Hickam Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation, named in honor of aviation pioneer Lieutenant Colonel

Horace Meek Hickam Horace Meek Hickam (August 14, 1885 – November 5, 1934) was a pioneer airpower advocate and an officer in the United States Army Air Corps. Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, is named in his honor. Background The son of a lawyer, Hickam was born ...

. The installation merged in 2010 with Naval Station Pearl Harbor to become part of the newly formed

Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam (JBPHH) is a United States military base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. It is an amalgamation of the United States Air Force's Hickam Air Force Base and the United States Navy's Naval Station Pearl Harbor, ...

, on the island of Oʻahu in the State of

Hawaiʻi Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. The base neighbors

Daniel K. Inouye International Airport Daniel K. Inouye International Airport , also known as Honolulu International Airport, is the main airport of Oahu, Hawaii.15th Wing (15 WG) and 67 partner units including Headquarters of

Pacific Air Forces Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) is a Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force and is also the air component command of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). PACAF is headquartered at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam (f ...

(PACAF),

Hawaii Air National Guard The Hawaii Air National Guard (HI ANG) is the aerial militia of the State of Hawaii, United States of America. It is, along with the Hawaii Army National Guard, an element of the Hawaii National Guard. As state militia units, the units in the ...

and the 154th Wing (154 WG) of the Hawaii Air National Guard. The Air Mobility Command's

515th Air Mobility Operations Wing The 515th Air Mobility Operations Wing is part of Air Mobility Command stationed at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, Hawaii. It was activated in 2008. It coordinates logistical air movements into, out of, and throughout the Pacific. It is pa ...

(515 AMOW) provides tactical and strategic airlift within the Pacific region. In addition, Hickam supports 140 tenant and associate units. The 15th Wing is composed of four groups each with specific functions. The 15th Operations Group (15 OG) controls all flying and airfield operations. The 15th Maintenance Group (15 MXG) performs aircraft and aircraft ground equipment maintenance. The 15th Mission Support Group (15 MSG) has a wide range of responsibilities but a few of its functions are Security, Civil Engineering, Communications, Personnel Management, Logistics, Services and Contracting support. The 15th Medical Group (15 MDG) provides medical and dental care. * 15th Operations Group (Tail Code: HH) ** 15th Operations Support Squadron ** 25th Air Support Operations Squadron **

535th Airlift Squadron The 535th Airlift Squadron is part of the 15th Wing at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, Hawaii. It operates C-17 Globemaster III aircraft providing airlift in the Pacific theater. The squadron was first established during World War II as the 5 ...

( C-17) **

65th Airlift Squadron The 65th Airlift Squadron is part of the 15th Wing at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, Hawaii. It operates C-37 aircraft providing executive airlift in the Pacific theater. Mission The squadron's mission is to provide global air ...

(C-37) ** 19th Fighter Squadron (F-22) * 15th Maintenance Group * 15th Medical Group * 15th Wing Staff Agencies The 535th Airlift, 96th Air Refueling, and 19th Fighter Squadrons are each hybrid units joined with the Hawaii Air National Guard's 204th Airlift, and 199th Fighter Squadrons, respectively. These units are structured according to the Total Force Integration (TFI) concept, and as such have both an active duty Commander and a Guard Commander. They share missions as well as equipment. * Major Tenant Units ** 154th Wing Hawaii Air National Guard **

History

Origins

In 1934, the

Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps: * Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army * Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941) * United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...

saw the need for another airfield in Hawaii when Luke Field on Ford Island became too congested for both air operations and operation of the Hawaiian Air Depot. of land and fishponds adjacent to

John Rodgers Airport Daniel K. Inouye International Airport , also known as Honolulu International Airport, is the main airport of Oahu, Hawaii.Fort Kamehameha Fort Kamehameha was a United States Army military base that was the site of several coastal artillery batteries to defend Pearl Harbor starting in 1907 in Honolulu, Hawaii. History The eastern areas of the fort were in the district called Moanalua ...

were purchased by the War Department from the

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

, Damon and Queen Emma estates for a new air depot and air base at a cost of $1,095,543.78.Arakaki and Kuborn (1991), p. 33 (p. 19 in text) It was the largest peacetime military construction project in the United States to that date and continued through 1941. B-17s over Hickam Field, Summer 1941

The

Quartermaster Corps Following is a list of Quartermaster Corps, military units, active and defunct, with logistics duties: * Egyptian Army Quartermaster Corps - see Structure of the Egyptian Army * Hellenic Army Quartermaster Corps (''Σώμα Φροντιστών ...

was assigned the job of constructing a modern airdrome from tangled algaroba brush and sugar cane fields adjacent to Pearl Harbor. Planning, design, and supervision of construction were all conducted by Capt. Howard B. Nurse of the QMC. The site consisted of ancient, emerged

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. C ...

covered by a thin layer of soil, with the Pearl Harbor entrance channel and naval reservation marking its western and northern boundaries, John Rodgers Airport (HIA today) to the east, and Fort Kamehameha on the south.Arakaki and Kuborn (1991), p. 32 (p. 18 in text) The new airfield was dedicated on 31 May 1935 and named in honor of Lt Col

, a distinguished aviation pioneer who was killed in an aircraft accident the previous November 5 when his

Curtiss A-12 Shrike The Curtiss A-12 Shrike was the United States Army Air Corps' second monoplane ground-attack aircraft, and its main attack aircraft through most of the 1930s. It was based on the Curtiss A-8 Shrike, A-8, but had a radial engine instead of the A ...

, ''33-250'', hit an obstruction during night landing practice on the unlighted field at

Fort Crockett Fort Crockett is a government reservation on Galveston Island overlooking the Gulf of Mexico originally built as a defense installation to protect the city and harbor of Galveston and to secure the entrance to Galveston Bay, thus protecting the c ...

in Galveston, Texas and overturned. Construction was still in progress when the first contingent of 12 men and four aircraft under the command of 1st Lt Robert Warren arrived from Luke Field on September 1, 1937. Hickam Field was completed and officially activated on September 15, 1938. By November 1939 all Air Corps troops and activities—including most facilities such as the chapel, enlisted housing, and theater, which were dismantled and ferried in sections across the channel—had transferred from Luke Field with the exception of the Hawaiian Air Depot, which required another year to move. In early 1939 construction began on the main barracks, a single three-story nine-winged structure to house 3,200 men at a cost of $1,039,000. Personnel began moving into the barracks in January 1940, and by its completion on 30 September 1940, it was fully occupied and the largest structure of any kind on an American military installation. It included barber shops, a 24-hour medical dispensary, a laundry, a post exchange, multiple squadron dayrooms, and a massive consolidated mess hall at its center, and thus was dubbed the "Hickam Hotel". Hickam was the principal army airfield in Hawaii and the only one large enough to accommodate the B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. In connection with defense plans for the Pacific, aircraft were brought to Hawaii throughout 1941 to prepare for potential hostilities. The first mass flight of bombers (21 B-17Ds) from

Hamilton Field, California Hamilton Field (Hamilton AFB) was a United States Air Force base, which was inactivated in 1973, decommissioned in 1974, and put into a caretaker status with the Air Force Reserves until 1976. It was transferred to the United States Army in 1983 ...

arrived at Hickam on 14 May 1941. By December, the

Hawaiian Air Force The Seventh Air Force (Air Forces Korea) (7 AF) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Osan Air Base, South Korea. The command's mission is to plan and direct air component operations in ...

had been an integrated command for slightly more than one year and consisted of 754 officers and 6,706 enlisted men, with 233 aircraft assigned at its three primary bases: Hickam,

Wheeler Field Wheeler Army Airfield , also known as Wheeler Field and formerly as Wheeler Air Force Base, is a United States Army post located in the City & County of Honolulu and in the Wahiawa District of the Island of O'ahu, Hawaii. It is a National His ...

(now

Wheeler Army Airfield Wheeler Army Airfield , also known as Wheeler Field and formerly as Wheeler Air Force Base, is a United States Army post located in the City & County of Honolulu and in the Wahiawa District of the Island of O'ahu, Hawaii. It is a National Hi ...

), and Bellows Field (now

Bellows Air Force Station Bellows Air Force Station (Bellows Field) is a United States military reservation located in Waimanalo, Hawaii. Once an important air field during World War II, the reservation now serves as a military training area and recreation area for ac ...

World War II

When the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrend ...

attacked Oahu on 7 December 1941, its planes bombed and strafed Hickam to eliminate air opposition and prevent American aircraft from following them back to their aircraft carriers. Hickam suffered extensive damage and aircraft losses, with 189 people killed and 303 wounded. Notable casualties included nine

Honolulu Fire Department The Honolulu Fire Department (HFD) provides fire protection and first responder emergency medical services to the City & County of Honolulu, Hawaii, United States, under the jurisdiction of the Mayor of Honolulu. Founded on December 27, 1850, by K ...

(HFD) firefighters (three killed, six injured) who fought fires at Hickam during the attack; they later received

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

s for their heroic actions that day in peacetime history, the only civilian firefighters awarded as such to date. During

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 opposing ...

, the base became a major center for training pilots and assembling aircraft. It also served as the hub of the Pacific aerial network, supporting transient aircraft ferrying troops and supplies to—and evacuating wounded from—the forward areas—a role it would reprise during the

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

and

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 ...

wars and earning it the official nickname "America's Bridge Across the Pacific".

Cold War

After World War II, the Air Force in Hawaii consisted primarily of the

Air Transport Command Air Transport Command (ATC) was a United States Air Force unit that was created during World War II as the strategic airlift component of the United States Army Air Forces. It had two main missions, the first being the delivery of supplies and ...

and its successor, the Military Air Transport Service (MATS), until 1 July 1957 when Headquarters

Far East Air Forces Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) is a Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force and is also the air component command of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). PACAF is headquartered at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam (fo ...

completed its move from Japan to Hawai‘i and was redesignated the

(PACAF). The 15th Air Base Wing, host unit at Hickam AFB, supported the

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...

astronauts in the 1960s and 1970s;

Operation Homecoming Operation Homecoming was the return of 591 American prisoners of war (POWs) held by North Vietnam following the Paris Peace Accords that ended U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Operation On January 27, 1973, Henry Kissinger (then assistant ...

(return of prisoners of war from Vietnam) in 1973;

Operation Babylift Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

/ New Life (movement of nearly 94,000 orphans, refugees, and evacuees from Southeast Asia) in 1975; and NASA's

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program ...

flights in the 1980s and 1990s. Hickam is home to the 65th Airlift Squadron which transports theater senior military leaders throughout the world in the

C-37B The Gulfstream G550 is a business jet aircraft produced by General Dynamics' Gulfstream Aerospace unit in Savannah, Georgia, US. The certification designation is GV-SP. A version with reduced fuel capacity was marketed as the G500. Gulfstream ...

and

C-40 Clipper The Boeing C-40 Clipper is a military version of the Boeing 737 Next Generation used to transport cargo and passengers. It is used by the United States Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. The Navy C-40A variant is named "Clipper", whereas the ...

aircraft. In mid-2003, the 15th Air Base Wing (15 ABW) was converted to the 15th Airlift Wing (15 AW) as it prepared to bed down and fly the Air Force's newest transport aircraft, the

C-17 Globemaster III The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft that was developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 carries forward the name of t ...

. The first Hickam-based C-17 arrived in February 2006, with seven more to follow during the year. The C-17s will be flown by the

199th Fighter Interceptor Squadron F-102s Hickam AFB 1976

On September 16, 1985, the

Secretary of the Interior Secretary of the Interior may refer to: * Secretary of the Interior (Mexico) * Interior Secretary of Pakistan * Secretary of the Interior and Local Government (Philippines) * United States Secretary of the Interior See also

*Interior ministry ...

designated Hickam AFB a

National Historic Landmark 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 ...

, recognizing its key role in the World War II Pacific campaign. A bronze plaque reflecting Hickam's "national significance in commemorating the history of the United States of America" took its place among other memorials surrounding the base flagpole. Dominating the area is a large bronze tablet engraved with the names of those who died as a result of the 1941 attack. Other reminders of the attack can still be seen. Bullet holes mark many buildings in use, including World War II era hangars and the base hospital., including the tattered American flag that flew over the base that morning. It is on display in the lobby of the Pacific Air Forces Headquarters building, whose bullet-scarred walls (the structure was a barracks and

mess hall The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...

known as "the Big Barracks" in 1941) have been carefully preserved as a reminder to never again be caught unprepared.

Accidents and incidents

On 22 March 1955, a

United States 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 ...

Douglas R6D-1 Liftmaster The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport aircraft, military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked aft ...

on descent to a landing in darkness and heavy rain strayed off course and

crashed "Crashed" is the third U.S. rock Single (music), single, (the fifth overall), from the band Daughtry (band), Daughtry's debut album. It was released only to U.S. rock stations on September 5, 2007. Upon its release the song got adds at those stat ...

into Pali Kea Peak in the southern part of

Oahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O� ...

Waianae Range Waianae () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States. As of the 2020 census, the CDP population was 13,614. Its name means "waters of the mullet". Its etymology is shared with the far northern Wellington sub ...

, killing all 66 people on board. It remains the worst air disaster in Hawaiis history and the deadliest

heavier-than-air An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or by using the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in ...

accident in the history of U.S.

naval aviation Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based ...

Previous names

* Flying Field, Tracts A and B, near Ft Kamehameha, United States Army (Origins) * Hickam Field, 21 May 1935 * Army Air Base, APO #953 (official designation, 16 May 1942 – 31 May 1946) * Hickam Field, 1 Jun 1946 * Hickam Air Force Base, 26 March 1948 – 1 October 2010

Major commands to which assigned

* 1935–1940: Hawaiian Dept, United States Army * 1940–1942: Hawaiian Air Force * 1942–1944:

Seventh Air Force The Seventh Air Force (Air Forces Korea) (7 AF) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Osan Air Base, South Korea. The command's mission is to plan and direct air component operations in ...

* 1944–1945: Army Air Forces Pacific Ocean Areas (Provisional) * 1945:

* 1945–1946: Air Transport Command * 1946–1949: Pacific Air Command * 1949–1955: Military Air Transport Service * 1955–1957:

* 1957–present:

Geography

Hickam Air Force Base consists of , valued at more than $444 million. It was originally bounded on the north by

Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard The Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility is a United States Navy shipyard located in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. It is one of just four public shipyards operated by the United States Navy. The shipyard is physically a part ...

, on the west by the Pearl Harbor entrance channel, on the south by

Fort Kamehameha Fort Kamehameha was a United States Army military base that was the site of several coastal artillery batteries to defend Pearl Harbor starting in 1907 in Honolulu, Hawaii. History The eastern areas of the fort were in the district called Moanalua ...

, and on the east by the airport complex. The original main gate is reached via Nimitz Highway (

Hawaii Route 92 Route 92 is a major east–west highway on the island of Oahu which begins at exit 15 off Interstate H-1 (H-1) in Honolulu and ends east of the Ala Wai Canal crossing in Waikiki. The western portion, west of Richards Street, is locally kn ...

) from

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

, and it shares its western terminus with the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard's main gate. This part of Nimitz Highway can be reached from the expressway Interstate H-1 (Exit 15) southeast from

Halawa Halawa () is a census-designated place (CDP) in the ‘Ewa District of Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States. Halawa Stream branches into two valleys: North and South Halawa; North Halawa is the larger stream and fluvial feature. Their conflue ...

or west from Honolulu (Exit 15B) and from

Kamehameha Highway Kamehameha Highway is one of the main highways serving suburban and rural O‘ahu in the U.S. state of Hawai‘i. Informally known as Kam Highway, it begins at Nimitz Highway near Pearl Harbor and Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu, serves the ...

(State Hawaii Route 99), the eastern termination of which is at Nimitz Highway. The housing around the base is within the Hickam Housing CDP.Hickam Housing CDP, Hawaii
" U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on May 21, 2009.

References

* * Arakaki, Leatrice R. and Kuborn, John R. (1991)
''7 December 1941: The Air Force Story''
Pacific Air Forces Office of History, Hickam AFB, Hawaii. * Maurer, Maurer (1983). ''Air Force Combat Units Of World War II''. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. . * Mueller, Robert (1989). ''Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982''. USAF Reference Series. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. * Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). ''Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947–1977''. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. . * Rogers, Brian (2005). ''United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978''. Hinkley, England: Midland Publications. .

External links

Hickam Air Force Base

History at Hickam

Hickam AFB Installation Overview

Aviation: From Sand Dunes to Sonic Booms, a National Park Service ''Discover Our Shared Heritage'' Travel Itinerary
{{authority control Installations of the United States Air Force in Hawaii Airports in Hawaii Art Deco airports Art Deco architecture in Hawaii Buildings and structures in Honolulu County, Hawaii Installations of the United States Air National Guard Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Hawaii National Historic Landmarks in Hawaii Transportation in Honolulu County, Hawaii Historic American Buildings Survey in Hawaii National Register of Historic Places in Honolulu County, Hawaii Space Shuttle Emergency Landing Sites