Travis Air Force Base - History

History

Originally named Fairfield-Suisun Army Air Base, construction began on Travis in June 1942. Initially, Fourth Air Force intended to station medium attack bombers at the new air base, and in the autumn of 1942, some of its aircraft used the runways for practice landings. During this period, United States Navy planes also practiced maneuvers at the same field. For a few months, in fact, the outline of the deck of an aircraft carrier was painted on one runway. This helped newly commissioned Navy pilots, flying F6F Hellcats and SB2C Helldivers, practice carrier landings and takeoffs before they were assigned to the Pacific Fleet.

Despite its plans, Fourth Air Force never officially occupied the base. On 13 October 1942, following negotiations that had begun in September, the War Department assigned the new facility to the Air Transport Command (ATC) in recognition of the base's potential to become a major aerial port and supply transfer point for the Pacific War Zone. Its proximity to rail, highway, and water transportation plus its location near San Francisco figured heavily in this decision. ATC assigned the airfield to the West Coast Sector of its Pacific Wing.

The first unit to take up permanent residence at the airfield was a group of ten enlisted men and one officer from the 914th Quartermaster Division at Hamilton Field. These supply and food service workers arrived on 10 May 1943 to prepare the base for the arrival, in turn, of the first ATC personnel. One week later, on 17 May, ATC officially activated Fairfield-Suisun AAB and activated the 23rd Ferrying (later Transport) Group on 29 May 1943. The base's primary mission during World War II was ferrying aircraft and supplies to the Pacific Theater. The installation's first commander was Lt Col. Arthur Stevenson.

By the end of World War II, Fairfield-Suisun AAB had become the West Coast's largest aerial port. The airlift of troops and supplies to occupied Japan and Korea, and the processing of war-weary returning GI's, had become its primary mission. Following the establishment of the United States Air Force as a separate service in 1947, the installation was renamed Fairfield-Suisun Air Force Base. On 1 June 1948, the Military Air Transport Service assumed jurisdiction of the base. In July, two of the base's air transport squadrons left for USAFE to assist in the Berlin Airlift.

On 1 May 1949, the Strategic Air Command (SAC) became the parent major command for Travis AFB, turning it into a major long-range reconnaissance and intercontinental bombing installation for the 9th Bomb Group/9th Bomb Wing. For the next nine years, airlift operations became secondary while Travis served as home for SAC bombers such as the B-29 Superfortress, B-36 Peacemaker, and eventually, the B-52 Stratofortress. During this period, new hangars appeared, runways were added and widened, and permanent barracks and family living quarters were built.

The base was renamed Travis Air Force Base in 1951 for Brigadier General Robert F. Travis, who was killed on 5 August 1950 when a B-29 Superfortress on which he was acting as command pilot crashed 5 minutes after takeoff, killing General Travis and 18 others. Although the aircraft was carrying a Mark 4 nuclear weapon, the bomb's plutonium pit was carried aboard another aircraft, rendering a nuclear explosion impossible. However, the 5000 lbs. of high explosives in the weapon exploded about twenty minutes after the crash. The base was officially renamed Travis Air Force Base on 20 April 1951.

To provide air defense for the base, United States Army Nike surface-to-air missile sites were constructed during 1957-58. Travis Air Force Base Defense Area Nike Sites ringing the air base were located near Dixon/Lambie (T-33) 38°13′19″N 121°51′26″W / 38.22194°N 121.85722°W / 38.22194; -121.85722; Elmira (T-10) 38°19′02″N 121°53′37″W / 38.31722°N 121.89361°W / 38.31722; -121.89361; Fairfield/Cement Hill (T-86) 38°16′34″N 122°00′08″W / 38.27611°N 122.00222°W / 38.27611; -122.00222, and Potrero Hills (T-53) 38°12′10″N 121°56′08″W / 38.20278°N 121.93556°W / 38.20278; -121.93556. Regular Army units manned the sites.

The sites at Elmira (T-10) and Fairfield/Cement Hill (T-86) later received modifications to accept the Nike Hercules missile, while the sites at Dixon/Lambie and Potrero Hills were inactivated in 1959. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Travis battalion assumed responsibility from the Army for the remaining active batteries guarding the entire San Francisco region. Headquarters facilities were located on Travis AFB. The Fairfield/Cement Hill site remained operational until 1971, and Elmira shut down in 1974.

The Military Air Transport Service (MATS) resumed command of Travis AFB on 1 July 1958, after SAC's new dispersal policy led to the transfer of the 14th Air Division to Beale AFB, California and the 1501st Air Transport Wing (Heavy) became the host unit.

The Army Corps of Engineers San Francisco District commenced work in 1959 on a CIM-10 Bomarc surface-to-air missile installation near Travis 38°29′14″N 121°53′07″W / 38.48722°N 121.88528°W / 38.48722; -121.88528. However, on March 25, 1960, the Air Force announced a $300 million cutback in the program and work ceased at the site.

On 1 January 1966, MATS was redesignated as the Military Airlift Command (MAC) and on 8 January 1966, the 60th Military Airlift Wing (60 MAW) replaced the 1501st as host unit. Over the next three decades, Travis would become known as the "Gateway to the Pacific" in its role as the principal military airlift hub in the western United States. Initially equipped with legacy C-124 Globemaster and C-133 Cargomaster aircraft from the 1501st, the year 1966 would also see the 60 MAW introduce the Air Force's new all-jet heavy airlifter, the C-141 Starlifter. In 1969, the 349th Military Airlift Wing (349 MAW) of the Air Force Reserve (AFRES) was also established as an "Associate" wing to the 60 MAW, with both units sharing the same aircraft and eventually seamlessly mixing flight crews, maintenance crews and other support personnel. In 1970, the 60 MAW and 349 MAW (Assoc) would also begin concurrently operating the Air Force's largest airlift aircraft, the C-5 Galaxy. In 1991, the 60 MAW was redesignated as the 60th Airlift Wing (60 AW) and the 349 MAW was redesignated as the 349th Airlift Wing (349 AW) the following year.

In 1992, with the reorganization of the Air Force following the end of the Cold War, Military Airlift Command (MAC) was inactivated and Travis came under the control of the newly-established Air Mobility Command (AMC). With the concurrent inactivation of Strategic Air Command (SAC) and the transfer of most of SAC's air refueling aircraft to AMC, the 60 AW gained KC-10 Extender aircraft that had been previously assigned to March AFB, California. With the inclusion of an aerial refueling mission into its long-time strategic airlift mission, the 60 AW and the 349 AW were redesignated as the 60th Air Mobility Wing (60 AMW) and the 349th Air Mobility Wing (349 AMW), the designations they continue to hold today. In 1997, the 349 AMW (Assoc) also became part of the newly-established Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) while remaining operationally "gained" by AMC.

In 1997, the 60 AMW also shed its C-141 aircraft, which were transferred to other Air Force, AFRC and Air National Guard (ANG) wings, while retaining its C-5 and KC-10 aircraft. On 8 August 2006, the 60 AMW and 349 AMW (Assoc) again acquired a third aircraft type in their inventory with the arrival of the C-17 Globemaster III.