Loring Air Force Base was a United States Air Force installation in northeastern Maine, near Limestone and Caribou in Aroostook County. It was one of the largest bases of the U.S. Air Force's Strategic Air Command during its existence, and was transferred to the newly created Air Combat Command in 1992.
The base's origins began in 1947 with an order for construction of an airfield by the New England Division of the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The chosen site, in northeastern Maine within both Limestone Township and Caswell Plantation, was the closest point in the continental U.S. to Europe, providing high strategic value during the Cold War. The base was originally named Limestone Army Air Field, and was renamed Limestone Air Force Base following the establishment of the Air Force in 1947. It was named in 1954 for Major Charles J. Loring, Jr., USAF, a Medal of Honor recipient during the Korean War. From 1951 to 1962, it was co-located next to Caribou Air Force Station.
Loring was home to a civilian population, many of whom were employed alongside active duty service members. The base included many amenities, such as a hospital, school, and ski hill, which facilitated the adjustment to Maine life by the civilians.
The 1991 Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended that Loring be closed and its aircraft and mission be distributed to other bases in the nation. The base was closed in September 1994 after over 40 years of service. It was redeveloped by the Loring Development Authority as the Loring Commerce Centre, an industrial and aviation park; the airfield is operated as Loring International Airport.
Overview For the majority of its operational lifetime, Loring was a heavy bomber, aerial refueling, and interception facility for military aircraft, equipment, and supplies first as part of Strategic Air Command (SAC) (1947–1992), then as part of the succeeding Air Combat Command (ACC) (1992–1994).
Loring was planned in 1947 as Limestone Army Air Field and was designed with a capacity of over 100 B-36 Peacemaker strategic bombers. This plan was only partially completed due to budget constraints. Loring later became one of the largest air bases of SAC. After the B-36 was phased out, the B-52 Stratofortress was based at Loring, first with D models, then with B-52Gs. The Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter was also based there for a number of years, until it was replaced by the KC-135A Stratotanker.
Loring was home to many facilities that were a part of the base, or were nearby. Caribou Air Force Station was the weapons storage area that operated separately from Loring until it was absorbed in 1961. Caswell Air Force Station operated to the east, but had a unit associated with Loring before it became fully operational. On-base facilities included the Alert Area, which operated as a separate facility within Loring, due to crews being constantly stationed on alert. The Double Cantilever Hangar was the largest hangar at the facility, with the capacity to hold six parked B-52s, or five B-36s.
Another nearby installation was the GLOBECOM Communications Annex #2, located in Perham, Maine. From 1955 to 1962, it was run by the 2192nd Communications Squadron, which operated from Loring AFB. and Site information
One of Loring's major secondary missions included serving as the headquarters for the 45th Air Division from 8 October 1954 to 18 January 1958, and on 20 November 1958. Loring's host wing was the 42d Bombardment Wing except for a small portion of its early existence. Loring was primarily home to active duty units, although this changed in the 1980s, when the Massachusetts Air National Guard's 101st Fighter Squadron sent a detachment to Loring. As the base was the closest in the US to Europe, it also functioned as an important stopover point.
The 1991 Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended closure of Loring AFB, and it was closed in September 1994. It was later reopened as the Loring Commerce Centre.
Major units
42nd Bomb Wing
The 42nd Bomb Wing was the host unit at Loring AFB from 1953 until 1994, supporting national security objectives with mission-ready B-52G Stratofortresses, and KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft. The wing had the ability to deploy at any time to support both SAC, and later, ACC missions. It was operational at Loring from 1953 to 1994.
The 42nd Operations Group (OG) formerly supported national security objectives, as directed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, utilizing B-52 and KC-135 aircraft. Operational squadrons during the time of its operation at Loring included: 69th Bombardment Squadron (B-52, 1952–1991) 70th Bombardment Squadron (B-52, 1953–1966) 75th Bombardment Squadron (B-52, 1953–1956) 42d Air Refueling Squadron (KC-135, 1955–1994) 407th Air Refueling Squadron (KC-135, 1968–1990)
All B-52s carried the "LZ" Tailcode. In addition to the 42nd OG, other components of the 42nd Bomb Wing were: 42nd Organizational Maintenance Squadron 42nd Field Maintenance Squadron 42nd Avionics Maintenance Squadron 42nd Munitions Maintenance Squadron 42nd Combat Support Group 42nd Transportation Squadron 42nd Supply Squadron 42nd Civil Engineer Squadron 42nd Consolidated headquarters Squadron 42nd Security Police Squadron 42nd Airborne Missile Maintenance Squadron (1964–1974), responsible for maintenance of missiles that were fitted onto the B-52s 2192nd Communications Squadron, Air Force Communications Command unit absorbed into 42nd Bomb Wing in 1990
Upon Loring's 1994 closure, the 42nd was moved to Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama, where it became the 42nd Air Base Wing. All other squadrons of the wing were inactivated and have remained inactive, except for the 69th, which was reactivated in 2009 at Minot Air Force Base.
History Loring AFB was named in 1954 for Major Charles J. Loring, Jr., USAF, a Medal of Honor recipient during the Korean War. During the morning of 22 November 1952, he led a flight of F-80 Shooting Stars on patrol over Kunwha. After beginning a dive bombing run and getting hit, he entered into a controlled dive and destroyed a Chinese gun emplacement on Sniper Ridge that was harassing United Nations troops. Limestone Air Force Base was renamed in his honor.
Previous designations Designations of Loring Air Force Base: Limestone Army Air Field (15 April 1947 – 5 June 1950) Limestone Air Force Base (5 June 1950 – 1 October 1954)
Major commands assigned Major commands to which the base was assigned: Strategic Air Command, 15 April 1947 – 1 June 1992 Air Combat Command, 1 June 1992 – 30 September 1994
Major units assigned Major units which were assigned to Loring:
42d Bomb Wing (1953–1994) 42d Air Refueling Squadron (1955–1994) 69th Bombardment Squadron (1952–1993) 70th Bombardment Squadron (1953–1966) 75th Bombardment Squadron (1953–1956) 407th Air Refueling Squadron (1968–1990) 27th Fighter Squadron (1959–1971) 83rd Fighter Interceptor Squadron (1971–1972) 101st Fighter Squadron (1986–1993)
2192nd Communications Squadron 45th Air Division, (8 October 1954 – 18 January 1958; 20 November 1958) 766th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron 5th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron 179th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron 1000th Satellite Operations Group Detachment 2 (1983–1992) 71st Flying Training Wing ACE Detachment 26th Weather Squadron Detachment 4
Operational history
Origins
Loring AFB was carved out of the woods of Maine beginning in the late forties and officially dedicated in 1953, named after Charles J. Loring, Jr., who was killed in the Korean War. The closest Air Force base on the east coast to Europe, it was originally built with a capacity of 100 B-36 Peacemaker bombers and equipped with a runway.
Loring was built on of land, making it the biggest SAC base in the country. This in turn allowed for it to have the largest capacity for weapon storage and for fuel storage in all of SAC. (Its overall capacity ranked second among all 21 SAC bases). The weapons storage capacity was the highest in all of SAC, 10,247,882 NEW (Net Explosive Weight), and it was first in all of SAC in fuel storage capacity (9,193,374 gallons). Fuel was delivered to the base via a 200-mile pipeline to Searsport, Maine. Ramp space at Loring exceeded 1.1 million square yards, which made it second among all SAC bases in total ramp space, and first in excess ramp space. Furthermore, it was one of two fully capable conventional weapons storage facilities in CONUS maintained by SAC.
During the Cold War, new U.S. Air Force bases were constructed along the northern border of the continental U.S.; their most direct route to the Soviet Union was through the Arctic Circle. These sites were high-importance strategic bases for hosting long-range missiles and aircraft. In 1947, the New England Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers chose a site in northeastern Maine, within both the Limestone Township and Caswell Plantation. The remote site consisted mostly of dense forest, shallow marshes, and wild blueberry bogs, on a slight plateau over the town, which helped keep it above the fog most of the time. Only a small part of the base was suitable for farming, so there was little impact on Aroostook County's agricultural community. Additionally, Loring was not far from sources of materials for runway, taxiway, and parking apron construction. The most important benefit of the site was that it was a few hundred miles closer than any other base to potential targets in Europe.
Construction
On 15 April 1947, construction commenced on Limestone Army Air Field, the first Strategic Air Command base designed and built to host high-speed aircraft, including the new B-36 Peacemaker. Original plans for Limestone called for two parallel north−south runways, a east−west runway, and accommodations for over 100 aircraft. The multimillion-dollar project was not built to the specifications of the original Army Corps of Engineers plan, and only one north−south runway was constructed.
On 23 May, a $17 million contract was awarded to two companies to complete the first phase of construction. This included the north−south runway, a parallel taxiway (Taxiway J), a parking apron, the Arch Hangar, a base operations building, a control tower, a power plant, a 250-person barracks (which would later become Building 6000), a water supply system, and a railroad spur to the base from the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad).
One of the first structures was the Arch Hangar. At the time, it was the largest monolithic arch roof structure in the US, and one of the largest hangars in the world. The construction of the hangar was also groundbreaking, including a foundation set on bedrock, extensive footing structures, intricate formwork, and a 340-foot arch span.
The runway was another major construction task. The airfield in northern Maine was subject to freeze-thaw cycles and had bogs and various types of groundcover; 2.1 million cubic yards of material was removed. The foundation of the runway was constructed to a depth of of a flexible bituminous-concrete pavement. This was all done on a runway that was in length and wide.
The month of June 1950 began 44 years of constant activity at Limestone. On 10 June, the 7 officers and 78 airmen of the Limestone Detachment arrived, as the tenant unit during construction. Two days later, an aircraft from Oklahoma arrived. On the 15th, limited operations began at Limestone, as Cold War tensions began to heat up. The next day, a B-36 Peacemaker arrived and later departed. 1 July brought the re-designation of the Limestone Detachment as the 4215th Base Service Squadron. After the Korean War broke out, the decision was made to increase the squadron's size to 28 officers, 340 airmen, and 20 civilians. August brought the first permanently assigned aircraft, a C-47 Skytrain, and more aircraft using the base as a stopover between the States and Europe.