air Museum
The on-base Selfridge Military
Air Museum is operated by the Michigan Air Guard Historical Association,
exhibits photos and artifacts of military aerospace history, and has an outdoor
Air Park of over 30 aircraft.
History
Selfridge Air National Guard
Base is named after 1st Lieutenant Thomas E. Selfridge. He was detailed for
aeronautical duty in April 1908 after being an assistant to Professor Alexander
Graham Bell, who was conducting aeronautical experiments in Nova Scotia.
Selfridge was killed on 17 September 1908 while flying as a passenger with
Orville Wright at Fort Myer, Virginia.[7] He was the first person to be killed
in a crash of a powered aircraft.
World War I
The origins of Selfridge Air
National Guard Base date to 1916 when a large tract of land on Lake St. Clair,
Michigan, was acquired by the Packard Motor Car Company at the urging of
Packard president Henry B. Joy, who took a great interest in aviation and led
the company to begin developing aircraft engines for use in aircraft engaged in
World War I combat in Europe. In the spring of 1917, lobbying began in
Washington to locate a military airfield at the site of the Joy Aviation Field
on Lake St. Clair. The United States had just officially entered World War I on
7 April. Proponents of the site pointed out the advantages of the field's
proximity to the auto capital of the nation and the availability of the lake
for practice bombing.
In May 1917, it was announced
that Joy Aviation Field would be included as a training Camp as part of the
expansion of the Air Service, becoming one of only nine military airfields in
the country at the time. The United States Army leased the 640 acres (260 ha)
of land, and construction commenced immediately to provide the necessary road
and rail access to the site. Within a month, the newspaper was reporting that
1,000 men were at work at the field constructing hangars, barracks, supply
depots, machine shops and a school building.
On 9 July, the first training
aircraft, a Curtiss JN-4D arrived at the new airfield, and the base was gearing
up to train men in flying, bombing, radio and photography for the war effort.
The first pilots were members of the 8th and 9th Aero Squadrons, and Captain
Byron Q. Jones was the first commander at Selfridge. Actual training of pilots
began on 16 July 1917, three months after war was declared. Some of these
students, a few of them from Mount Clemens area, were given a few flights and
then, within two weeks, were whisked overseas for advanced training and to meet
the enemy. During the summer of 1917, 72 men won aviator ratings and logged
over 3,700 flying hours. From that time on, hundreds of young men passed
through Selfridge Air Pilot School for the four weeks of training which
qualified them for a commission. Then they were on their way as instructors to
the front or to the other flying schools. being established throughout the
country.
Training units assigned to
Selfridge Field were:
Post Headquarters, Selfridge
Field October 1919
40th Aero Squadron, August 1917
Re-designated as Squadron
"A", JulyNovember 1918380th Aero Squadron, January 1918
Re-designated as Squadron
"B", JulyNovember 1918Squadron "C", AugustNovember 1918
Squadron "D",
AugustNovember 1918
Squadron "E",
AugustNovember 1918
Flying School Detachment
(Consolidation of Squadrons A-E), November 1918 November 1919
Flying was considered
impractical in Michigan during the winter months, so the student pilots were
sent to Gerstner Field at Lake Charles, Louisiana, and to Chapman Field at
Miami, Florida, and Selfridge was transformed into a mechanics school for the
winter months. From this school, which lasted until the end of March 1918, 700
qualified mechanics were graduated. Six squadrons from Kelly Field, Texas, were
sent to Selfridge for study in the shops.
The training center suffered an
early setback in March 1918, as the Clinton River flooded the entire site and
all personnel were evacuated to schools and churches in nearby Mount Clemens.
On 1 April 1, 1918 preparations
got underway for the opening of a new gunnery school. Instructors were borrowed
from the French, British and Canadian flying corps. By July 1918, Selfridge had
reached its peak performance in gunnery training. Over 250 students were
enrolled at one time, and on one occasion 52 planes were in the air over the
field simultaneously. Classes were so filled that 150 Lewis air guns, 60 Lewis
ground guns, 80 Marlin air guns, 90 camera guns and 10 aerial cameras were in
use daily. By the end of World War I, the young base had 1,028 enlisted men and
200 officers. It had trained 72 pilots and 700 mechanics, and 1,002 men had attended
gunnery school.
The 1918 Armistice with Germany
ended World War I. The end of the war, however, produced some major changes.
From a training field producing mechanics and gunners, Selfridge became a
pursuit (fighter) field, but men who had enlisted for the duration of the war
were being discharged, and no new students were being trained.
Inter-war period
Beginning 27 June 1919,
Selfridge became the home of the 1st Pursuit Group, currently the oldest combat
group in the Air Force. The group was organized in France during World War I
and like many others, was demobilized after the war then re-created in 1919. It
remained based at Selfridge for approximately 20 years.[11] Many notable names
are included in the group's roster including George H. Brett, James
"Jimmy" Doolittle, Carl A. Spaatz, Curtis LeMay, Frank O. Hunter,
Emmett "Rosie" O'Donnell, Earle E. Partridge, Paul Wurtsmith and over
100 men who rose to the rank of Air Force general ("Home of
Generals").[10] (Lieutenant LeMay was fined $50 for flying a biplane
through Selfridge Hangar #6.)
The uncertain future of
Selfridge Field, however, caused the 1st Pursuit Group to be moved to Kelly
Field, Texas, shortly after its return. On 28 August 1919, following an order
from Washington, all but 40 men left for Texas airfields. Finally reduced to a
staff of only 14 civilians, Selfridge Field for all practical purposes ceased
to exist for government officials.
Until 1921, the government
leased Selfridge Field from Henry B. Joy. That year, Joy offered to sell the
property for $190,000, a price government appraisers felt was too high. But
when the National Aeronautics Advisory Committee pointed out the field's
proximity to the mechanical and industrial centers of Detroit, the price was
paid. The field sprang back to life on 1 July 1922, when the 1st Pursuit Group,
which had gone from Kelly Field to Ellington Field outside Houston, Texas, in
1921, returned to make Selfridge its home for almost the next 20 years. In
1922, Selfridge was declared a permanent installation under command of Maj.
Carl "Tooey" Spaatz, who later became Chief of Staff for the Air
Force.
Air races at Selfridge from 1922
through the 1930s included the first John Mitchell Trophy Race (named for John
L. Mitchell and last held in 1936 at Selfridge[13]), the Pulitzer Trophy Race,
and the Curtiss Trophy Race and Boeing Trophy. Charles A. Lindbergh was
assigned to Selfridge in 1927, returned in July 1927 (his transatlantic
aircraft, Spirit of St. Louis, was escorted by 22 1st Pursuit Group planes)[10]
and returned again 10 November 1927, to become a member of the 1st Pursuit
Group and complete his reserve training.
In 1925, planes equipped with
ice skids left Selfridge for Camp Skeel in Oscoda, Michigan to determine the
usefulness of airplanes in harsh winter. Squadron commander Thomas Lamphier
declared the test a success and proclaimed that similarly planes could be used
to in Arctic regions.
The U.S. Navy came to Selfridge
in 1927 when Torpedo Squadron 31 (VT-31) was briefly assigned to the base. The
squadron had only one aircraft, a Consolidated NY-1, which was used for
training the squadron's Naval Air Reserve pilots. The squadron left before the
end of the year, moving to a hangar in downtown Detroit. Naval aviation would
return to Selfridge in 1969 following the closing of Naval Air Station Grosse
Ile and the establishment of Naval Air Facility Detroit.
During the 1930s and 1940s,
squadrons "from Selfridge [frequently] performed maneuvers over Detroit,
[causing delight to] local citizens".[10] In 1935, Selfridge became part
of the top-level General Headquarters (GHO), Air Force, along with five other
strategically located installations: Mitchel Field in New York, Langley Field
in Virginia, Barksdale Field in Louisiana, March Field in California and
Hamilton Field in California. A large expansion program was launched in 1939 to
train four new pursuit groups at Selfridge for eventual assignment to other GHQ
fields. Many of the temporary frame buildings still in use today were built at
that time, when a $13.5 million construction program was started at Selfridge.
The outbreak of war in Europe in
1939 again brought many changes to Selfridge Field. The 17th Pursuit Squadron,
a member of the 1st Pursuit Group since June 1918, was reassigned to the
Philippines. More Selfridge pilots left for the Pacific in a surprise move
early in 1940, when 40 pilots and mechanics volunteered to serve with Gen. Claire
Chennault and his Flying Tigers. They left for Rangoon early in the summer.[10]
World War II
Selfridge was a World War II
army airfield of the First Air Force and the location where Colonel Lawrence P.
Hickey[15] headed a cadre that organized the VIII Interceptor Command on 19
January 1942 (transferred to Charleston AAF on 13 February, arrived RAF High
Wycombe on 12 May).[16] On 29 March 1943, the 332d Fighter Group of the
Tuskegee Airmen completed its move to Selfridge.[17] The commander of the Tuskegee's
European and Mediterranean operations was Colonel Benjamin O. Davis Jr., the
first black officer to graduate from West Point in the 20th century, and later
the first black Air Force general.
Scandal hit Selfridge on 5 May
1943,[18] when the commander Colonel William Colman was charged with shooting
Private William MacRae, a black chauffeur who was assigned to drive him.[19]
Early reports stated that the incident occurred because Colman's regular driver
was off-duty and a dispatcher was unaware of his standing order that he not
have a black driver. Following the incident, accusations of several other
improper occurrences at the base including misappropriation of government
property, procurement of unlawful transfers and exchange of goods for
transfers. Colman was found guilty of careless use of firearms after a court
martial and demoted to captain. However, he was acquitted of 23 other charges
that included authorizing illegal transfers, accepting bribes and theft of
government property.
The 477th Composite Group was
formed at Selfridge on 15 January 1944 to train Tuskegee Airmen with Republic
P-47 Thunderbolt fighters and North American B-25 Mitchell bombers. Following a
reprimand of the Selfridge AAF commander for segregating blacks, the Group
relocated "without any prior warning or notification to its personnel)[21]
to Godman Field, Kentucky, on 5 May 1944.
United States Air Force
After World War II Selfridge
expanded to its present size of 3,600 acres (1,500 ha), and in 1947 the
Selfridge Field was renamed Selfridge Air Force Base.[22] The base grew
steadily and soundly, acquiring impressive buildings and long concrete strips.
In 1950, Headquarters for the Tenth Air Force, which was in charge of all Air
Reserve records for a 13-state area in the Midwest, moved to Selfridge. It
recalled and trained Air Reservists, and as an administrative group, the Tenth
was the largest of the tenant units at Selfridge.
From 1947 to 1970 the base
hosted three successive Cold War aircraft units: the 56th Fighter Wing (28 July
1947 1952), which conducted the first west-to-east jet fighter transatlantic
crossing (US to Scotland via Greenland, 1948); the 4708th Defense (later Air
Defense) Wing from 1952 to 1956; the 439th Fighter-Bomber Wing (19527); and
the 1st Fighter Wing (Air Defense) from 1956 to 1970.[23] The units' Selfridge
aircraft were F-51 Mustangs (439th, 1953-4), Lockheed P-80 Shooting Stars
(439th 1953-6, 56th), F-84 Thunderstreaks (439th), North American F-86D Sabres
(1st), and F-102 Delta Daggers (1st). In April 1954, the Selfridge's 13th
Fighter-Intercepter Squadron of the 4708th Air Defense Wing won the Eastern Air
Defense Force rocket gunnery championship;[24] and on 10 May 1956, a Selfridge
F-86D accidentally fired 22 Mighty Mouse rockets while on the ground.[25] In
November 1957, Air Defense Command (ADC) assumed control of Selfridge
AFB.[citation needed]
In the fall of 1959, the
inactivation of Tenth Air Force began, and it was completed by July 1960. At
that time, the 5th Air Force Reserve Region was established at Selfridge. Also
added as a tenant in July was the 4045th Air Refueling Wing, Strategic Air
Command (SAC).
On May 8, 1964, disaster struck
the area north of the base. A tornado cut a wide swath along the shores of Lake
St. Clair, causing some damage to the base and bringing injury, death and
destruction to the local area. The base was quick to render aid to its
distressed neighbors, providing emergency medical care, sending vehicles to
help clear away the debris and furnishing emergency shelters for those made
homeless by the storm.
In 1965, the Strategic Air
Command announced that the 4045th Air Refueling Wing was to be discontinued
beginning in 1966. In the continually changing pattern of uses of the Selfridge
facility, plans were announced for the activation of the U.S. Coast Guard Air
Station, Detroit, at Selfridge. A new Wing Commander, Col. Kenneth E. Rosebush,
also arrived in August from Headquarters, Pacific Command. In July, 1966, the
Coast Guard moved to Selfridge Air Force Base as a tenant.
From 1950 to 1974, the Selfridge
AFB radar station, including a Missile Master Army Air Defense Command Post
after 1960, provided ground-controlled interception coverage for interceptor
aircraft and surface-to-air missiles. Selfridge was the 1950 location of the
Headquarters and Headquarters Battery (HHB) 28th Air Defense Artillery Group
for the Army's Detroit Defense Area, part of Army Air Defense Command.
Beginning in 1955, the base also had Project Nike radars for dual launch sites
on Selfridge AFB at with battery D-14 in service until February 1963 and
co-located battery D-16 continuing until June 1971. The "shared"
Selfridge integrated fire control (IFC) area was at The 3d Battalion, 517th
Artillery manned the Nike facilities.
On 29 October 1969, the
Secretary of Defense announced Project 703, a program calling for a reduction
of military forces as a result of budgetary cuts. As a result, the 1st Fighter
Wing was inactivated on 31 December, and a 33-year chapter in the history of
Selfridge came to an end. The 94th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron prepared to
move to Wurtsmith Air Force Base near Oscoda, Michigan, and elements of the 1st
Combat Support Group were re-designated the 4708th Air Base Group on 1 January
1970.
Michigan Air National Guard
The Michigan Air National
Guard's 127th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing moved its entire operation from
Detroit Metropolitan Airport near Romulus to Selfridge in December, 1970. The
127th became the largest flying unit on the base, and Air National Guard jets dominated
the Selfridge skies.
On 1 July 1971, Selfridge Air
Force Base was transferred to the Michigan Air National Guard, becoming the
first major active Air Force base to come under control of the Air National
Guard. At Selfridge Air National Guard Base, the 127th Wing (127 WG) is the
host wing to more than 30 tenant units representing every branch of the
military active duty (to include the Coast Guard), Reserve and National
Guard. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations
Northern Region and Great Lakes Air and Marine Branch are also based at
Selfridge as well as CBP's U.S. Border Patrol Detroit Sector. Collectively,
these organizations compose what is known "Team Selfridge," one
community with synergistic goals and missions.
The 127th Wing (127 WG) of the
Michigan Air National Guard is a combined Air Combat Command (ACC) and Air
Mobility Command (AMC) gained organization that was established at Selfridge
ANG Base on 1 April 1996, by consolidating the former 127th Fighter Wing and
the 191st Airlift Group. The flying units which previously flew the F-16
Fighting Falcon and the C-130 Hercules, converted their flying missions per
2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) action. Today, the
ACC-gained 107th Fighter Squadron flies the A-10C Thunderbolt II, also known as
the A-10 "Warthog." The AMC-gained 127th Airlift Group was renamed
the 127th Air Refueling Group and its 171st Air Refueling Squadron now flies
the KC-135T Stratotanker.
The 127th Wing was also home to
the Air National Guard's now defunct 107th Weather Flight, which is
operationally gained by the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). These
specially trained Airmen collect weather data, develop forecasting products and
direct forecasts to the warfighters on the ground, sometimes going ahead of a
main operation to prepare soldiers with weather data for the success of the
mission.
Air Force Reserve Command
Pursuant to Base Realignment and
Closure, 2005, the Air Force Reserve Command's 927th Air Refueling Wing (927
ARW) that was previously based at Selfridge was directed to transfer its 4x
KC-135T Stratotanker aircraft to the Michigan Air National Guard and relocate
to MacDill AFB, Florida in August 2007 as verified by Selfridge's Public
Affairs Office. At MacDill, the 927 ARW has become an Air Force Reserve
"Associate" wing to MacDill's 6th Air Mobility Wing, with both
organizations flying the KC-135R PACER CRAG variant of the Stratotanker.
Naval Air Facility Detroit
NAF Detroit was established as a
tenant activity at Selfridge ANGB in 1969 following the disestablishment of
Naval Air Station Grosse Ile, Michigan. NAF Detroit remained operational until
1994, when it was closed and realigned due to BRAC action. An Echelon IV
command of Naval Air Force Reserve, NAF Detroit hosted numerous Naval Reserve
augmentation units supporting fleet commands and shore activities in the
Atlantic and Pacific Fleets, as well as three operational Reserve Force Aviation
Squadrons (RESFORONs): Fleet Composite Squadron Twelve (VC-12) flying the A-4F
Skyhawk II, Patrol Squadron 93 (VP-93) flying the P-3B Orion, and Fleet
Logistics Support Squadron 62 (VR-62) flying the C-9B Skytrain II. NAF Detroit
also hosted Marine Wing Support Group 47 (MWSG-47) of the Marine Air Reserve's
4th Marine Aircraft Wing. On 15 July 2012, MWSG-47 was deactivated from
service.
VC-12 was transferred to NAS
Oceana, Virginia in 1975 and was redesignated as Fighter Composite Squadron 12
(VFC-12) in 1988, where it currently flies the F/A-18 Hornet as a Reserve
adversary squadron.
VP-93 was disestablished on 30
September 1994 due to (1) retirement of the P-3B from the U.S. Navy inventory
and a transition to an all P-3C force, (2) a reduction in active and Reserve VP
squadrons as part of post-Cold War drawdown, and (3) BRAC action directing the
closure of NAF Detroit and its realignment as Naval Air Reserve Center Detroit
(NAVAIRESCEN Detroit) with no operational flying units or activities.
VR-62 was transferred in April
1994 to the former NAS South Weymouth, Massachusetts until that base's closure
in September 1996 due to BRAC 1995 action. Concurrent with that move, the
squadron also transitioned from the C-9B to the C-130T Hercules. Transferring to
the former NAS Brunswick, Maine, subsequent BRAC action in 2008 direct NAS
Brunswick's closure in May 2011, resulting in VR-62 being transferred again in
2010 to its current home station of NAS Jacksonville, Florida.
NAF Detroit became NAVAIRESCEN
Detroit on 1 October 1994 and remained as a tenant command at Selfridge ANGB.
It was renamed Navy Operational Support Center Detroit (NOSC Detroit) in 2006
and downgraded to an Echelon V command.
Coast Guard Air Station Detroit
CGAS Detroit was established in
1966 as a tenant command at Selfridge ANGB, operating the HH-52A Sea Guard
helicopter in the Great Lakes region. Air Station Detroit transitioned to the
HH-65A Dolphin in 1988 and continues to operate the MH-65D version of this
aircraft in search and rescue, maritime safety, and other homeland
security/homeland defense missions.
Other uses
Other activities located at
Selfridge include STARBASE, an Air National Guard initiative that engages in
activity-based science and math lessons. The program uses an aviation theme to
allow local children to excel, regardless of their economic situation. STARBASE
traces its roots to the Air National Guard's 127th Wing at Selfridge ANGB in
1991 and the Department of Defense became an official supporter of the STARBASE
program in 1993.
The United States Border Patrol
Detroit Sector headquarters is located at Selfridge Air National Guard Base.
Detroit Sector area of responsibility includes Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and
Ohio.
In March 2011, the United States
Customs and Border Protection "formally opened its new Operational
Integration Center on Selfridge".
Mitchell Air Races
The first "air show"
at Selfridge was the 1922 Mitchell Air Races. During that event, both official
and unofficial air speed records were set. Prior to the races officially
starting the pilots flew a measured course over Lake St. Clair and back to
the base Army Lt. Russell L. Maughan flew a Curtiss R-6 aircraft 248.5 miles
per hours, more than 25 mph more than the fastest speed ever recorded to that
point. However, Maughans flight was not considered official because the race
judges were not yet in place. Four days later, on October 18, Army Brig. Gen.
Billy Mitchell flew the same aircraft at 224.05 miles per hour, officially
setting the new air speed record. Maughans day was not in vain, however, as he
would later go on to set new air speed records several times throughout the
1920s.
Mitchell
Air Races were also held at Selfridge in 1927 and for the last time in 1936.