Hanscom Air Force Base (AFB) is a

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 ...

base located predominantly within

Bedford, Massachusetts Bedford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population of Bedford was 14,161 at th2022 United States census History ''The following compilation comes from Ellen Abrams (1999) based on information from Abram Engl ...

, with portions extending into the adjoining towns of

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other words Arts and media * ''Concord'' (video game), a defunct 2024 first-person sh ...

and Lexington. The facility is adjacent to

Hanscom Field Laurence G. Hanscom Field , commonly known as Hanscom Field, is a public use airport operated by the Massachusetts Port Authority, located outside Boston in Bedford, Massachusetts, United States. Hanscom is mainly a general aviation airport, ...

which provides

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

and charter service. Hanscom AFB is a part of 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 Le ...

, one of six centers under

Air Force Materiel Command The 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 System ...

(AFMC). The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center is the single center responsible for total life cycle management of Air Force weapon systems and is headquartered at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. The host unit at Hanscom is the

66th Air Base Group The 66th Air Base Group is a non-flying United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force Materiel Command Electronic Systems Center. It is stationed at Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts. The group is also the host unit at Hanscom Air ...

(66 ABG) assigned to AFMC. A portion of the base is listed as a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 counte ...

by the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

for statistical purposes. The resident population as of

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

was 1,516 at the 2020 census.

Overview

A non-flying base, Hanscom Air Force Base is named after Laurence G. Hanscom (1906–1941), a pilot, aviation enthusiast, and

State House State House or statehouse may refer to: Buildings *Aso Villa or State House, the official residence of the President of Nigeria *Government House, Dominica or The State House, the official residence of the President of Dominica * State House, Bar ...

reporter who was killed in a plane crash at

Saugus, Massachusetts Saugus is a New England town, town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. The population was 28,619 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Saugus is known as the site of the first integrated iron work ...

. Hanscom was a reporter for the

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

Worcester Telegram & Gazette The ''Telegram & Gazette'' (and ''Sunday Telegram'') is the only daily newspaper of Worcester, Massachusetts. The paper, headquartered at 100 Front Street and known locally as ''the Telegram'' or the ''T & G'', offers coverage of all of Worces ...

and the Wilmington (MA) News. Hanscom was active in early aviation, founding the

Massachusetts Civil Air Reserve Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode Island to it ...

. At the time of his death, Hanscom had been lobbying for the establishment of an airfield in Bedford. The base was named in his honor on 26 June 1941.

, a civilian general-aviation airport adjacent to the Air Force Base, and

Massport Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) is the port authority for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It owns and operates three airports, Logan International Airport, Hanscom Field, and Worcester Regional Airport, and public terminals in the P ...

are the primary operators of the air field and runways. Less than one percent of the air traffic at Hanscom Field is military aircraft.

History

World War II

Hanscom Air Force Base began its existence while the United States was considering its entry into

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In May 1941, the Massachusetts Legislature authorized the purchase of a large tract of farmland spanning the borders of the towns of Bedford, Lincoln, Concord and Lexington for a Boston Auxiliary Airport. Funds to build the new airport were contributed by the federal government, which had appropriated $40 million to build 250 new civil airports across the United States that could serve for future national defense.Hanscom Air Force Base history
In mid-1942, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts leased the Bedford airport to the War Department for use by the

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 ...

. Fighter squadrons trained there in 1942 through 1943. The 85th Fighter Squadron and the 318th Fighter Squadron, who trained at Bedford on the Curtiss

P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter-bomber that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry ...

, went on to combat in North Africa and Europe. In February 1943, the airport was renamed Laurence G. Hanscom Field in honor of a Massachusetts-born pilot and aviation enthusiast who had been a reporter for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Hanscom had died in February 1941, in an aircraft accident in Saugus, Massachusetts, while he was lobbying vigorously at the State House for the establishment of the airport at Bedford. Later in the war, the Bedford Army Air Field served as a site for testing new

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

sets developed by

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

's Radiation Laboratory. It was this secondary wartime activity at Hanscom that gave rise to the base's postwar role.

Cold War

Since 1945 Hanscom has emerged as the Air Force's center for the development and acquisition of electronic systems. The base has also played a significant role in the creation of a national high-technology area around Route 128. World War II established the key military importance of radar. In 1945, when the MIT and Harvard wartime laboratories were dissolved, the Army Air Forces aimed to continue some of their programs in radar, radio and electronic research. It recruited scientists and engineers from the laboratories, and its new

Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...

(AFCRL) took over MIT's test site at Hanscom Field. By 1950, the Air Force was working closely with MIT to develop a new air defense system for the continental United States. Expanding its facilities at Hanscom Field was a step to accomplishing this massive project. After some negotiation, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts agreed in May 1952 to cede land on one side of the airport to the federal government and to give a 25-year renewable lease on the airfield itself. The first buildings for the new

MIT Lincoln Laboratory The MIT Lincoln Laboratory, located in Lexington, Massachusetts, is a United States Department of Defense federally funded research and development center chartered to apply advanced technology to problems of national security. Research and dev ...

at Hanscom were completed in 1952, and the Air Force's electronic and geophysics laboratories in Cambridge started to migrate out to its own new facilities in Bedford in 1954. The airfield's runways were reconfigured and expanded in 1953, and new hangars, headquarters and facilities were built. To provide test and evaluation for Lincoln Lab's new "Cape Cod" experimental air defense system, Hanscom's 6520th Test Support Wing logged thousands of hours of flying time. In April 1960, the 3245th Air Base Wing was organized to undertake routine support around the base.United States Air Force
retrieved October 2019. The

Semi-Automatic Ground Environment The Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) was a system of mainframe computer, large computers and associated computer network, networking equipment that coordinated data from many radar sites and processed it to produce a single unified image ...

(SAGE) air defense computer system, completed in the early 1960s, revolutionized air defense and also contributed significantly to advances in air traffic control systems. As the SAGE system matured, the Air Force developed a number of advanced command, control and communications systems. In 1961 the

Electronic Systems Division The Electronic Systems Center was a product center of Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) headquartered at Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts. Its mission was to develop and acquire command and control, communications, computer, and intellige ...

(ESD) was established at Hanscom Field in order to consolidate the management of the Air Force's electronic systems under one agency. Since that time, the ESD (re-designated the Electronic Systems Center in 1992) has been the host organization on the base. The 3245th Air Base Wing was redesignated as the 3245th Air Base Group on 1 July 1964, remaining responsible to the ESD. While Hanscom's role in system acquisition flourished after the 1950s, its operational mission gradually diminished. As of September 1973, all regular military flying operations at Hanscom ceased. The following year the Air Force terminated its lease of the airfield portion of Hanscom Field, which reverted to state control, but retained the right to use the field. The Air Force re-designated its own acreage surrounding the field as the Laurence G. Hanscom Air Force Base. In 1977 the name was shortened to the present Hanscom Air Force Base. The base saw a second wave of construction during the 1980s. The Electronic Systems Division put up four new systems management engineering facilities (the O'Neill, Brown, Shiely and Bond buildings). For base personnel, there were new service facilities—medical, youth and family support centers—as well as additional housing and a temporary lodging facility.

Post Cold War

Since July 1992, Hanscom and the Electronic Systems Center (ESC) have been part of the

. In 1994 the Air Force designated ESC as the Air Force Center of Excellence for Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (C4I). The 3245th Air Base Group was redesignated the 647th Support Group on 1 October 1992, and then the 647th Air Base Group (647th ABG) on 1 October 1993. The 647th ABG was then inactivated on 1 October 1994, and its mission taken up by the 66th Air Base Wing. The Standard Systems Group at Gunter Annex, Maxwell AFB, Ala.; the 38th Engineering Installation Wing at Tinker AFB, Okla.; the Materiel Systems Group at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio; and lastly the Cryptologic Systems Group at Kelly AFB, Texas; were all attached to ESC between 1993 and 1996 in order to consolidate related functions in AFMC under the center, and to support its expanded mission. Subsequent reorganizations changed the groupings, but all the above organizations (though renamed) except the 38th EIW remained under Hanscom's reporting chain. In 2004, ESC was reorganized into a named wing, group and squadron unit, to better reflect the organization of the Air Force as a whole. In 2006, the wings, groups and squadrons were given numbered designations. In 2010, ESC reverted to an organization of program offices and the 38th Engineering Installation Wing (by then a group) was reassigned. New Air Force standards caused the 66th Air Base Wing, because of its size, to be redesignated the 66th Air Base Group. In June 2011, the Air Force Research Laboratory Sensors Directorate moved from Hanscom to Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, and the Space Vehicles Directorate moved to Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, closing more than 60 years of laboratory presence on Hanscom. The Electronic Systems Center as an organization was realigned in July 2012, and became a part of the newly created Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.

Incidents/accidents

The B-25 bomber which crashed into the Empire State Building on 28 July 1945, took off from Hanscom. On 8 August 1962, a US Air Force KC-135A tanker crashed on approach to runway 11, destroying the aircraft and killing all three members of the flight crew. On June 30, 1964, a

Massachusetts Air National Guard The Massachusetts Air National Guard (MAANG) is the aerial militia of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States of America. It is a reserve of the United States Air Force and along with the Massachusetts Army National Guard, an element of ...

F-86 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 Sov ...

fighter from Hanscom crashed into a Haverhill, Massachusetts neighborhood killing 2 children.

Previous names

* Laurence G. Hanscom Field, Boston Auxiliary Airport at Bedford, 26 Jun 1941 * Bedford Municipal Airport, 29 Jun 1942 * Bedford Army Air Field, 8 Apr 1943 * Hanscom Airport, 15 Oct 1947 * Bedford Air Field, Mar 1948 * Hanscom Field, Jun 1948 * Laurence G. Hanscom Field, 24 Dec 1952 * Laurence G. Hanscom Air Force Base, 22 Jun 1974-18 January 1977Mueller, Robert, Air Force Bases Volume I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982, Office of Air Force History, 1989

Major commands to which assigned

First Air Force The First Air Force (Air Forces Northern & Air Forces Space; 1 AF-AFNORTH & AFSPACE) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. Its primary mission i ...

, 2 July 1942 * AAF Technical Service Command, 15 October 1944 : Re-designated:

Air Technical Service Command An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...

, 1 July 1945-12 August 1945 *

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 ...

, 1 July 1947 *

Continental Air Command Continental Air Command (ConAC) (1948–1968) was a Major Command of the United States Air Force (USAF) responsible primarily for administering the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve. During the Korean War, ConAC provided the necessary aug ...

, 1 December 1948 *

, 1 January 1951 *

Air Research and Development 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. AF ...

, 1 August 1951 : 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. AFS ...

, 1 April 1961 *

, 1 July 1992–present Note: Station placed on standby status: 1 Jan-to Apr 1944; discontinued, 12 Aug 1945; disposed, 8 Mar 1946; transferred to Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 21 Aug 1946; leased from Commonwealth of Massachusetts to US Government, 1 Jul 1947, flying facilities are property of Commonwealth of Massachusetts with USAF not having exclusive use.

Major units assigned

* 79th Fighter Group, 2 July – 28 September 1942 * 318th Fighter Squadron, 3 August-3 October 1942 * 85th Fighter Squadron, 23 June-28 Sep 1942 *

342d Fighter Squadron 34 may refer to: * 34 (number) * 34 BC * AD 34 * 1934 * 2034 Science * Selenium, a nonmetal in the periodic table * 34 Circe, an asteroid in the asteroid belt Music * 34 (album), ''34'' (album), a 2015 album by Dre Murray * 34 (song), "#34" ( ...

, 13 January-28 April 1943 *

370th Fighter Squadron The 370th Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Army Air Forces unit. The squadron was activated in early 1943 and assigned to the 359th Fighter Group. After training in the United States, it deployed to England and participated in co ...

, 5 April-25 May 1943 * 6th Air Defense Wing, 22 June-4 August 1943 *

69th Fighter Squadron The 69th Fighter Squadron is a United States Air Force Reserve fighter squadron. It is assigned to the 944th Operations Group, stationed at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. The 69th Fighter Squadron replaced the 301st Fighter Squadron in 2010. I ...

, 28 April-28 August 1943 * 311th Fighter Squadron, 27 August-15 September 1943 * 442d Fighter Squadron, 17 September-11 November 1943 * 4147th Army Air Force Base Unit, 15 October 1944 – 25 February 1946 * 3d Bombardment Wing *: Re-designated:

3d Air Division The 3rd Air Division (3d AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Strategic Air Command, assigned to Fifteenth Air Force, being stationed at Hickam AFB, Hawaii. It was inactivated on 1 April 1992. Th ...

, 20 December 1946 – 27 June 1949 *

310th Bombardment Group 31 may refer to: * 31 (number) Years * 31 BC * AD 31 * 1931 * 2031 Music * ''Thirty One'' (Jana Kramer album), 2015 * ''Thirty One'' (Jarryd James album), 2015 * "Thirty One", a song by Karma to Burn from the album ''Wild, Wonderful Purgatory ...

**, 27 December 1946 – 27 June 1949 * 89th Troop Carrier Wing, 27 June 1949 – 10 May 1951 *: Re-designated: 89th Fighter-Bomber Wing, 14 June 1952 – 16 November 1957 * 6520th Air Base Group *: Re-designated: 3246th Air Base Group, 18 October 1951 – 1 March 1963 * 6250th Support Wing, 1 April 1952 – 1 July 1955 * AF Cambridge Research Center, 20 June 1955 *: Re-designated: Air Force Geophysics Laboratory, 1 July 1960- * 49th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 5 November 1955 – 1 July 1959 * 731st Troop Carrier Squadron, Medium, 16 November 1957 – 17 September 1973 * 94th Troop Carrier Wing**, 16 November 1957 – 1 July 1972 * Air Materiel Command Electronic Systems Center, 2 November 1959 – 1 April 1961 * Electronic Systems Division, 1 April 1961 *: Re-designated: Electronic Systems Center, 1 July 1992 *: Re-designated:

, 16 July 2012 – Present * 901st Troop Carrier Group**, 11 February 1963 – 17 September 1973 * Air Force Computer Acquisition Center, 1 July 1976 – Present ** Note:

Air Force Reserve 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 commis ...

units. Active flying at Hanscom ended on 30 September 1973. Source: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, ).

Role and operations

Air Force Life Cycle Management Center

The

is the single center responsible for total life cycle management of Air Force weapon systems

66th Air Base Group

The

performs host unit functions of the base, supporting the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center.

Other units

Hanscom also supports the

Massachusetts National Guard The Massachusetts National Guard is the United States National Guard, National Guard component for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded as the Massachusetts militia, Massachusetts Bay Colonial Militia on December 13, 1636, it contains the ...

Joint Force Headquarters, Massachusetts Wing Civil Air Patrol,

Lincoln Laboratory The MIT Lincoln Laboratory, located in Lexington, Massachusetts, is a United States Department of Defense federally funded research and development center chartered to apply advanced technology to problems of national security. Research and dev ...

and

MITRE The mitre (Commonwealth English) or miter (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, see spelling differences; both pronounced ; ) is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of ...

Federally Funded Research and Development Centers, and various other companies and groups related to the

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

Based units

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

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 ...

(AFMC) *

(GSU) ** Battle Management Programme Executive Office ** Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence and Networks (C3I&N) Programme Executive Office ** Nuclear Command, Control and Communications (NC3) Programme Executive Office *

** 66th Force Support Squadron ** 66th Medical Squadron ** 66th Security Forces Squadron * Air Force Recruiting Service **319th Recruiting Squadron

Massachusetts National Guard The Massachusetts National Guard is the United States National Guard, National Guard component for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded as the Massachusetts militia, Massachusetts Bay Colonial Militia on December 13, 1636, it contains the ...

* Massachusetts Army and Air Force Joint Force Headquarters-Massachusetts

Education

Hanscom School, the on-post

K-8 school K8 or K-8 may refer to: * K-8 (Kansas highway), two highways in Kansas, one in northern Kansas, one in southern Kansas * K-8 school, a type of school that includes kindergarten and grades one through eight * K8 telephone box, designed by Bruce M ...

, is operated by the Lincoln School District. High school students who are dependents of active duty military personnel are sent to Bedford High School of the Bedford School District. The base has an agreement with Bedford School District to educate high school students. High school students living on the base who are not dependents of active duty military personnel are sent to

Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School (LSRHS or LS) is a public regional high school in Sudbury, Massachusetts, with a 99% graduation rate. The school was founded in 1954, and the building was replaced prior to the 2004–2005 academic year, wit ...

of the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional School District. The census-designated place is physically divided between the following school districts: Lincoln School District (elementary) and Lincoln-Sudbury School District (secondary) in the part in Lincoln Town, and Bedford School District for the part in Bedford Town.
Text list

References

External links

* {{Authority control Installations of the United States Air Force in Massachusetts 1942 establishments in Massachusetts Airports in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces Technical Service Command Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Concord, Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Bedford, Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Lincoln, Massachusetts Census-designated places in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Superfund sites in Massachusetts Military Superfund sites Bedford, Massachusetts

Overview

History

World War II

Cold War

Post Cold War

Incidents/accidents

Previous names

Major commands to which assigned

Major units assigned

Role and operations

Air Force Life Cycle Management Center

66th Air Base Group

Other units

Based units

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 ...

Massachusetts National Guard The Massachusetts National Guard is the United States National Guard, National Guard component for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded as the Massachusetts militia, Massachusetts Bay Colonial Militia on December 13, 1636, it contains the ...

Education

See also

References

External links