Hill Air Force Base is a major U.S. Air Force (USAF) base located in northern Utah, just south of the city of Ogden, and bordering the Cities of Layton, Clearfield, Riverdale, Roy, and

Sunset Sunset, also known as sundown, is the daily disappearance of the Sun below the horizon due to Earth's rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth (except the North and South poles), the equinox Sun sets due west at the moment of both the spring ...

with its largest border immediately adjacent to Clearfield and Layton. It is about north of Salt Lake City. The base was named in honor of Major

Ployer Peter Hill Ployer Peter Hill (October 24, 1894 – October 30, 1935), known as "Pete" or "Peter", was a pilot and an officer with a varied career, but is best known for his abilities as a test pilot. In an aviation career that spanned eighteen years, Hill ...

of the U.S. Army Air Corps, who died test-flying ''NX13372'', the original Model 299 prototype of the

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 ...

bomber. As of 2018 Hill AFB is the sixth-largest employer in the state of Utah. Hill AFB is the home of the

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 ...

's (AFMC)

Ogden Air Logistics Complex The Ogden Air Logistics Complex (OO-ALC) performs programmed depot maintenance on a number of US Air Force weapon systems. Specifically it supports A-10 Thunderbolt II, B-2 Spirit, F-16 Fighting Falcon, and LGM-30G Minuteman III systems. Addi ...

(OO-ALC) which is the worldwide manager for a wide range of aircraft, engines, missiles, software, avionics, and accessories components. The OO-ALC is part of the Air Force Sustainment Center. The host unit at Hill AFB is the AFMC's 75th Air Base Wing (75 ABW), which provides services and support for the OO-ALC and its subordinate organizations. Additional tenant units at Hill AFB include operational fighter wings of

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) and

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).

History

Hill Air Force Base is named in honor of Major

(1894–1935), the Chief of the Flying Branch of the U.S. Army Air Corps (USAAC) Material Division of Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio. Major Hill had died as a result of injuries he received from the crash of the Boeing Aircraft Company's experimental aircraft

Boeing Model 299 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 ...

at Wright Field, the prototype airplane for what became the famous

. Hill Air Force Base traces its origins back to the ill-fated U.S. Army's

Air Mail Airmail (or air mail) is a mail transport service branded and sold on the basis of at least one leg of its journey being by air. Airmail items typically arrive more quickly than surface mail, and usually cost more to send. Airmail may be the ...

"experiment" of 1934, when the idea originated for a permanent air depot in the Salt Lake City area. In the following years, the USAAC surveyed the region for a suitable location for the permanent western terminus of the air mail. Several sites in Utah were considered, and the present site near Ogden emerged as the clear favorite. In July 1939, Congress appropriated $8.0 million for the establishment and construction of the Ogden Air Depot. Hill Field officially opened on 7 November 1940. Following

American entry into World War II Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor took place on December 7, 1941. The U.S. military suffered 18 ships damaged or sunk, and 2,400 people were killed. Its most significant consequence was the entrance of the United States into World War II. The US ...

in December 1941, Hill Field quickly became an important maintenance and supply base, with round-the-clock operations geared to supporting the war effort. Battle-worn warplanes like the A-26, B-17, B-24,

B-29 The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Fly ...

, P-40, P-47, P-61, were sent to Hill Field for structural repairs, engine overhauls, and spare parts. The peak wartime employment at Hill Field was reached in 1943 with a total of just over 22,000 military and civilian personnel. Men and women at the depot rehabilitated and returned thousands of warplanes to combat. Starting in 1944, Hill Field was utilized for the long-term storage of surplus airplanes and their support equipment, including outmoded P-40 Tomahawks and P-40 Warhawks which had been removed from combat service and replaced by newer and better warplanes. P-47 Thunderbolts,

B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

s, B-29 Superfortresses, and many other types of aircraft were also prepared for and placed in storage at Hill over the course of the 1940s and 1950s. Hill Field became the Hill Air Force Base on 5 February 1948, following the creation of the United States Air Force. During the Korean War, Hill AFB was assigned a major share of the Air Materiel Command's logistical effort to support the combat in Korea. Hill AFB personnel quickly removed needed warplanes from storage, renovated them, and added them to active-service USAF flying squadrons. Hill Air Force Base sulfur lamps

Then during the 1960s, Hill AFB began to perform the maintenance support for various kinds of jet warplanes, mainly the

F-4 Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bow ...

during the Vietnam War, and then afterwards, the more modern

F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful ...

, A-10 Thunderbolt II and

C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 ...

, and also air combat missile systems and air-to-ground rockets. Hill AFB continues to carry out these tasks to the present day.

Major commands assigned

* Materiel Div, Office of Chief of the Air Corps, 1 December 1939 – 11 December 1941 * Air Service Command, 11 December 1941 – 17 July 1944 * AAF Materiel and Services, 17 July 1944 – 31 August 1944 * Army Air Forces Technical Service Command, 31 August 1944 – 1 July 1945 *

Air Technical Service Command The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

, 1 July 1945 – 9 March 1946 * Air Materiel Command, 9 March 1946 – 1 April 1961 *

Air Force Logistics Command The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

, 1 April 1961 – 1 June 1992 *

1 June 1992 – present

Base operating units

* Ogden Air Depot, 7 November 1940 – 8 April 1942 * 9th Station Complement, 8 April 1942 – 2 January 1943 * 482d Base HQ and Air Base Sq, 2 January 1943 – 1 April 1944 * 4135th AAF Base Unit, 1 April 1944 – 26 September 1947 * 4135th AF Base Unit, 26 September 1947 – 27 August 1948 * HQ and HQ Sq, Ogden AMA, 27 August 1948 – 4 May 1950 * 25th Air Base Gp, 4 May 1950 – 1 May 1953 * 2849th Air Base Wg, 1 May 1953 – 8 July 1964 * 2849th Air Base Gp, 8 July 1964 – 1994 * 75th Air Base Wing 1994 – present

Role and operations

Ogden Air Logistics Complex

The

provides worldwide engineering and logistics management for the F-35 Lightning II,

, A-10 Thunderbolt II, and Minuteman III

intercontinental ballistic missile An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads). Conventional, chemical, and biological weapons c ...

75th Air Base Wing

The 75th Air Base Wing is responsible for the base operating support of all units at Hill AFB. The 75th ABW provides base operating support for the Ogden Air Logistics Complex, the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings, and 50+ mission partner units.

Hill Aerospace Museum

Hill AFB has also housed the Hill Aerospace Museum since 1981. This contains more than 80 retired USAF,

U.S. Army Air Forces 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 ...

, U.S. Navy and former Warsaw Pact fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and missiles.

Utah Test and Training Range

The Utah Test and Training Range is one of the only live-fire U.S. Air Force training ranges within the United States. It is located in far western Utah, close to the Nevada border, and it extends both north and south of Interstate Highway 80, with several miles of separation on each side of the Interstate Highway. The portion of the bombing range that lies north of Interstate 80 is also west of the

Great Salt Lake The Great Salt Lake is the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere and the eighth-largest terminal lake in the world. It lies in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah and has a substantial impact upon the local climate, particula ...

. The Utah Test and Training Range lies in Tooele County, and the land is owned by the state of Utah, but the use of the airspace and training exercises are scheduled by Hill AFB. On September 8, 2004, 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 ...

's Genesis space probe crash-landed on the nearby U.S. Army Dugway Proving Ground, as planned.

Based units

Flying and notable non-flying units based at Hill Air Force Base. Units marked GSU are Geographically Separate Units, which although based at Hill, are subordinate to a parent unit based at another location.

United States Air Force

(AFMC) * 75th Air Base Wing (Host wing) ** 75th Civil Engineering Directorate ** 75th Communications and Information Directorate ** 75th Medical Group ** 75th Mission Support Group * Air Force Sustainment Center **

*** 309th Aircraft Maintenance Group *** 309th Commodities Maintenance Group *** 309th Electronics Maintenance Group *** 309th Maintenance Support Group *** 309th Missile Maintenance Group *** 309th Software Engineering Group **

448th Supply Chain Management Wing The 448th Supply Chain Management Wing, a wing of the Air Force Sustainment Center of Air Force Materiel Command serves as the Air Force's supply chain manager headquartered at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. The wing was first activated in th ...

*** 748th Supply Chain Management Group (GSU) **** 414th Supply Chain Management Squadron **** 415th Supply Chain Management Squadron **** 416th Supply Chain Management Squadron **** 417th Supply Chain Management Squadron **** 419th Supply Chain Management Squadron * Air Force Life Cycle Management Center ** Fighters/Bombers Directorate *** A-10 Division (GSU) *** F-16 Division (GSU) *** F-22 Division (GSU) *** F-35 operating location (GSU) ** Armament Directorate *** Munitions Division (GSU) ** Battle Management Directorate *** Aerospace Enabler Division (GSU) ** Mobility Directorate *** Mature and Proven Aircraft Division (GSU) ** Logistics Directorate *** Product Data Services Division (GSU) ** Agile Combat Support Directorate *** Automatic Test Systems Division (GSU) *

Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center The Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center (AFNWC) is a USAF Named Unit, assigned to the Air Force Materiel Command at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. The AFNWC operates at the Center level of the AFMC. It is currently under the command of Major ...

** ICBM Systems Directorate (GSU)

(ACC) *

Fifteenth Air Force The Fifteenth Air Force (15 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base. It was reactivated on 20 August 2020, merging the previous units of the Ninth Air Force ...

388th Fighter Wing The 388th Fighter Wing (388FW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command Fifteenth Air Force. The unit is stationed at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. Units 388th Operations Group (388 OG) * 4th Fighter Squadron (4 FS) : ...

*** 388th Operations Group ****

4th Fighter Squadron The 4th Fighter Squadron, "Fighting Fuujins" is part of the 388th Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. It operates the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II aircraft, which replaced the unit's General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcons in Augus ...

– F-35A Lightning II ****

34th Fighter Squadron The 34th Fighter Squadron is part of the United States Air Force's 388th Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. On 2 August 2016, the Air Force announced that the 34th had become the first squadron to achieve initial operating capability w ...

– F-35A Lightning II **** 388th Operations Support Squadron ****

421st Fighter Squadron The 421st Fighter Squadron is part of the 388th Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. It operates the Lockheed Martin F-35A aircraft conducting air superiority missions. The squadron is one of the most decorated fighter squadrons in the ...

F-35A Lightning II ****

729th Air Control Squadron The 729th Air Control Squadron is a Control and Reporting Center (CRC) assigned to the 552d Air Control Group, 552d Air Control Wing. The 729th's mission is focused around providing air control (radar) services for combat air operations. Offici ...

*** 388th Maintenance Group **** 388th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron **** 388th Maintenance Squadron *** Headquarters Utah Test and Training Range

(AFRC) *

419th Fighter Wing The 419th Fighter Wing (419 FW) is an Air Reserve Component (ARC) unit of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the Tenth Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, and is stationed at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. The 419th FW is an associate ...

419th Operations Group The 419th Operations Group (419 OG) is an operational component of the 419th Fighter Wing, stationed at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. The 419 OG plans and organizes operational programs and establishes policies and procedures for operational tra ...

***

466th Fighter Squadron The 466th Fighter Squadron is the 419th Fighter Wing's operational flying squadron. It is located at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. The squadron was activated late in World War II. Intended as a long-range escort unit, it deployed to the Pacific, ...

– F-35A Lightning II ** 419th Maintenance Group *** 419th Maintenance Squadron *** 419th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron *** 419th Maintenance Operations Flight *** 419th Combat Logistics Support Squadron ** 419th Mission Support Group *** 419th Security Forces Squadron *** 419th Civil Engineer Squadron *** 419th Mission Support Flight *** 419th Logistics Readiness Squadron *** 67th Aerial Port Squadron

Connections to the Hi-Fi murders

Three enlisted United States Air Force airmen stationed at Hill AFB – Pierre Dale Selby, William Andrews and Keith Roberts – were convicted in connection with the Hi-Fi murders, which took place at the Hi-Fi Shop in

Ogden, Utah Ogden is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the US Census Bureau, making it Utah's eighth ...

, on April 22, 1974. Selby and Andrews were both sentenced to death for murder and aggravated robbery while Roberts, who had remained in a getaway vehicle, was convicted of robbery. Evidence gathered from a trashbin on base and from the perpetrators' barracks was instrumental in their convictions. One of the survivors of the attack, Cortney Naisbitt, later trained in computers and worked at Hill Air Force Base.

Accidents and Incidents

*October 19, 2022: An Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II crashed off the end of runway 14. The 388th Fighter Wing has stated that the solo pilot was seen by a local hospital and released with no injuries.

References

Note: Much of this text in an early version of this article was taken from pages on th
Hill Air Force Base Website
which as a work of the U.S. Government is presumed to be a public domain resource. That information was supplemented by: * 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. .

External links

* * * {{authority control 1939 establishments in Utah Military airbases established in 1939 Airports in Utah Buildings and structures in Davis County, Utah Buildings and structures in Weber County, Utah Military installations in Utah Post-World War II aircraft storage facilities Installations of the United States Air Force Military Superfund sites Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces Technical Service Command Transportation in Davis County, Utah Transportation in Weber County, Utah Superfund sites in Utah Historic American Engineering Record in Utah World War II airfields in the United States