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Show The Tooele Transcript Wendover Air Force Base, J. ARRINGTON AND THOMAS C. ALEXANDER Sj (Publlkhc In (h Fall IMJ Issue of Utah Htitorlcal Quarterly) base for the establishment of offices, quarters, and other buildings and facilities. With a few additional acquisitions, this While on a lour of Air Force brought the total to 1.87S.&39 baset during World War II, acres. From this beginning, the Bob Hope said the little town base grew until at its height on the Utah Nevada border it 35 million encompassed should be renamed "Leftover." acres and represented the lar Close in his wake and not to be gest military reserve In the outdone by a friendly rival, world. The size of the base is Bing Crosby called the gas-li- t emphasized by the fact that village "Tobacco Road with slot bombing target range was more machines. Nestled at the foot than 60 miles from the adminiof historic Pilot Peak, prewar stration area. Wendover boasted a population First construction efforts in of 103 and represented, both to the winter of 1940-4were de- its Western Pacific Railroad voted to the expenditure of employee citizens and to out- $558,000 on temporary barracks, siders, a wide spot along the the grading and graveling of 2 Salt Lake to F.!ko (Nevada) 150 by 7,000 feet runways, taxi at the strips, and a plane anchorage highway. Yet, there, end of nowhere," the United area. With an additional apStates Air Force later made propriation of $1 million in the preparations for one of the spring of 1941, four runways most consequential events in were paved, and there were the history of the world, the erected four barracks, bombing of Hiroshima and Na- a mess hall, officers' qurters, gasaki. an administrative building, a SELECTION and Construcsignal office, two ordnance Wendof tion The history warehouses, a dispensary, three over Air Force Base begins in ammunition a storehouses, 1939 when the Air Corps initiatbombsight storage warehouse, ed a gigantic expansion pro- a powerhouse, and a theater. gram. There was a particular- These facilities were first ocly acute need for bombing and cupied by a bombing and gungunnery ranges, for the acqui- nery detachment of 12 men on sition of which appropriations August 12, 1941. Although addiwere made in February, 1940. tional bombing and gunnery Eastern and western sites for crews sharpened their sights those ranges were selected by on the range in ensuing weeks, boards consisting of represen little more in the way of contatives from the War Depart struction was undertaken until ment General Staff, the office tj,e commencement of the war of Chief of the Air Corps, the December 7, 1941. During Quartermaster Corps, and Gen this formative period Wendover eral Headquarters Air Force. was of Fort simply a sub-poThe western site board locaand did not achieve Douglas tions near McChord and Hamil- - status as an official Air ton fields California and by Bagc unti, March 2g Army 1M2; April of 1940, had three sites, BY THE close of 1942, Wendone of which was Wendover. over had trained the 306th, of Wendover The selection may 302nd, and .308th Bombardment have been related to a War Groups, and a fourth group was Department plan to turn the in- still in training. The first group Fort at Douglas the 306th, was fantry post already inaction (Salt Lake City) into an Air out bombing missions carrying muto use and the Coips post over France, and Germany. An nicipal airport in Salt Lake even dozen groups were trainCity as a station for heavy ed at Wendover in 1943. In 1944 bomber groups. the system of training was alIt was obvious that the Salt tered to require that Wendover Lake Municipal Airport, which provide all phases of training had served as an arsenal for for the groups assigned to it. the storage of airborne ordnExercises were carried out in connot ance materiel, could e formation flying, tinue indefinitely to stock pile e navigation, target a so to close high explosives and simulated identification, city the size of Salt Lake City. combat missions. The goal of Inasmuch as military planes this to Air from the airport had begun to Forcetraining, according was "teamreports, use the salt desert near Wend- work. All told 21 bomber over to practice bombing, it went to Wendover, formgroups was only a short step to acti- ed complete units, trained tovate the base and move the orthen moved on to other gether, dnance from the airport to bases or to active duty. Wendover. U.S. Army district The urgent need for trained construccommenced engineers bomber pilots in this critical tion on November 4, 1940. of the war caused the stage AND GEOGRAPHICALLY to send thousands of Army Wendover meteorologically, fighter pilots to Wendover to made an excellent site for an teach them to fly heavy bombAir Force base and bombing ers. But the essence of fighter range. Located on the salt flats had been individual which were once the bottom of training daring, proficiency, and preLake Bonnethe prehistoric while bombcise ville, Wendover proved to be er operation was a matter of ideal for its training mission. and teamwork. specialization The suitability of the wide exOwing to the reduced maneupanse of smooth, flat landing of the bombers, com- surface for training bomber verability with the planes the fight- pared to crews was said have first er had formerly flown, attracted the attention of Air and pilots the lack of aptitude and Force Chief of Staff, General team flying, experience in H. H. Arnold, when he was stawas an abnormally high here tioned in Salt Lake City in the number of crashes. These early 1930s in connection with "transition training pilots exof airmail the operation Army 157 crashes and 121 routes. The Western Pacific perienced men were killed. The program Railroad ran directly through was quickly cancelled. Between Wendover, and the distance be April and September of 1944, tween it and the three major he base also successfully trainWest Coast ports of embarkaed 180 fighter pilots for tion (Los Angeles, San FranWITH THE enormous buildcisco and Seattle) was practiof troops, the Army activatup cally equal. The Salt desert ed a to and oasis saw little rain, and the service the base. supply Under the snow which fell during the win. command of Hin Field, the sub- remained long ter, seldom served to store and issue depot enough to interfere with air all Army Air Field supplies and traffic. Under prewar condiproperty to the field. As the tions, Wendover lay far enough base expanded, so did the misinland to make it relatively se- sion of the t. First cure from any attack which an as a small machine opened aggressor might have made on shop on January 24, 1942, and the Pacific Coast. activated April 25, the Procurement of the land for officially had expanded by 1943 to depot no serious 'a the base presented hangar, a complete machine problem to the government, 'shop, a parachute shop, and a since the Department of the bombsight and turret shop. Its Interior owned virtually all of transportation section perform-i- d 1,820,000 acres the original maintenance third which formed the base. On Sep- echelon on aircraftthrough and special tember 20, 1940, the departvehicles, such as forkment transferred to the U. S. purposeand its signal section lifts, the Air Corps 1.56 million acre. maintained airborne radios. To There were a few scattered meet needs for trained workers holdings of land within this various training proarea which were owned by the grams were instituted. State of Utah, Tooele County, Another base operation was the Western Pacific Railroad, the training of soldiers and ciBonneville Limited Potash, and vilians in fire fighting and resStandard Realty and Develop- cue work. As a service to the ment Company. The desired Air Force, special facilities 14,068 acres of this desert land were constructed for were acquired by the Army for these specialists. After training the end a nominal $21,968. of the war, in July of 1946, CONSIDERABLE opposition the Wendover fire fighters was expressed by Utah stock- - a chance to show their skill got in men ib the acquisition of addicombating a $1.5 million Tire. tional land. On October 15, of The fire demolished one ot tne 1940, these men formally re- - ' hangars and four airplanes bequested the governor of Utah fore it was brought under conto induce the Army to select a trol. No lives were lost. OPERATION Silver Plate -different site or to reduce the area in size. Use of the area, Easily the most spectacular they asserted, would wipe out i Jnt t0 assemble and train aL of livestock men Wendover was the 509th Com- 100 outfits and cost the state about $1.5 posite ' Group, officially activated on December 17, 1944, unmillion annually. After a number of hearings and negotia- der the command of Col. Paul Franklin D. W. Tibbets, Jr. While the ser-- t tions, President Roosevelt withdrew from pri- - vices' whfch "its various com- vate use not only the original ponent parts performed were t acreage, but, on February 5, similar to those performed by an additional 0ther units which trained at ordered 1941, transfer of 262,000 acres to the j,e base, its overall mission i 14, 1964 proved to be without precedent. the unit, including food and clothing for the men and amarrival of its first Superfortress maiked the be- munition for the bombers; the ginning of training to drop 290th Air Service Group, which trained the unit in combat probombs over Japan. chemical Nucleus of the 509th was the cedures, warfare, 193rd Bombardment Squadron first aid, the use of firearms sf the 504th Bombardment and camouflage techniques; Group, which by early 1945 corn and the "Green Homet Airlines listed of IS and 1,500 or 320th Troop Carric-- r Squadmen who served as crews and ron, which took the airmen in service unite. In addition, wherever they were ordered to the Group included the 603rd go. There were also the 1295th Air Engineer Squadron, which Military Police Company, and repaired the planes, rebuilt en- 400 FBI men, betokening the gines, and kept the radios and xtraordmary activity in which telephones in 'working ordhr; the unit was to engage. Later, the 1027th Air Materiel Squad- on March 6, 1945, arrived the ron, which procured and issued 1st Ordnance Squadron which all Air Corps, Quartermaster, guarded the fantastic "Secret Signal, Chemical, and Ord- Weapon, Continued nance supplies and materiel for The 1941-6- 3 BY LtON'ARD Friday, February 'wj 8-2- 9 HEY GANG! 1 BROWNS HAVE EM .. . TURTLE NECK DICKIES AND TURTLE NECK n lirHK.Hl 1 'n HUltll pt M K A I U,t T SHIRTS and Short Sleeves) (Long YOU'LL WANT EVERY COLOR White - Black - Red - Blue is. Superfortress tthich dropped the nut tear bomb on Upper photograph, the Hiroshima (August 6. 1945) during World War II. The airplane was named I'.noia Gay in honor of the mother of itt pilot, laeutenant Colonel Taut II. Tibbets. Lower photograph, the nut tear weapon of the "Utile Hoy type, which was de tonated over Hiroshima. The bomb was 2S inches in diameter and 120 inches long. The first nuclear weapon ever detonated, it weighed about 9,000 pounds and had a force which was equivalent to approximately 20,000 tons of high explosives. B-2- GET YOURS -- BBOOTJ'S TODAY!! SteeG SieoeG M&fian to tfaro(Ik3 n? IMee st high-altitudlong-rang- s. sub-dep- 7Vcc Sdlitta Hfote At? (L: (3Stf, Every item on this page, including carpeting. Is priced AT COST or BELOW COST! We LOSE money in order to clear our floor We're Passing WHOLESALE SAVINGS on to you! 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