Hill Air Force Base is a major U.S. Air Force (USAF) base located in Davis County, Utah, just south of the city of Ogden, and bordering the Cities of Layton, Clearfield, Riverdale, Roy, and

Sunset Sunset (or sundown) is the disappearance of the Sun at the end of the Sun path, below the horizon of the Earth (or any other astronomical object in the Solar System) due to its Earth's rotation, rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth, it ...

with its largest border immediately adjacent to Clearfield and Layton. It is about north of

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

. The base was named in honor of Major Ployer Peter Hill of the U.S. Army Air Corps, who died in 1935 test-flying ''NX13372'', the original Model 299 prototype of the B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. As of 2018, Hill AFB is the sixth-largest employer in the state of Utah. Hill AFB is the home of the

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 ...

's (AFMC) Ogden Air Logistics Complex (OO-ALC) which is the worldwide manager for a wide range of aircraft, engines, missiles, software, avionics, and accessories components. The OO-ALC is part of the Air Force Sustainment Center. The host unit at Hill AFB is the AFMC's 75th Air Base Wing (75 ABW), which provides services and support for the OO-ALC and its subordinate organizations. Additional tenant units at Hill AFB include operational fighter wings of Air Combat Command (ACC) and

Air Force Reserve Command The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a MAJCOM, 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 ...

(AFRC).

History

Hill Air Force Base is named in honor of Major Ployer Peter Hill (1894–1935), the Chief of the Flying Branch of the U.S. Army Air Corps (USAAC) Material Division of Wright Field,

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

. Major Hill had died as a result of injuries he received from the crash of the Boeing Aircraft Company's experimental aircraft Boeing Model 299 at Wright Field, the prototype airplane for what became the famous B-17 Flying Fortress. Hill Air Force Base traces its origins back to the ill-fated U.S. Army's Air Mail "experiment" of 1934 when the idea originated for a permanent air depot in the

area. In the following years, the USAAC surveyed the region for a suitable location for the permanent western terminus of the air mail. Several sites in Utah were considered, and the present site near Ogden emerged as the clear favorite. In July 1939, Congress appropriated $8.0 million for the establishment and construction of the Ogden Air Depot. Hill Field officially opened on 7 November 1940. Following American entry into World War II in December 1941, Hill Field quickly became an important maintenance and supply base, with round-the-clock operations geared to supporting the war effort. Battle-worn warplanes like the A-26, B-17, B-24, B-29, P-40,

P-47 The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter, and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...

, P-61, were sent to Hill Field for structural repairs, engine overhauls, and spare parts. The peak wartime employment at Hill Field was reached in 1943 with just over 22,000 military and civilian personnel. Men and women at the depot rehabilitated and returned thousands of warplanes to combat. Starting in 1944, Hill Field was utilized for the long-term storage of surplus airplanes and their support equipment, including outmoded P-40 Tomahawks and P-40 Warhawks which had been removed from combat service and replaced by newer and better warplanes.

P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter, and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...

s, B-24 Liberators, B-29 Superfortresses, and many other types of aircraft were also prepared for and placed in storage at Hill throughout the 1940s and 1950s. Hill Field became the Hill Air Force Base on 5 February 1948, following the creation 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 ...

. During the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, Hill AFB was assigned a major share of the Air Materiel Command's logistical effort to support the combat in

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

. Hill AFB personnel quickly removed needed warplanes from storage, renovated them, and added them to active-service USAF flying squadrons. Hill Air Force Base sulfur lamps

Then during the 1960s, Hill AFB began to perform maintenance support for various kinds of jet warplanes, mainly the F-4 Phantom II during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, and then afterward, the more modern

F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superio ...

A-10 Thunderbolt II The Fairchild Republic A-10 , also infamously known under the nickname , is a single-seat, twinjet, twin-turbofan, straight wing, straight-wing, Subsonic aircraft, subsonic attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Aircraft, Fairchild Republic ...

and

C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...

, and also air combat missile systems and air-to-ground rockets. Hill AFB continues to carry out these tasks to the present day.

Major commands assigned

* Materiel Div, Office of Chief of the Air Corps, 1 December 1939 – 11 December 1941 * Air Service Command, 11 December 1941 – 17 July 1944 * Army Air Forces Materiel and Services, 17 July 1944 – 31 August 1944 * Army Air Forces Technical Service Command, 31 August 1944 – 1 July 1945 * Air Technical Service Command, 1 July 1945 – 9 March 1946 * Air Materiel Command, 9 March 1946 – 1 April 1961 * Air Force Logistics Command, 1 April 1961 – 1 June 1992 *

1 June 1992 – present

Base operating units

* Ogden Air Depot, 7 November 1940 – 8 April 1942 * 9th Station Complement, 8 April 1942 – 2 January 1943 * 482d Base HQ and Air Base Sq, 2 January 1943 – 1 April 1944 * 4135th AAF Base Unit, 1 April 1944 – 26 September 1947 * 4135th AF Base Unit, 26 September 1947 – 27 August 1948 * HQ and HQ Sq, Ogden AMA, 27 August 1948 – 4 May 1950 * 25th Air Base Gp, 4 May 1950 – 1 May 1953 * 2849th Air Base Wg, 1 May 1953 – 8 July 1964 * 2849th Air Base Gp, 8 July 1964 – 1994 * 75th Air Base Wing 1994 – present

Role and operations

Ogden Air Logistics Complex

The Ogden Air Logistics Complex provides worldwide

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

ing and logistics management for the

F-35 Lightning II The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, supersonic Stealth aircraft, stealth strike fighters. A multirole combat aircraft designed for both Air superiority fighter, air superiority and att ...

, and Minuteman III

intercontinental ballistic missile An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range (aeronautics), range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more Thermonuclear weapon, thermonuclear warheads). Conven ...

75th Air Base Wing

The 75th Air Base Wing is responsible for the base operating support of all units at Hill AFB. The 75th ABW provides base operating support for the Ogden Air Logistics Complex, the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings, and 50+ mission partner units.

Hill Aerospace Museum

Hill AFB has also housed the Hill Aerospace Museum since 1981. This contains more than 80 retired USAF, U.S. Army Air Forces, U.S. Navy and former

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...

fixed-wing aircraft,

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

s, and missiles.

Utah Test and Training Range

The Utah Test and Training Range is one of the only live-fire U.S. Air Force training ranges within the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It is located in far western Utah, close to the

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

border, and it extends both north and south of Interstate Highway 80, with several miles of separation on each side of the Interstate Highway. The portion of the bombing range that lies north of Interstate 80 is also west of the Great Salt Lake. The Utah Test and Training Range lies in Tooele County, and the land is owned by the state of Utah, but the use of the airspace and training exercises are scheduled by Hill AFB. On September 8, 2004, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Genesis space probe crash-landed on the nearby U.S. Army Dugway Proving Ground, as planned.

Based units

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

United States Air Force

(AFMC) * Air Force Sustainment Center ** 75th Air Base Wing (Host wing) *** 75th Communications and Information Directorate *** 75th Comptroller Squadron *** 75th Civil Engineering Group *** 75th Medical Group *** 75th Mission Support Group ** Ogden Air Logistics Complex *** 309th Aircraft Maintenance Group *** 309th Commodities Maintenance Group *** 309th Electronics Maintenance Group *** 309th Maintenance Support Group *** 309th Missile Maintenance Group *** 309th Software Engineering Group ** 448th Supply Chain Management Wing *** 748th Supply Chain Management Group (GSU) **** 414th Supply Chain Management Squadron **** 415th Supply Chain Management Squadron **** 416th Supply Chain Management Squadron **** 417th Supply Chain Management Squadron **** 419th Supply Chain Management Squadron * Air Force Life Cycle Management Center ** Agile Combat Support Directorate *** Automatic Test Systems Division (GSU) ** Armament Directorate *** Munitions Division (GSU) ** Acquisition Intelligence Division ** Battle Management Directorate *** Aerospace Enabler Division (GSU) ** Engineering Directorate *** Air Force Advanced Composites Office ** F-35 Joint Program Office *** F-35 Program Office Operating Location (GSU) ** Fighters/Bombers Directorate *** A-10 Division (GSU) *** F-16 Division (GSU) *** F-22 Division (GSU) ** Logistics Directorate *** Product Data Services Division (GSU) ** Mobility Directorate *** Mature and Proven Aircraft Division (GSU) * Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center ** Ground Based Strategic Deterrent Systems Directorate (GSU) ** Minuteman III Systems Directorate (GSU) Air Combat Command (ACC) * Fifteenth Air Force ** 388th Fighter Wing *** Headquarters Utah Test and Training Range *** 388th Operations Group **** 4th Fighter Squadron – F-35A Lightning II **** 34th Fighter Squadron – F-35A Lightning II **** 421st Fighter Squadron F-35A Lightning II **** F-35A Demonstration Team F-35A Lightning II **** 388th Operations Support Squadron *** 388th Maintenance Group **** 4th Fighter Generation Squadron **** 34th Fighter Generation Squadron **** 421st Fighter Generation Squadron **** 388th Logistics Support Squadron **** 388th Maintenance Squadron **** 388th Munitions Squadron ** 552nd Air Control Wing *** 552nd Air Control Group **** 729th Air Control Squadron (GSU)

(AFRC) * 419th Fighter Wing ** 419th Operations Group *** 466th Fighter Squadron – F-35A Lightning II ** 419th Maintenance Group *** 419th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron *** 419th Combat Logistics Support Squadron *** 419th Maintenance Operations Flight *** 419th Maintenance Squadron ** 419th Mission Support Group *** 67th Aerial Port Squadron *** 419th Civil Engineer Squadron *** 419th Logistics Readiness Squadron *** 419th Mission Support Flight *** 419th Security Forces Squadron **419th Medical Squadron

Connections to the Hi-Fi murders

Three enlisted United States Air Force airmen stationed at Hill AFB – Pierre Dale Selby, William Andrews and Keith Roberts – were convicted in connection with the

Hi-Fi murders The Hi-Fi murders were the torture of five people resulting in three deaths during a robbery at the Hi-Fi Shop, a home audio store in Ogden, Utah, United States, on the evening of April 22, 1974. Several men entered the Hi-Fi Shop shortly before ...

, which took place at the Hi-Fi Shop in Ogden, Utah, on April 22, 1974. Selby and Andrews were both sentenced to death for murder and aggravated robbery while Roberts, who had remained in a getaway vehicle, was convicted of robbery. Evidence gathered from a trashbin on base and from the perpetrators' barracks was instrumental in their convictions. One of the survivors of the attack, Cortney Naisbitt, later trained in computers and worked at Hill Air Force Base.

Accidents and Incidents

* August 24, 1970 Universal Airlines Lockheed L-188C Electra N855U departed Hill Air Force Base in Ogden, Utah on an Air Force Logair flight to Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho. The aircraft departed without all its hydraulic systems in operation, leaving insufficient elevator authority, resulting in the aircraft nosing over into the ground. The aircraft was destroyed but the crew escaped with injuries. The investigation found fault with the captain and flight engineer for not following approved procedures and directives. * March 19, 1972 Universal Airlines Lockheed L-188C Electra N851U was on a ferry flight from

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

to Hill Air Force Base in Ogden, Utah when it developed an engine overspeed issue, complicated by an inability to feather. The aircraft landed at Hill just after midnight, whereupon the engine exploded, destroying a large portion of the left wing and causing a substantial fire. The crew had minor injuries but the aircraft was a writeoff. The crew was cited in the investigation for improper procedures. * November 18, 1979: Transamerica Airlines Lockheed L-188C Electra N859U operating Logair flight 3N18 for the US Air Force departed Hill Air Force Base en-route to

Nellis Air Force Base Nellis Air Force Base ("Nellis" colloquialism, colloq.) is a United States Air Force military installation, installation in southern Nevada. Nellis hosts Aerial warfare, air combat exercises such as Exercise Red Flag and close air support exerc ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. While climbing between 12,000 and 13,000 ft, all electrical power was lost; the crew requested an immediate descent. The aircraft attained high airspeed and high rate of descent and disintegrated in flight, killing all three crew members. Probable cause was progressive failure of the electrical system leading to disabling or erratic performance of critical instruments and lighting in night-time instrument conditions. The crew became disoriented and lost control. The aircraft was inherited from Universal Airlines via Saturn Airways and was the third current or former Universal Airlines Electra to have an accident at Hill AFB. *May 9, 1981: During an Air Show to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the base, Thunderbird Captain Nick Hauck, and 2 livestock were killed when Hauck's T-38 Talon lost power on approach to the runway. The plane cartwheeled several times before exploding. Hauck was killed on impact, while the livestock were killed by debris. *June 20, 1998: An F-16C Falcon crashed after taking off from the runway during a routine test flight. The F-16 from the 514th Test Squadron was destroyed, pilot ejected with minor injuries. *October 19, 2022: A

Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, supersonic Stealth aircraft, stealth strike fighters. A multirole combat aircraft designed for both Air superiority fighter, air superiority and att ...

crashed off the end of runway 14. The 388th Fighter Wing has stated that the solo pilot was seen by a local hospital and released with no injuries.

References

Note: Much of this text in an early version of this article was taken from pages on th
Hill Air Force Base Website
which as a work of the U.S. Government is presumed to be a public domain resource. That information was supplemented by: * Mueller, Robert (1989). Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982. USAF Reference Series, Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. * Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947–1977. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. .

External links

* * * {{authority control 1939 establishments in Utah Military airbases established in 1939 Airports in Utah Buildings and structures in Davis County, Utah Buildings and structures in Weber County, Utah Military installations in Utah Post–World War II aircraft storage facilities Installations of the United States Air Force Military Superfund sites Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces Technical Service Command Transportation in Davis County, Utah Transportation in Weber County, Utah Superfund sites in Utah Historic American Engineering Record in Utah World War II airfields in the United States