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Biggs Army Airfield
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Biggs Army Airfield
IATA: BIF ICAO: KBIF FAA LID: BIF Summary Airport type Military Owner United States Army Serves Fort Bliss Location El Paso, Texas Built 1916 In use 1916 – present Commander Occupants 1st Armor Division
Elevation: 3947.7 ft. / 1203 m (estimated) Coordinates 31°50'58.0"N 106°22'48.0"W Website www.bliss.army.mil Map
Location of Biggs Army Airfield Runways Direction Length Surface
ft m
3/21 13,544 4,131 Asphalt Source: Federal Aviation Administration[2] Biggs Army Airfield (IATA: SVN, ICAO: KBIF, FAA LID: BIF), located in El Paso, Texas, United States, is a military airfield and subordinate installation to Fort Bliss located in El Paso, Texas.
Contents [hide] 1 Tenants 2 History 2.1 Origins 2.2 Savannah Army Air Base 2.3 United States Air Force 2.3.1 Strategic Air Command 2.3.2 Military Air Transport Service 2.3.3 Air Defense Command 2.4 United States Army Airfield 3 Nearby airfields 4 See also 5 References 6 External links Tenants[edit] Currently, Hunter Army Airfield has approximately 5,000 soldiers, airmen and coast guardsmen on station. It is home of the aviation units of the 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized) headquartered at Fort Stewart. There are also a number of non-divisional units assigned to Hunter as well.
1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment (United States) 3rd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (United States) 224th Military Intelligence Battalion (Aerial Exploitation) 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade http://www.stewart.army.mil/units/home.asp?id=176 260th Quartermaster Battalion 15th Air Support Operations Squadron (USAF) [4]
Landing Support Company Combat Logistics Regiment 45 USMC 117th Air Control Squadron (USAF / Georgia Air National Guard) 3rd MP Group (CID), United States Army Criminal Investigation Command Savannah Field Office (Counterintelligence), 308th Military Intelligence Battalion (United States) Coast Guard Air Station Savannah[edit] USCG AIRSTA Savannah.svg Coast Guard Air Station Savannah is also located on Hunter Army Airfield. Equipped with MH-65 Dolphin helicopters, Air Station Savannah provides the Savannah area, Coastal Georgia and South Carolina with round-the-clock search and rescue coverage of the area, to include both inland waters and off shore areas. They also provide security to the shores and borders with specialized Coast Guard sniper units.
History[edit]
Prior to World War I, the First Aero Squadron located to Fort Bliss to support the pursuit of Pancho Villa. Scouting and observation were conducted with Curtiss "Jenny's".
In 1919, after the conclusion of World War I, Dehaviland DH-4 bombers were assigned to Fort Bliss. In the following years, aircraft operated out of "Bliss Field" performing patrols on the Mexican border. In the 1920s the field was renamed for Lt. James Berthes Biggs, a native of El Paso who had been killed in France in 1918.
As with many military installations throughout the United States, a major construction program was conducted during World War II at Biggs Army Airfield. The runways were relocated and lengthened and surfaced with concrete. The airfield supported training and transient efforts during the war.
After the war, and with the creation of the United States Air Force, Biggs Airfield became Biggs Air Force Base in 1947. In the post World War II years, Biggs became home to the B-36, B-47 and B-52 aircraft of the Strategic Air Command throughout the Cold War. In 1966 the Air Force presence in El Paso came to an end with the closing of Biggs Air Force Base, and the facility was transferred to the United States Army. In 1973 the Army reactivated the airfield as Biggs Army Airfield.
Since becoming a home to Army aviation, Biggs has become the largest U.S. Army airfield. Because of its size, it is capable of receiving B-52 and C-5 aircraft for training and deployment missions. During Operation Desert Storm in 1990-91, the airfield airlifted servicemen and their equipment for deployment overseas.
References[edit]
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
Shettle, M. L. (2005), Georgia's Army Airfields of World War II. ISBN 0-9643388-3-1 M
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Strategic Air Command (SAC)
Current military installations of Texas Categories: Airfields of the United States Army Air Corps TAirfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Texas (U.S. state)Strategic Air Command military installationsUnited States Army airfieldsMilitary facilities in Texas (U.S. state)Airports in Texas (U.S. state)