Portland Air National Guard Base 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 at Portland International Airport, in Portland, Oregon.

Overview

The base is the home of the 142nd Wing, Oregon Air National Guard. The 142nd FW participates around the globe supporting drug interdiction,

NORAD North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ; , CDAAN), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and pr ...

air defense, as well as contingency operations such as Operations Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom. To complete these missions, four groups are assigned to the 142nd Wing: 142nd Operations Group, 142nd Maintenance Group, 142nd Mission Support Group and the 142nd Medical Group. In addition, the Portland, Oregon Air National Guard Base is host to several tenant units: * 142nd Operations Group * 142nd Mission Support Group * 142nd Maintenance Group * 142nd Medical Group * 142nd Security Forces Squadron * 123d Fighter Squadron * 123rd Weather Flight Squadron * 125th Special Tactics Squadron *

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 ...

304th Rescue Squadron. Additionally to National Guard activities, the air base serves as the headquarters for the 73rd Columbia Composite Squadron of the

Civil Air Patrol Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is a Congressional charter, congressionally chartered, federally supported Nonprofit corporation, non-profit corporation that serves as the official civilian auxiliaries, auxiliary of the United States Air Force (USAF). CA ...

History

The base's history begins in 1936 when Works Progress Administration (WPA) funding allowed the City of Portland to purchase 700 acres of land along the Columbia River and bordering the Columbia Slough for a "Super Airport" to replace an earlier facility established in 1926. On 1 July 1940 the GHQ Air Force Northwest Air District established a small depot to provide service for military aircraft using the airport. The 57th Service Squadron moved to the airport from Hamilton Field, California on 31 March 1941, the Air Corps facilities being designated Portland Army Air Base. Due to tensions between the United States and the

Japanese Empire The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From 1910 to ...

, the

Oregon National Guard The Oregon Military Department is an agency of the Government of Oregon, government of the U.S. state of Oregon, which oversees the armed forces of the state of Oregon. Under the authority and direction of the Governor of Oregon, governor as ...

, sent its 123d Observation Squadron with

North American O-47 The North American O-47 is an American observation fixed-wing aircraft monoplane designed in the mid-1930s and used by the United States Army Air Corps during the World War II. It has a low-wing configuration, retractable landing gear, and a th ...

s to conduct patrols over the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

approaches and the Oregon Pacific coastline. The initial Air Corps use of the base was when Northwest Air District moved the 55th Pursuit Group (Interceptor) to the new base in late May 1941 from Hamilton Field. Three squadrons of P-43 Lancers (the predecessor to the

Republic 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 ...

) operated from the base. Portland AAB was also used as a transport field, with the 64th Transport Group at March Field, California stationing its 16th Transport Squadron at the base in July 1941 with C-47s. Later, during World War II, the base was a very active air transport center handling about 47 military transport landings a day.

World War II

After the

Pearl Harbor Attack The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. At the ti ...

, the 17th Bombardment Group at Pendleton Airport in Northeast Oregon, now called Eastern Oregon Regional Airport, sent the

B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Brigadier General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served ...

-equipped 34th Bombardment Squadron (as part of the Sierra Bombardment Group) to conduct antisubmarine and coastal patrols along the Pacific Coast. The P-43s from the 55th PG also flew reconnaissance missions until February 1942 when they were moved to

Paine Field Seattle Paine Field International Airport — also known as Paine Field and Snohomish County Airport — is a commercial and general aviation airport serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located in uni ...

, Washington (although two of the squadrons had been dispersed to various fields in the Pacific Northwest right after the attack). The 42d Bombardment Group used Portland for a

training base early in the war. Its

75th Bombardment Squadron The 75th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was first established as a bombardment squadron shortly before World War II. It was reactivated during the Cold War as a Strategic Air Command (SAC). Its last assignm ...

moved to the field in January 1942, and until March trained B-25 combat crews. The squadron itself was deployed to

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in April and entered combat in June of that year. The 28th Composite Group at Elmendorf Field,

Alaska Territory The Territory of Alaska or Alaska Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from August 24, 1912, until Alaska was granted statehood on January 3, 1959. The territory was previously Russian America, 1784–1867; th ...

stationed its 406th Bombardment Squadron at Portland during the summer and fall of 1942 as a B-25 OTU. Pilots and crews were then deployed to the Aleutian Campaign. The squadron moved to Alaska in November to engage the Japanese in combat, after the end of the campaign in October 1943, it returned briefly to Portland in October 1943 for re-equipping with new B-25s from North American before again deploying to RAF Alconbury, England. The 47th Bombardment Squadron (41st Bombardment Group) also received B-25s at Portland prior to its deployment to the Pacific Theater at

Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''

IV Fighter Command established a third-phase fighter training program at Portland, to finish training of squadrons after their initial formation. The 354th Fighter Group moved to field in October 1943, and flew

P-39 Airacobra The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by th ...

s for about a month before deploying to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The 354th, however was the only combat unit to train at Portland, with

Fourth Air Force The Fourth Air Force (4 AF) is a numbered air force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). It is headquartered at March Air Reserve Base, California. 4 AF directs the activities and supervises the training of more than 30,000 Air Force Reserv ...

converting the field to a replacement training field. The 372d Fighter Group was assigned to Portland in November 1943, and performed the RTU mission with three squadrons of P-39s until March 1944. It was reassigned to

Third Air Force The Third Air Force (Air Forces Europe) (3 AF) is a Numbered Air Force, numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA). Its headquarters is Ramstein Air Base, Germany. It is responsible for all U ...

in Louisiana in April 1944. With the departure of the fighter RTU in April 1944, Portland Army Air Base returned to its transport mission for the remainder of the war, being operated jointly with the civilian airport. It was inactivated in 1946.

Cold War

In 1947, the

Tactical Air Command Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Lang ...

(TAC) re-established a

presence at Portland Airport, Portland Air Force Base being activated as a joint military/civil facility. The

349th Troop Carrier Group at Hamilton AFB, California began deploying

C-46 Commando The Curtiss C-46 Commando is a low-wing, twin-engine aircraft derived from the Curtiss CW-20 pressurized high-altitude airliner design. Early press reports used the name "Condor III" but the Commando name was in use by early 1942 in company ...

transports of several troop carrier squadrons to the airport under the TAC Twelfth Reserve Area. In 1949, the USAFR 403d Troop Carrier Wing, Medium, was stationed at the airport. In 1952, the 406th deployed to Far East Air Forces in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

for

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 ...

duty. It returned to Portland in 1953 and remained until 1957, flying C-119 Flying Boxcars until being moved to Selfridge AFB, Michigan. In March 1948,

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) activated an AN/TPS-1B radar at Portland Airport. It was installed and activated on a 24-hour-a-day basis in March 1948 as an 'Interim' site to protect the air approaches to Hanford, Washington. In August 1950, the site was incorporated into the 'Lashup' system, given designation "L-33". In 1951 the AN/TPS-1B search radar was joined by an

AN/CPS-5 The AN/FPS-20 was a widely used L band early warning and ground-controlled interception radar system employed by the United States Air Force Air Defense Command, the NORAD Pinetree Line in Canada, the USAF CONAD in the continental United States ...

search radar. Operations ceased in February 1952 with the activation of site "P-12" at North Bend AFS in southern Oregon. In 1952 jurisdiction of Portland AFB was transferred from TAC to Air Defense Command. ADC activated the 503d Air Defense Group on 1 February 1952. The 503d ADG controlled the F-94 Starfire 497th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron and the F-86D Sabre 357th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron from the base. In 1955, the group was re-designated as the 357th Fighter Group. The 357th remained at Portland, controlling several interceptor squadrons until 30 March 1966 when ADC inactivated the base.

Oregon Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command

The 142d Fighter Group was activated at Portland on 1 March 1951. The Group being allocated to the Oregon ANG on 24 May 1946, being re-designated from the

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 ...

371st Fighter Group. After Air Defense Command closed its facilities in 1966, Portland AFB was inactivated and the military facilities were reduced in size. The 142nd Fighter Interceptor Group became the host unit of the military facilities at Portland International Airport. Around 1990, the Air Force facilities were designated as Portland Air Reserve Station, being a secure facility on the south side of the main airport runway and remaining a very active presence at the airport. Following a major overhaul of the USAF organizational structure in 1992, the 142d was redesignated as the 142d Fighter Wing (142 FW) and became an

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia (United States), militia of each U.S. ...

unit operationally-gained by the

Air Combat Command The Air Combat Command (ACC) is one of nine List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, Major Commands (MAJCOMs) in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force (HAF) at the Pentagon. It is the prim ...

(ACC). In addition to the Oregon Air National Guard, the facility also hosted the 939th Rescue Wing (939 RQW) of the

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), equipped with HC-130 and HH-60 combat search and rescue (CSAR) aircraft. In 2000, the 939 RQW began to divest itself of the CSAR mission, transitioning to the

KC-135 Stratotanker The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling tanker aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It has a narrower fuselage and is shorter than the 707. Boeing gave ...

aircraft and being redesignated as the 939th Air Refueling Wing (939 ARW). BRAC 2005 brought the F-15C/D to the 142 FW, replacing its early 1970s A/B model Eagles, as well as directing the inactivation of the 939 ARW by 2008. The BRAC commission retained the 142 FW's Expeditionary Combat Support elements at the installation, to be renamed Portland Air National Guard Base, along with the 244th and 272d Combat Communications Squadrons (ANG), and the 304th Rescue Squadron (AFRC), the 304th to be a geographically separated unit (GSU) of the Air Force Reserve Command's 920th Rescue Wing in Florida. On 10 August 2018, two F-15C's from the 142nd, both originally Massachusetts Air National Guard fighters on a "swap" to the Oregon Air National Guard, intercepted a stolen Horizon Air Bombardier Q400 turboprop over Seattle. The fighters armed with live

AIM-9 Sidewinder The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a short-range air-to-air missile. Entering service with the United States Navy in 1956 and the Air Force in 1964, the AIM-9 is one of the oldest, cheapest, and most successful air-to-air missiles. Its latest variants rema ...

and

AIM-120 AMRAAM The AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) ( ) is an American Beyond-visual-range missile, beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile capable of all-weather day-and-night operations. It uses active transmit-receive radar guidance ...

missiles, intercepted and escorted the plane away from populated areas before it crashed on Ketron Island near McChord Air Force Base.

Major units assigned

* 55th Pursuit Group, 21 May 1941 – 10 February 1942 * 354th Fighter Group, 2 June–5 October 1943 * 372d Fighter Group, 7 December 1943 – 29 March 1944 * 337th Fighter Group, 18 August 1955 – 30 March 1966 * 403d Troop Carrier Wing, 27 June 1949 – 29 March 1952; 1 January 1953 – 16 November 1957 * 454th Bombardment Wing, 13 June 1952 – 1 January 1953 * 503d Air Defense Group, 16 February 1953 : Re-designated: 337th Fighter Group (Air Defense), 18 August 1955 – 25 March 1966 :: 460th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 18 May 1955 – 30 March 1966 * 136th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron (Federalized TX ANG) 1 February 1952 – 1 October 1953 * 123d Fighter Interceptor Squadron (Federalized OR ANG), 10 February 1951 : Replaced by: 357th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 1 November 1952 – 25 May 1953 * 497th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 18 February 1953 – 18 August 1955 * 689th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, 1 October 1953 – 1 July 1956

Future

In August 2020, it was announced that Portland will planned host the Air Force's first operational F-15EX unit from 2025. The F-15EX is intended to replace the ageing F-15C/D Eagle.

Accidents

*On 22 October 1964, two F-102 Delta Daggers collided shortly after taking off and crashed, killing one pilot and injuring the other.

References

* * * *
Information for Portland AFB, OR
{{Oregon Radar stations of the United States Air Force Aerospace Defense Command military installations Military installations in Oregon 1940 establishments in Oregon Buildings and structures in Portland, Oregon National Guard Base Works Progress Administration in Portland, Oregon Installations of the United States Air National Guard Military airbases established in 1940 Installations of the United States Air Force in Oregon