Ladd Army Airfield (Ladd Air Force Base) | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Military:Army airfield | ||||||||||
| Operator | United States Army | ||||||||||
| Serves | Fort Wainwright | ||||||||||
| Location | Fairbanks, Alaska | ||||||||||
| Built | 1938 | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 454 ft / 138 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 64°50′15″N147°36′52″W / 64.83750°N 147.61444°W /64.83750; -147.61444 | ||||||||||
| Website | www.wainwright.army.mil | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  FBK Location of airport in Alaska | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Source:Federal Aviation Administration[1] | |||||||||||
Ladd Field | |
  Location of Ladd Field in Fairbanks | |
| Location | Fort Wainwright |
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| Nearest city | Fairbanks, Alaska |
| Area | 1,010 acres (410 ha) |
| Built | 1938 |
| NRHP reference No. | 85002730[2] |
| AHRS No. | FAI-236 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | 4 February 1985 |
| Designated NHL | 4 February 1985[3] |
Ladd Army Airfield (IATA:FBK,ICAO:PAFB,FAALID:FBK) is the military airfield located atFort Wainwright inFairbanks, Alaska. It was originally calledFairbanks Air Base, but was renamedLadd Field on 1 December 1939,[4] in honor of MajorArthur K. Ladd, a pilot in the U.S. Army Air Corps who died in a plane crash nearDale, South Carolina on 13 December 1935.[5][6]
The U.S. government began its first serious infrastructure expenditures inAlaska during the 1930s. Most prominent was an increase in the military presence. For most of the early 20th century the only Army post in Alaska wasChilkoot Barracks/Fort Seward, located just outside coastalHaines in the state's far southeast. With the threat of war looming as the 1930s ended, the need was established to develop multiple facilities as a means of defending Alaska against possible enemy attack.
The U.S. government acquired homesteads southeast of the town of Fairbanks beginning in 1938. From this 6 square miles (16 km2)Ladd Field was created. The first aircraft to land there was aDouglas O-38F,33-324, c/n 1177, in October 1940, which is now preserved in theNational Museum of the United States Air Force.[7] Major construction of facilities began in 1941 and 1942, after the U.S. enteredWorld War II. The initial construction occurred several miles from Fairbanks along a bend of theChena River, consisting of an airfield, hangars, housing and support buildings. Many of these buildings still stand today.[8]
Alaska's transportation infrastructure at the time was so limited and the problem of military supply so acute it made sense to concentrate the bases along existing supply lines nearAnchorage andFairbanks. Ladd's location near theRichardson Highway and theAlaska Railroad, its access to fuel from theCANOL pipeline, and its position at the time as one of the United States' northernmost developed airbases, were important factors in securing its earlyCold War prominence.
The major use of Ladd Field was primarily cold-weather testing of aircraft and equipment. Only Interior Alaska offered the consistently cold temperatures needed. However, theAttack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 forced the temporary halt since the military needed all aircraft for the defense of Alaska.
Testing at Ladd Field began again in 1942, but by 1943 aircraft cold-weather testing had become a second priority, as Ladd became the hub for fighters and bombers destined for the "Forgotten 1,000 Mile War" in the Aleutians against the Japanese or on their way to Soviet forces as part of the Lend-Lease program.
Reflecting the need to ensure aircraft bound for the Soviet Union were prepared for the flight to Galena and Nome, prior to flying across the Bering Straits to Siberia, Ladd AAF theAlaska Air Depot of XI AF Service Command was activated on 8 July 1942. The depot moved toElmendorf Field in 1943, although some of its subordinate units remained until 1944.
The airplanes arrived at Ladd were stripped of all but basic instrumentation and armament. Flights took off with no navigational aids from Ladd Field and fly the first leg toGalena, Alaska on theYukon River. After refueling they went on toNome, for the short hop across theBering Strait toSiberia. Many were lost because of bad weather. The weather was also a danger to the ferrying of aircraft intoFairbanks.
Ice fog became a problem for airplanes landing at the field. The airplanes coming in fromGreat Falls AAB,Montana often could not make it to Ladd. Worse, many didn’t have enough fuel to make it back to Big Delta (to use the alternate Allen Field). It was this danger that led to the military decision to build an auxiliary field south of Ladd Field for a weather-alternate which eventually became "26 Mile Field", and later,Eielson Air Force Base.
By the end of the war, 7,926 aircraft were ferried though Ladd Field. The last aircraft transited the airfield on 1 September 1945.
When the Air Force was made a separate branch in 1947 the name was changed toLadd Air Force Base (Ladd AFB). For many years, it would be one of two Air Force bases in the Fairbanks area.
Units assigned to Ladd Field included:
Combat Units
Depot Units
Ferrying and Transport Units
Weather and Testing Units (including units at Ladd AFB)
From the late 1940s into the 1950s, Ladd AFB served as the northern hub for Air Force activities in Alaska. As headquarters first of the Northern Sector of theAlaskan Air Command and later of the11th Air Division, Ladd was centrally involved in the Cold War missions of the Alaskan Command and in the transient missions of other military units, including theStrategic Air Command (SAC).
Units assigned to Ladd AFB included:
Divisions
Wings
Groups
Squadrons
Other units
Ladd was not exclusively an Air Force site. The Army was also present to provide antiaircraft (AAA) support and base defense. At Ladd, Cold War activities fell mainly into three time periods: an early phase from 1946 to 1950; a buildup and support hub phase from 1950 to 1957; and a transfer phase from 1958 to 1961, when the installation was turned over to the Army.
From 1946 to 1950, personnel from Ladd laid some of the groundwork of the early Cold War with strategic reconnaissance and Arctic research projects. Among other missions, they made initial assessments of the Soviet presence in the Arctic; more fully developed the practice of polar navigation; extended Arctic topography; tested cold weather equipment, clothing, and human performance, as well as maintained the area air defenses of the region.
In 1948, as Cold War tensions heightened, the Army's 2nd Infantry sent ground defense soldiers to Ladd
From the onset of the Korean War in 1950 and continuing through 1957, Ladd saw intense use. It became a busy operations and logistics center with significantly expanded facilities and personnel strength.
As the northern region headquarters of the 11th Air Division, the base was the logistical support center for Alaska's new defense projects. Ladd supported Aircraft Control & Warning (AC&W) sites and forward operating bases such asGalena, Alaska, the northwestern segments of theDistant Early Warning Line (DEW Line), and the White Alice communications network (WACS).
Research projects grew from early Arctic aeromedicine and cold weather testing to include ice station research on the polar pack ice and support for Air Force contracted research in geophysics, communications, and other disciplines. During the 1957/1958 International Geophysical Year (IGY)Ladd provided organizational and logistical support for Operation Ice Skate.
Air defense remained the primary combat mission, while tactical ground support, fighter escort, Arctic training exercises, and base defense were other parts of the base's integrated combat role. The 4th Infantry supplied the Army manpower through 1956.
After 1957, several developments affected Ladd's mission. The technologies of warfare, communications, and reconnaissance had changed.Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and satellites would eventually mean a smaller role for AC&W units, the DEW line, and land-based communications such as White Alice. In 1958, substantial budget reductions forced commanders to reassess their resources. Near Fairbanks, two major air bases, Eielson and Ladd, existed less than thirty miles apart.
By 1958, the space age was dawning. ICBMs changed the focus of air defense away from responding to crewed bombers, and satellites were poised to revolutionize communications. That year, the Eisenhower administration drastically curtailed defense funding. One year later, in September 1959, USAF Headquarters informed the Alaskan Air Command that Ladd AFB would be closed and its functions transferred to Eielson AFB and Elmendorf AFB.
For some time, the closure plans remained secret. In May 1960, USAF announced that the 449th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron would be inactivated as part of a "recent reevaluation of the Air Defense Master Plan".[citation needed] By September 1960, Air Force flying operations ceased at Ladd AFB, while announcements confirmed that the Army would take over the installation.
By 1960, operations at Ladd AFB had already diminished from the height of activity in the mid-1950s. The last fighter squadron, the 449th, was inactivated in August 1960. Remaining operations included the Arctic Survival Training School and the MATS Beaverette passenger flights to Elmendorf AFB and McChord AFB. These responsibilities transferred entirely to Eielson AFB. Most other functions transferred to Elmendorf AFB, including a unit of C-123 transport aircraft, Tactical Air Navigation (TACAN) station operations, and all logistic support for auxiliary sites. A few operations continued on-site as tenant commands under Air Force control after the transfer to the Army, most notably the USAF hospital and the Arctic Aeromedical Laboratory.
The actual transfer operation was an administrative undertaking lasting more than six months. Each Air Force function was scrutinized and either transferred or closed out, with supplies and equipment turned in, inventories zeroed out, and personnel reassigned. Ladd AFB, already the headquarters of the Army's Yukon Command, would see the arrival of 2,000 Army personnel previously stationed at Eielson AFB as part of the transfer.
On 1 January 1961, the Army formally took over the installation and renamed itFort Wainwright with the airfield facility renamedLadd Field. The airfield was later renamed asLadd Army Airfield (Ladd AAF).
The elements of the airfield associated with its role in World War II, including two runways, hangars and other operational facilities, and officers' quarters, were listed on theNational Register of Historic Places[2] and designated aNational Historic Landmark in 1985.[3][17]
Parts of the 1955 movieTop of the World, starringDale Robertson, are set at Ladd.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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