San Julián Air Base

San Julián Air Base or ''Base Aérea San Julián'' is a military air base located approximately southwest of the city of Guane a municipality in the province of Pinar del Río in Cuba. The provincial capital, Pinar del Río is located to the northeast approximately with the capital of Havana also to the northeast .

Tenant commands

The 23.Regimiento de Caza operating Russian Mig-23ML aircraft

History of San Julián

On December 9, 1941, Cuba declared war on the Empire of Japan.

On December 11, 1941, Cuba and the United States of America, Costa Rica, The Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Nicaragua declare war on Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.

On January 14, 1942, the Cuban Secretary of State (José Manuel Cortina) indicates in a diplomatic message to the American Chargé in Cuba (Ellis O. Briggs) the following "I take pleasure in advising you that the Government of Cuba, inspired by the lofty sentiments of cooperation and alliance which joins the Cuban Nation with the United States of America in the present war, engaged in the territorial defense of America and of every one of the American nations, as well as of the principles of democracy and of the liberty of the peoples, has accepted the suggestions of your Government which were transmitted by the Embassy in the above-mentioned notes." The above-mentioned notes were two and included 5 specific points of suggestion including in part: Stationing of US Aviation Corps Detachments in certain airfields (i.e. La Fé, in the Province of Pinar del Río; Rancho Boyeros, in the Province of Habana; and in Camagüey); Permission to use Cuban landing fields; Permission to take photographs of Cuban territory for aerial navigation charts, etc.

On June 18, the United States established Naval Air Facility (NAF) La Fé, Cuba. The US NAVY Code Word for La Fé was HUMPBACK. U.S. Navy bases in Cuba fell under the command of the Gulf Sea Frontier headquartered at Miami, Florida (after a brief stint based at Key West).

June 26, the United States established Naval Air Auxiliary Station (NAAS) ( Lighter-than-Air), San Julián, Cuba. This was in response to Nazi Germany announcing unrestricted submarine warfare off the Atlantic Coast of the United States. Specifically, the United States Navy recognized the need to augment antisubmarine patrols in the Yucatán Channel. NAAS San Julián was established on the western tip of Cuba near Pan American World Airways' Isabel Rubio Emergency Landing Field.

August 6, in Havana, Cuba the U.S. Secretary for State announced that negotiations had been conducted between Cuba and the United States for the establishment of the air base in San Julián, Pinar del Río Province.

September 7, Cuba and United States sign a new Naval and Military Agreement of Cooperation. The strategic importance of Cuba for the air and maritime communications of United States and the importance of its production of sugar obliged them to reinforce the island. The Pinar del Río area was considered ideally situated for further development and the Army began construction by expanding the existing Pan American airfield on November 1.

:A second air base was negotiated between Cuba and the United States and known as San Antonio de los Baños Airfield. The air base was also known as the ''Cayuga'' was built near a town of the same name in the Havana Province, by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the San Julián Air Base in the Guanahacabibes peninsula in Pinar del Río was also built. The United States flew patrols in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico to hunt German submarines (U-boats). The USAAF flew out of San Antonio de los Baños and the US NAVY used San Julián.

September 22, the USAAF began to organize the Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command (AAFAC), using the I Bomber Command as its core for personnel and aircraft. The USAAF had been engaged in anti-submarine war for almost a year. During that time it had laid the basis for an effective organization and made plans for a larger anti-submarine force. The new AAFAC was constituted on October 13 and activated on October 15, 1942. Simultaneously, I Bomber Command was inactivated the same day.

:The principal mission of AAFAC was to be "the location and destruction of hostile submarines wherever they may be operating". As a necessary means to this end it had the secondary mission of training crews and developing devices and techniques. The command was to be a direct reporting agency to the Commanding General, United States Army Air Forces, although its operations on the US NAVY Eastern and Gulf Sea Frontiers were to be conducted under the tactical control of US NAVY officials. The former I Bomber Command furnished the personnel, aircraft, and equipment for the new organization.

November 20, AAFAC had organized the squadrons it had inherited from I Bomber Command into the 25th and 26th anti-submarine Wings with headquarters at New York and Miami respectively.

1943

January 1, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) set up postal operations for San Julián using a non-descript number. They used Army Post Office, Miami with the address: 2754 APO MIA. Although the facility was under USAAF adm