Hill Air Force Base

Infobox Airport
name = Hill Air Force Base
nativename = Part of Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC)
nativename-a =
nativename-r =


image-width = 250
caption = Hill AFB, Utah, 4 October 1997


image2-width = 200
caption2 = Location of Hill Air Force Base
IATA = HIF
ICAO = KHIF
type = Military
owner =
operator = United States Air Force
city-served =
location = Ogden, Utah
elevation-f = 4,789
elevation-m = 1,459.7
coordinates = coord|41|07|26|N|111|58|22|W|type:airport
website =
metric-elev =
metric-rwy =
r1-number = 14/32
r1-length-f = 13,508
r1-length-m = 4,117
r1-surface = PEM

Hill Air Force Base Airport codes|HIF|KHIF is a major United States Air Force base located in northern Utah, south of the city of Ogden, adjacent to the cities of Clearfield, Roy and Layton and is approximately 29 miles north of Salt Lake City. As of 2002 Hill AFB is currently the second largest employer in the state of Utah, not including state-government and state funded higher education employers.cite web|url=http://relocate2.utah.gov/workforce/largestemployers.html|title=Utah's Largest Employers|work=Corporate Site Selection|publisher=Governer's Office of Economic Development|accessdate=2008-09-20]

Hill AFB is the home of the Air Force Materiel Command Ogden Air Logistics Center (OO-ALC) (FGZ) which is the worldwide manager for a wide range of aircraft, engines, missiles, software and avionics and accessories components. The commander of OO-ALC is [http://www.hill.af.mil/library/biographies/bio.asp?id=10426 Major General Kathleen D. Close] . It is one of three Air Force ALCs, the others being Oklahoma CIty Air Logistics Center (OC-ALC) at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma and Warner-Robins Air Logistics Center (WR-ALC) at Robins AFB, Georgia.

The host unit at Hill AFB is the 75th Air Base Wing (75 ABW) which provides services and support for the Ogden Air Logistics Center and its tenant organizations. The Wing and Installation Commander of Hill Air Force Base is [http://www.hill.af.mil/library/biographies/bio.asp?id=9146 Colonel Linda Medler] .

Units

Main Units

* Ogden Air Logistics Center
Provides worldwide engineering and logistics management for the F-16 Fighting Falcon, A-10 Thunderbolt II, Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile.
* 75th Air Base Wing
Is responsible for the base operating support of all units at Hill AFB. The 75 ABW provides base operating support for the Ogden Air Logistics Center, the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings, 84th Combat Sustainment Wing, 309th Maintenance Wing, 508th Aerospace Sustainment Wing and 25 associate units.
** 75th Civil Engineering Group
** 75th Medical Group
** 75th Mission Support Group
* 84th Combat Sustainment Wing
* 309th Maintenance Wing
* 508th Aerospace Sustainment Wing
* 526th ICBM Systems Wing

Tennant Units

* 388th Fighter Wing
** 4th Fighter Squadron
** 34th Fighter Squadron
** 421st Fighter Squadron
** 729th Air Control Squadron
** 388th Range Squadron
** 388th Operations Support Squadron
** 388th Maintenance Group
* 419th Fighter Wing (AFRES)
** 419th Operations Group
*** 466th Fighter Squadron
*** 419th Operations Support Flight
** 419th Maintenance Group

Utah Test and Training Range

The Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR) is one of the only live-fire air force training ranges in the United States. It is located in far-western Utah, near the Nevada border, and lies both north and south of Interstate 80 (with several miles of separation on each side of the interstate highway). The portion of the training range that lies north of Interstate 80 is also west of the Great Salt Lake. The Utah Test and Training Range lies in Tooele County and is owned by the state of Utah, but the airspace and training is scheduled by Hill AFB.

On September 8, 2004, the Genesis spacecraft crashlanded in the nearby Dugway Proving Ground.

Hill AFB Image Gallery

History

Hill Air Force Base is named in honor of Major Ployer Peter Hill (1894-1935), Chief of the Flying Branch of the Air Corps Material Division at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio. Major Hill had died as a result of injuries received from the crash of the Boeing experimental aircraft Boeing Model 299 at Wright Field, the prototype of what would later become the famous Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress.

Major Commands

* Materiel Div, Office of Chief of the Air Corps, 1 Dec 1939 - 11 Dec 1941
* Air Service Comd, 11 Dec 1941 - 17 Jul 1944
* AAF Materiel and Services, 17 Jul 1944 - 31 Aug 1944
* AAF Technical Service Comd, 31 Aug 1944 - 1 Jul 1945
* Air Technical Service Comd, 1 Jul 1945 - 9 Mar 1946
* Air Materiel Comd, 9 Mar 1946 - 1 Apr 1961
* Air Force Logistics Command, 1 Apr 1961 - 1 June 1992
* Air Force Materiel Command 1 June 1992 - Present

Base Operating Units

* Ogden Air Depot, 7 Nov 1940 - 8 Apr 1942
* 9th Station Complement, 8 Apr 1942 - 2 Jan 1943
* 482d Base HQ and Air Base Sq, 2 Jan 1943 - 1 Apr 1944
* 4135th AAF Base Unit, 1 Apr 1944 - 26 Sep 1947
* 4135th AF Base Unit, 26 Sep 1947 - 27 Aug 1948
* HQ and HQ Sq, Ogden AMA, 27 Aug 1948 - 4 May 1950
* 25th Air Base Gp, 4 May 1950 - 1 May 1953
* 2849th Air Base Wg, 1 May 1953 - 8 Jul 1964
* 2849th Air Base Gp, 8 Jul 1964 - 1994
* 75th Air Base Wing 1994 - Present

Operational History

Hill Air Force Base has enjoyed a long and colorful history. The base traces its origins back to the ill-fated Army Air Mail "experiment" of 1934, during which time the idea originated for a permanent air depot in the Salt Lake City area. In the years that followed, the Army Air Corps searched the region for an ideal location for its permanent western terminus. Several sites in Utah were considered, with the present site near Ogden emerging as the clear favorite.

In July 1939 Congress appropriated $8 million for the establishment and construction of the Ogden Air Depot. Hill Field officially opened on 7 November 1940, and soon became a key maintenance and supply base of World War II, peaking at 22,000 military and civilian workers in 1943.

During World War II Hill Field was a vital maintenance and supply base, with round-the-clock operations geared to supporting the war effort. Battle weary A-26, B-17, B-24, B-29, P-40, P-47, P-61, and many other types of aircraft depended on the men and women of Hill Field for structural repair, engine overhaul, and spare parts. Peak wartime employment at Hill was reached in 1943 with a total of over 22,000 military and civilian personnel. These dedicated men and women rehabilitated and returned thousands of warbirds to combat.

In 1944 Hill Field became responsible for the long-term storage of surplus aircraft and support equipment. B-24, P-40, P-47, B-29, and many other types of aircraft were eventually prepared and stored at the base.

Hill Field became Hill Air Force Base on 5 February 1948, following the separation of the Air Force from the United States Army Air Corps as a result of the National Security Act of 1947.

During the Korean War Hill AFB was assigned a major share of the Air Materiel Command logistical effort to support the war. Hill personnel quickly removed needed aircraft from storage, renovated, and added them to the active Air Force inventory.

Also in the 1950s, Hill began maintenance support of various jet aircraft (mainly F-4 Phantoms during the Vietnam War, F-16s, A-10s and C-130s), missile systems, and rockets. It continues to do so to this day.

The base also houses the 30-acre Hill Aerospace Museum, which contains over 80 historical aircraft.

See also

* Air Force Materiel Command
* Utah World War II Army Airfields

References

Much of this text in an early version of this article was taken from pages on the [http://www.hill.af.mil Hill Air Force Base Website] , which as a work of the U.S. Government is presumed to be a public domain resource. That information was supplemented by:

* Mueller, Robert (1989). Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982. USAF Reference Series, Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-912799-53-6
* Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947-1977. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0912799129.

External links

* [http://www.hill.af.mil/ Hill AFB website]
* [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/hill.htm Global Security site]
* [http://www.airnav.com/airport/KHIF AirNav Website for Hill]