Blytheville Air Force Base

Constructed on former agricultural land, the site was originally activated as the Blytheville Army Airfield in 1942. During World War II, the site served as a training airfield as part of the 70,000 Pilot Training Program. It was one of many air fields created in the country's interior during the war for this purpose. Blytheville, Arkansas was selected as a training location due to its proximity to the Mississippi River, where supplies could easily be shipped to and from the site. The airfield was used as the Southeastern Training Command's flight training school, which closed in October 1945 after the Second World War ended.[1] Then the airfield briefly became a processing center for the rapid demobilization of military personnel being discharged. The War Assets Administration officially closed down the installation in 1946, at which point control and responsibility for the land was transferred to the city of Blytheville.[1]

A Cold War-era image of a B-52 being refueled by a KC-135

On 15 July 1955, the facility was reopened as Blytheville Air Force Base (AFB), when the 461st Bombardment Wing was moved from Hill Air Force Base in Utah. Blytheville AFB became fully operational when it was equipped with a wing of three squadrons of B-57 bomber on 19 July 1955.[1] Other aircraft stationed at Blytheville AFB included: KC-97 refueler, B-52G bomber, KC-135A tanker, T-33 jet fighter, and the T-37 trainer—among others.[2] In July 1959, the 97th Bombardment Wing subsequently assumed control of the base and brought with it the long-range B-52G bomber and the KC-135A Stratotanker aerial refueling aircraft to support bomber operations. Blytheville AFB experienced a great deal of activity throughout the Cold War era, when for instance, the 97th Bombardment Wing went on airborne alert on 22 October 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Two B-52G bombers were readied to strike the Soviet Union with nuclear weapons if necessary—for which the wing received the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award for its performance during the crisis.[1]

During the Vietnam War the 97th Bomber Wing at Blytheville supported strike operations throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s. A bomber crew from Blytheville were among the first shot down during Operation Linebacker II, a December 1972 mission targeting complexes in North Vietnam. Three crewmen died in the crash.[3] Six more men from the 97th were also lost in Vietnam, whose names are recognized on a memorial placard at the former base. In 1972, all of the bombers were temporarily moved to Guam before being returned to Blytheville AFB, at which time the installation resumed normal functions. It launched rescue missions from the base to Grenada in 1983 and in August 1990, the pilots of the 97th Bomber Wing began practicing for missions in the Middle East and eventually supported Operation Desert Storm.[1]

B-52 releasing its payload over Vietnam

Blytheville Air Force Base Strategic Air Command (SAC) Alert and Weapons Storage Areas Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	4701 Memorial Drive, Blytheville, Arkansas
Coordinates	35°57′33″N 89°57′47″W
Area	247 acres (100 ha)
NRHP reference No.	100001999[4]
Added to NRHP	26 January 2018

The Blytheville Air Force Base Strategic Air Command (SAC) Alert and Weapons Storage Areas Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.[4]

It is a 247 acres (100 ha) historic district which included 23 contributing buildings, 33 contributing structures, two contributing sites, a contributing object, as well as two non-contributing buildings.[5]

Emblem of the 461st Bombardment Wing, 1956–1958

Emblem of the 97th Bombardment Wing, 1959–1992

• Army Air Force Flying Training Command, 10 June 1942 – 16 June 1945
• Continental Air Forces, 16 June 1945 – 21 March 1946

Redesignated Strategic Air Command, 21 March 1946 – 1 April 1946

• Tactical Air Command, 1 April 1946 – 15 August 1946, 10 June 1953 – 1 October 1953
• Air Materiel Command, 1 October 1953 – 1 July 1954
• Tactical Air Command, 1 July 1954 – 1 April 1958
• Strategic Air Command, 1 April 1958 – 1 June 1992
• Air Combat Command, 1 June 1992 – 15 December 1992 (not operational)

• 25th Twin Engine Flying Training Group, 25 July 1942 – 29 February 1944
• Army Air Force Pilot School, 3 May 1942 – 31 May 1945
• 211th Army Air Force Base Unit, 1 May 1944 – 15 June 1945
• 809th Army Air Force Base Unit, 16 June 1945 – 31 March 1946
• 334th Army Air Force Base Unit, 1 April 1946 – 25 November 1946
• 461st Bombardment Wing, 8 April 1956 – 1 April 1958
• 4329th Air Base Squadron, 1 April 1958 – 1 July 1959
• 97th Bombardment Wing, 1 July 1959 – 1 September 1991

Redesignated: 97th Wing, 1 September 1991 – 1 April 1992

• North American AT-6, 1942–1944
• Curtiss AT-9, 1942–1944
• Beech AT-10, 1942–1944
• Republic AT-12, 1942–1944
• North American TB-25, 1944
• Curtiss C-46, 1945
• Douglas C-47, 1945
• Martin B-57 Canberra, 1956–1958
• Boeing B-52G Stratofortress, 1960–1992
• Boeing KC-135A Stratotanker, 1961–1992

• Arkansas World War II Army Airfields
• 30th Flying Training Wing (World War II)
• Eaker site, a major archaeological site within the base's grounds

• Hartley, Jillian (2018). "Eaker Air Force Base". Encyclopedia of Arkansas.
• Heard, Keneth (2018). "Arkansas Officials Seek Cold War Museum for Former Air Base". US News.
• U.S. Air Force Civil Engineer Center. "Community Relations Plan for the Former Eaker Air Force Base Blytheville, Arkansas (July 2007}" (PDF). AFCEC.mil. Retrieved 26 May 2019.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Blytheville Army Airfield.

• Arkansas Aeroplex
• Abandoned & Little Known Airfields
• Biography of Ira C. Eaker
• Arkansas Northeastern College (formerly Mississippi County CC)
• Video of Eaker AFB former alert pad