HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Biggs Army Airfield (formerly Biggs Air Force Base) is a
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
military airbase located on the
Fort Bliss Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Named in honor of LTC William Bliss (1815–1853), a mathematics professor who was the son-in-law of President Zachary Taylor, Ft. Bliss h ...
military base 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 operations. A military base always provides accommodations for o ...
in
El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the ...
,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
.


History


Biggs Field/Biggs Army Airfield (1916–47)

On 15 June 1919, following an attack by
Pancho Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa (, Orozco rebelled in March 1912, both for Madero's continuing failure to enact land reform and because he felt insufficiently rewarded for his role in bringing the new president to power. At the request of Madero's c ...
's forces on Ciudad Juárez,
United States Army Air Service The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial warf ...
personnel equipped with
Dayton-Wright DH-4 The Dayton-Wright Company was formed in 1917, on the declaration of war between the United States and Germany, by a group of Ohio investors that included Charles F. Kettering and Edward A. Deeds of Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company ( DELCO ...
aircraft were sent to Fort Bliss to begin patrols of the U.S.-Mexico border, initiating the
United States Army Border Air Patrol With the end of World War I in 1918, the Air Service, United States Army was largely demobilized. During the demobilization period of 1919, the Regular Army and its air arm answered a call to defend the southern border against raids from Mexico, ...
. In August 1919 construction commenced on a steel hangar for an airship station at Camp Owen Bierne, Fort Bliss and in December 1919 the 8th Balloon Company moved there from Brooks Field, Texas. In January 1920 the
1st Surveillance Group The 3rd Operations Group is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force 3rd Wing. It is stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson, Alaska, and is assigned to Pacific Air Forces' Eleventh Air Force. The group is a comp ...
moved from
Kelly Field Kelly Field (formerly Kelly Air Force Base) is a Joint-Use facility located in San Antonio, Texas. It was originally named after George E. M. Kelly, the first member of the U.S. military killed in the crash of an airplane he was piloting. I ...
to Fort Bliss.


Biggs Air Force Base (1947–66)

On 16 March 1948 the
97th Bombardment Wing, Heavy The 97th Air Mobility Wing (97 AMW) is a United States Air Force (USAF) unit assigned to Nineteenth Air Force of Air Education and Training Command. It is stationed at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma. The wing is also the host unit at Altus ...
operating B-29 Superfortresses moved to Biggs AFB from Smoky Hill Air Force Base, Kansas. The 810th Air Division was activated at Biggs on 16 June 1952, it comprised the 95th Bombardment Wing (H), 97th Bombardment Wing (H) and the 810th Air Base Group. In September 1953, the 95th began training with the
B-36 Peacemaker The Convair B-36 "Peacemaker" is a strategic bomber that was built by Convair and operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1949 to 1959. The B-36 is the largest mass-produced Reciprocating engine, piston-engined aircraft ever built. It ...
bomber while the 97th flew the
B-50 Superfortress The Boeing B-50 Superfortress is an American strategic bomber. A post–World War II revision of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, it was fitted with more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-4360 radial engines, stronger structure, a taller tail fin, and o ...
. On 12 February 1959, the last operational
B-36 Peacemaker The Convair B-36 "Peacemaker" is a strategic bomber that was built by Convair and operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1949 to 1959. The B-36 is the largest mass-produced Reciprocating engine, piston-engined aircraft ever built. It ...
left Biggs where it had been serving with the 95th Bombardment Wing. In July 1959 the 97th Bombardment Wing (H) moved from Biggs to Blytheville Air Force Base, Arkansas. On 1 July 1962 the 810th Air Division moved from Biggs to
Minot Air Force Base Minot Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force installation in Ward County, North Dakota, north of the city of Minot via U.S. Route 83. In the 2020 census, the base was counted as a CDP with a total population of 5,017, down from 5,521 i ...
,
North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, S ...
. In December 1965 it was announced that Biggs AFB would be closed. In January 1966 Assistant Secretary of Defense (Installations and Logistics)
Paul Ignatius Paul Robert Ignatius (born November 11, 1920) is an American government official who served as Secretary of the Navy between 1967 and 1969 and was the Assistant Secretary of Defense during the Lyndon Johnson Administration. Life and career Ignat ...
testified to Congress that "The operational environment at Biggs poses serious problems. Such factors as the proximity of
El Paso International Airport El Paso International Airport (EPIA, , es, Aeropuerto Internacional de El Paso) is four miles (6 km) northeast of downtown El Paso, in El Paso County, Texas, United States. It is the largest civil airport in West Texas. It handled 3,516,91 ...
, the suburbs of El Paso, and mountainous areas adjacent to Biggs…weapons testing areas to the north and the convergence of civil airways carrying heavy…traffic combine to create serious safety and traffic control problems." On 25 June 1966 the 95th Bombardment Wing (H) moved from Biggs to Goose Air Base,
Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
.


Biggs Army Airfield (1973–present)

The former Biggs AFB remained under DoD control in a caretaker status until 1973 when it was transferred to the U.S. Army as a sub-post of nearby Fort Bliss. Renamed Biggs Army Airfield, the installation was reactivated in 1973 as a permanent airfield for the U.S. Army, which turned into the world’s largest Army Airfield at that time. Biggs AAF was used as a refueling stop for
NASA 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, succeedi ...
's
Shuttle Carrier Aircraft The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) are two extensively modified Boeing 747 airliners that NASA used to transport Space Shuttle orbiters. One (N905NA) is a 747-100 model, while the other (N911NA) is a short range 747-100SR. The SCAs were used t ...
. Biggs AAF is the base of Joint Task Force North, a
United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secur ...
multi-service organization tasked to support
Federal law enforcement in the United States The federal government of the United States empowers a wide range of law enforcement agencies to maintain law and public order related to matters affecting the country as a whole. While the majority of federal law enforcement employees work for ...
in the interdiction of suspected transnational threats within and along the approaches to the continental United States. The
Silas L. Copeland Silas Lee Copeland (April 2, 1920 – December 4, 2001) was a United States Army soldier who served as the third Sergeant Major of the Army. He was sworn in on October 1, 1970, and served until June, 1973. Early life Copeland was born in Embryfie ...
Arrival/Departure Airfield Control Group at Biggs Army Airfield serves military and civilian personnel who deploy to their overseas assignments, such as to and from Southwest Asia. On 14 July 2017 a new air traffic control tower was opened at the field.


Units

* 1st Armored Division **
Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Armored Division Combat (French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, ...
"Iron Eagle" *** HHC *** 1st Battalion (Attack), 501st Aviation Regiment "Iron Dragons" *** 2nd Battalion (General Support), 501st Aviation Regiment "Desert Knights" *** 3rd Battalion (Assault), 501st Aviation Regiment "Apocalypse" *** 3rd Squadron (Heavy Attack-Reconnaissance),
6th Cavalry Regiment The 6th Cavalry ("Fighting Sixth'") is a regiment of the United States Army that began as a regiment of cavalry in the American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a ...
"Heavy Cavalry" *** 127th Aviation Support Battalion "Work Horse"


Accident and incidents

*8 December 1941: B-26 ''40-1443'' crashed shortly after takeoff. All 4 crewmembers killed. *20 May 1944: B-24J ''42-100002'' after takeoff crashed north of the base. 2 crewmembers killed. *18 April 1951: B-50D ''49-0279'' after takeoff crashed north of the base. 1 crewmember killed. *11 December 1953: B-36B ''44-92071'' crashed into the Franklin Mountains while on approach to Biggs. All 9 crewmembers were killed. *28 August 1954: B-36D ''44-92097'', lost power on approach to Briggs and crashed. 1 crewmember killed *31 August 1957: C-124C ''52-1021'', operated by the
1st Strategic Support Squadron First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
, crashed during an
instrument flight rules In aviation, instrument flight rules (IFR) is one of two sets of regulations governing all aspects of civil aviation aircraft operations; the other is visual flight rules (VFR). The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) ''Instrument F ...
approach to Biggs AFB, in bad weather. 5 aircrew were killed, 10 injured. *5 March 1961: KB-50D ''49-0328'' on a flight from
Wake Island Wake Island ( mh, Ānen Kio, translation=island of the Sida fallax, kio flower; also known as Wake Atoll) is a coral atoll in the western Pacific Ocean in the northeastern area of the Micronesia subregion, east of Guam, west of Honolulu, sou ...
crashed from Biggs on a night
visual flight rules In aviation, visual flight rules (VFR) are a set of regulations under which a pilot operates an aircraft in weather conditions generally clear enough to allow the pilot to see where the aircraft is going. Specifically, the weather must be better ...
approach. All 9 crewmembers were killed.


References

{{Authority control Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Texas Installations of Strategic Air Command United States Army airfields Buildings and structures in El Paso, Texas Fort Bliss