| Langley Air Force Base | |||||||
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| Hampton, Virginia in United States | |||||||
 Langley Air Force Base as seen from overChesapeake Bay | |||||||
| Site information | |||||||
| Type | U.S. Air Force Base | ||||||
| Owner | Department of Defense | ||||||
| Operator | US Air Force | ||||||
| Website | www.langley.af.mil | ||||||
| Location | |||||||
  Langley AFB Location in Virginia | |||||||
| Coordinates | 37°04′58″N076°21′38″W / 37.08278°N 76.36056°W /37.08278; -76.36056 (Langley AFB) | ||||||
| Site history | |||||||
| Built | 1917 (1917) (as Langley Field) | ||||||
| In use | 1917 – 2010 (2010) | ||||||
| Fate | Merged in 2010 to become an element ofJoint Base Langley–Eustis | ||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||
| Identifiers | IATA: LFI,ICAO: KLFI,FAA LID: LFI,WMO: 745980 | ||||||
| Elevation | 2.4 metres (7 ft 10 in)AMSL | ||||||
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| Source:Federal Aviation Administration[1] | |||||||
Langley Air Force Base (IATA:LFI,ICAO:KLFI,FAALID:LFI) is aUnited States Air Force base located inHampton, Virginia, adjacent toNewport News. It was one ofthirty-two Air Service training camps established after the entry of the United States intoWorld War I in April 1917.[2]
In October 2010, Langley Air Force Base was joined withFort Eustis to becomeJoint Base Langley–Eustis. The base was established in accordance with congressional legislation implementing the recommendations of the 2005Base Realignment and Closure Commission. The legislation ordered the consolidation of the two facilities which were nearby, but separate military installations, into a singlejoint base, one of 12 formed in the United States as a result of the law.
On February 4, 2023, an F-22 Raptor took off from the base andshot down a Chinese balloon, marking the jet's first-ever combat air kill.
The Air Force mission at Langley is to sustain the ability for fast global deployment and air superiority for the United States or allied armed forces. The base is one of the oldest facilities of the Air Force, having been established on 30 December 1916, prior to America's entry toWorld War I by theAviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps, named for aviation pioneerSamuel Pierpont Langley.
It was used during World War I as a flying field, balloon station, observers’ school, photography school, experimental engineering department, and for aerial coast defense. It is situated on 3,152 acres of land between the cities of Hampton (south),NASA LaRC (west), and the northwest and southwest branches of theBack River.[3]
"AirPower over Hampton Roads" is a recurring airshow held at Langley in the spring. Many demonstrations take place, including theF-22 Raptor Demonstration,Aerobatics, andparachute demos.
Because of the possibility of crashes of the F-22s and other aircraft stationed at the base, the City of Hampton has partnered with the Commonwealth of Virginia and United States Air Force to purchase privately owned property within the Clear Zone and Accident Potential Zones, without using eminent domain, to create a safety buffer zone around the base.[4]
Langley Air Force Base, originally known as Langley Field, is named afterSamuel Pierpont Langley, an aerodynamic pioneer and a former Secretary of theSmithsonian Institution. In 1887, Langley began aerodynamic experiments and formed a basis for practical pioneer aviation. In 1896, he built the first steam model airplane and the first gasoline model in 1903. Both planes were believed to be capable of flight.[5]
In 1903, he built the first man-carrying gasoline airplane, which failed to fly on its first attempt and broke apart and crashed on its second. In 1914, after major modifications, it was flown successfully by Glenn Curtiss for a little over three seconds, traveling 150 feet through the air.[6] Langley Field was the first Air Service base built specifically for air power. It is the oldest continually active air force base in the world, and the oldest airfield in Virginia.
In 1916, the National Advisory Council for Aeronautics (NACA), predecessor to NASA, established the need for a joint airfield and proving ground for Army, Navy and NACA aircraft. NACA determined that the site must be near water for over-water flying, be flat and relatively clear for expansion and the landing and take-off of aircraft, and near an Army post. The Army appointed a board of officers who searched for a location. The officers sometimes posed as hunters and fishermen to avoid potential land speculation, which would arise if the government's interest in purchasing land was revealed. Fifteen locations were scouted, before a site near Hampton inElizabeth City County was selected.[7]
In 1917, the new proving ground was designatedLangley Field for one of America's early air pioneers,Samuel Pierpont Langley. Langley had first made tests with his manned heavier-than-air craft, launched from a houseboat catapult, in 1903. His first attempts failed. He died in 1906, shortly before a rebuilt version of his craft soared into the sky.[7]
Training units assigned to Langley Field:[8]
Several buildings had been constructed on the field by late 1918. Aircraft on the ramp at that time included theCurtiss JN-4 "Jenny", used by Langley's School of Aerial Photography, and thede Havilland DH.4 bomber, both used during World War I. Although short-lived, hydrogen-filleddirigibles played an important role in Langley's early history and a portion of the base is still referred to as the LTA (lighter-than-air) area.[7]
In the early 1920s, Langley became the site where a new air power concept was tried and proven. Brig. Gen.Billy Mitchell led bombing runs from Langley by the1st Provisional Air Brigade over captured German warships anchored off the coast of Virginia and North Carolina. These first successful tests set the precedent for the airplane's new role of strategic bombardment.[7]
Throughout the 1930s Langley Field occupied a principal position in the Army's efforts to strengthen the offensive and defensive posture of its air arm. The small grassy field became a major airfield of theUnited States Army Air Corps. Many of the base's brick buildings of today were constructed at that time.[7]
At the outbreak ofWorld War II, Langley took on a new mission, to develop special detector equipment used in antisubmarine warfare. Langley units played a vital role in the sinking of enemy submarines off the United States coast during the war.[7] The field was also used for training purposes.
On 25 May 1946, during the beginning of theCold War, the headquarters of the newly formedTactical Air Command were established at Langley. The command's mission was to organize, train, equip and maintain combat-ready forces capable of rapid deployment to meet the challenges of peacetime air sovereignty and wartime air defense. The arrival of Tactical Air Command and jet aircraft marked the beginning of a new era in the history of the field, and in January 1948 Langley Field officially becameLangley Air Force Base.[7]
In January 1976, the1st Tactical Fighter Wing was transferred to Langley fromMacDill Air Force Base inFlorida with the mission of maintaining combat capability for rapid global deployment to conduct air superiority operations. To accomplish this mission, the 1st TFW was the first USAF operational wing to be equipped with theF-15 Eagle.[7]
On 1 June 1992, Langley became the headquarters of the newly formedAir Combat Command, as Tactical Air Command was inactivated as part of the Air Force's restructuring.[7]
On 15 December 2005, the1st Fighter Wing's 27th Fighter Squadron became the Air Force's first operational F-22 fighter squadron. The wing's complement of 40 F-22s, in the 27th and 94th FS reached Full Operational Capability on 12 December 2007.
Langley Air Force Base was severely damaged by flooding due to the storm surge fromHurricane Isabel in September 2003 and again during theNovember 2009 Mid-Atlantic nor'easter. Hurricane Isabel damages to Langley Air Force Base were approximately $147 million. The damages associated with the 2009 nor'easter were approximately $43 million.[7] Resilience measures taken since 2003 include raising low-lying critical infrastructure, mandating a minimum elevation for new construction, construction of a 6 mile long sea wall and a groundwater pumping station.[9] The site of Langley Air Force base, with an average elevation of 3 feet, has seen 14 inches ofsea level rise since 1930.[10]
On 1 October 2010, Langley Air Force Base was joined withFort Eustis to becomeJoint Base Langley–Eustis.
To accomplish their mission, the support unit men and women of the 633d Air Base Wing at Langley are housed in the Mission Support Groups and Medical Group and support several tenant units:[11]
Operational squadrons of the 1st Operations Group are: (Tail Code: FF)
The Wing is composed of the following units worldwide:
Langley also hosts theAir Force Command and Control Integration Centerfield operating agency and HeadquartersAir Combat Command (ACC).
Langley is also home to theF-22 Raptor Demo Team. This team, who travel all over the world performing different maneuvers used in air combat, is used to help recruit for the United States Air Force. Performing atairshows and other special events, the squadron is the only demonstration team to use the F-22 Raptor.
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Pre World War II Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps
Air Service (1920–1926);United States Army Air Corps (1926–1941)
General Headquarters (GHQ), Air Force
World War II
Army Air Forces Training Command
| United States Air Force
Tactical Air Command
Tactical Air Command, and laterAir Combat Command
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This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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