Will Rogers Air National Guard Base is a facility of the United States Air Force located at Will Rogers World Airport as part of the Oklahoma Air National Guard.
Video Will Rogers Air National Guard Base
History
World War II
During World War II Will Rogers Field was a major training facility for the United States Army Air Forces; many fighter and bomber units were activated and received initial training there.
Known USAAF groups stationed at Will Rogers Field were:
- 44th Bombardment Group (Heavy) July 1942 - August 28, 1942
- 46th Bombardment Group (Light) November 1942 - October 1943
- 47th Bombardment Group (Light) February 16, 1942 - July 18, 1942
- 48th Bombardment Group (Light) May 22, 1941 - February 7, 1942
- 86th Bombardment Group (Light) February 10, 1942 - June 20, 1942
- 311th Bombardment Group (Light) March 2, 1942 - July 4, 1942
- 312th Bombardment Group (Light) June 1942 - August 1942
- 409th Bombardment Group (Light) June 1, 1943 - October 1943
- 410th Bombardment Group (Light) July 1, 1943 - October 1943
- 411th Bombardment Group (Light) August 1, 1943 - August 15, 1943
- 416th Bombardment Group (Light) February 5, 1943 - June 4, 1943
- 417th Bombardment Group (Light) March 28, 1943 - August 4, 1943
- 9th Photographic Group (Reconnaissance) October 1, 1943 - May 6, 1944
- 2d Reconnaissance Group October 7, 1943 - May 1, 1944
- 70th Tactical Reconnaissance Group November 14, 1943 - November 30, 1943
After completion of their initial training, these units were reassigned to other airfields for secondary training before deployment overseas.
Modern era
Until 2008, the Oklahoma Air National Guard's 137th Airlift Wing (137 AW) and its C-130 Hercules aircraft were located at the airport's Will Rogers Air National Guard Base. As part of the 2005 round of Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) recommendations, the majority of the maintenance unit (excluding the munitions flight) was relocated to nearby Tinker Air Force Base, where the wing transitioned to the KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft and became the 137th Air Refueling Wing (137 ARW), an "Associate" unit of the 507th Air Refueling Wing (507 ARW). The unit then shared KC-135 aircraft with the Air Force Reserve Command's 507th Air Refueling Wing in a joint operations and maintenance program. On 30 Jun 2015, the 137 ARW / 507 ARW partnership at Tinker AFB officially ended. The 137th will transition to Air Force Special Operations Command and will redesignate as the 137th Special Operations Wing (137 SOW) operating the MC-12 Liberty for the Oklahoma Air National Guard, marking a return of ANG flight operations to Will Rogers. <-
Will Rogers Air National Guard Base also continues to be the home of the unit's Expeditionary Support Group headquarters, operations and support, as well as the Oklahoma ANG's 146th Air Support Operations Squadron. The base has also seen joint association with the Oklahoma Army National Guard, which maintains a helicopter maintenance program at the location.
Maps Will Rogers Air National Guard Base
See also
- Oklahoma World War II Army Airfields
References
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
External links
- Oklahoma City Composite Squadron - Civil Air Patrol
- FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective November 9, 2017
- FAA Terminal Procedures for OKC, effective November 9, 2017
- Resources for this airport:
- AirNav airport information for KOKC
- ASN accident history for OKC
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for KOKC
- FAA current OKC delay information
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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