Whiteman Air Force Base is a

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army S ...

base located just south of Knob Noster,

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. The base is the current home of the

B-2 Spirit The Northrop (later Northrop Grumman) B-2 Spirit, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is an American Heavy bomber, heavy strategic bomber, featuring low-observable stealth aircraft, stealth technology designed to penetrator (aircraft), penetrat ...

bomber. It is named for 2nd Lt George Whiteman, who was killed during the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawa ...

History

World War II

In 1942, the U.S. Army Air Corps selected the site of the present-day base to be the home of Sedalia Glider Base, a training base for WACO glider pilots. In May 1942, construction workers began building a railroad spur for the new air base in an area known to locals as the "Blue Flats" because of the color of the soil. The new railroad line was built by the Missouri Pacific Railroad. The base was officially opened on 6 August 1942. On 12 November 1942, the name was changed to Sedalia Army Air Field. After the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, operations at the airfield declined, and many of the buildings were abandoned. In December 1947, the base was put on inactive status.

340th Bomb Wing

In August 1951, the base was renamed again, to Sedalia Air Force Base, as it was now part of the United States' newest military service branch, the

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

. In October 1952, the base was turned over to the

340th Bombardment Wing 34 may refer to: * 34 (number), the natural number following 33 and preceding 35 * one of the years 34 BC, AD 34, 1934, 2034 * ''34'' (album), a 2015 album by Dre Murray * "#34" (song), a 1994 song by Dave Matthews Band * "34", a 2006 song by S ...

. Improvements were made to the 1942 runway, as well as other base facilities, and

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile c ...

(SAC) scheduled the base to receive squadrons flying the

B-47 Stratojet The Boeing B-47 Stratojet (Boeing company designation Model 450) is a retired American long- range, six-engined, turbojet-powered strategic bomber designed to fly at high subsonic speed and at high altitude to avoid enemy interceptor aircraf ...

and the

KC-97 Stratofreighter The Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter is a four-engined, piston-powered United States strategic tanker aircraft based on the Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter. It replaced the KB-29 and was succeeded by the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker. Design and develop ...

. The first B-47 landed at the base in March 1954. On 3 December 1955, the base was renamed Whiteman Air Force Base in honor of 2nd Lieutenant George A. Whiteman, an Army Air Corps pilot who was killed during the

Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, ...

while attempting to take off from

Bellows Field A bellows or pair of bellows is a device constructed to furnish a strong blast of air. The simplest type consists of a flexible bag comprising a pair of rigid boards with handles joined by flexible leather sides enclosing an approximately airtig ...

. Whiteman was born in

Longwood, Missouri Longwood (also Hermantown or Oak Grove) is an unincorporated community in northeast Pettis County, Missouri, United States. It is located on Missouri Route BB approximately two miles east of US Route 65 and thirteen miles north of Sedalia. A ...

, and graduated from

Smith-Cotton High School Smith-Cotton High School is a public high school in Sedalia, Missouri, in the United States. The school serves students in grades 9–12 in the Sedalia 200 School District. The current principal is Wade Norton. Athletic teams are known as the Tige ...

in Sedalia, less than 20 miles from the base that would bear his name.

ICBM era

In 1963, Whiteman AFB transitioned from being a bomber base to a missile base. SAC activated the 351st Strategic Missile Wing at Whiteman on 1 February. On 1 September, having retired its B-47 and KC-97 aircraft, the remnants of the 340th Bombardment Wing were transferred to

Bergstrom AFB Bergstrom Air Force Base (1942–1993) was located seven miles southeast of Austin, Texas. In its later years it was a major base for the U.S. Air Force's RF-4C reconnaissance fighter fleet. History Bergstrom was originally activated on 1 ...

, Texas where it assumed control of the

B-52 Stratofortress The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air F ...

and

KC-135 Stratotanker The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It is the predominant variant of the Boeing C-135 Stratolifter, C-135 Strat ...

assets of the inactivating 4130th Strategic Wing. The transition of Whiteman AFB from a bomber base to missile base required massive military construction (MILCON) projects. 867,000 cubic yards of earth and rock were excavated to make room for underground launch facilities and 15 launch control centers. 168,000 yards of concrete, 25,355 tons of reinforcing steel, and 15,120 tons of structural steel were used in the effort, and a vast underground intersite cable network was installed. The 351st employed the

LGM-30 Minuteman The LGM-30 Minuteman is an American land-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in service with the Air Force Global Strike Command. , the LGM-30G Minuteman III version is the only land-based ICBM in service in the United States and re ...

weapons system, an ICBM capable of hitting targets up to 4300 miles away. In the mid-1960s, the Minuteman I missiles were swapped out in favor of the Minuteman II, an ICBM with increased range and an improved guidance system. In the 1980s, Whiteman AFB became the first missile base to field an all-female Minuteman missile crew, as well as the first male and female Minuteman crew.

B-2 era

At the 1986 Reykjavik Summit between U.S. President Ronald Reagan and the new Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to a drawdown of nuclear arms via two treaties: the

INF Treaty The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty, formally the Treaty Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Elimination of Their Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles; / ДРСМ� ...

and

START I START I (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) was a bilateral treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union on the reduction and the limitation of strategic offensive arms. The treaty was signed on 31 July 1991 and entered into force on 5 De ...

. This would lead to the eventual phase-out of the Minuteman II systems at Whiteman, and put the future of the base in question. On 5 January 1987,

Ike Skelton Isaac Newton Skelton IV (December 20, 1931 – October 28, 2013) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the U.S. representative for from 1977 to 2011. During his tenure, he served as the chairman of the House Armed Services Committ ...

, a U.S. Congressman representing Missouri's 4th district, announced that Whiteman AFB would be the home of the USAF's new Advanced Technology Bomber, which would eventually be called the

. On 30 November 1988, SAC announced that the

509th Bomb Wing The 509th Bomb Wing (509 BW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force Global Strike Command, Eighth Air Force. It is stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. The 509 BW is the host unit at Whiteman, and operates ...

would divest its

FB-111 The General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark is a retired supersonic, medium-range, multirole combat aircraft. Production variants of the F-111 had roles that included ground attack (e.g. interdiction), strategic bombing (including nuclear weapons c ...

and

KC-135 The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It is the predominant variant of the C-135 Stratolifter family of transpo ...

aircraft, relocate from its then-home station of Pease AFB, New Hampshire which was being realigned as an Air National Guard base pursuant to BRAC, and become the nation's first operational B-2 bomber unit. On 17 December 1993, Whiteman AFB's first B-2 touched down on the installation's runway. 21 B-2s would eventually be produced, 20 of which are still operational. All 20 are based at Whiteman AFB. On 1 Apr 1994, the

442nd Fighter Wing The 442d Fighter Wing is an Air Reserve Component of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to Tenth Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. Overview The 442d Fighter Wing trains reserve per ...

of the

Air Force Reserve Command 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 commi ...

relocated to Whiteman AFB with their

A-10 Thunderbolt II The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is a single-seat, twinjet, twin-turbofan, straight wing, straight-wing, Subsonic aircraft, subsonic attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Aircraft, Fairchild Republic for the United States Air Force ...

aircraft to become a tenant command at Whiteman AFB following the BRAC-directed closure of their former home station,

Richards-Gebaur AFB Richards-Gebaur Memorial Airport is a former airport that operated alongside Richards-Gebaur Air Reserve Station (also Richards-Gebaur Air Force Station) until the base's closure in 1994, and until it was closed in 1999. Formerly, it was oper ...

, Missouri. On 10 December 2022, there was a crash involving a USAF B-2. There were no other details released by the government. As a result of this crash all B-2 planes have been grounded.

Based units

Units marked GSU are

Geographically Separate Unit In the United States military a Geographically Separate Unit (GSU) is a base that is physically separate from, yet not autonomous of its "parent" base. GSUs are "owned" by their parent organization and are typically quite small. Assignment to a ...

s, which although based at Whiteman, are subordinate to a parent unit based at another location.

United States Air Force

Air Force Global Strike Command Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) is a Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. AFGSC provides combat-ready forces to conduct strategic nuclear deterrence and global stri ...

(AFGSC) *

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces ...

(Host Wing) *** Headquarters 509th Bomb Wing ***

509th Operations Group The 509th Operations Group (509 OG) is the flying component of the United States Air Force 509th Bomb Wing (509 BW), assigned to Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. It is equipped with all 20 of the USAF's B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, flown b ...

****

13th Bomb Squadron The 13th Bomb Squadron is a squadron of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the 509th Operations Group, Air Force Global Strike Command, stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. The squadron is equipped with the Northrop Gr ...

–

B-2A Spirit The Northrop (later Northrop Grumman) B-2 Spirit, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is an American heavy strategic bomber, featuring low-observable stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses. A subsonic flying wi ...

T-38A Talon The Northrop T-38 Talon is a two-seat, twinjet supersonic jet trainer. It was the world's first, and the most produced, supersonic trainer. The T-38 remains in service in several air forces. The United States Air Force (USAF) operates the most ...

**** 393d Bomb Squadron – B-2A Spirit **** 509th Operations Support Squadron *** 509th Maintenance Group **** 509th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron **** 509th Maintenance Operations Flight **** 509th Maintenance Squadron **** 509th Munitions Squadron *** 509th Medical Group *** 509th Mission Support Group **** 509th Civil Engineering Squadron **** 509th Communications Squadron **** 509th Contracting Squadron **** 509th Force Support Squadron **** 509th Logistics Readiness Squadron **** 509th Security Forces Squadron

Air Combat Command Air Combat Command (ACC) is one of nine Major Commands (MAJCOMs) in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force (HAF) at the Pentagon. It is the primary provider of air combat forces for the Air Force, and i ...

(ACC) *

Twelfth Air Force The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The command is the air component to ...

432nd Wing The 432nd Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Combat Command at Creech Air Force Base near Indian Springs, Nevada. It flies General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper and RQ-170 Sentinel Unmanned aerial vehicles. The group operates unmanned ...

/ 432nd Air Expeditionary Wing ***

25th Attack Group The 25th Attack Group is an active United States Air Force unit, stationed at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It was activated in February 2018 as a Geographically Separate Unit to operate unmanned aerial vehicles and is assigned to the 432 ...

****

20th Attack Squadron The 20th Attack Squadron is a United States Air Force unit, based at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. It currently flies the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper and is assigned to the 432d Wing at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada. It was originally ...

(GSU) – MQ-9A Reaper * US Air Force Warfare Center **

53rd Wing The 53d Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force based at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The wing reports to the United States Air Force Warfare Center at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, which in turn reports to Headquarters Air Combat Comman ...

*** 53rd Test and Evaluation Group ****

72nd Test and Evaluation Squadron The 72d Test and Evaluation Squadron is part of the 53d Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The squadron is geographically separated but operated from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. It conducts testing and evaluation of the B-2 Spi ...

(GSU) – B-2A Spirit **

57th Wing The 57th Wing (57 WG) is an operational unit of the United States Air Force (USAF) Warfare Center, stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The 57 WG's mission is to provide well trained and well equipped combat forces ready to deploy ...

*** US Air Force Weapons School ****

325th Weapons Squadron The 325th Weapons Squadron is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the USAF Weapons School, stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. The 325th is a geographically separated unit of the 57th Wing at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. Th ...

(GSU) – B-2A Spirit

(AFRC) *

Tenth Air Force The Tenth Air Force (10 AF) is a unit of the U.S. Air Force, specifically a numbered air force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). 10 AF is headquartered at Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base/Carswell Field (formerly Carswell ...

*** Headquarters 442nd Fighter Wing *** 442nd Operations Group ****

303rd Fighter Squadron The 303rd Fighter Squadron is assigned to the 442d Operations Group at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, and flies the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft conducting close air support missions. The squadron was first activated d ...

–

A-10C Thunderbolt II The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is a single-seat, twin-turbofan, straight-wing, subsonic attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Republic for the United States Air Force (USAF). In service since 1976, it is named for the Republic ...

**** 442nd Operations Support Flight *** 442nd Maintenance Group **** 442nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron **** 442nd Maintenance Operations Flight **** 442nd Maintenance Squadron *** 442nd Mission Support Group **** 442nd Civil Engineer Squadron **** 442nd Communications Flight **** 442nd Force Support Squadron **** 442nd Logistics Readiness Squadron **** 442nd Security Forces Squadron *** 442nd Medical Squadron Air National Guard (ANG) *

Missouri Air National Guard The Missouri Air National Guard (MO ANG) is the aerial militia of the State of Missouri, United States of America. It is, along with the Missouri Army National Guard, an element of the Missouri National Guard. As state militia units, the units in ...

** 131st Bomb Wing *** Headquarters 131st Bomb Wing ***

131st Operations Group The mission of the 131st Operations Group, 131st Bomb Wing, is to provide expeditionary, B-2 global strike combat support capabilities to geographic commanders and Commander, United States Strategic Command. This is done by training and equipping ...

****

110th Bomb Squadron The 110th Bomb Squadron (110 BS) is a unit of the Missouri Air National Guard 131st Bomb Wing located at Whiteman Air Force Base, Knob Noster, Missouri. The 110th is equipped with the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit. The 110 BS is the oldest unit in ...

– B-2A Spirit **** 131st Operations Support Flight *** 131st Maintenance Group **** 131st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron **** 131st Maintenance Squadron **** 131st Maintenance Operations Flight *** 131st Medical Group *** 131st Mission Support Group **** 131st Civil Engineer Squadron **** 131st Communications Flight **** 131st Contracting Squadron **** 131st Force Support Squadron **** 131st Logistics Readiness Squadron **** 231st Civil Engineer Flight **** 239th Combat Communications Squadron

United States Army

Missouri Army National Guard The Missouri National Guard (MONG), commonly known as the Missouri Guard, is a component of the Army National Guard and Missouri State Department of the National Guard. It is composed of Army and Air National Guard units. The Department office is ...

* 35th Infantry Division ** 35th Combat Aviation Brigade *** 135th Aviation Regiment **** 1st Battalion (GSU) –

AH-64 Apache The Boeing AH-64 Apache () is an American twin- turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. It features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night v ...

United States Navy

Navy Expeditionary Combat Command Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) serves as the single functional command to centrally manage current and future readiness, resources, manning, training and equipping of the United States Navy's 21,000 expeditionary forces who are current ...

(NECC) * Coastal Riverine Force ** Coastal Riverine Group One *** Coastal Riverine Squadron 11 (GSU)

References

External links

Whiteman AFB official site
*

Historic American Engineering Record Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

documentation, filed under Knob Noster, Johnson County, MO: ** ** ** {{Authority control Historic American Engineering Record in Missouri Installations of the United States Air Force Johnson County, Missouri Military installations in Missouri Census-designated places in Johnson County, Missouri Military installations established in 1942 1942 establishments in Missouri