| Eaker Air Force Base Blytheville Air Force Base Blytheville Army Airfield    | |
|---|---|
| Part of Strategic Air Command/Tactical Air Command | |
| Blytheville, Arkansas | |
 The former base's control tower | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Air Force Base |
| Controlled by | Army Air Forces Eastern Flying Training Command (1942-1945) Continental Air Forces (1945-1946)Air Materiel Command (1946) |
| Location | |
  Eaker AFB  Eaker AFB | |
| Coordinates | 35°57′52″N89°56′38″W / 35.96444°N 89.94389°W /35.96444; -89.94389 |
| Site history | |
| Built | Blytheville Army Airfield - May 10, 1942;Blytheville Air Force Base - August 9, 1954 |
| In use | 1942–1946, 1953–1992 |
| Garrison information | |
| Occupants | 25th Two-Engine Flying Training Group (1942-1945) 461st Bombardment Wing (1956–1958) |
Blytheville Air Force Base was aUnited States Air Force base that operated under the Tactical Air Command and Strategic Air Command from 1954 until its closure in 1992. The facility originally served as aB-25 pilot training school during WW2. For the majority of its operation, the base served as a home for SAC'sB-52 ground alert program. In 1988, the facility was renamedEaker Air Force Base in honor ofWorld War II General of theEighth Air Force,Ira C. Eaker.[1] It was located 3 miles (4.8 km) northwest ofBlytheville, Arkansas. The facility now operates as the Arkansas Aeroplex andArkansas International Airport.
Constructed on former agricultural land, the site was originally activated as the Blytheville Army Airfield in 1942. DuringWorld War II, the site served as a training airfield as part of the 70,000 Pilot Training Program. It was one of many air fields created in the country's interior during the war for this purpose. Blytheville, Arkansas was selected as a training location due to its proximity to theMississippi River, where supplies could easily be shipped to and from the site.[2] Construction of the airfield at Blytheville was quicker than other pilot schools in Arkansas, so the first groups to train at the base were originally intended forWalnut Ridge Army Airfield andHelena Aerotech for their basic training.[3] There were also additional auxiliary airfields atLuxora, AR,Manilla, AR,Hornersville, MO,Steele, MO, andCooter, MO.[4]
The first casualty of the flight school was Herbert Perkins, a native of Virginia whoseBT-13 crashed near the intermediate air field atLuxora, AR.[5] The airfield was used as the Southeastern Training Command's flight training school. Cadets trained on theAT-6,AT-9, andAT-10 to learn to fly the B-25.[2] Additionally, the flight school hosted a small number of TB-25Gs, a trainer version of the B-25.[6] In 1945, the base also hosted a glider school to train servicemen to fly theWaco CG-4.[7] The airfield closed in October 1945 after the Second World War ended.[1] Then the airfield briefly became a processing center for the rapid demobilization of military personnel being discharged. TheWar Assets Administration officially closed down the installation in 1946, at which point control and responsibility for the land was transferred to the city of Blytheville.[2]
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On 15 July 1955, the facility was reopened by theTactical Air Command as Blytheville Air Force Base (AFB), when the461st Bombardment Wing was moved fromHill Air Force Base in Utah. Blytheville AFB became fully operational when it was equipped with a wing of three squadrons ofB-57 bombers on 19 July 1955.[1] While the 461st never saw any combat during its time at Blytheville Air Force Base, it was assigned to a number of training exercises and experiments. The 461st Wing's B-57Bs participated on Operation Sagebrush,[8]Operation Redwing,[9][10] Operation Mobile Charlie, Operation Counter Punch, and Operation Able Vista.[11]
On April 1, 1958, the base was formally transferred into theStrategic Air Command, as part of a planned expansion of the B-52 bomber program. In July 1959, the97th Bombardment Wing subsequently assumed control of the base and brought with it the long-range B-52G bomber and the KC-135A Stratotanker aerial refueling aircraft to support bomber operations and SAC's ground alert program. AReady Alert Facility was constructed on the base in 1960, similar to others being built all over America at the time. Blytheville AFB experienced a great deal of activity throughout the Cold War era. The base was taken to a heightened state of alert on three occasions. First, the 4229th Air Base Unit was taken to a "personnel alert" during the 1958 Lebanon Crisis. Second, the base was taken toDEFCON 2 and the 97th Bombardment Wing was placed on airborne alert on 22 October 1962, during theCuban Missile Crisis. Two B-52G bombers were readied to strike the Soviet Union with nuclear weapons if necessary—for which the wing received theAir Force Outstanding Unit Award for its performance during the crisis. And third, the base was taken to DEFCON 3 in 1973 during theYom Kippur War.[1][12]
During theVietnam War the 97th Bomber Wing at Blytheville supported strike operations throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s. A bomber crew from Blytheville was among the first shot down duringOperation Linebacker II, a December 1972 mission targeting complexes inNorth Vietnam. Three crewmen died in the crash.[13] Six more men from the 97th were also lost in Vietnam, whose names are recognized on a memorial placard at the former base. In 1972, all of the bombers were temporarily moved to Guam before being returned to Blytheville AFB, at which time the installation resumed normal functions.[2] It launched rescue missions from the base toGrenada in 1983 and in August 1990,[2] the pilots of the 97th Bomber Wing began practicing for missions in theMiddle East and eventually supportedOperation Desert Storm.[14]
In 1988, the U.S. Air Force officially renamed Blytheville AFB to Eaker AFB in commemoration of World War II General Ira Eaker, the former commander of the 8th Air Force. Officials had hoped, after hearing rumors of the base's possible closure, that the name would endear the base among military leaders and be enough to incentivize its continued existence. Unfortunately, Eaker Air Force Base topped the Strategic Air Command's list ofbase closures in 1991 and with theCold War coming to an end, the installation was officially chosen; in March 1992, the last aircraft left the base. Extensive efforts to offset the negative economic effects on the community of Blytheville were undertaken by local and federal officials, who cleaned up the site and then distributed the land to various organizations, including theDepartment of the Interior (DOI), theFish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and theDepartment of Veterans Affairs (VA). Some of the land has since been declared aNational Historic Landmark.[1]
The base closure cost the community over 700 civilian jobs, but half of these were recovered through the adaptive reuse of the former base, such asUnited States Post Office's utilization of the base in the late 1990s as an airport hub during the holidays, some of the base housing being converted by Westminster Village of the Mid-South for a retirement community, the construction of a $2.5 million sports complex by the local community, and the private investment of some $3 million for the creation of the Thunder Bayou Golf Course.[1]
Within a decade of the base's closure, the facility was reopened as the Arkansas Aeroplex, also known as theArkansas International Airport. The main tenant of the Aeroplex is Aviation Repair Technologies, which specializes in large aircraft repair.[15]
In 2020, the National Cold War Center was created by local citizens to take the base's former SAC Alert Facility and turn it into the primary exhibit for a museum that focused on the many aspects of the Cold War.[16]
Blytheville Air Force Base Strategic Air Command (SAC) Alert and Weapons Storage Areas Historic District | |
 Building 1225, the Readiness Crew Building of the base's SAC alert facility. It is currently being restored to become a museum exhibit. | |
 | |
| Location | 4701 Memorial Drive,Blytheville, Arkansas |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 35°57′33″N89°57′47″W / 35.95917°N 89.96306°W /35.95917; -89.96306 |
| Area | 247 acres (100 ha) |
| NRHP reference No. | 100001999[17] |
| Added to NRHP | 26 January 2018 |
The facility houses two historic districts, theBlytheville Air Force Base Strategic Air Command (SAC) Alert and Weapons Storage Areas Historic District and theBlytheville Air Force Base Capehart Housing Historic District. Both were listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 2018.[17]
The SAC Alert Facility is a 247 acres (100 ha)historic district which included 23contributing buildings, 33contributing structures, twocontributing sites, acontributing object, as well as two non-contributing buildings. The facility was originally constructed in 1960 after the Strategic Air Command took over the base.[12]
In April 2022, the National Cold War Center began working to restore the facility as its primary exhibit.[16]
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