Roswell International Air Center: Difference between revisions

Template:Airport frame Template:Airport title Template:Airport image Template:Airport infobox Template:Runway title Template:Runway Template:Runway Template:Runway Template:Airport end frame Roswell International Air Center (IATA: ROW, ICAO: KROW), also known as Roswell Industrial Air Center, is a public airport located three miles (5 km) south of the central business district (CBD) of Roswell, a city in Chaves County, New Mexico, USA. The airport covers 5,029 acres and has three runways.

From 1941 to 1967, the facility was known as Roswell Army Airfield during World War II, and Walker Air Force Base during the Cold War. At the time of it's closure, it was the largest base of the United States Air Force Strategic Air Command.

It is also known for the Roswell UFO incident, an event that supposedly happened on 4 July 1947. It is alleged that a "flying disk" crashed during a severe thunderstorm near the base at Corona, New Mexico.

• American Airlines
  • American Eagle (Dallas/Ft. Worth)
• Mesa Airlines
  • Mesa Airlines operated by Air Midwest (Alamogordo, Albuquerque)

As with many former military bases taken over for civilian use many of the former structures remain. In the case of the base hospital, the structure is now used to house the New Mexico Rehabilitation Center.

The RIAC is also home to a fireworks factory, a plastic manufacturer, a builder of buses, a candy manufacturer, aircraft repair and refurbishing companies, and the Roswell Municipal Airport.

A New Mexico National Guard facility also utilizes some of the buildings of the former Air Force Base.

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Walker AFB was named after General Kenneth Newton Walker, a native of Los Cerrillos, New Mexico. He was killed during a bombing mission over Rabaul, New Britain, Papua, New Guinea. on January 5, 1943. Though intercepted by enemy fighters, his group scored direct hits on nine Japanese ships. General Walker was last seen leaving the target area with one engine on fire and several fighters on his tail. For his actions, General Walker was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously by President Roosevelt in 1943.

The base was renamed in his honor on January 13, 1948. Walker Hall, at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, home of the College of Aerospace Doctrine Research and Education, is also named after the general.

What became Walker Air Force Base was acquired by the United States Army Air Force in 1941 from rancher David Chesser for the purpose of establishing a Military Flying Training Center and Bombardier School.

The major unit at Roswell AAF was the 3030th AAF Base Unit (Pilot School, Specialized Very Heavy) which specialized in B-29 4 engine pilot training and bombardier training.

Although there was a bombing target adjacent to the runway, the only items dropped from an aircraft were bags of sand or flour. The practice bombing and gunnery ranges were due south of the air field and on Matagorda Island.

In addition to the airfield, the Roswell POW camp was built for up to 4800 Prisoners of War. Most of the POWs housed at the camp were German and Italian soldiers captured during the North African campaign. The POWs were actually used as construction laborers on local projects and many of Roswell's parks were built by POWs. The Spring River, which passes through downtown Roswell, was lined with concrete and stones using POW labor. The prisoners used stones of different colors to form a swastika in the riverbed. The swastika was later covered with concrete.

The 468th Bombardment Group arrived at Roswell on 12 January 1946 from West Field, Tinian. The group was assigned to Roswell until the group's deactivation on 31 March 1946. During the stay the unit was equipped with B-29s.

The Army Air Corps utilized the airfield until September 1947, when it was transferred to the newly-created Department of the Air Force, thereafter known as Walker Air Force Base, named after General Kenneth Newton Walker, who was killed during a bombing mission over Rabaul on 5 January 1943.

The 33d Fighter Group was assigned to Walker AFB on 25 August 1947, being transferred from West Germany after a year of occupation duty. Its mission at Walker was to provide strategic fighter escort/defense for SAC's bomber fleet.

Squadrons of the 33d at Walker were:

• 59th Fighter Squadron (F-51,F-84)
• 60th Fighter Squadron (F-51,F-84)

The Wing stayed until 16 November 1948 when it was transferred to Otis Air Force Base Massachusetts

The 509th Bomb Wing is one of the most famous wings in the Air Force. Many regard it as the core of the Strategic Air Command, the powerful nuclear bomber force that evolved during the 1950's and 1960's.

In May 1946, the Army Air Forces gave the newly-formed Strategic Air Command the responsibility of delivering the atomic bomb. Only one of the command’s bombardment units, the 509th Composite Group was trained and ready for the atomic bomb mission. The 509th arrived at Roswell from its former combat base on Tinian in the Western Pacific on November 6, 1945.

Squadrons assigned to the 509th were:

• 393d Bombardment Squadron
• 715th Bombardment Squadron
• 830th Bombardment Squadron

On 19 July 1948 the 509th Air Refueling Squadron was added and the 661st Bomb Squadron arrived on 1 March 1959. The 661st was deactivated on 1 June 1962.

On November 17, 1947, SAC (now a command of the United States Air Force) activated the 509th Bombardment Wing at Roswell and assigned the group as the combat component of the wing, with the lineage and honors of the group also bestowed on the wing.

During 1947-1948, the 509th Bombardment Wing flew the Boeing B-29 Superfortrsses it transferred from the Marianas. However, in 1950, the wing converted to the new Boeing B-50D Superfortress which it flew from 1949 to 1951. When the huge B-36 Peacemaker joined the Air Force inventory, the "Very Heavy" designation was permanently dropped. The 509th - like all other B-29 and B-50 wings - was redesignated "Medium." The new B-36 wings were designated "Heavy."

During 1955 to 1956, the 509th transitioned to Boeing B-47E Stratojets and KC-97s. Refueling missions were flown initially with B-29M hose-type tankers and later with B/KB-29P boom-type tankers. The 509th was charged with strategic bombardment training and air refueling between 1949 and 1958, and deployed as a wing several times in the early 1950s, three times to England and once to Guam.

On 16 June 1958 the 509th BW was transferred to Pease AFB, New Hampshire.

Legacy

In 1966 the 509th transitioned to the B-52E and KC-135A and concurrently supported both SAC nuclear alert missions stateside and deployed contingency operations in Southeast Asia. In December 1969, the wing was redesignated as the 509th Bombardment Wing, Medium, and in 1970 traded their B-52Es for FB-111A aircraft. The 509th remained at Pease until September 30, 1990, when the base was deactivated, then was transferred on paper to Whiteman AFB, Missouri, but was not manned until 1993. Following the disestablishment of Strategic Air Command, the 509th was renamed the 509th Bomb Wing and became part of the newly-formed Air Combat Command on 1 June 1992, receiving its first B-2A "Spirit" (Stealth) bomber on December 17, 1993. The 509th continues to operate from Whiteman AFB as the only B-2 wing in the USAF.

The 6th Bombardment Wing, Medium was activated on 2 January 1951 at Walker AFB, NM. It initially flew the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, however in August of 1952, it received the new Convair B-36D Peacemaker and the unit was redesignated the 6th Bomb Wing (Heavy). The 6th BW would remain at Walker until its closure in 1967.

B-36 squadrons of the 6th BW at Walker were:

• 24th Bombardment Squadron
• 39th Bombardment Squadron
• 40th Bombardment Squadron

The 6th conducted strategic bombardment training from the time of its activation in 1951 until 1 September 1959. The 6th was deployed at Andersen AFB, Guam from October of 1955 to January of 1956.

The 6th, along with the 509th Bombardment Wing, formed the SAC 47th Air Division at Walker until June 1958 with the reassignment of the 509th to Pease AFB.

In 1957, the 6th Bombardment Wing, Heavy, began receiving the new B-52E Stratofortress jet bomber. They were flown by its existing squadrons.

In September 1959, the 24th and 30th Bombardment Squadrons joined the newly assigned 4129th Combat Crew Training Squadron to train B-52 and KC-135 crews. The 40th Bombardment Squadron continued flying operational missions until 10 June 1960. From 10 Jun 1960 to 1 Dec 1961 the wing flew a few operational missions in a non-combat ready status. The 40th Squadron returned to operational status on 1 December 1961. The other two bomb squadrons regained tactical status on September 5, 1963. The 39th Squadron discontinued a few days later, but the 24th and 40th continued global bombardment training through December 1966, when they phased down for inactivation.

The wing was redesignated the 6th Strategic Aerospace Wing on 1 May 1962.

On 1 August 1951, the 307th Air Refueling Squadron was attached to the wing. It flew KB-29 tankers until deactivated 16 June 1952.

The 6th Air Refueling Squadron, flying early-model KC-135A aircraft, was assigned to Walker AFB from 3 January 1958 to 25 January 1967. On 3 February 1960, a "short-tail" (non-hydraulic-power-assisted rudder) KC-135A crashed during takeoff in strong and gusty crosswinds. The pilot failed to maintain directional control, rotated the aircraft 5-10 knots too early and the aircraft settled onto the dirt apron of the runway, shed two engines, plowed through the aircraft parking area and came to rest in an aircraft hangar. This single crash resulted in the destruction of three KC-135 aircraft and the deaths of eight military personnel.

On 25 June 1965, the 310th Air Refueling Squadron was attached to the wing. It flew KC-135A aircraft until the base was deactivated and the unit was moved to Plattsburgh AFB, NY on 25 January 1967.

In 1960, Atlas missile silos were constructed around the Roswell area. Reportedly, the first Atlas missile to arrive in Roswell received a welcoming parade. On 2 January 1961 579th Strategic Missile Squadron was activated as part of the 6 BW at Walker. New Mexico’s Governor Mecham gave the keynote speech at a Site 10 ceremony held on 31 October 1961, in which the first missile site was turned over to the Air Force.

Although Chaves County residents took patriotic pride in the news of the missile squadron’s arrival, Roswell residents submitted 10 permit requests for bomb shelters in October 1961 as construction went ahead.

The 579th SMS received its first missile on 24 January 1962. In April 1962, a completed liquid oxygen plant built at Walker AFB was turned over to the Air Force. The squadron completed missile installation approximately 1 month before the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Roswell’s sites developed a notorious reputation due to three missile explosions. On 1 June 1963, launch complex 579-l was destroyed during a propellant loading exercise. On 13 February 1964 an explosion occurred during another propellant loading exercise, destroying launch complex 579-5. Again, a month later, on 9 March 1964, silo 579-2 fell victim to another explosion that occurred during a propellant loading exercise.

Fortunately, these missiles were not mated with their warheads at the time of the incidents. The only injury reported was that of a crewman running into barbed wire as he fled a site.

The accidents at Walker and at other Atlas and Titan I sites accelerated the decision to deactivate these systems. On 25 March 1965 the 579 SMS was deactivated and the Air Force removed the missiles from their silos. After being demilitarized, the former missile sites were reverted back to private ownership.

Within a year of the deactivation of the 579th SMS, the Air Force announced that Walker AFB would be closed. This occurred on 30 June 1967. The 6th BW became the 6th Strategic Wing and relocated to Eielson AFB, Alaska. Many of the residents of Roswell believed that the base was shut down for political reasons. Although the New Mexico electoral votes in the 1964 presidential election went to Lyndon Johnson, the majority of people in the Roswell area supported Barry Goldwater. The base was allegedly closed because it's high altitude (3,600 feet) made it difficult for the aircraft to take off. However, Cannon Air Force Base, locate 90 miles away in Clovis, New Mexico, was at a higher elevation (4,300 feet) and it's runways were several thousand feet shorter than those at Walker AFB. Cannon AFB remained open while Walker AFB was closed.

• 509th Bomb Wing
• Ivor Parry Evans

• Airport Master Record (FAA Form 5010), also available as a printable form (PDF)
• Roswell Industrial Air Center (City of Roswell web site)
• Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947-1977. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0912799129.
• [1] USAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF Aircraft Serial Numbers--1908 to Present

• Whiteman AFB, Missouri - Current home of the 509th Bombardment Wing
• 6th Bombardment Wing
• 579th Strategic Missile Squadron
• Walker AFB at Strategic Air Command.Com
• B-36 operations Walker AFB 1955-1957
• Current-Day Walker AFB Photos
• FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective September 5, 2024
• Resources for this airport:
  • AirNav airport information for KROW
  • ASN accident history for ROW
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
  • NOAA/NWS weather observations: current, past three days
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart for KROW
  • FAA current ROW delay information

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