Great Falls Air National Guard Base

Great Falls Air National Guard Base
Part of Montana Air National Guard (MT ANG)
Located near: Great Falls, Montana

F-15C of the Montana ANG taking off Great Falls ANGB
Great Falls ANGB
Location of Great Falls Air National Guard Base, Montana
Coordinates 47°28′55.20″N 111°22′14.46″W / 47.4820000°N 111.3706833°W / 47.4820000; -111.3706833 (Great Falls ANGB)
Site information
Controlled by  United States Air Force
Site history
Built 1942
In use 1942-Present
Garrison information
Garrison
120th Airlift Wing
Airfield information
IATA: GTFICAO: KGTF
Summary
Elevation AMSL 3,680 ft / 1,121.7 m
Website www.120fw.ang.af.mil
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
3/21 10,502 3,201 Asphalt
16/34 5,722 1,744 Asphalt
7/25 4,294 1,309 Asphalt
For civil airport information, see Great Falls International Airport.

Great Falls Air National Guard Base is the home base of the Montana Air National Guard 120th Airlift Wing.[1]

Overview

The 120th Airlift Wing (AW) of the Montana Air National Guard occupies 141 acres (0.57 km2) of leased land on the Great Falls International Airport (IAP), located approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) southwest of downtown Great Falls, Montana. The 120th FW flies an airlift mission, utilizing the C-130H.[1]

The 120th FW occupies three administrative, one services, and 43 industrial buildings totaling approximately 392,372 square feet (36,452.6 m2) with 350 full-time personnel. A unit training drill is conducted twice a month and results in a surge of up to a total of 943 personnel.[1]

BRAC 2005 sent the unit's F-16 Fighting Falcons to ANG bases in Alabama and Iowa; F-15 Eagles were assigned to replace them.[1] The unit was re-designated the 120th Airlift Wing on 1 March 2014, flying the C-130H.

History

The airport was leased by the U.S. War Department during World War II and became a home for the 7th Ferrying Command of the U.S. Army Air Forces during the war. During the war years, more than 7,500 bombers and fighter aircraft passed through Great Falls on their way to the war fronts in Europe and the Pacific. While using the airport as an air base, the U.S. Army acquired an additional 740 acres (3.0 km2) of land and built many buildings and other facilities. The airport remained under government control until June 1948, at which point the newly established Department of Defense deeded the airport back to the City of Great Falls with the stipulation that the facility could revert to military control in the event of a national emergency. The airport was released from this clause in 1961.[1]

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, April 28, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.