Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station
Niagara Falls,New York in theUnited States of America
AKC-135R Stratotanker of the914th Air Refueling Wing based at Niagara Falls ARS.
Site information
Type	Air Reserve Station
Owner	Department of Defense
Operator	US Air Force (USAF)
Controlled by	Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC)
Condition	Operational
Website	www.niagara.afrc.af.mil
Location
Niagara Falls Location in the United States
Coordinates	43°06′48″N078°56′51″W / 43.11333°N 78.94750°W /43.11333; -78.94750 (Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station)
Site history
Built	1928 (1928) (as Niagara Falls Airport)
In use	1946 – present
Garrison information
Current commander	Colonel Joseph “20 Grit” Contino
Garrison	914th Air Refueling Wing (Host) 107th Attack Wing
Airfield information
Identifiers	IATA: IAG,ICAO: KIAG,FAA LID: IAG,WMO: 725287
Elevation	180.4 metres (592 ft)AMSL
Runways Direction Length and surface 10L/28R 2,994.9 metres (9,826 ft) Asphalt/Concrete 6/24 1,581.3 metres (5,188 ft) Asphalt 10R/28L 1,210.6 metres (3,972 ft) Asphalt
Airfield shared withNiagara Falls International Airport Source:Federal Aviation Administration[1]

Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station^[2] (Niagara Falls Air Force Basec. 1955-1971) is anAir Force Reserve Commandmilitary installation operationally gained byAir Mobility Command. It is located adjacent toNiagara Falls International Airport, New York, 4.7 miles (7.6 km) east-northeast ofNiagara Falls, New York. The station is the last "federal" USAF installation in the state, the other remaining USAF installations falling under theAir National Guard).^[3]

The host unit for the base is the914th Air Refueling Wing of theAir Force Reserve Command which operates the KC-135 Stratotanker. The107th Attack Wing of theNew York Air National Guard is also stationed at the base.

AMilitary Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) for all five branches of the U.S. is also located at the station. Both the 914 ARW and 107 ATW number in excess of 3,000 military personnel.

The Army's Air Service had begun operations inwestern New York by 1917 when a school for photofinishers opened inRochester.^[5]Niagara Falls Airport opened atNiagara Falls, New York, in 1928 as a city-owned municipal airport with four crushed-stone runways.^{[dubious –discuss]}Bell Aircraft Corporation completed a manufacturing plant inWheatfield adjacent to the airport^[6] for World War II military pursuit planes in 1941^[7] and the3522d Army Air Force Base Unit managed^[when?] the airport and coordinated use of the airfield.^{[8][verification needed]}

TheBell Modification Center at the Niagara Falls Airport was 1 of 21 built byMateriel Command in 1942 "to fit the mass production aircraft models to the needs of the specific theaters of operations".^[4]: 141 Bell was contracted to operate the center, andthe airfield leased by the USAAF was improved with macadam runways (three at 4000x150 feet and the E/W runway at 4200x300), taxiways, etc. Military units at Niagara Falls included a Modification Center Headquarters and a training school, "Niagara Falls East Tr Sch" (a different modification center, "Buffalo Mun-Mod Ctr B", was located at the 1925Buffalo Municipal Airport).^[4]: 168

TheNaval Air Station Niagara Falls was established in 1946 and the installation was expanded.^[specify] Jurisdiction of the airport returned to a civilian agency^[who?] later in 1946 (a USAF joint-use agreement was made forAir Force Reserve and NYANG use of the airport).^{[citation needed]}

Continental Air Command'sFirst Air Force assigned the Air Force Reserve's90th Reconnaissance Wing to the military installation on 26 December 1946, followed by the26th Reconnaissance Group (23 October 1947) and the4th Reconnaissance Squadron. The reconnaissance units were inactivated on 27 June 1949, and the New York Air National Guard's107th Fighter Group was federalized on 8 December 1948 (initially equipped withTACP-47 Thunderbolts). 107th personnel deployed in March 1951 to theFar East Air Forces for theKorean War.Air Defense Command (ADC) assumed^[when?] jurisdiction of the Niagara Falls military installation and the federalized136th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron.

Niagara Falls Air Force Base (NFAFB) was established by 1955 after the76th Air Base Squadron was activated in February 1952 as the host unit. Following Korea operations, the 107th converted toP-51b Mustangs and was reassigned toAir Defense Command. The 136th FIS was returned to state control when ADC activated the47th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron on 1 December 1952 as a replacement. The 47th FIS initially used the F-47s of the135th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron.^{[citation needed]} NFAFB activated the518th Air Defense Group on 16 February 1953 (designated15th Fighter Group on 18 August 1955 underProject Arrow) and upgraded toF-86F Sabres in February 1953 (F-86D in September).

In January 1954, the 107th received its first jet aircraft (F-94 Starfire, followed byF-86 Sabres in October 1957 &F-100C Super Sabre in August 1960). The Air Force Reserve's445th Fighter-Bomber Group withF-84 Thunderjets moved to Niagara Falls from Buffalo Airport on 15 June 1955 and moved toMemphis on 16 November 1957. Two 15th FG aircraft--T-33 & F-86 at Niagara Falls Air Force Base—collided in 1956,^[9] the AFB's medical unit treated injuries from a 1958 railcar explosion.^[10] In 1959 a NFAFB helicopter crashed inLetchworth State Park searching for an 83-year-oldprofessor emeritus,^[11]and in 1961 an F-100 from the base crashed into the Niagara Gorge.^[12]

SAGE interceptors

The 47th FIS aircraft were modified^[when?] to the F-86L automated data link configuration after the April 1958Syracuse Air Defense Sector was designated, and aGround Air Transmit Receive station was built^[where?] to relayground-controlled interception commands from the sector'sHancock FieldAir Defense Direction Center (DC-03) atSyracuse, New York (operational on December 1, 1958.)^[13] The F-86L interceptors were replaced byF-102 Delta Daggers in 1959^[14] (June). NFAFB's4621st Air Base Group was the host unit and supported the adjacent 1961-9Niagara Falls Air Force Missile Site withCIM-10 Bomarcsurface-to-air missiles. On 1 July 1960 at NFAFB, the 15th Fighter Group was inactivated and the 47th FIS was^[where?] reassigned. The 107th deployed to theBerlin Crisis of 1961 for 11 months. On February 11, 1963, the512th Troop Carrier Group equipped withC-119 Flying Boxcars was redesignated the914th Troop Carrier Group and concurrently assigned to the Air Force Reserve at Niagara Falls. In 1968, the 107th Tactical Fighter Group was stationed at Niagara Falls Air Force Base^[15] (3rd activation in 17 years.)

Vietnam War

In July 1968, approximately 400 members of the 107th were deployed toTuy Hoa Air Base,Republic of Viet Nam, for almost a year attached to the31st Tactical Fighter Wing. In 1969, theNiagara Support Center was planned to be closed,^[16] and the 4621st ABG was inactivated on 31 March 1970 (the last active-duty ADC organization at the base).^{[17][failed verification]}

In 1971 the 914th assumed command of the installation from active duty units^[which?] and switched from C-119 to C-130A Hercules aircraft. At the same time, the 107th converted toMcDonnell F-101 Voodoo interceptors. The1985 Niagara Falls A-4 collision ofBlue Angels at the Western New York Air Show '85 was "in front of a reviewing stand" (1 pilot killed.)^[18][19][20] The 914th received C-130E aircraft in 1986, and was the first to convert to the Air Force's more advanced C-130, the H-3, in late 1992. The 107th received F-4C Phantoms, then F-4Ds and in 1990, F-16ADF Fighting Falcons.

In October 1990, over 300 members of the 914th Airlift Group spent seven months in theUnited Arab Emirates forOperation Desert Shield; 107th members were also activated. In 1994, the 107th Fighter Group switched to an aerial refueling mission, becoming the 107th Air Refueling Group and then the 107th Air Refueling Wing (107 ARW) in 1995. The2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended closing the "United States Army Reserve Center and Army Maintenance Support Activity, Niagara Falls".^[21] In 2007, the 107 ARW was advised that it would change missions again to that of theater airlift, sharingC-130 Hercules aircraft as an ANG "Associate" unit to the 914 AW and re-designating as the 107th Airlift Wing (107 AW) in 2008. In 2012, it was announced that federal budget reductions due tosequestration would force yet another mission change on the 107 AW. During 2014, the 107 AW began transitioning to an unmanned / remotely piloted aircraft mission with theMQ-9 Reaper. The 107 AW flew its last airlift mission in December 2015 and in 2017 was redesignated as the107th Attack Wing (107 ATKW), while all C-130H2 aircraft and operations remained with the 914 AW.^[22]

The USGS added the military station to theGeographic Names Information System on November 17, 2008.^[2] Since 2011, the Army Reserve's277th Quartermaster Company has provided support for fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft operations.

In 2016, it was announced that the 914th would replace their agingC-130 aircraft with eightKC-135 Stratotankers. The conversion was included in the 2017 budget and changed the 914th's mission to an air refueling role with a subsequent re-designation as the914th Air Refueling Wing (914 ARW).^[23][24]

Three Army Reserve units call the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station home. All three are located in the Armed Forces Reserve Center (AFRC) which was built in 2013. The units are the 277th Quartermaster Company (Petroleum), 1982nd Forward Surgical Team (FST) and Alpha Company, 865th Combat Support Hospital (CSH).

• 90th Reconnaissance Wing, 1946–1949
• 26th Reconnaissance Group, 1946–1949
• 107th Group (Currently designated107th Attack Wing), 1948–Present
• 518th Air Defense Group, 1953

Re-designated 15th Fighter Group (Air Defense), 1955–1960

• 47thFighter-Interceptor Squadron, 1952–1960
• 35th Air Defense Missile Squadron, 1960–1969^{[citation needed]}
• 445th Fighter-Bomber Group, 1955–1957
• 914th Troop Carrier Group (Currently designated914th Air Refueling Wing, 1963–Present

• Wikimapia image of fuel depot and Tuscarora Rd gate

• Installations of the United States Air Force in New York (state)
• 1971 establishments in New York (state)
• Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in New York (state)
• Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces Technical Service Command
• Niagara County, New York
• Military airbases established in 1946

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