Iraklion Air Station was 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 ...

facility located east of the city of

Iraklion Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a population of 211,370 (Urban Ar ...

near the village of

Gournes Hersonissos ( el, Χερσόνησος, meaning "peninsula", ''Chersónisos'', ), also transliterated as ''Chersonissos'' and ''Hersónisos'', is a town and a local government unit in the north of Crete, bordering the Mediterranean / Aegean Sea. T ...

, in the north central section of the Greek island of

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

History

Major commands to which assigned

Detachment 2, 34 Radio Squadron Mobile, USAFSS, 1953–1955 * United States Air Forces in Europe, 1954–1979 * U.S. Air Force Electronic Security Command, 1979–1991 * Air Force Intelligence Command, 1991–1993

Major units assigned

* Det 2, 34th Radio Squadron Mobile, USAFSS 1953–1955 * Det 1, 1603d Air Transport Wing (MATS), 1 October 1954 – January 1966 * 6938th Radio Squadron Mobile (RSM), April 1955 * 7222d Air Base Squadron, 1 August 1955 – 1 January 1958 * Det 1, 7206th Spt Group, 1 January 1958 * 6930th Radio Group, Mobile (RGM) (6931st Scty Gp), 1 April 1958 – 1 July 1963 : Redesignated: 6931st Security Group (SG) 1 July 1963-1 October 1978 * 6931st Security Squadron (SS), 1 July 1974 – 1 October 1979 : Redesignated: 6931st Electronic Security Squadron (ESS), 1 October 1979-30 September 1993 * 7276th Air Base Group, 1 October 1978 – 30 June 1994 * 2115th Communications Squadron, 2 March 1979 – 30 September 1993 * USAF Hospital Iraklion 1985–1987

Operational history

A non-flying facility, Iraklion Air Station (Iraklion AS) began operations in support of activities of the 1603rd Air Transport Wing and other USAFE liaison operations in Crete beginning on 5 October 1954. The base also supported units of USAFSS, USAFE and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

as directed. The base provided administrative and logistical support to the 6931st Electronic Security Squadron, as well as policy guidance in administrative, logistical and support matters for all regular and other tenant organizations at Iraklion AS, and as well as other dispersed U.S. Department of Defense units located on the island of Crete from October 1, 1978, until the closure of the base in 1994. Iraklion AS also provided liaison and base support services for the

Embassy of the United States, Athens The Embassy of the United States in Athens is the embassy of the United States in Greece, in the capital city of Athens. The embassy is charged with diplomacy and Greece–United States relations. The United States Ambassador to Greece is the hea ...

. Since the station's closure in 1994, the facility has been abandoned and appears to have been looted and vandalized. It is in an unkept state being taken over by weeds. Currently, an aquarium known as the ''

Cretaquarium Cretaquarium ( el, Ενυδρείο Κρήτης, ''Enidrio Kritis'') or Thalassocosmos ( el, Θαλασσόκοσμος, "sea world") is a public aquarium located near the town of Gournes in Crete, Greece, 15 km east of the city of Heraklio ...

'', a ''

dinosaur park Dinosaur Park is a tourist attraction in Rapid City, South Dakota, United States. Dedicated on May 22, 1936, it contains seven dinosaur sculptures on a hill overlooking the city, created to capitalize on the tourists coming to the Black Hills to s ...

'' and an animal shelter are housed at the site.

Future

In 2020, it was reported that the United States and Greece were considering the reactivation of the station as a base for U.S. Air Force combat and strategic assets, in lieu of

Incirlik Air Base Incirlik Air Base ( tr, İncirlik Hava Üssü) is a Turkish air base of slightly more than 3320 ac (1335 ha), located in the İncirlik quarter of the city of Adana, Turkey. The base is within an urban area of 1.7 million people, east of t ...

in Turkey.

References

* Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947–1977. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. . * Erwin H. Lerner, former A/2C, stationed at facility 1954–1955, serving as cryptographer in Detachment 2, 34th Radio Squadron Mobile, United States Air Force Security Service.

External links

6931st Security Group — Iraklion AS, Crete, Greece (July 1967 to August 1969) — Fotos & Documents

Link to various Virtual Buildings of the Iraklion Air Station
{{USAFE Mediterranean Bases Military installations of the United States in Greece Buildings and structures in Heraklion (regional unit) Stations of the United States Air Force Military installations closed in 1994 1954 establishments in Greece 1994 disestablishments in Greece