Eglin Air Force Base is a
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
(USAF) base in the western
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
Panhandle, located about southwest of
Valparaiso in
Okaloosa County.
The host unit at Eglin is the
96th Test Wing
The 96th Test Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force Test Center of Air Force Materiel Command at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The wing was activated at Eglin in 1994 as the 96th Air Base Wing, the headquarters for ...
(formerly the
96th Air Base Wing). The 96 TW is the test and evaluation center for Air Force air-delivered weapons, navigation and guidance systems, command and control systems, and
Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) systems.
Eglin AFB was established in 1935 as the Valparaiso Bombing and Gunnery Base. It is named in honor of
Lt. Col. Frederick I. Eglin who was killed in a crash of his
Northrop A-17
The Northrop A-17, a development of the Northrop Gamma 2F model, was a two-seat, single-engine, monoplane, attack bomber built in 1935 by the Northrop Corporation for the United States Army Air Corps. When in British Commonwealth service during W ...
attack aircraft on a flight from
Langley Langley may refer to:
People
* Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name
* Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer
* Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfor ...
to
Maxwell Field
Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation under the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. O ...
,
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
.
History
Creation and World War II
Much of the base was part of a
national forest until the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
in Europe when a proving ground for aircraft armament was established at Eglin. The
U.S. Forest Service ceded over 340,000 acres of the
Choctawhatchee National Forest to the
War Department War Department may refer to:
* War Department (United Kingdom)
* United States Department of War (1789–1947)
See also
* War Office, a former department of the British Government
* Ministry of defence
* Ministry of War
* Ministry of Defence
* D ...
on 18 October 1940.
Eglin Air Force Base evolved from the 1933 creation of the Valparaiso Airport, when an arrowhead-shaped parcel of was cleared for use as an
airdrome.
In 1931, personnel of the
Air Corps Tactical School
The Air Corps Tactical School, also known as ACTS and "the Tactical School", was a military professional development school for officers of the United States Army Air Service and United States Army Air Corps, the first such school in the world. C ...
, newly relocated to
Maxwell Field
Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation under the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. O ...
,
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
, sought a location for a bombing and gunnery range. They saw the potential of the sparsely populated forested areas surrounding Valparaiso and the vast expanse of the adjacent
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...
.
From October 1941 to October 1945, a
USAAF
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
Fixed Gunnery School operated at the base, supervised by the
75th Flying Training Wing.
At its peak during World War II, the base employed more than 1,000 officers, 10,000 enlisted personnel and 4,000 civilians.
Postwar
![Northrop F-89C](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Northrop_F-89C.jpg)
After the war, Eglin became a pioneer in developing the techniques for missile launching and handling; and the development of drone or pilotless aircraft beginning with the
Republic-Ford JB-2 Loon
The Republic-Ford JB-2, also known as the Thunderbug, KGW and LTV-N-2 Loon, was a United States copy of the German V-1 flying bomb. Developed in 1944, and planned to be used in the United States invasion of Japan ( Operation Downfall), ...
, an American copy of the
V-1 V1, V01 or V-1 can refer to version one (for anything) (e.g., see version control)
V1, V01 or V-1 may also refer to:
In aircraft
* V-1 flying bomb, a World War II German weapon
* V1 speed, the maximum speed at which an aircraft pilot may abort ...
. The
1st Experimental Guided Missiles Group was activated at Eglin Field, Florida, on 6 February 1946, operating out of Auxiliary Field 3. By March 1950, the 550th Guided Missiles Wing, comprising the 1st and 2nd Guided Missile Squadrons, had replaced the 1st Experimental Guided Missiles Group. The 2nd Guided Missile Squadron, SSM, had 62 pilots manning 14
B-17
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...
s, three
B-29s, and four
F-80 Shooting Star
The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star was the first jet fighter used operationally by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II. Designed and built by Lockheed in 1943 and delivered just 143 days from the start of design, prod ...
s, yellow-tailed drone aircraft used in the role of testing guided missiles.
In December 1955, the Air Munitions Development Laboratory was reassigned from the Wright Air Development Center at
Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, to the Air Force Armament Center at Eglin by Headquarters Air Research and Development Command. The responsibility for development of guns, bombs, rockets, fuses, guided missile warheads and other related equipment in the armament field was transferred from the Dayton, Ohio facility at this time. Work on nuclear weapons was not included in this mission.
1960s
![Eglin Air Force Base - Aircraft Parking Apron](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Eglin_Air_Force_Base_-_Aircraft_Parking_Apron.jpg)
The USAF Special Air Warfare Center was activated 27 April 1962,
[Mueller, Robert, "Air Force Bases Vol. 1: Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982", United States Air Force Historical Research Center, Office of Air Force History, Washington, D.C., 1989, , p. 136.] with the 1st Combat Applications Group (CAG) organized as a combat systems development and test agency under the SAWC. The 1st CAG concentrated on testing and evaluation of primarily short-term projects which might improve Air Force
counter-insurgency
Counterinsurgency (COIN) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the activities of guerrillas or revolutionar ...
(COIN) operations. The Special Air Warfare Center, located at
Hurlburt Field
Hurlburt Field is a United States Air Force installation located in Okaloosa County, Florida, immediately west of the town of Mary Esther. It is part of the greater Eglin Air Force Base reservation and is home to Headquarters Air Force Sp ...
, undertook to develop tactical air doctrine while training crews for special air warfare in places like
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
. By mid-1963, SAW groups were in
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
and
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
.
The USAF Tactical Air Warfare Center was activated on 1 November 1963. It would be re-designated as the USAF Air Warfare Center on 1 October 1991.
[Eglin Air Force Base – Fact Sheet : History of the 53rd Wing](_blank)
. Eglin.af.mil. Retrieved on 31 October 2011.
With the increasing
U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia in the 1960s, the need for increased emphasis on conventional weapons development made Eglin's mission even more important. On 1 August 1968, the Air Proving Ground Center was redesignated the Armament Development and Test Center to centralize responsibility for research, development, test and evaluation, and initial acquisition of non-nuclear munitions for the Air Force. On 1 October 1979, the center was given division status. The Armament Division, redesignated Munitions Systems Division on 15 March 1989, placed into production the
precision-guided munitions
A precision-guided munition (PGM, smart weapon, smart munition, smart bomb) is a guided munition intended to precisely hit a specific target, to minimize collateral damage and increase lethality against intended targets. During the First Gul ...
for the
laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...
,
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
, and
infrared
Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...
guided bombs; two anti-armor weapon systems; and an improved hard target weapon, the
GBU-28
The GBU-28 is a 5,000-pound (2,268 kg) class laser-guided "bunker busting" bomb produced originally by the Watervliet Arsenal, Watervliet, New York. It was designed, manufactured, and deployed in less than three weeks due to an urgent need ...
, used in Operation Desert Storm during the
Persian Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
. The Division was also responsible for developing the
Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM), an Air Force-led joint project with the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
.
Late Cold War era
![McDonnell Douglas RF-4C-40-MC Phantom- 68-0594](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/McDonnell_Douglas_RF-4C-40-MC_Phantom-_68-0594.jpg)
The
Air Force Armament Museum
The Air Force Armament Museum is a military aviation museum adjacent to Eglin Air Force Base in Valparaiso, Florida, dedicated to the display of Air Force armament. It is supported by the private, non-profit Air Force Armament Museum Foundation.
...
was founded on base in 1975. In 1981 the original building housing the museum was condemned and the facility closed until 1984.
Selected on 27 April 1975, the installation served as one of four main U.S.
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
ese Refugee Processing Centers operated by the Interagency Task Force for Indochina Refugees, where base personnel housed and processed more than 10,000 Southeast Asian refugees, the first 374 of which arrived on board a
Northwest Orient Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022.
After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...
on 4 May 1975.
In 1978, the USAF Tactical Air Warfare Center assumed responsibility for the USAF Air Ground Operations School. In the same year, the Electronic Warfare Evaluation Program became another one of the USAFTAWC's weapons system evaluation programs, and resulted in the activation of the 4487th Electronic Warfare Aggressor Squadron in 1990.
Construction began in 1984 on the
Bob Hope Village
Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to:
Places
*Mount Bob, New York, United States
* Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica
People, fictional characters, and named animals
*Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
*Bob (surname ...
, the only retirement facility that caters to enlisted military, opening in February 1985. Residents pay below market value for the 256 independent apartments. Col. Bob Gates,
Bob Hope
Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...
's
USO
The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...
pilot, was key in getting the comedian's support for the undertaking, as well as lending his name to the project. He was named an honorary board member of the foundation in 1978 and held benefit concerts for nearly two decades.
Post-Cold War
During a 1992 reorganization, the Air Force disestablished Eglin's parent major command,
Air Force Systems Command
The Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command. It was established in April 1951, being split off from Air Materiel Command. The mission of AFSC was Research and Development for new weapons systems.
Ove ...
(AFSC) and merged its functions with the former
Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC). The newly created major command from this merger,
Air Force Materiel Command
Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force (USAF). AFMC was created on July 1, 1992, through the amalgamation of the former Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC) and the former Air Force Systems Com ...
(AFMC), remains Eglin's parent command to this day. The Development Test Center, Eglin's host unit, became part of AFMC on 30 June 1992. The
46th Test Wing replaced the 3246th Test Wing in October 1992.
On 10 August 1994 construction began on the All Conflicts' Veterans War Memorial on the site of the old
POW
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...
/
MIA
Mia, MIA, or M.I.A. may refer to:
Music Artists
* M.I.A. (rapper) (born 1975), English rapper and singer
* M.I.A. (band), 1980s punk rock band from Orange County, California
* MIA., a German rock/pop band formed in 1997
* Mia (singer) (born 1983) ...
memorial on the western end of Eglin Boulevard. The memorial was dedicated on 15 August 1995.
[Factsheets : Historical Eglin events in August](_blank)
. Eglin.af.mil. Retrieved on 31 October 2011.![33fw-f15-eglin](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/33fw-f15-eglin.jpg)
As part of the military drawdown in the 1990s, the Air Force inactivated the
33d Fighter Wing's
59th Fighter Squadron
The 59th Quartermaster Company is a bulk petroleum company designed to provide semi-portable storage for of fuel and to provide distribution of fuel to military units within a specified geographic area while deployed overseas. Its secondary missi ...
on 15 April 1999. The wing lost six aircraft and consolidated the remaining aircraft into the
58th and
60th Fighter Squadron
The 60th Fighter Squadron is a United States Air Force unit that is part of the 33d Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida; It is tasked with training pilots on the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II.
History World War II
Activated in ...
s. Originally selected for inactivation in 1997, Air Force officials delayed the decision in recognition of the Nomads' connection with
Khobar Towers
Khobar ( ar, ٱلْخُبَر, translit=al-Khobar) is a city and governorate in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, situated on the coast of the Persian Gulf. With a population of 457,748 as of 2017, Khobar is part of the 'Triplet ...
. The 59th reactivated as the
59th Test and Evaluation Squadron on 3 December 2004, at
Nellis Air Force Base
Nellis Air Force Base ("Nellis" colloq.) is a United States Air Force installation in southern Nevada. Nellis hosts air combat exercises such as Exercise Red Flag and close air support exercises such as Green Flag-West flown in " Military ...
, Nevada. The 59th falls under the 53rd Test Management Group at Eglin.
[Reorganization, technology, triumphs and tragedies: Eglin in the '90s , eglin, tragedies, 90s – News](_blank)
TheDestinLog.com. Retrieved on 31 October 2011.
In July 2012 the
Air Armament Center
The Air Armament Center (AAC) was an Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) center at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, responsible for development, acquisition, testing, and deployment of all air-delivered weapons for the U.S. Air Force. Weapon systems ...
(AAC) was inactivated. The center had planned, directed and conducted test and evaluation of U.S. and allied air armament, navigation and guidance systems, and command and controlled systems. It operated two Air Force installations, providing host support not only to Eglin AFB, but also
Kirtland AFB
Kirtland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in the southeast quadrant of the Albuquerque, New Mexico urban area, adjacent to the Albuquerque International Sunport. The base was named for the early Army aviator Col. Ro ...
,
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
. It had included the Armament Product Directorate (Eglin), the 46th Test Wing (Eglin), the 96th Air Base Wing (Eglin), and the 377th Air Base Wing (Kirtland).
The US Navy's
VFA-101
Strike Fighter Squadron 101 (VFA-101), also known as the "Grim Reapers", was a United States Navy Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) based at Eglin AFB, Florida. After the West Coast FRS for the F-14 Tomcat, VF-124, was disestablished in the mid-19 ...
"Grim Reapers" deactivated on 23 May 2019 after seven years of F-35C training at Eglin.
Base railroad
Initial construction of a railroad line into the region had been discussed as early as 1927 as part of the
Choctawhatchee and Northern Railroad, though military-use proposals didn't come forward until 1941. German
POW
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...
s were used in clearing and grading the alignment during World War II. There was one commercial customer served by the line, a lumber pulp yard at
Niceville which is now community athletic fields. The line was later abandoned in the late 1970s and the southern end, west of State Road 285, lifted by the mid-1980s.
Role and operations
Eglin is an
Air Force Materiel Command
Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force (USAF). AFMC was created on July 1, 1992, through the amalgamation of the former Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC) and the former Air Force Systems Com ...
(AFMC) base serving as the focal point for all Air Force armaments. Eglin is responsible for the development, acquisition, testing, deployment and sustainment of all air-delivered non-nuclear weapons.
The base plans, directs, and conducts test and evaluation of U.S. and allied air armament, navigation and guidance systems, and
command and control
Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ... hatemploys human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization or en ...
systems.
Severe-weather testing of aircraft and other equipment is carried out here at the
McKinley Climatic Laboratory.
The residential portion of the base is a
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...
; its population was 8,082 at the
2000 census. Eglin Air Force Base had 2,359 military family housing units. Unmarried junior enlisted members generally live in one of Eglin's seven dormitories located near the dining hall, chapel, base gym, enlisted club, and bus lines on base. Each individual unit generally handles dormitory assignments. Bachelor Officer Quarters are not available. Several units and one dormitory were being renovated in 2011. The base covers 463,128 acres (1,874.2 km / 723.6 sqm).
Major units
96th Test Wing
The 96th Test Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force Test Center of Air Force Materiel Command at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The wing was activated at Eglin in 1994 as the 96th Air Base Wing, the headquarters for ...
(96 TW)
The 96 TW is the test and evaluation wing for Air Force air-delivered weapons, navigation and guidance systems, command and control (C2) systems, and Air Force Special Operations Command systems. The Eglin Gulf Test Range provides approximately of over water airspace. The 96 TW supports other tenant units on the installation with traditional military services as well as all the services of a small city, to include civil engineering, personnel, logistics, communications, computer, medical, security. The 96 TW reports to the
Air Force Test Center
The Air Force Test Center (AFTC) is a development and test organization of the United States Air Force. It conducts research, development, test, and evaluation of aerospace systems from concept to deployment. It has test flown every aircraft in ...
at
Edwards AFB
Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is Ed ...
.
33d Fighter Wing (33 FW)
![A 33rd Fighter Wing F-35A takes off Feb](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/A_33rd_Fighter_Wing_F-35A_takes_off_Feb._27_%2832546021443%29.jpg)
The 33d FW "Nomads" is the largest tenant unit at Eglin. The 33 FW is a joint graduate flying and maintenance training wing for the
F-35 Lightning II
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both air superiority and strike missions. It is also able to provide ele ...
, organized under Air Education and Training Command's 19th Air Force. First established as the 33d Pursuit Group, the wing's contribution to tactical airpower during its 50-year history has been significant with participation in campaigns around the world, while flying various fighter aircraft. Reactivated at Eglin on 1 April 1965 with
F-4C Phantom II
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American Tandem#Aviation, tandem two-seat, twinjet, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic aircraft, supersonic jet interceptor aircraft, interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed ...
s, the wing operated, successively, F-4D and E models into the 1970s before transitioning to the
F-15 Eagle
The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force selected McDonnell Douglas's ...
. As of 1 October 2009, the 33d FW transitioned to a training wing for the new F-35. The final F-15s assigned to the 33d departed the base in September 2009. As the first of its kind in the
Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to:
Current departments of defence
* Department of Defence (Australia)
* Department of National Defence (Canada)
* Department of Defence (Ireland)
* Department of National Defense (Philipp ...
, the joint wing is responsible for F-35 pilot and maintainer training for the Air Force,
Marine Corps
Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
and the Navy. The first of 59 F-35s arrived from
Lockheed Martin Fort Worth, Texas on 14 July 2011.
[First F-35 arrives at Eglin Air Force Base , eglin, first, afb – Northwest Florida Daily News](_blank)
. Nwfdailynews.com (14 July 2011). Retrieved on 31 October 2011.
= 58th Fighter Squadron
=
The 58th FS "Mighty Gorillas" are authorized to operate 24 assigned F-35A aircraft, planning and executing a training curriculum in support of USAF and international partner pilot training requirements. The F-35A is a
conventional take-off and landing
A conventional take-off and landing (CTOL), also known as horizontal take-off and landing (HTOL) is the process whereby conventional fixed-wing aircraft (such as passenger aircraft) takeoff, take off and landing, land, involving the use of runways ...
,
low-observable
Stealth technology, also termed low observable technology (LO technology), is a sub-discipline of military tactics and passive and active electronic countermeasures, which covers a range of methods used to make personnel, aircraft, ships, su ...
,
multi-role fighter aircraft, designed with
5th-generation sensors and weapons, and is able to perform
air superiority
Aerial supremacy (also air superiority) is the degree to which a side in a conflict holds control of air power over opposing forces. There are levels of control of the air in aerial warfare. Control of the air is the aerial equivalent of c ...
,
air interdiction
Air interdiction (AI), also known as deep air support (DAS), is the use of preventive tactical bombing and strafing by combat aircraft against enemy targets that are not an immediate threat, to delay, disrupt or hinder later enemy engagement of fr ...
and
close air support
In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and moveme ...
missions. The F-35A made its first flight on 15 December 2006.
53d Wing (53 WG)
![AGM-84 Harpoon carried by an F-16](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/AGM-84_Harpoon_carried_by_an_F-16.jpg)
The 53 WG is headquartered at Eglin and serves as the USAF's focal point for operational test and evaluation of armament and avionics, aircrew training devices, chemical defense, aerial reconnaissance improvements, electronic warfare systems, and is responsible for the
QF-4 Phantom II Full Scale Aerial Target (FSAT) program and subscale drone programs (located at
Tyndall AFB
Tyndall Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base located east of Panama City, Florida. The base was named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lt. Frank Benjamin Tyndall. The base operating unit and host wing is the 325th Fighter Wing (325 ...
, Florida). The wing tests every fighter, bomber, unmanned aerial vehicle, and associated weapon system in the Air Force inventory. The wing reports to the
United States Air Force Warfare Center at
Nellis Air Force Base
Nellis Air Force Base ("Nellis" colloq.) is a United States Air Force installation in southern Nevada. Nellis hosts air combat exercises such as Exercise Red Flag and close air support exercises such as Green Flag-West flown in " Military ...
,
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
, a Direct Reporting Unit (DRU) to Headquarters,
Air Combat Command
Air Combat Command (ACC) is one of nine Major Commands (MAJCOMs) in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force (HAF) at the Pentagon. It is the primary provider of air combat forces for the Air Force, and i ...
(ACC).
= 49th Test and Evaluation Squadron (49 TES)
=
The 49 TES is attached to the 53d Wing but located at
Barksdale Air Force Base
Barksdale Air Force Base (Barksdale AFB) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in northwest Louisiana, United States, in Bossier Parish. It is contiguous to Bossier City, Louisiana, along the base's western and northwestern edge. Barksdale AFB ...
, Louisiana. The squadron plans, executes and reports ACC's weapon system evaluation programs for bombers (
B-52
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air ...
,
B-1 and
B-2) and nuclear-capable fighters (
F-15E Strike Eagle
The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F-15E Strike Eagle is an American all-weather multirole strike fighter derived from the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. The F-15E was designed in the 1980s for long-range, high-speed interdiction without rely ...
and
F-16
The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it ...
). These evaluations include operational effectiveness and suitability, command and control, performance of aircraft hardware and software systems, employment tactics, and accuracy and reliability of associated precision weapons. These weapons include
air-launched cruise missile
An air-launched cruise missile (ALCM) is a cruise missile that is launched from a military aircraft. Current versions are typically standoff weapons which are used to attack predetermined land targets with conventional, nuclear or thermonuclear p ...
s,
standoff missile
Standoff weapons are missiles or bombs which may be launched from a distance sufficient to allow attacking personnel to evade the effect of the weapon or defensive fire from the target area. Typically, they are used against land- and sea-based targ ...
s, and
gravity bombs
An unguided bomb, also known as a free-fall bomb, gravity bomb, dumb bomb, or iron bomb, is a conventional or nuclear aircraft-delivered bomb that does not contain a guidance system and hence simply follows a ballistic trajectory. This describ ...
. Results and conclusions support acquisition decisions and development of war plans. The unit also performs operational testing on new systems and tactics development for the B-52.
Armament Directorate
The Armament Directorate located at Eglin is responsible for management of air and ground dominance weapon system programs. Led by the Air Force Program Executive Officer for Weapons, the directorate concurrently reports to the Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Washington, D.C. and the
Air Force Life Cycle Management Center
The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC), headquartered at Wright-Patterson AFB, is one of six centers reporting to the Air Force Materiel Command.AIR FORCE LIFE CYCLE MANAGEMENT CENTER (AFLCMC) Posted 8/3/2012 Printable Fact Sheet
L ...
, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
Air Force Research Laboratory
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is a scientific research organization operated by the United States Air Force Materiel Command dedicated to leading the discovery, development, and integration of aerospace warfighting technologies, pl ...
Munitions Directorate (AFRL/RW)
AFRL/RW develops, demonstrates, and transitions science and technology for air-launched munitions for defeating ground fixed, mobile/relocatable, air and space targets to assure pre-eminence of U.S. air and space forces. The directorate conducts basic research, exploratory development, and advanced development and demonstrations. It also participates in programs focused on technology transfer, dual-use technology and small business development.
7th Special Forces Group
The 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) (7th SFG) (A) is an operational unit of the United States Army Special Forces activated on 20 May 1960. It was reorganized from the 77th Special Forces Group, which was also stationed at Fort Bragg, Nor ...
(7th SFG)
In 2011, the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
's 7th Special Forces Group relocated to a newly constructed cantonment on the Eglin Air Force Base reservation from
Fort Bragg
Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cum ...
, as part of the
2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) round realigning Fort Bragg. It is tasked with conducting special operations in Latin America.
Tenant units
Tenant units at an Air Force installation are units which have a mission that is significantly different than that of the host unit, and rely heavily upon the host unit for day-to-day operations (sewer, power, security, recreation).
6th Ranger Training Battalion (6th RTB)
Eglin AFB Auxiliary Field No. 6 (
Biancur Field) is the site of Camp
James E. Rudder and the home of the U.S. Army's 6th Ranger Training Battalion. The 6th RTB conducts the final phase of the U.S. Army
Ranger Course. The entire course is 61 days long and is divided into three phases. Each phase is conducted at different geographical and environmental locations.
20th Space Control Squadron (20 SPCS)
![AN-FPS-85 radar aerial view](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/AN-FPS-85_radar_aerial_view.jpg)
The mission of the 20 SPCS is to detect, track, identify, and report near earth and deep space objects in earth's orbit, and provide space object identification data in support of
United States Space Command
United States Space Command (USSPACECOM or SPACECOM) is a unified combatant command of the United States Department of Defense, responsible for military operations in outer space, specifically all operations 100 kilometers (62 miles) and grea ...
's space control mission. A unit of the
United States Space Force
The United States Space Force (USSF) is the space service branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and the world's only independent space force. Along with its sister branch, the U.S. Air Force, the Space ...
(USSF), the men and women of the 20th SPCS operate and maintain the AN/FPS-85 radar, the Space Force's only phased-array radar dedicated to tracking earth-orbiting objects.
323 Squadron RNLAF
Royal Netherlands Air Force
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march = ''Parade March of the Royal Netherlands Air Force''
, mascot =
, anniversaries =
, equipment ...
Operational Test and Evaluation squadron, operates 2
F-35A
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both air superiority
Aerial supremacy (also air superiority) is the ...
486th Flight Test Squadron (486th FLTS)
This unit, which is apparently not a test squadron at all, operates
Boeing C-32
The Boeing C-32 is the United States Air Force designation for variants of the Boeing 757 in military service. Two variants exist, filling different parts of the military passenger transport role. The C-32A serves the Special Air Mission, prov ...
Bs in discrete missions for the
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...
's
Foreign Emergency Support Team
The Foreign Emergency Support Team (FEST) is an interagency task force of the United States government, tasked with on-call short-notice responses to terrorist incidents across the world. It consists of personnel from military, intelligence, and d ...
.
919th Special Operations Wing
The 919th Special Operations Wing (919 SOW) is an Air Reserve Component (ARC) unit of the United States Air Force. The 919 SOW is assigned to the Tenth Air Force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) and is stationed at Duke Field (Eglin Air ...
(919 SOW)
The 919 SOW, located about five miles (8 kilometers) south of Crestview and from Eglin main at Eglin AFB Auxiliary Field No. 3 (
Duke Field) and is the only special operations wing in the
Air Force Reserve Command
The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commiss ...
(AFRC). In wartime or a contingency, the 919 SOW reports to
Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) at
Hurlburt Field
Hurlburt Field is a United States Air Force installation located in Okaloosa County, Florida, immediately west of the town of Mary Esther. It is part of the greater Eglin Air Force Base reservation and is home to Headquarters Air Force Sp ...
, Florida, its gaining major command.
AFOTEC Det 2
The Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center stood up Detachment 2 at Eglin to provide realistic operational testing for new and modified weapon systems.
Naval School of Explosive Ordnance Disposal ( EOD)
The Naval School of Explosive Ordnance Disposal (NAVSCOLEOD) is a Navy-managed command, jointly staffed by Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps personnel. NAVSCOLEOD opened its new consolidated training facility in April 1999.
Joint Deployable Analysis Team (JDAT)
Directorate of the
Joint Staff
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...
,
JDAT
The Joint Deployable Analysis Team (JDAT) is part of the J6 Directorate of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
JDAT Mission
JDAT conducts field analysis of command and control (C2) information systems and procedures producing decision-quality data to imp ...
conducts field analysis of
C2 information systems and procedures producing decision-quality data to improve Joint C2 integration and interoperability.
Scheduled airline service
Eglin is also one of the few military air bases in the U.S. to have scheduled passenger airline service as the
Destin–Fort Walton Beach Airport
Destin–Fort Walton Beach Airport is an airport located within Eglin Air Force Base, on the municipal boundary of Valparaiso, and near Destin and Fort Walton Beach in Okaloosa County, Florida. The airport was previously named Northwest Flo ...
(VPS) is co-located on the base property.
Based units
Flying and notable non-flying units based at Eglin Air Force Base.
Units marked GSU are
Geographically Separate Unit
In the United States military a Geographically Separate Unit (GSU) is a base that is physically separate from, yet not autonomous of its "parent" base. GSUs are "owned" by their parent organization and are typically quite small.
Assignment to a ...
s, which although based at Eglin, are subordinate to a parent unit based at another location.
For units permanently based at Eglin's auxiliary airfields, see the airfield's respective page (
Biancur Field,
Duke Field and
Hurlburt Field
Hurlburt Field is a United States Air Force installation located in Okaloosa County, Florida, immediately west of the town of Mary Esther. It is part of the greater Eglin Air Force Base reservation and is home to Headquarters Air Force Sp ...
).
United States Air Force
Air Force Materiel Command
Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force (USAF). AFMC was created on July 1, 1992, through the amalgamation of the former Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC) and the former Air Force Systems Com ...
(AFMC)
*
Air Force Test Center
The Air Force Test Center (AFTC) is a development and test organization of the United States Air Force. It conducts research, development, test, and evaluation of aerospace systems from concept to deployment. It has test flown every aircraft in ...
**
96th Test Wing
The 96th Test Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force Test Center of Air Force Materiel Command at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The wing was activated at Eglin in 1994 as the 96th Air Base Wing, the headquarters for ...
(Host wing)
*** 96th Cyberspace Test Group
**** 45th Test Squadron
**** 46th Test Squadron
**** 47th Cyberspace Test Squadron
*** 96th Operations Group
**** 40th Flight Test Squadron –
A-10C Thunderbolt II,
F-15C/D/E Eagle,
F-16C/D Fighting Falcon
A large number of variants of the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon have been produced by General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, and various licensed manufacturers. The details of the F-16 variants, along with major modification programs and der ...
*** 96th Maintenance Group
*** 96th Mission Support Group
***
*** 96th Range Group
*** 96th Medical Group
*
Air Force Life Cycle Management Center
The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC), headquartered at Wright-Patterson AFB, is one of six centers reporting to the Air Force Materiel Command.AIR FORCE LIFE CYCLE MANAGEMENT CENTER (AFLCMC) Posted 8/3/2012 Printable Fact Sheet
L ...
** Armament Directorate
*
Air Force Research Laboratory
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is a scientific research organization operated by the United States Air Force Materiel Command dedicated to leading the discovery, development, and integration of aerospace warfighting technologies, pl ...
** Munitions Directorate
*
486th Flight Test Squadron –
C-32B
Air Education and Training Command
Air Education and Training Command (AETC) is one of the nine Major Commands (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force (USAF), reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force. It was established 1 July 1993, with the realignment of Air Training ...
(AETC)
*
Nineteenth Air Force
The Nineteenth Air Force (19 AF) is an active Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force. During the Cold War it was a component of Tactical Air Command, with a mission of command and control over deployed USAF forces in support of Unit ...
**
33rd Fighter Wing
The 33rd Fighter Wing, sometimes written 33d Fighter Wing, (33 FW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Education and Training Command's Nineteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida where it is a tenant u ...
*** F-35 Academic Training Center
***
33rd Operations Group
**** 33rd Operations Support Squadron
****
58th Fighter Squadron –
F-35A Lightning II
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both air superiority and strike missions. It is also able to provide ele ...
**** F-35 Intelligence Formal Training Unit
**** 337th Air Control Squadron
*** 33rd Maintenance Group
**** 33rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
**** 33rd Maintenance Operations Squadron
**** 33rd Maintenance Squadron
**
82nd Training Wing
The 82d Training Wing, sometimes written as 82nd Training Wing, (82 TRW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Education and Training Command, Second Air Force. It is stationed at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas where it is also t ...
*** 359th Training Squadron (GSU)
Air Combat Command
Air Combat Command (ACC) is one of nine Major Commands (MAJCOMs) in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force (HAF) at the Pentagon. It is the primary provider of air combat forces for the Air Force, and i ...
(ACC)
*
Sixteenth Air Force
The Sixteenth Air Force (Air Forces Cyber) (16 AF) is a United States Air Force (USAF) organization responsible for information warfare, which encompasses intelligence gathering and analysis, surveillance, reconnaissance, cyber warfare and ele ...
**
688th Cyberspace Wing
The United States Air Force's 688th Cyberspace Wing is a cyberspace operations unit located at Joint Base San Antonio (Lackland), Texas.
The wing delivers information operations and engineering infrastructure for air, space, and cyberspace mil ...
***
690th Cyberspace Operations Group
The 690th Cyberspace Operations Group, at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, is a United States Air Force group operating the Cyber Security and Control System weapon system. The group was established 1 April 1991 as the 6900 Communications-Computer ...
**** 692nd Cyberspace Operations Squadron (GSU)
*
US Air Force Warfare Center
**
53rd Wing
***
53rd Test and Evaluation Group
****
85th Test and Evaluation Squadron
The 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron is part of the 53d Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. It conducts testing and evaluation for the F-15 Eagle, F-15E Strike Eagle, and F-16 Fighting Falcon airframes.
Mission
The 85th Test and Evaluat ...
– F-15C/E Eagle, F-16C/D Fighting Falcon,
QF-16C Fighting Falcon
Air Force Reserve Command
The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commiss ...
(AFRC)
*
Tenth Air Force
The Tenth Air Force (10 AF) is a unit of the U.S. Air Force, specifically a numbered air force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). 10 AF is headquartered at Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base/Carswell Field (formerly Carswell AF ...
**
926th Wing
The 926th Wing is an Air Reserve Component of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the Tenth Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.
The unit is a composite organization consisting of two Ope ...
*** 926th Operation Group
**** 84th Test and Evaluation Squadron (GSU) – F-15C/E Eagle, F-16C/D Fighting Falcon
Direct Reporting Units (DRU)
*
Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center
Located at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center is a direct reporting unit of Headquarters, United States Air Force. It is the Air Force independent test agency responsible for testing, und ...
** Detachment 2 (GSU)
United States Army
Special Operations Command (Airborne) (USASOC)
*
1st Special Forces Command (Airborne)
**
7th Special Forces Group (Airborne)
United States Navy
United States Fleet Forces Command
The United States Fleet Forces Command (USFF) is a service component command of the United States Navy that provides naval forces to a wide variety of U.S. forces. The naval resources may be allocated to Combatant Commanders such as United Stat ...
(USFF)
*
Navy Expeditionary Combat Command
Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) serves as the single functional command to centrally manage current and future readiness, resources, manning, training and equipping of the United States Navy's 21,000 expeditionary warfare, expeditionary ...
**
Naval School Explosive Ordnance Disposal
United States Space Force
Space Operations Command
Space Operations Command (SpOC) is the United States Space Force's space operations, cyber operations, and intelligence field command. It is headquartered at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado and serves as the U.S. Space Force's service com ...
*
Space Delta 2
Space Delta 2 (DEL 2) is the United States Space Force's space domain awareness delta and is headquartered at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado. Space Delta 2 tracks and monitors all manmade objects from low Earth orbit to geosynchronous orbit ...
**
20th Space Control Squadron (GSU)
Department of Defense
Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...
(JCS)
* J6 Directorate (
Command, Control, Communications and Computers/Cyber)
**
Joint Deployable Analysis Team
The Joint Deployable Analysis Team (JDAT) is part of the J6 Directorate of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
JDAT Mission
JDAT conducts field analysis of command and control (C2) information systems and procedures producing decision-quality data to imp ...
Previous names
![Eglin Air Force Base - Welcome Postcard](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Eglin_Air_Force_Base_-_Welcome_Postcard.jpg)
* Established as Valparaiso Bombing and Gunnery Base, 14 June 1935
: (spelling changed on 1 February 1937 from "Valparaiso" to "Valpariso" and on 1 March 1937 back to "Valparaiso")
* Eglin Field, 4 August 1937
* Eglin Field Military Reservation, 1 October 1940
* Eglin Field, 28 December 1944
* Eglin Air Force Base, 24 June 1948–present
Major commands to which assigned
* Air Corps Training Center, 9 June 1935 – 27 August 1940
* Southeast Air Corps Training Center, 27 August 1940 – 1 April 1942
:: Also assigned to Commanding General, Fourth Corps Area, United States Army, June 1941-1 April 1942
* Chief of the Army Air Corps (Direct subordination), 19 May 1941 – 1 April 1942
* AAF Proving Ground Command**, 1 April 1942 – 1 June 1945
* AAF Center, 1 June 1945
: Re-designated: AAF Proving Ground Command, 8 March 1946
: Re-designated:
Air Proving Ground Command
The Army Air Forces Proving Ground Command (AAF PGC) was the primary testing command of the United States Army Air Forces (1946-47), and then the United States Air Force (1947-57).
In March 1946, the Army Air Forces Center was redesignated the ...
, 10 July 1946 – 20 January 1948
*
Air Materiel Command
Air Materiel Command (AMC) was a United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force command. Its headquarters was located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. In 1961, the command was redesignated the Air Force Logistics Command wi ...
, 20 January 1948 – 1 June 1948
* Air Proving Ground, 1 June 1948
: Re-designated:
Air Proving Ground Command
The Army Air Forces Proving Ground Command (AAF PGC) was the primary testing command of the United States Army Air Forces (1946-47), and then the United States Air Force (1947-57).
In March 1946, the Army Air Forces Center was redesignated the ...
, 20 December 1951 – 1 December 1957
* Air Research and Development Command, 1 December 1957
: Re-designated:
Air Force Systems Command
The Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command. It was established in April 1951, being split off from Air Materiel Command. The mission of AFSC was Research and Development for new weapons systems.
Ove ...
, 1 April 1961 – 1 July 1992
*
Air Force Materiel Command
Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force (USAF). AFMC was created on July 1, 1992, through the amalgamation of the former Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC) and the former Air Force Systems Com ...
, 1 July 1992 – present
** Discontinued 8 March 1946. Not related to later AAF Proving Ground Command
Major units assigned
* 84th Service Squadron (Detachment), 14 June 1935
* Section V, Eglin Field Section, 13th Air Base Squadron, 1 September 1936
* Det 13th Air Base Squadron, 1 August 1940
* 61st Air Base Group, 1 December 1940 – 17 February 1943
* Air Corps Specialized Flying School, 1 December 1940 – 1 April 1944
* Army Air Forces Proving Ground, 15 May 1941 – 30 June 1946
* 23d Composite Group
: Re-designated:
1st Proving Ground Group, 29 June 1941
: Re-designated: 610th Army Air Forces Base Unit, 1 April 1944 – 30 June 1947
* 609th Army Air Forces Base Unit, 1 July 1947 – 1 July 1948
*
1st Experimental Guided Missiles Group, 6 February 1946 – 1 December 1950
* 3201st Air Base Group (later Wing), 1 July 1948 – 4 February 1958
*
3200th Proof Test Group, 1 July 1948 – 1 July 1953
* Air Proving Ground Command
: Re-designated: Armament Division and Test Center
: Re-designated:
Air Armament Center
The Air Armament Center (AAC) was an Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) center at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, responsible for development, acquisition, testing, and deployment of all air-delivered weapons for the U.S. Air Force. Weapon systems ...
, 1 July 1948 – 18 July 2012
*
550th Guided Missiles Wing, 20 July 1949 – 11 December 1950
* USAF Armament Center, 14 December 1949 – 4 February 1958
*
3205th Drone Group
The 3205th Drone Group is a discontinued United States Air Force unit that operated obsolete aircraft during the 1950s as radio-controlled aerial targets for various tests. It was the primary post-World War II operator of surplus Boeing B-17G Fly ...
, 26 April 1950 – 1 February 1961
* 3200th Proof Test Wing, 1 April 1951 – 1 July 1952
* 3206th Support Wing, 1 July 1953 – 20 February 1964
* 3207th Armament testing Systems
*
17th Bombardment Wing, 1 April 1955 – 25 June 1958
*
4751st Air Defense Missile Squadron, 15 January 1958 – 30 September 1979
*
335th Tactical Fighter Squadron, May 1958 – November 1961
*
4135th Strategic Wing, 1 December 1958 – 1 February 1963
* 1st Combat Application Group, 17 April 1962 – 5 September 1968
* USAF Special Air Warfare Center, 27 April 1962 – 1 July 1974
*
39th Bombardment Wing, 1 February 1963 – 25 February 1965
*
USAF Air Warfare Center, 1 November 1963 – 1 October 1995
* 4485th Test Wing, 16 March 1964 – 30 June 1965
*
33d Fighter Wing, 1 April 1965 – present
*
40th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 20 June 1965 – 15 October 1970
* USAF Armament Laboratory, 1 March 1966 – 18 July 2012
* USAF Special Operations School, 15 April 1967 – present
*
3246th Test Wing, 1 July 1970 – 1 October 1992
*
919th Special Operations Wing
The 919th Special Operations Wing (919 SOW) is an Air Reserve Component (ARC) unit of the United States Air Force. The 919 SOW is assigned to the Tenth Air Force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) and is stationed at Duke Field (Eglin Air ...
, 30 July 1971 – present
* 4443d Test and Evaluation Group, 1 July 1988
: Re-designated: 79th Test and Evaluation Group, 1 December 1991 – 20 November 1998
*
46th Test Wing, 1 October 1992 – 18 July 2012
*
96th Test Wing
The 96th Test Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force Test Center of Air Force Materiel Command at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The wing was activated at Eglin in 1994 as the 96th Air Base Wing, the headquarters for ...
, 15 March 1994 – present
*
53d Wing, 1 October 1995 – present
*
308th Armament Systems Wing
The 308th Armament Systems Wing (308 ARSW) is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Air Armament Center, stationed at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. It was inactivated on 30 July 2010.
History
: ''For additional ...
, 27 January 2005 – 30 June 2010
* Eglin Composite Squadron
Civil Air Patrol
Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is a congressionally chartered, federally supported non-profit corporation that serves as the official civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force (USAF). CAP is a volunteer organization with an aviation-minded mem ...
Eglin auxiliary fields
A number of auxiliary fields were constructed on the Eglin reservation during World War II, many of which are still in service in various roles, either in support of flight operations or special test activities.
* Auxiliary Field 1 (
Wagner Field
Wagner Field, (Formerly: Eglin Air Force Auxiliary Field #1), is a component of Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. It is located northeast of the main base, 13.9 miles northeast of Valparaiso, Florida.
The site is notable as the training location ...
)
: Work on Auxiliary Field 1 began 27 November 1940.
[History of Eglin Air Force Base](_blank)
Air Armament Center Office of History Auxiliary Field 1 is named Wagner Field for Maj. Walter J. Wagner, former commanding officer for the 1st Proving Ground, Eglin Field, who was killed 19 October 1943 in the crash of a
Douglas XA-26B, s/n 41-19588, 9 miles east of Eglin Field, Valpariso, FL. Much of the
Doolittle Raid
The Doolittle Raid, also known as the Tokyo Raid, was an air raid on 18 April 1942 by the United States on the Japanese capital Tokyo and other places on Honshu during World War II. It was the first American air operation to strike the Japan ...
and
Operation Credible Sport
Operation Credible Sport was a joint project of the U.S. military in the second half of 1980 to prepare for a second rescue attempt of the hostages held in Iran. The concept included using a Lockheed C-130 Hercules airlifter modified with th ...
training took place here. The U.S. Navy used the field as an auxiliary facility for pilot training out of
Whiting Field for a time, dating from early 1960. A proposal by the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding th ...
to build a multi-million dollar research installation for testing rocket fuels and components at Field 1 in early 1960 was dropped in mid-February, the chief reason for consideration being abandoned "was the possibility the military would have other uses for the field in the near future." It is also known as Site C-5. Range C-72 extends SE from Wagner Field.
* Auxiliary Field 2 (
Pierce Field
Pierce Field, (Eglin Air Force Base Auxiliary Field #2), is a satellite airfield located northeast of the Main Base, 5.5 miles north-northeast of Valparaiso, Florida.
Overview
Eglin AFB Auxiliary Field #2 is named Pierce Field for Lt Col George ...
)
: Auxiliary Field 2 is named Pierce Field for Lt. Col. George E. Pierce, killed 19 October 1942 while piloting a
North American B-25C-1 Mitchell which crashed into the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...
S of
Destin, Florida
Destin is a city located in Okaloosa County, Florida. It is a principal city of the Crestview–Fort Walton Beach–Destin, Florida, metropolitan area.
Located on Florida's Emerald Coast, Destin is known for its white beaches and emerald green ...
.
[USAAF/USAF Accidents for Florida](_blank)
. Accident-Report.com. Retrieved on 31 October 2011. Joe Baugher cites date of 19 October 1942 for loss.
joebaugher.com. 27 August 2011 It is also known as Site C-3. Between November 1966 and 1970, it was the site of the 560th Civil Engineering Squadron, also known as the Civil Engineering Field Activities Center, for the training of Red Horse personnel.
![AC-130A pylon turn](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/AC-130A_pylon_turn.jpg)
* Auxiliary Field 3 (
Duke Field)
: Auxiliary Field 3 is named Duke Field for 1st Lt Robert L. Duke, killed in the crash of a
Curtiss A-25A-20-CS Shrike near
Spencer, Tennessee
Spencer is a town in Van Buren County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 1,683 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Van Buren County. It is home to Fall Creek Falls State Park.
History
Spencer is named after Thomas Sharp ...
, on 29 December 1943. He was assigned as Assistant A-3 of
Eglin Field Eglin may refer to:
* Eglin (surname)
* Eglin Air Force Base, a United States Air Force base located southwest of Valparaiso, Florida
* Federal Prison Camp, Eglin, a Federal Bureau of Prisons minimum security prison on the grounds of Eglin Air Forc ...
. Used as the set for the fictional 918th Bomb Group in the 1949 film ''
Twelve O'Clock High
''Twelve O'Clock High'' is a 1949 American war film about aircrews in the United States Army's Eighth Air Force, who flew daylight bombing missions against Germany and Occupied France during the early days of American involvement in World War II ...
''. Field 3 was long-associated with drone operations of the 3200th and 3205th Drone Groups. Aircraft were "sanitized" (stripped of all identification) here for the failed
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion (, sometimes called ''Invasión de Playa Girón'' or ''Batalla de Playa Girón'' after the Playa Girón) was a failed military landing operation on the southwestern coast of Cuba in 1961 by Cuban exiles, covertly fina ...
of Cuba.
* Auxiliary Field 4 (
Peel Field)
: Auxiliary Field 4 is named Peel Field for 2nd Lt. Garland O. Peel Jr., who died in the take-off crash of a
Martin B-12AM of the 387th School Squadron, 2 January 1942, when he suffered engine failure. He was a gunnery school instructor at Eglin.
[Factsheets : Eglin Air Force Base History](_blank)
. Eglin.af.mil. Retrieved on 31 October 2011. Peel Field was utilized for the filming of scenes for the 1944 film ''
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
''Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo'' is a 1944 American war film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The screenplay by Dalton Trumbo is based on the 1943 book of the same name by Captain Ted W. Lawson. Lawson was a pilot on the historic Doolittle Raid, A ...
''. Wartime temporary housing for NCOs located here was razed in the 1960s. In the early 1960s, while in a moribund state, one of the runways was used as an unofficial auto drag strip by local civilians. The ramp of the non-flight-rated facility now serves as a vehicle park for aircraft and armor after being expended as targets on the Eglin ranges.
* Auxiliary Field 5 (
Piccolo Field
Piccolo Field, (Formerly: Eglin Air Force Auxiliary Field #5), is a closed United States Air Force field. It is located 9.3 miles northwest of Valparaiso, Florida.
Overview
Auxiliary Field 5 is named Piccolo Field for Capt. Anthony D. Piccolo, ...
)
: Auxiliary Field 5 is named Piccolo Field for Capt. Anthony D. Piccolo, who died in the crash of a
North American AT-6A-NT Texan[USAAF/USAF Accidents for Florida](_blank)
. Accident-Report.com. Retrieved on 31 October 2011. on 6 October 1942. Piccolo was the commanding officer of the 386th Single Engine Gunnery Training Squadron at Eglin. Today, the area is due north of Field Four and serves as a microwave station. A 60-foot radar antenna was installed here in April 1961. On most base maps, it is identified as Site C-4.
Doolittle Raid
The Doolittle Raid, also known as the Tokyo Raid, was an air raid on 18 April 1942 by the United States on the Japanese capital Tokyo and other places on Honshu during World War II. It was the first American air operation to strike the Japan ...
training was conducted here.
* Auxiliary Field 6 (
Biancur Field)
: Auxiliary Field 6 is named Biancur Field for 1st Lt. Andrew Biancur, a test pilot of the Medium Bombardment Section of the 1st Proving Ground Group, killed 8 January 1944 in the crash of a
Northrop YP-61-NO Black Widow at
Eglin Field Eglin may refer to:
* Eglin (surname)
* Eglin Air Force Base, a United States Air Force base located southwest of Valparaiso, Florida
* Federal Prison Camp, Eglin, a Federal Bureau of Prisons minimum security prison on the grounds of Eglin Air Forc ...
. The U.S. Army Ranger facility
Camp Rudder Camp James E. Rudder (Camp Rudder) is host to the third and final phase of a nine-week training course, dubbed the "swamp phase", of the U.S. Army Ranger School. The camp is located on the Eglin Air Force Base reservation, co-located with Eglin AFB ...
is located here. It is designated Site B-6. The
X-43A-LS low-speed demonstrator underwent testing out of Auxiliary Field 6 in November 2003.
[NASA.gov](_blank)
Researchernews.larc.nasa.gov. Retrieved on 31 October 2011.
* Auxiliary Field 7 (
Epler Field)
: Auxiliary Field 7 is named Epler Field for Col. Robin E. Epler, deputy commander (Technical) of the
Air Proving Ground Command
The Army Air Forces Proving Ground Command (AAF PGC) was the primary testing command of the United States Army Air Forces (1946-47), and then the United States Air Force (1947-57).
In March 1946, the Army Air Forces Center was redesignated the ...
,
Eglin Field Eglin may refer to:
* Eglin (surname)
* Eglin Air Force Base, a United States Air Force base located southwest of Valparaiso, Florida
* Federal Prison Camp, Eglin, a Federal Bureau of Prisons minimum security prison on the grounds of Eglin Air Forc ...
, Florida, killed 28 January 1944 in the crash of a
Douglas A-20G-10-DO Havoc NE of
Crestview, Florida. It is designated Site B-12.
* Auxiliary Field 8 (
Baldsiefen Field
Baldsiefen Field, (Formerly: Eglin Air Force Auxiliary Field #8), is a closed United States Air Force field. It is located 10.2 miles east of Valparaiso, Florida.
Overview
Auxiliary Field 8 is named Baldsiefen Field for 2nd Lt. Richard Edward ...
)
: Auxiliary Field 8 is named Baldsiefen Field for 2nd Lt. Richard Edward Baldsiefen, a gunnery instructor at Eglin, killed 4 March 1942 along with Lt. John W. Smith, in the crash of a
North American AT-6A-NA Texan which came down at Auxiliary Field 4. It is designated Site C-52C.
* Auxiliary Field 9 (
Hurlburt Field
Hurlburt Field is a United States Air Force installation located in Okaloosa County, Florida, immediately west of the town of Mary Esther. It is part of the greater Eglin Air Force Base reservation and is home to Headquarters Air Force Sp ...
)
: Auxiliary Field 9 is named Hurlburt Field for Lt. Donald Wilson Hurlburt, killed 1 October 1943 when his
Lockheed AT-18-LO Hudson gunnery trainer
[USAAF/USAF Accidents for Florida](_blank)
. Accident-Report.com. Retrieved on 31 October 2011. crashed during take-off at Eglin. After flying
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...
combat missions from Great Britain and receiving the
Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), Hurlburt was assigned in mid-1943 to the First Proving Ground Electronics Test Unit at Eglin Field. Field 9 was named in his honor by base commander General
Grandison Gardner
Major General Grandison Gardner, USAF (18 September 1892Crestview, Florida, "Col. Gardner Made Brigadier General", ''The Okaloosa News-Journal'', Friday 21 August 1942, Volume 29, Number 31, page 1. – 1 February 1973), Air Corp service number O ...
. Hurlburt's nephew was Captain
Craig D. Button (noted for his mysterious flight and crash of an A-10 Thunderbolt on 2 April 1997). An official history of Eglin AFB's early years cites 2 October 1943 as the date of this accident.
[Angell, p. 105.]
* Auxiliary Field 10 (
Dillon Field)
: Auxiliary Field 10 is the westernmost of the wartime Eglin airfields, located in
Santa Rosa County
Santa Rosa County is a county located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2020, the population is 188,000. The county seat is Milton, which lies in the geographic center of the county. Other major communities within ...
, and is named Dillon Field for Capt. Barclay H. Dillon, test pilot of the Fighter Section of the 1st Proving Ground Group, killed 2 October 1943 when his
Lockheed P-38J-5-LO Lightning crashed W of
Milton, Florida
Milton is a city in and the county seat of Santa Rosa County, Florida, located in the Pensacola– Ferry Pass– Brent Metropolitan Statistical Area, also known as the Pensacola Metropolitan Area. Milton is located in the geographic center ...
.
Field 10 was later named Eglin Dillon Airdrome.
Now used primarily for U.S. Navy basic flight training, the Navy refers to it as
Naval Outlying Landing Field Choctaw
Naval Outlying Landing Field Choctaw is the United States Navy's designation for an auxiliary airfield that was originally constructed during World War II as Eglin Field (now Eglin Air Force Base) Auxiliary Field # 10. It is located 16.6 miles no ...
(NOLF).
It is also used for
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...
AVtraining, and it is expected that
F-35 Lightning II
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both air superiority and strike missions. It is also able to provide ele ...
s assigned to the
33d Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base will utilize NOLF Choctaw for training.
* Auxiliary Field 11 is an unconfirmed name for a Red Horse unsurfaced east–west airstrip that shows up on
Google Earth
Google Earth is a computer program that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satellite images, aerial photography, and geog ...
in
Walton County.
* The
Santa Rosa Island Range Complex
The Santa Rosa Island Range Complex is a component of the Eglin AFB testing range, located 17.5 miles west-southwest of the main base, on Santa Rosa Island, sitting between the communities of Navarre and Okaloosa Island.
Overview
The complex i ...
is part of the Eglin overwater range that provides 86,500 square miles of overwater airspace that is jointly used for a variety of test and evaluation activities and training exercises.
Demographics
Eglin employs more than 8,500 civilians and approximately 4,500 military, with an additional 2,200 jobs due to move to Eglin under the 2005
BRAC.
As of the census
of 2000, there were 8,082 people, 2,302 households, and 2,262 families residing on the base. The population density was 2,640.1 people per square mile (1,019.8/km). There were 2,320 housing units at an average density of 757.9/sq mi (292.7/km). The racial makeup of the base was 71.8%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 14.8%
Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
or
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.5%
Native American, 3.0%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.4%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 4.2% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 5.3% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
people of any race were 11.2% of the population.
There were 2,302 households, out of which 79.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 89.8% were married couples living together, 5.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 1.7% were non-families. 1.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 0.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.50 and the average family size was 3.51.
On the base the population was spread out, with 43.5% under the age of 18, 15.2% from 18 to 24, 39.6% from 25 to 44, 1.6% from 45 to 64, and 0.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.6 males.
The median income for a household on the base was $31,951, and the median income for a family was $31,859. Males had a median income of $25,409 versus $19,176 for females. The per capita income for the base was $10,670. About 4.5% of families and 4.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.5% of those under the age of 18 and none of those 65 and older.
National historic status
There are two U.S.
National Historic Landmark Districts
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
with connections to the base:
Camp Pinchot and
Eglin Field Eglin may refer to:
* Eglin (surname)
* Eglin Air Force Base, a United States Air Force base located southwest of Valparaiso, Florida
* Federal Prison Camp, Eglin, a Federal Bureau of Prisons minimum security prison on the grounds of Eglin Air Forc ...
.
On 6 October 1997, the
McKinley Climatic Laboratory was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
Notable residents
* Author
Hunter S Thompson was stationed on Eglin from 1956 until 1958 during his enlistment with the Air Force.
* Infielder
Jay Bell
Jay Stuart Bell (born December 11, 1965) is an American former Major League Baseball shortstop and former manager of the Rocket City Trash Pandas of the Southern League. He played for the Cleveland Indians (1986–88), Pittsburgh Pirates (1989 ...
was born in the base hospital in 1965.
*
NASCAR Cup Series
The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...
driver
Aric Almirola was born in Eglin in 1984.
*
John Boyd,
USAF
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...
officer and military strategist who developed the
Energy–maneuverability theory
Energy–maneuverability theory is a model of aircraft performance. It was developed by Col. John Boyd, a fighter pilot, and Thomas P. Christie, a mathematician with the United States Air Force, and is useful in describing an aircraft's performan ...
while stationed at Eglin.
* Professional cyclist
Neilson Powless
Neilson Powless (born September 3, 1996) is an American professional road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Powless, who is Oneida, is the first US Native American to compete in the Tour de France.
Career
In August 2019, ...
, first rider of Native American ancestry to compete in the
Tour de France
The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
, was born at Eglin.
Eglin AFB in pop culture
* Movies that have been filmed in part at Eglin Air Force Base or its outlying auxiliary airfields, ''
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
''Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo'' is a 1944 American war film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The screenplay by Dalton Trumbo is based on the 1943 book of the same name by Captain Ted W. Lawson. Lawson was a pilot on the historic Doolittle Raid, A ...
'' in 1944, ''
Twelve O' Clock High'' in 1949, ''
On the Threshold of Space'' in 1955 and ''
Search for Paradise
''Search for Paradise'' is a 1957 American documentary film shot in Cinerama. It was directed by Otto Lang and produced by Lowell Thomas with distribution by Cinerama Releasing Corp.
Background
In October and November 1956, a Cinerama motion pictu ...
'' in 1956.
* Thirteen airmen assigned to the 48th Recovery Squadron played a part in the James Bond movie ''
Thunderball''. The airmen, all highly skilled paratroopers, assisted in a sky diving scene filmed in Miami Beach. They jumped out of an
HC-97
The Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter was a long-range heavy military cargo aircraft developed from the B-29 and B-50 bombers. Design work began in 1942, the first of three prototype XC-97s flew on 9 November 1944 (none saw combat), and the first of s ...
in Biscayne Bay at an altitude of 1,500 feet. A quote from TSgt Lewis Roberts said, "We played the good guys and were helping James Bond destroy the villains who were about to blow up the East Coast."
* Several Tom Clancy novels refer to "raking the sand traps on the officers' golf course" at Eglin as a common activity for low-security prisoners at the associated
Federal Prison Camp, Eglin Federal Prison Camp, Eglin was a Federal Bureau of Prisons minimum security prison at Auxiliary Field 6, Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
Lacey Rose of ''Forbes'' wrote that it "was once considered so cushy that the term " Club Fed" was actually c ...
, now closed.
*
F-15 Eagles
The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force selected McDonnell Douglas's ...
from Eglin's
33rd Fighter Wing
The 33rd Fighter Wing, sometimes written 33d Fighter Wing, (33 FW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Education and Training Command's Nineteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida where it is a tenant u ...
, 59th Fighter Squadron, were used in the filming of the 1997 movie
''Air Force One''.
* Eglin AFB appears as the default airport in the simulation software
Prepar3D
''Microsoft Flight Simulator'' is a series of amateur flight simulator programs for Microsoft Windows operating systems, and earlier for MS-DOS and Classic Mac OS. It was an early product in the Microsoft application portfolio and differed sig ...
.
Environment
Flora and fauna
The forests and shores of Eglin Air Force Base are at the center of one of the most
biodiverse
Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic ('' genetic variability''), species ('' species diversity''), and ecosystem ('' ecosystem diversity'') ...
locations in North America. Over 50
species threatened in Florida are found on the base, including
sea turtle
Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead, ...
s that nest on its white-sand beaches and
red-cockaded woodpecker
The red-cockaded woodpecker (''Leuconotopicus borealis'') is a woodpecker endemic to the southeastern United States.
Description
The red-cockaded woodpecker is small to mid-sized species, being intermediate in size between North America's two ...
s that thrive in its
longleaf pine
The longleaf pine (''Pinus palustris'') is a pine species native to the Southeastern United States, found along the coastal plain from East Texas to southern Virginia, extending into northern and central Florida. In this area it is also known as ...
forests. The base has a natural resources management team that constantly monitors important species within the base with the goal of balancing their national defense mission with environmental stewardship.
Longleaf pine forest, a forest type reduced to 5% of its former range in the last few centuries, covers of the base. Part of this forest, , is
old growth
An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance (ecology), disturbance, and thereby exhibits un ...
, making the base home to one of the most extensive old-growth longleaf pine forests in the world.
Climate
Warm,
subtropical
The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...
weather lasts longer than the average summer. The annual
precipitation
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
ranges from . Year-round, the average temperatures run:
January–March: 60–69 High and 42–51 Low
April–June: 76–88 High and 58–72 Low
July–September: 86–98 High and 70–77 Low
October–December: 63–79 High and 44–69 Low
The area gets only 50 to 60 days of annual precipitation or more rainfall. There are few days without sunshine, which allows year-round outdoor activities.
Noise
In order to deal with the high noise levels of the
Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both air superiority and strike missions. It is also able to provide ele ...
, officials from Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton counties are studying which homes, businesses and public buildings will require additional noise protection.
Civil rocketry
Eglin Air Force Base was also a launch site for civil rockets of
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
. There are three launch pads: one at 29.6700 N, 85.3700 W at Cape San Blas; and two on Santa Rosa Island at 30.3800 N, 86.7400 W and 30.3800 N, 86.8170 W. Rockets launched here have included Arcas, Nike Cajun, Nike Apaches, and Nike Iroquois. This site was formerly operated by the 4751st ADMS with CIM-10
Bomarcs, which inactivated in 1979. In the 1940s, captured
V-1 flying bomb
The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buz ...
s and American copies,
Republic-Ford JB-2 LOONs, were launched out over the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...
from these sites. Two concrete launch ramps were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. A rusting Loon launch ramp still exists at Auxiliary Field 1,
Wagner Field
Wagner Field, (Formerly: Eglin Air Force Auxiliary Field #1), is a component of Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. It is located northeast of the main base, 13.9 miles northeast of Valparaiso, Florida.
The site is notable as the training location ...
.
Eglin is known to have been used for 441 launches from 1959 to 1980, reaching up to 686 kilometers altitude.
Eglin
Astronautix.com. Retrieved on 31 October 2011.
See also
* Florida World War II Army Airfields
During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) established numerous airfields in Florida for antisubmarine defense in the western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico and for training pilots and aircrews of USAAF fighters, attack planes, and ...
* List of United States Air Force installations
This is a list of installations operated by the United States Air Force located within the United States and abroad. Locations where the Air Force have a notable presence but do not operate the facility are also listed.
Background
The locatio ...
* Rocket launch sites
Notes
References
* Angell, Joseph W., "History of the Army Air Forces Proving Ground Command – Part One – Historical Outline 1933–1944", The Historical Branch, Army Air Forces Proving Ground Command, Eglin Field, Florida, 1944, reprint by Office of History, Munitions Systems Division, Eglin AFB, Florida, 1989
* Knaack, Marcelle Size (1978) ''Encyclopedia of US Air Force Aircraft and Missile Systems, Vol. 1, Post-World War Two Fighters, 1945–1973''. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History, 1978.
* Knaack, Marcelle Size (1988) ''Post-World War II Bombers, 1945–1973''. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History, 1988,
* Manning, Thomas A. (2005), ''History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002''. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas
* Martin, Patrick, ''Tail Code: The Complete History of USAF Tactical Aircraft Tail Code Markings'', 1994
* Maurer, Maurer. ''Air Force Combat Units of World War II''. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office 1961 (republished 1983, Office of Air Force History, ).
* Mueller, Robert, ''Air Force Bases Vol. I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982'', Office of Air Force History, 1989
* Pfau, Richard A., and Greenhalgh Jr., William H.
"The Air Force in Southeast Asia: The B-57G Tropic Moon III 1967–1972"
Office of Air Force History, Headquarters USAF, 1978
* Ravenstein, Charles A. ''Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947–1977''. Maxwell Air Force Base
Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation under the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. O ...
, Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
: Office of Air Force History 1984. .
* Shaw, Frederick J. (2004), ''Locating Air Force Base Sites, History’s Legacy'', Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force, Washington DC.
USAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF Aircraft Serial Numbers1908 to present
**
**
**
External links
*
ElginLife.com
– 96th Force Support Squadron
The Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
(Hangar No. 1)
The Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
(Storehouse & Company Administration)
The Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
(Motor Repair Shop)
{{authority control
Eglin AFB
Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida Panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso in Okaloosa County.
The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test Wing (formerly the 96th Air Base Wing). The 9 ...
1935 establishments in Florida
Buildings and structures in Okaloosa County, Florida
Census-designated places in Okaloosa County, Florida
Military installations in Florida
Installations of Strategic Air Command
Initial United States Air Force installations
Civilian Conservation Corps in Florida
Census-designated places in Florida