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| Portland Air National Guard Base | |||||||||||
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| Portland,Oregon in theUnited States | |||||||||||
 F-15EX Eagle IIs of theOregon Air National Guard's142nd Fighter Wing at Portland Air National Guard Base in 2024. | |||||||||||
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| Site information | |||||||||||
| Type | Air National Guard base | ||||||||||
| Owner | Department of Defense | ||||||||||
| Operator | US Air Force (USAF) | ||||||||||
| Controlled by | Oregon Air National Guard | ||||||||||
| Condition | Operational | ||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||
  Portland ANGB Location in the United States | |||||||||||
| Coordinates | 45°34′56″N122°35′23″W / 45.58222°N 122.58972°W /45.58222; -122.58972 (Portland ANGB L-33) | ||||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||||
| Built | 1940 (1940) (as Portland Army Air Base) | ||||||||||
| In use | 1940 – present | ||||||||||
| Garrison information | |||||||||||
| Garrison | 142nd Wing | ||||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||||
| Identifiers | IATA: PDX,ICAO: KPDX,FAA LID: PDX,WMO: 726980 | ||||||||||
| Elevation | 9.4 meters (31 ft)AMSL | ||||||||||
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| Airfield shared withPortland International Airport Source:Federal Aviation Administration[1] | |||||||||||
Portland Air National Guard Base is aUnited States Air Force base, located atPortland International Airport, in Portland, Oregon.
The base is the home of the142nd Wing,Oregon Air National Guard. The 142nd FW participates around the globe supporting drug interdiction,NORAD air defense, as well as contingency operations such as Operations Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom. To complete these missions, four groups are assigned to the 142nd Wing: 142nd Operations Group, 142nd Maintenance Group, 142nd Mission Support Group and the 142nd Medical Group.
In addition, the Portland, Oregon Air National Guard Base is host to several tenant units:
Additionally to National Guard activities, the air base serves as the headquarters for the 73rd Columbia Composite Squadron of theCivil Air Patrol.[2]
The base's history begins in 1936 when Works Progress Administration (WPA) funding allowed the City of Portland to purchase 700 acres of land along the Columbia River and bordering the Columbia Slough for a "Super Airport" to replace an earlier facility established in 1926.
On 1 July 1940 theGHQ Air ForceNorthwest Air District established a small depot to provide service for military aircraft using the airport. The 57th Service Squadron moved to the airport fromHamilton Field, California on 31 March 1941, the Air Corps facilities being designatedPortland Army Air Base. Due to tensions between the United States and theJapanese Empire, theOregon National Guard, sent its 123d Observation Squadron withNorth American O-47s to conduct patrols over theColumbia River approaches and the OregonPacific coastline.
The initial Air Corps use of the base was when Northwest Air District moved the55th Pursuit Group (Interceptor) to the new base in late May 1941 from Hamilton Field. Three squadrons ofP-43 Lancers (the predecessor to theRepublic P-47 Thunderbolt) operated from the base. Portland AAB was also used as a transport field, with the64th Transport Group atMarch Field, California stationing its 16th Transport Squadron at the base in July 1941 withC-47s. Later, during World War II, the base was a very active air transport center handling about 47 military transport landings a day.
After thePearl Harbor Attack, the17th Bombardment Group at Pendleton Airport in Northeast Oregon, now called Eastern Oregon Regional Airport, sent theB-25 Mitchell-equipped34th Bombardment Squadron (as part of theSierra Bombardment Group) to conduct antisubmarine and coastal patrols along the Pacific Coast. TheP-43s from the55th PG also flew reconnaissance missions until February 1942 when they were moved toPaine Field, Washington (although two of the squadrons had been dispersed to various fields in the Pacific Northwest right after the attack).
The42d Bombardment Group used Portland for aB-25 Mitchell training base early in the war. Its75th Bombardment Squadron moved to the field in January 1942, and until March trained B-25 combat crews. The squadron itself was deployed toNew Caledonia in April and entered combat in June of that year.
The28th Composite Group atElmendorf Field,Alaska Territory stationed its406th Bombardment Squadron at Portland during the summer and fall of 1942 as a B-25 OTU. Pilots and crews were then deployed to theAleutian Campaign. The squadron moved to Alaska in November to engage the Japanese in combat, after the end of the campaign in October 1943, it returned briefly to Portland in October 1943 for re-equipping with new B-25s from North American before again deploying toRAF Alconbury, England. The 47th Bombardment Squadron (41st Bombardment Group) also received B-25s at Portland prior to its deployment to the Pacific Theater atTarawa.
In late 1943,IV Fighter Command established a third-phase fighter training program at Portland, to finish training of squadrons after their initial formation. The354th Fighter Group moved to field in October 1943, and flewP-39 Airacobras for about a month before deploying toEngland. The 354th, however was the only combat unit to train at Portland, withFourth Air Force converting the field to a replacement training field. The372d Fighter Group was assigned to Portland in November 1943, and performed the RTU mission with three squadrons of P-39s until March 1944. It was reassigned toThird Air Force in Louisiana in April 1944.
With the departure of the fighter RTU in April 1944, Portland Army Air Base returned to its transport mission for the remainder of the war, being operated jointly with the civilian airport. It was inactivated in 1946.
In 1947, theTactical Air Command (TAC) re-established aUnited States Air Force presence at Portland Airport,Portland Air Force Base being activated as a joint military/civil facility.
TheAir Force Reserve349th Troop Carrier Group atHamilton AFB, California began deployingC-46 Commando transports of several troop carrier squadrons to the airport under the TAC Twelfth Reserve Area. In 1949, the USAFR403d Troop Carrier Wing, Medium, was stationed at the airport. In 1952, the 406th deployed toFar East Air Forces inJapan forKorean War duty. It returned to Portland in 1953 and remained until 1957, flyingC-119 Flying Boxcars until being moved toSelfridge AFB, Michigan.
In March 1948,Air Defense Command (ADC) activated anAN/TPS-1B radar at Portland Airport. It was installed and activated on a 24-hour-a-day basis in March 1948 as an 'Interim' site to protect the air approaches toHanford, Washington. In August 1950, the site was incorporated into the 'Lashup' system, given designation "L-33". In 1951 the AN/TPS-1B search radar was joined by anAN/CPS-5 search radar. Operations ceased in February 1952 with the activation of site "P-12" atNorth Bend AFS in southern Oregon.
In 1952 jurisdiction of Portland AFB was transferred from TAC to Air Defense Command. ADC activated the503d Air Defense Group on 1 February 1952. The 503d ADG controlled the F-94 Starfire 497th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron and the F-86D Sabre 357th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron from the base. In 1955, the group was re-designated as the 357th Fighter Group. The 357th remained at Portland, controlling several interceptor squadrons until 30 March 1966 when ADC inactivated the base.
The 142d Fighter Group was activated at Portland on 1 March 1951. The Group being allocated to the Oregon ANG on 24 May 1946, being re-designated from theWorld War II371st Fighter Group.
After Air Defense Command closed its facilities in 1966, Portland AFB was inactivated and the military facilities were reduced in size. The 142nd Fighter Interceptor Group became the host unit of the military facilities at Portland International Airport. Around 1990, the Air Force facilities were designated asPortland Air Reserve Station, being a secure facility on the south side of the main airport runway and remaining a very active presence at the airport. Following a major overhaul of the USAF organizational structure in 1992, the 142d was redesignated as the142d Fighter Wing (142 FW) and became anAir National Guard unit operationally-gained by theAir Combat Command (ACC).
In addition to theOregon Air National Guard, the facility also hosted the939th Rescue Wing (939 RQW) of theAir Force Reserve Command (AFRC), equipped withHC-130 andHH-60 combat search and rescue (CSAR) aircraft. In 2000, the 939 RQW began to divest itself of the CSAR mission, transitioning to theKC-135 Stratotanker aircraft and being redesignated as the939th Air Refueling Wing (939 ARW).
BRAC 2005 brought the F-15C/D to the 142 FW, replacing its early 1970s A/B model Eagles, as well as directing the inactivation of the 939 ARW by 2008. TheBRAC commission retained the 142 FW's Expeditionary Combat Support elements at the installation, to be renamedPortland Air National Guard Base, along with the 244th and 272d Combat Communications Squadrons (ANG), and the 304th Rescue Squadron (AFRC), the 304th to be a geographically separated unit (GSU) of the Air Force Reserve Command's920th Rescue Wing in Florida.
On 10 August 2018, two F-15C's from the 142nd, both originally Massachusetts Air National Guard fighters on a "swap" to the Oregon Air National Guard, intercepted astolen Horizon Air Bombardier Q400 turboprop over Seattle.[3] The fighters armed with liveAIM-9 Sidewinder andAIM-120 AMRAAM missiles, intercepted and escorted the plane away from populated areas before it crashed onKetron Island nearMcChord Air Force Base.[3]
In August 2020, it was announced that Portland will planned host the Air Force's first operationalF-15EX unit from 2025. The F-15EX is intended to replace the ageing F-15C/D Eagle.[4]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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