Raco Army Airfield is a closed military airfield. It is located west-southwest of

Sault Ste. Marie Sault Ste. Marie may refer to: People * Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, a Native American tribe in Michigan Places * Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada ** Sault Ste. Marie (federal electoral district), a Canadian federal electora ...

, Michigan, United States. It was closed in 1972.

History

World War II

An airfield at Raco was built before

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 ...

. Its use was likely to provide air service to the locks at Sault Sainte Marie. It was acquired by the United States Government 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 ...

and expanded through lease, license, easements and fees of different tracts of land. A small airfield with three 5,520' x 300' runways was constructed in a triangle pattern. A large number of dispersal points were built in a forested area to the west of the airfield, and a few support buildings were also erected in the woods. After construction, the airfield was designated Raco Auxiliary Airfield and a Sub-Base of the

Air Transport Command Air Transport Command (ATC) was a United States Air Force unit that was created during World War II as the strategic airlift component of the United States Army Air Forces. It had two main missions, the first being the delivery of supplies a ...

Alpena Army Airfield Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center is a Michigan Air National Guard training facility. It is located west-northwest of Alpena, Michigan. Overview The Alpena CRTC is a year-round training facility. It provides premier support, facili ...

. The mission of Raco AAF was to serve as a refueling stop for aircraft headed for

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

as well as to defend the locks of

. However, no Air Force tactical units were assigned there during the war, and the few support personnel who were stationed there were under the command of the 4250th Army Air Force Base Unit at Alpena AAF. The

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

assigned some aviation personnel to the base as well. The base was inactive beginning in 1945, and after the end of World War II, the airfield was closed.

United States Army use

After the war, the United States Army retained ownership of the Raco site and used it as an anti-aircraft artillery site. Two former taxiways to the west of the runways were turned into roads, and over two dozen aircraft dispersal pads were modified into round artillery pads where 75-mm Skysweeper anti-aircraft guns were located. The guns were used to provide air defense against incoming aircraft flying at low altitudes to attack the entrance of the Soo locks & shipping narrows. Peak deployment for Skysweeper battalions at Raco was achieved in the mid-1950s when 8 battalions were deployed. As more and more

Nike Ajax The Nike Ajax was an American guided surface-to-air missile (SAM) developed by Bell Labs for the United States Army. The world's first operational guided surface-to-air missile, the Nike Ajax was designed to attack conventional bomber aircraft ...

missile sites came online and the USAF Air Defense Command fighter-interceptor K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base became operational in 1956, the US Army Air Defense Command (ARAACOM) reduced the number of batteries and eventually the site was closed at the end of 1957.

BOMARC Missile base

37th Air Defense Missile Squadron - ADC - Emblem

After the Army vacated the property, the Air Force began constructing an

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 ...

CIM-10 Bomarc The Boeing CIM-10 Bomarc ("Boeing Michigan Aeronautical Research Center") (IM-99 Weapon System prior to September 1962) was a supersonic ramjet powered long-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) used during the Cold War for the air defense of No ...

missile site to the east of the airfield. The supersonic Bomarc missiles were the first long-range

anti-aircraft missile Anti-aircraft missiles are guided missiles designed to destroy or damage aircraft. These include * air-to-air missile, a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying another aircraft * subsurface-to-air missile, a missile usually l ...

s in the world. They were capable of carrying conventional or nuclear warheads. Their intended role in defense was in an intrusion prevention perimeter. Bomarcs aligned on the eastern and western coasts of North America theoretically would launch and would destroy enemy bombers before the bombers could drop their payloads on industrial regions. The 37th Air Defense Missile Squadron (BOMARC) was activated on 1 March 1960 with 28

surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-ai ...

s (SAM). The missile facility was known as the Kincheloe AFB BOMARC site, consisting of a rectangular installation just southeast of the old runways. It operated the 2nd-generation IM-99B version of the BOMARC missile. About 40 personnel were stationed at the BOMARC site. The missiles remained on alert until they were inactivated on 31 July 1972.

Current use

After the Air Force closed the missile site in 1972, the facility was transferred to the United States Forest Service. It is now managed as part of the Hiawatha National Forest and leased to Smithers-RAPRA as a winter automotive testing facility. The facility is known as the Smithers Winter Test Center, a cold-weather testing site for vehicles and components in harsh winter climatic conditions. The test site features over 750 acres of snow, ice (approximately 40 acres) and bare pavement surfaces and is staffed by more than 40 employees proficient in creating and maintaining a variety of snow, ice, and dry area surfaces. The Test Center is used by manufacturers of vehicles ranging from small automobiles to Class 8 trucks, vehicle components (both OE and aftermarket), snow handling equipment, construction equipment, recreational and seasonal sport vehicles and military equipment. Smithers Winter Test Center has 17 separate testing areas for testing all types of vehicles and components.

References

Military Airfields in WW2 Raco Army Airfield

Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields is a website detailing information and first hand memories about airports in the United States which are no longer in operation, or are rarely used. The website was started by Paul Freeman in 1999 as he had d ...