Presque Isle Air Force Base was a

military installation A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and Military operation, operations. A military base always provides ...

of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

located near Presque Isle,

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. In the late 1950s and early 1960s it became a base for

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile compon ...

The original airport was constructed in 1930 by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...

as a commercial airport located west of the "business center". In 1941, the federal government appropriated the local airport, establishing Presque Isle Army Airfield for planes bound to and from

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

. It was activated as an Army Air Corps field on 15 September 1941. The main Army Air Force unit at Presque Isle was the 23d AAF Ferrying Wing, assigned to 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 a ...

. It was closed after the war ended The airfield was reactivated by the

and redesignated Presque Isle Air Force Base on January 12, 1948, assigned to the

Air Defense Command Aerospace Defense Command was a major command (military formation), command of the United States Air Force, responsible for air defense of the continental United States. It was activated in 1968 and disbanded in 1980. Its predecessor, Air De ...

(ADC) Eastern Air Defense Force. The

23rd Fighter Group The 23rd Fighter Group (23 FG) is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 23rd Wing and stationed at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia. The 23rd Fighter Group was established in World War II as the 23rd Pursuit Group of the United ...

was redesignated as the 23rd Fighter-Interceptor Group, and activated on 12 January 1951.Maurer, ''Combat Units'', p. 72 It was assigned to the 23rd Fighter-Interceptor Wing at Presque Isle AFB as part of ADC, with the 74th and 75th Fighter-Interceptor Squadrons, flying

North American F-86E Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing So ...

aircraft.Cornett & Johnson, p. 118 Before the year was over, both squadrons had converted to older F-86As. In February 1952, the wing and group were inactivated, in a major ADC reorganization. Parts of the former base were redeveloped as a civilian airport, known today as

Presque Isle International Airport Presque Isle International Airport , formally Northern Maine Regional Airport at Presque Isle, is a mile northwest of Presque Isle, Maine, Presque Isle, in Aroostook County, Maine, Aroostook County, Maine, United States. It serves the resident ...

Snark missile launch complex

Presque Isle AFB became the site for the only operational launch complex for the Northrop SM-62 Snark Intercontinental Cruise Missile (ICM). Adjacent to the base, its coordinates were "Operational Snark Launching Site I" was selected by the SAC Strategic Missile Site Selection Panel on 21 March 1957, land for the "new base

ith The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometers, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is i ...

740 men" was acquired in January 1958, and construction of the $12,000,000 base began in May 1958 by the J.R. Cianchete Construction Company. The 702d Strategic Missile Wing was activated on 1 January 1959, and the first

Douglas C-124 Globemaster II The Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, nicknamed "Old Shaky", is a retired American heavy-lift cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California. The C-124 was the primary heavy-lift transport for United States Air Forc ...

with a Snark arrived on 27 May 1959. The complex had 6 corrugated hangars ("missile assembly and maintenance buildings") each of with 2 fixed outdoor launch pads. For each launch pad with diameter , a missile was stored within the building on a launcher trailer attached to a tow vehicle, 1 at ready storage to launch from the outdoor pad within 15 minutes and behind it, 1 capable of launch in 30 minutes. Each building had 3 additional missiles in line behind the first wave (readiness of 4 hr, 3 days, and 5 days), and the missile launch control center was a hangar balcony. In addition to the hangars and pads, the complex included "a jet engine run-up building, the warhead maintenance and inspection building, missile maintenance and guidance lab", a dormitory for night alert personnel, and a compressor house for each hangar. First alert status was 18 March 1960, and 30 missiles were available in December with 4 on alert. After the 702d SMW was declared operational on 28 February 1961, 20 Snarks were on alert in the summer of 1961, and on 25 June 1961 the wing was inactivated followin
President Kennedy's earlier announcement
for "73 military establishments" to be closed (Congress was informed on 30 March.)

Civilian use after base closure

The Snark Missile Launch Complex was purchased by the city of

Presque Isle, Maine Presque Isle ( ) is the commercial center and largest city in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. The population was 8,797 at the 2020 Census. The city is home to the University of Maine at Presque Isle, Northern Maine Community College, ...

, in early 1962 for $56,000 (the city also bought "other parts of the former Presque Isle Air Force Base, ...known as th
Skyway Industrial Park"
in 1962) and some of the remaining AFB area was redesignated "Presque Isle Air National Guard Facility". Four of the hangars were used for woodworking in 1962 and in 1995, one was used as a flax mill. The former launch complex now has the designation Environmental site ME500. Parts of the former base were redeveloped as

, making Presque Isle a civilian airfield again. As of 2020 it offers scheduled jet passenger service to Newark and

Washington-Dulles Washington Dulles International Airport ( ) – commonly known by its former name of Dulles International Airport, by its airport code of IAD, or simply as Dulles Airport – is an international airport in the Eastern United States, located w ...

, in addition to serving as a cargo airport. Northern Maine Community College was founded in 1961 on the former air base grounds. The Skyway Industrial Park was created in the vicinity of the airport.

Notes

External links

Strategic Air Command.com
Installations of the United States Air Force in Maine Buildings and structures in Aroostook County, Maine Military installations established in 1948 Military installations closed in 1961 1948 establishments in Maine 1961 disestablishments in Maine Civilian Conservation Corps in Maine

Snark missile launch complex

Civilian use after base closure

See also

Notes

Further reading

External links