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87-467: Fairchild Air Force Base ( AFB ) ( IATA : SKA , ICAO : KSKA , FAA LID : SKA ) is a United States Air Force base , located in the northwest United States in eastern Washington , approximately twelve miles (20 km) southwest of Spokane . The host unit at Fairchild is the 92nd Air Refueling Wing (92 ARW) assigned to the Air Mobility Command 's Eighteenth Air Force . The 92 ARW

174-641: A force of 183 bombers to the Oberstraubing Messerschmidt assembly plant. Some 118 bombed with good results but fourteen were shot down. The next day the 15th sent 102 bombers to the Steyr ball-bearing works in Austria where they destroyed twenty percent of the plant. On 24 February, over 180 Liberators inflicted considerable damage to the Messerschmitt Bf 110 assembly plant at Gotha , losing 28 aircraft in

261-575: A global scale. Elements of 15th Air Force engaged in combat operations during the Korean War , the Vietnam War , and Operation Desert Storm . 15 AF was redesignated Fifteenth Expeditionary Mobility Task Force (15 EMTF) on 1 October 2003. 15 EMTF provided support for strategic airlift for all United States Department of Defense agencies as well as air refueling for the Air Force in both peace and wartime for

348-917: A group level command, the unit, now known as the 336th Training Group , continues this mission for the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). To provide air defense of the base, U.S. Army Nike-Hercules surface-to-air missile sites were constructed during 1956/1957. Sites were located near Cheney (F-37) 47°32′30″N 117°32′46″W  /  47.54167°N 117.54611°W  / 47.54167; -117.54611 ; Deep Creek (F-87) 47°39′29″N 117°42′55″W  /  47.65806°N 117.71528°W  / 47.65806; -117.71528 ; Medical Lake (F-45) 47°35′10″N 117°40′32″W  /  47.58611°N 117.67556°W  / 47.58611; -117.67556 , and Spokane (F-07) 47°40′50″N 117°36′28″W  /  47.68056°N 117.60778°W  / 47.68056; -117.60778 . The Cheney site

435-678: A native of Bellingham . The general entered service as a sergeant with the Washington National Guard in June 1916 and was an aviator in World War I . He died at his quarters at Fort Myer while on duty in the Pentagon in March 1950. The formal dedication ceremony was held 20 July 1951, to coincide with the arrival of the wing's first B-36 Peacemaker . In 1956, the wing began a conversion that brought

522-550: A new airport is built, replacing the old one, leaving the city's new "major" airport (or the only remaining airport) code to no longer correspond with the city's name. The original airport in Nashville, Tennessee, was built in 1936 as part of the Works Progress Administration and called Berry Field with the designation, BNA. A new facility known as Nashville International Airport was built in 1987 but still uses BNA. This

609-420: A practice flight for an upcoming air show , killing all four crew members. Pilot error as a result of reckless flying by one of the pilots was determined to be the cause of the crash. Fairchild is home to a wide variety of units and missions. Most prominent is its air refueling mission, with two wings, one active, the 92nd Air Refueling Wing , and one national guard , the 141st Air Refueling Wing , both flying

696-403: A rifle and planned his attack on the base. At the time of the shooting, Fairchild's hospital was an ungated facility. Mellberg took a cab to the base with a large duffle bag and foam gun case, four weeks to the day following his discharge. The gunman, armed with a Chinese-made MAK-90 , an AK-47 clone, entered the office of Brigham and London and killed both men. Mellberg continued to move through

783-459: A short time in the hospital, he was deemed fit to return and requested a transfer. After his transfer, he was discharged within two months due to symptoms of his personality disorder. Psychologists after the shooting speculate that the removal of his uniform at dismissal may have been a triggering factor to his rampage. On 24 June 1994, just four days after the base hospital shooting, one of the few remaining B-52H bombers at Fairchild crashed during

870-879: A slightly newer version with more powerful turbofan engines. As military operations in Vietnam escalated in the mid-1960s, the demand for air refueling increased. Fairchild tanker crews became actively involved in Operation YOUNG TIGER, refueling combat aircraft in Southeast Asia. The wing's B-52s were not far behind, deploying to Andersen AFB on Guam for Operation Arc Light and the bombing campaign against enemy strongholds in Vietnam. On 10 September 1962, an inbound KC-135A from Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota with 44 aboard crashed into fog-shrouded Mount Kit Carson , just west of Mount Spokane . The incident occurred late in

957-490: A strategic air force. It commenced combat operations the day after it was formed. The first commander was General Jimmy Doolittle . 15th AF resulted from a reorganization of American air forces in the Mediterranean in late 1943. Lewis H. Brereton 's Ninth Air Force (9th AF) was moved to England, taking over the medium bomber units of Eighth Air Force , while Twelfth Air Force gave its strategic units to 15th AF, becoming

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1044-577: A total of 1,836 enemy aircraft destroyed. The Fifteenth was inactivated in Italy 15 September 1945. On 31 March 1946, Fifteenth Air Force was reactivated at Colorado Springs AAB , Colorado and assigned to the ten-day-old Strategic Air Command . 15th AF assumed the assets and personnel of the former Continental Air Forces Second Air Force , which was inactivated on 30 March. The original bomb groups assigned to 15th Air Force were: .*Group became subordinate element to wing. However, demobilization

1131-499: Is GSN and its IATA code is SPN, and some coincide with IATA codes of non-U.S. airports. Canada's unusual codes—which bear little to no similarity with any conventional abbreviation to the city's name—such as YUL in Montréal , and YYZ in Toronto , originated from the two-letter codes used to identify weather reporting stations in the 1930s. The letters preceding the two-letter code follow

1218-532: Is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force 's Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base . It was reactivated on 20 August 2020, merging the previous units of the Ninth Air Force and Twelfth Air Force into a new numbered air force responsible for generating and presenting Air Combat Command’s conventional forces. Established on 1 November 1943, Fifteenth AF

1305-600: Is available. However, many railway administrations have their own list of codes for their stations, such as the list of Amtrak station codes . Airport codes arose out of the convenience that the practice brought pilots for location identification in the 1930s. Initially, pilots in the United States used the two-letter code from the National Weather Service (NWS) for identifying cities. This system became unmanageable for cities and towns without an NWS identifier, and

1392-518: Is different from the name in English, yet the airport code represents only the English name. Examples include: Due to scarcity of codes, some airports are given codes with letters not found in their names: The use of 'X' as a filler letter is a practice to create three-letter identifiers when more straightforward options were unavailable: Some airports in the United States retained their NWS ( National Weather Service ) codes and simply appended an X at

1479-650: Is governed by IATA Resolution 763, and it is administered by the IATA's headquarters in Montreal , Canada. The codes are published semi-annually in the IATA Airline Coding Directory. IATA provides codes for airport handling entities, and for certain railway stations. Alphabetical lists of airports sorted by IATA code are available. A list of railway station codes , shared in agreements between airlines and rail lines such as Amtrak , SNCF , and Deutsche Bahn ,

1566-513: Is in conjunction to rules aimed to avoid confusion that seem to apply in the United States, which state that "the first and second letters or second and third letters of an identifier may not be duplicated with less than 200 nautical miles separation." Thus, Washington, D.C. area's three airports all have radically different codes: IAD for Washington–Dulles , DCA for Washington–Reagan (District of Columbia Airport), and BWI for Baltimore (Baltimore–Washington International, formerly BAL). Since HOU

1653-578: Is named in honor of General Muir S. Fairchild (1894–1950). Born in Bellingham , he graduated from Olympia High School and attended the University of Washington in Seattle . Fairchild received his wings and commission in 1918, and served as a pilot during World War I . He held various air staff positions during World War II and received his fourth star in 1948. While serving as Vice Chief of Staff of

1740-532: Is not followed outside the United States: In addition, since three letter codes starting with Q are widely used in radio communication, cities whose name begins with "Q" also had to find alternate codes, as in the case of: IATA codes should not be confused with the FAA identifiers of U.S. airports. Most FAA identifiers agree with the corresponding IATA codes, but some do not, such as Saipan , whose FAA identifier

1827-489: Is responsible for providing air refueling , as well as passenger and cargo airlift and aero-medical evacuation missions supporting U.S. and coalition conventional operations as well as U.S. Strategic Command strategic deterrence missions. Fairchild AFB was established 82 years ago in 1942 as the Spokane Army Air Depot . and is named in honor of General Muir S. Fairchild (1894–1950); a World War I aviator from

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1914-416: Is used for William P. Hobby Airport , the new Houston–Intercontinental became IAH. The code BKK was originally assigned to Bangkok–Don Mueang and was later transferred to Suvarnabhumi Airport , while the former adopted DMK. The code ISK was originally assigned to Gandhinagar Airport (Nashik's old airport) and later on transferred to Ozar Airport (Nashik's current airport). Shanghai–Hongqiao retained

2001-478: The 15th Air Force (15 AF). Beginning in the summer of 1947, the 92nd and 98th Bomb Groups arrived. Both of the units flew the most advanced bomber of the day, the B-29 Superfortress. In January 1948, the base received the second of its three official names: Spokane Air Force Base. With the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, both groups deployed to Japan and Guam . The 92d departed on 4 July 1950 and

2088-616: The Army Corps of Engineers Northern Pacific Division directed its Seattle District to begin survey and mapping operations for the first Atlas-E site to be located in the vicinity of Spokane. Originally, the Air Force wanted three sites with three missiles at each (3 x 3); however, in early 1959, the Air Force opted to disperse the missiles to nine individual sites as a defensive safety measure. Work started at Site A on 12 May 1959, and completion at Site I occurred on 10 February 1961. Auxiliary support facilities for each site were built concurrent with

2175-674: The B-50 Superfortress , began joining the inventory replacing the older aircraft. The 15 AF returned to a combat-ready role as a result of the 1948 Berlin Crisis , a squadron from the 301st Bombardment Group was deployed with its B-29s at Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base , Germany. SAC immediately ordered the group's other two squadrons to Goose Bay Air Base , Labrador to prepare for immediate deployment to Germany. The 307th and 28th Bombardment Groups were placed on alert and ordered to be ready to deploy within three and twelve hours respectively. Within

2262-539: The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker . The 92nd Air Refueling Wing comprises the 92nd Operations Group which provides air mobility for America through air refueling, airlift, and operational support, the 92d Maintenance Group which provides maintenance support to aircraft and equipment, the 92nd Mission Support Group which provides the foundation for support and morale of Fairchild and the 92nd Medical Group. IATA airport code The assignment of these codes

2349-561: The Canadian transcontinental railroads were built, each station was assigned its own two-letter Morse code : When the Canadian government established airports, it used the existing railway codes for them as well. If the airport had a weather station, authorities added a "Y" to the front of the code, meaning "Yes" to indicate it had a weather station or some other letter to indicate it did not. When international codes were created in cooperation with

2436-2003: The Mediterranean – would be able to operate when the Eighth Air Force (8th AF) in England was socked in by bad English weather. The 9th AF would later move to England to serve as a tactical unit to take part in the invasion of Europe . Once bases around Foggia in Italy became available, the 15th was able to reach targets in southern France, Germany, Poland , Czechoslovakia , and the Balkans , some of which were difficult to reach from England. Airfields: Amendola Airfield (2d BW), Celone Airfield (463d BW), Cerignola Airfield (97th BW), Foggia (2d BW, 463d BW), Lucera Airfield (301st BW), Manduria, (68th RG), Maricianise (97th BW), Sterparone (483d BW), Tortorella (99th BW, 483d BW) Airfields: Brindisi (98th BG), Grottaglie (449th BG), Lecce (98th BG), Manduria (98th BG), San Pancrazio (376th BG, 450th BG) Airfields: Gioia del Colle (451st BG), San Pancrazio (451st BG), Torretta (484th BG) Airfields: Gioia (464th BG), Pantanella (465th BG), Spinazzola Airfield (460th BG), Venosa Airfield (485th BG) Airfields: Giulia Airfield (455th BG), San Giovanni Airfield (454th BG, 455th BG, 456th BG) Airfields: Gioia del Colle Airfield (1st FG), Lesina (14th FG 82d FG), Salosa (1st FG), Triolo Airfield (14th FG), Vincenzo Airfield (82d FG) Airfields: Capodichino (332nd FG), Cattolica (332d FG), Madna Airfield (52nd FG), Mondolfo (31st FG. 325th FG), Montecorvino (332nd FG), Piagiolino (52nd FG), Ramitelli (332nd FG), Rimini (325th FG), Vincenzo Airfield (325th FG) .* Sent to Aghione, Corsica from 10–21 August 1944 for Operation DRAGOON (Invasion of Southern France) The 15th Air Force began its operations on 1 November 1943, attacking

2523-489: The 141st Fighter Interceptor Group of the Washington Air National Guard , an F-101 Voodoo unit at Geiger Field , to an air refueling mission with KC-135 aircraft. The unit would then be renamed the 141st Air Refueling Wing (141 ARW) and move to Fairchild. Work began soon thereafter and by 1976 eight KC-135E aircraft transferred to the new 141 ARW. Today, the 141 ARW continues its air mobility mission, flying

2610-609: The 92d Bombardment Wing (Heavy) was re-designated the 92d Wing, emphasizing a dual bombing and refueling role. With the inactivation of the Strategic Air Command (SAC) in June 1992, the B-52 portion of the wing became part of the newly established Air Combat Command (ACC) and was re-designated the 92d Bomb Wing. As SAC finished 46 years of service to the nation, Fairchild bomber and tanker crews took top honors at Proud Shield '92, SAC's final bombing/navigation competition. The wing won

2697-511: The 98th followed in August. After only a few months, General MacArthur released the 92nd to return to the states while the 98th remained in the Far East. The 98th was then reassigned to Nebraska. Upon its return to Fairchild, the 92nd was re-designated the 92d Bombardment Wing (Heavy). In November 1950, the base took its current name in memory of Air Force Vice Chief of Staff , General Muir S. Fairchild ,

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2784-461: The Air Force , he died on 17 March 1950. Since 1942, Fairchild Air Force Base/Station has been a key part of the United States' defense strategy—from World War II repair depot, to Strategic Air Command bomber wing during the Cold War, to Air Mobility Command air refueling wing during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. Today, Fairchild's aircraft and personnel make up the backbone of the Air Force's tanker fleet on

2871-647: The Air Force. Dubbed as the new "tanker hub of the Northwest," the wing was capable of maintaining an air bridge across the nation and the world in support of US and allied forces. Since 1994, the 92 ARW has been involved in many contingency missions around the world. 92 ARW KC-135s have routinely supported special airlift missions in response to world events or international treaty compliance requirements. In 1995 aircraft from Fairchild flew to Travis AFB, California in support of its first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) mission, transporting Russian inspectors to sites in

2958-513: The Americans' Mediterranean tactical air force. The new air force was activated with a strength of ninety B-24 Liberators and 210 B-17 Flying Fortresses , inherited from the Twelfth Air Force and Ninth Air Force . In December, new groups, most of which were equipped with B-24s soon started arriving from the United States. 13 new groups were added. It was hoped that the 15th AF – stationed in

3045-617: The Fairchild Trophy for best bomber/tanker team as well as the Saunders Trophy for the tanker unit attaining the most points on all competition missions. 7 December 1993 marked the beginning of a significant change in the mission of Fairchild when the B-52s were transferred to another ACC base while the KC-135s, now assigned to the newly established Air Mobility Command (AMC) would remain. This

3132-579: The KC-135R model. On 23 January 1987, following the inactivation of the 47th Air Division at Fairchild, the 92nd Bombardment Wing was reassigned to the 57th Air Division at Minot AFB in North Dakota . Less than two months later on 13 March, a KC-135A crashed into a field adjacent to the 92nd Bomb Wing headquarters and the taxiway during a practice flight for a low-level in-flight refueling demonstration planned for later that month. Seven were killed in

3219-638: The Mustangs claimed eight jets downed - actual Luftwaffe records show only 3 x Me 262's lost in this engagement. The 47th BW and 55th BW fragged Fliegerhorst Neuburg damaging / destroying 54 x Me 262A-1’s from III./KG (J) 54, 304th BW attacked Fliegerhorst Münich-Riem destroying 13 x Me 262's. The NASM's Me 262 shows a claim credit for a B-17 shot down this date. The last major effort came on 25 April when 467 bombers struck rail targets in Austria, severing communications into Czechoslovakia. The 15th's final bombing mission

3306-704: The Pacific region. 15 EMTF inactivated on 20 March 2012. On 20 August 2020, 15 AF was reactivated as an Air Combat Command numbered air force, taking over the previous conventional flying forces of both the Ninth and Twelfth Air Forces. Fifteenth Air Force (15th AF) was established on 1 November 1943 in Tunis , Tunisia as part of the United States Army Air Forces in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations as

3393-784: The Rimini Marshalling yard with 28 B-25's assigned to the 321st BG (M). On 1 December 1943, the Headquarters was moved to Bari Airfield , Italy. On 4 January 1944, the Fifteenth, along with Twelfth Air Force , were organized into Mediterranean Allied Air Forces , along with the Royal Air Force 205 Group. MAAF was the southern component of U.S. Strategic Air Forces, Europe , the overall USAAF command and control organization in Europe. The first major operation carried out by Fifteenth Air Force

3480-467: The U.S. For example, several airports in Alaska have scheduled commercial service, such as Stebbins and Nanwalek , which use FAA codes instead of ICAO codes. Thus, neither system completely includes all airports with scheduled service. Some airports are identified in colloquial speech by their IATA code. Examples include LAX and JFK . Fifteenth Air Force The Fifteenth Air Force ( 15 AF )

3567-481: The United States, because "Y" was seldom used in the United States, Canada simply used the weather station codes for its airports, changing the "Y" to a "Z" if it conflicted with an airport code already in use. The result is that most major Canadian airport codes start with "Y" followed by two letters in the city's name (for example, YOW for O tta w a , YWG for W innipe g , YYC for C algar y , or YVR for V ancouve r ), whereas other Canadian airports append

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3654-511: The War Department, many Spokane businesses and public-minded citizens donated money to purchase land for the base. At a cost of more than $ 125,000, these people bought 1,400 acres (5.7 km) and presented the title to the War Department in January 1942. That year, the government designated $ 14 million to purchase more land and begin construction of a new Spokane Army Air Depot. Spokane Air Depot

3741-530: The Western U.S. The wing has flown START missions in the U.S. every year since. And in May 2000, the wing became the first active duty KC-135 unit to transport U.S. inspectors on a START mission into Ulan Ude, Russia. Throughout much of the 1990s, the wing was actively involved in missions against Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. The wing also deployed aircraft and personnel in 1999 to support Operation Allied Force. Following

3828-440: The airport itself instead of the city it serves, while another code is reserved which refers to the city itself which can be used to search for flights to any of its airports. For instance: Or using a code for the city in one of the major airports and then assigning another code to another airport: When different cities with the same name each have an airport, they need to be assigned different codes. Examples include: Sometimes,

3915-418: The airport's former name, such as Orlando International Airport 's MCO (for Mc C o y Air Force Base), or Chicago's O'Hare International Airport , which is coded ORD for its original name: Or char d Field. In rare cases, the code comes from the airport's unofficial name, such as Kahului Airport 's OGG (for local aviation pioneer Jimmy H ogg ). In large metropolitan areas, airport codes are often named after

4002-574: The base hospital and shot and killed four people and wounded 22 others. Previously, psychologists Major Thomas Brigham and Captain Alan London at Fairchild AFB had found him unfit for duty, which resulted in a transfer to the Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland AFB for further psychological examination. With Congressional pressure brought by Mellberg's mother, Airman Mellberg was found to be fit for military service. Airman Mellberg then

4089-701: The bombers to roam widely across southern and eastern Europe, attacking targets at Brüx in Reichsgau Sudetenland , Bratislava in Slovakia , Budapest , Komárom , Győr , and Pétfürdő in Hungary, Belgrade and other cities in Yugoslavia , and Trieste in north-eastern Italy. By June 1944, the 15th Air Force was bombing railway networks in southeast Europe in support of Soviet military operations in Romania . Throughout

4176-491: The code SHA, while the newer Shanghai–Pudong adopted PVG. The opposite was true for Berlin : the airport Berlin–Tegel used the code TXL, while its smaller counterpart Berlin–Schönefeld used SXF; the Berlin Brandenburg Airport has the airport code BER, which is also part of its branding. The airports of Hamburg (HAM) and Hannover (HAJ) are less than 100 nautical miles (190 km) apart and therefore share

4263-475: The crash, all USAF personnel, six aboard the aircraft, and a motorist on the ground. Following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, a total of 560 base personnel deployed to Desert Shield and Desert Storm from August 1990 to March 1991. The 43d and 92d Air Refueling Squadrons flew a combined total of 4,004 hours, 721 sorties, and off-loaded a total of 22.5 million pounds of fuel to coalition aircraft. On 1 September 1991, under Air Force reorganization,

4350-679: The destruction of the World Trade Center, the wing began providing around-the-clock air refueling of Combat Air Patrol fighter aircraft and initiated 24-hour ground alert operations in support of Operation Noble Eagle. The wing also began a series of extended Operation Enduring Freedom deployments for aircrews and maintainers as well as combat support and medical personnel. References for history introduction, major commands and major units Reference The 567th Strategic Missile Squadron operated nine SM-65E Atlas ICBM sites (1 April 1960 – 25 June 1965). On 14 July 1958,

4437-919: The end. Examples include: A lot of minor airfields without scheduled passenger traffic have ICAO codes but not IATA codes, since the four letter codes allow more number of codes, and IATA codes are mainly used for passenger services such as tickets, and ICAO codes by pilots. In the US, such airfields use FAA codes instead of ICAO. There are airports with scheduled service for which there are ICAO codes but not IATA codes, such as Nkhotakota Airport/Tangole Airport in Malawi or Chōfu Airport in Tokyo, Japan. There are also several minor airports in Russia (e.g., Omsukchan Airport ) which lack IATA codes and instead use internal Russian codes for booking. Flights to these airports cannot be booked through

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4524-451: The first of 45 B-52 Stratofortress bombers on 26 March 1957 to Fairchild, followed by first of twenty KC-135 Stratotanker on 21 February 1958. In 1961, the 92d became the first "aerospace" wing in the nation with the acquisition of the Atlas -E intercontinental ballistic missile, operated by the 567th Strategic Missile Squadron . With the new role and the addition of missiles, the 92d Bomb Wing

4611-557: The first three letters of the city in which it is located, for instance: The code may also be a combination of the letters in its name, such as: Sometimes the airport code reflects pronunciation, rather than spelling, namely: For many reasons, some airport codes do not fit the normal scheme described above. Some airports, for example, cross several municipalities or regions, and therefore, use codes derived from some of their letters, resulting in: Other airports—particularly those serving cities with multiple airports—have codes derived from

4698-474: The following format: Most large airports in Canada have codes that begin with the letter "Y", although not all "Y" codes are Canadian (for example, YUM for Yuma, Arizona , and YNT for Yantai , China), and not all Canadian airports start with the letter "Y" (for example, ZBF for Bathurst, New Brunswick ). Many Canadian airports have a code that starts with W, X or Z, but none of these are major airports. When

4785-640: The following month. On 28 September 1961, Headquarters SAC declared the squadron operational and during the following month, the 567th placed the first Atlas E missile on alert status. The bulk of the Fairchild force was on alert status in November. As a result of Defense Secretary Robert McNamara 's May 1964 directive accelerating the phaseout of Atlas and Titan I ICBMs, the first Atlas missiles came off line at Fairchild in January ;1965. On 31 March,

4872-593: The form of " YYZ ", a song by the rock band Rush , which utilizes the Morse code signal as a musical motif. Some airports have started using their IATA codes as brand names , such as Calgary International Airport (YYC) and Vancouver International Airport (YVR). Numerous New Zealand airports use codes that contain the letter Z, to distinguish them from similar airport names in other countries. Examples include HLZ for Hamilton , ZQN for Queenstown , and WSZ for Westport . Predominantly, airport codes are named after

4959-417: The hospital, injuring several people, and killing eight-year-old Christin McCarron. The gunman then walked out of the building into the parking lot and killed Anita Lindner. He then was confronted by a security policeman, Senior Airman Andy Brown. From approximately 70 yards away, Brown ordered Mellberg to drop his weapon. After Mellberg refused, Brown fired four shots from his 9mm pistol, with two rounds hitting

5046-430: The international air booking systems or have international luggage transferred there, and thus, they are booked instead through the airline or a domestic booking system. Several heliports in Greenland have 3-letter codes used internally which might be IATA codes for airports in faraway countries. There are several airports with scheduled service that have not been assigned ICAO codes that do have IATA codes, especially in

5133-415: The invasion of Southern France. Marseilles , Lyon , Grenoble , and Toulon were all attacked by B-24s and B-17s. After the Romanian 1944 coup , the 15th Air Force bombed the German-occupied airports of Băneasa and Otopeni . Between 31 August and 3 September 1944, aircraft from the 15th AF carried out Operation Reunion by airlifting the released Allied prisoners from Romania. I could see omens of

5220-577: The last missile came off alert status, which marked the completion of Atlas phaseout. The squadron was inactivated within three months. Today all of the former missile sites still exist and most appear to be in good condition. Most of them are in agricultural areas and presumably are being used to support farmers by storage of equipment and other material. Site "1" and "2" appear to be redeveloped into light industrial estates; "4" and "6" appear to be converted into private residences. On 20 June 1994, 20-year-old Dean Mellberg, an ex-Air Force member, entered

5307-544: The launchers. Support facilities at Fairchild AFB, including a liquid oxygen plant, were completed by January 1961. Activation of the 567th Strategic Missile Squadron on 1 April 1960, marked the first time SAC activated an E series Atlas unit. On 3 December 1960, the first Atlas E missile arrived at the 567th SMS. Construction continued and SAC accepted the first Series E Atlas complex on 29 July 1961. Operational readiness training, which previously had been conducted only at Vandenberg AFB , California, began at Fairchild during

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5394-408: The morning and there were no survivors; it was attributed to a navigational error by the crew. Less than five years later, another crash occurred in the same general area. Returning from Hickam AFB in Hawaii on 19 January 1967, a Fairchild-based KC-135A crashed southeast of Mount Spokane shortly after sunset; all nine on board were killed. In late 1974, the Air Force announced plans to convert

5481-612: The name of the airport itself, for instance: This is also true with some cities with a single airport (even if there is more than one airport in the metropolitan area of said city), such as BDL for Hartford, Connecticut 's B ra dl ey International Airport or Baltimore's BWI, for B altimore/ W ashington I nternational Airport ; however, the latter also serves Washington, D.C. , alongside Dulles International Airport (IAD, for I nternational A irport D ulles) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA, for D istrict of C olumbia A irport). The code also sometimes comes from

5568-642: The oil refineries and the factories producing synthetic fuels. The 15th started the offensive on 5 April when it dispatched 235 B-17s and B-24s from Italy to transportation targets in the vicinity of the Ploiești oilfields in Romania . The refineries were attacked again on 15 and 24 April, inflicting additional damage. Attacks on oil targets had assumed top priority by October and vast fleets of heavy bombers, escorted by P-38 Lightning and P-51 Mustang fighters, attacked refineries in Germany, Reichsgau Sudetenland , Slovakia and Romania. The P-51 escorts were able to establish an environment of air superiority, enabling

5655-416: The one they are located in: Other airport codes are of obscure origin, and each has its own peculiarities: In Asia, codes that do not correspond with their city's names include Niigata 's KIJ , Nanchang 's KHN and Pyongyang 's FNJ . EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg , which serves three countries, has three airport codes: BSL, MLH, EAP. Some cities have a name in their respective language which

5742-429: The perpetrator in the head and shoulder, killing him. A pregnant woman shot in the stomach also subsequently lost her unborn child. After an investigation it was concluded that Airman Brown was justified in his actions, probably having saved lives, and he was awarded the Airman's Medal by President Bill Clinton . In 2016, Brown published Warnings Unheeded: Twin Tragedies at Fairchild Air Force Base . The book reveals

5829-401: The pre-incident indicators of the shooting and the fatal crash of a B-52 bomber that occurred four days afterward. Dean's concerning behavior was long recognized prior to his dismissal from the military. During basic training, in three different psychological examinations it was noted that he should be discharged. However, he was allowed to complete his basic training and earn his uniform. After

5916-419: The process. On 25 February 114 B-17s and B-24s were dispatched to Steyr again, but the force became separated and the Liberators bombed the Fiume oil refinery instead. Seventeen bombers were lost. Despite these losses, it was believed that the USSTAF had dealt the German aircraft industry a severe blow. In April, General Eisenhower ordered the USSTAF to attack German fuel production centers by striking both

6003-451: The same first and middle letters, indicating that this rule might be followed only in Germany. Many cities retain historical names in their airport codes, even after having undergone an official name/spelling/transliteration change: Some airport codes are based on previous names associated with a present airport, often with a military heritage. These include: Some airports are named for an administrative division or nearby city, rather than

6090-443: The state, he was the Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force at the time of his death. During the Cold War , Fairchild was a Strategic Air Command (SAC) base for 45 years (1947–1992), with bombers and tankers, as well as missiles for a brief period (1960–1965). As of 2018, the 92d Air Refueling Wing was commanded by Colonel Derek Salmi. Its Command Chief Master Sergeant was Chief Master Sergeant Lee Mills. Fairchild Air Force Base

6177-452: The station code of Malton, Mississauga , where it is located). YUL is used for Montréal–Trudeau (UL was the ID code for the beacon in the city of Kirkland , now the location of Montréal–Trudeau). While these codes make it difficult for the public to associate them with a particular Canadian city, some codes have become popular in usage despite their cryptic nature, particularly at the largest airports. Toronto's code has entered pop culture in

6264-542: The summer of 1944, Austrian aircraft manufacturing centers at Wiener Neustadt were bombed and oil producing centers were attacked. On 2 June, the 15th Air Force flew its first "shuttle" mission when 130 B-17s and P-51 escorts landed in Russian controlled territory after a raid in Hungary. Two more shuttle missions followed. In August, the 15th began attacking targets in Southern France in preparation for Operation Anvil ,

6351-504: The two-letter code of the radio beacons that were the closest to the actual airport, such as YQX in Gander or YXS in Prince George . Four of the ten provincial capital airports in Canada have ended up with codes beginning with YY, including: Canada's largest airport is YYZ for Toronto Pearson (as YTZ was already allocated to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport , the airport was given

6438-529: The use of two letters allowed only a few hundred combinations; a three-letter system of airport codes was implemented. This system allowed for 17,576 permutations, assuming all letters can be used in conjunction with each other. Since the U.S. Navy reserved "N" codes, and to prevent confusion with Federal Communications Commission broadcast call signs , which begin with "W" or "K", the airports of certain U.S. cities whose name begins with one of these letters had to adopt "irregular" airport codes: This practice

6525-599: The war’s end almost every day in the blue southern sky when, flying provocatively low, the bombers of the American Fifteenth Air Force crossed the Alps from their Italian bases to attack German Industrial targets. The only 15th AF mission to Berlin was on 24 March 1945 when 666 bombers struck the capital, Munich , and other German targets, as well as Czechoslovakia . The Berlin force was attacked by Me 262 jets that inflicted losses (one bombers and five fighters) while

6612-491: The west coast. Fairchild's location, twelve miles (20 km) west of Spokane, resulted from a competition with the cities of Seattle and Everett in western Washington. The War Department chose Spokane for several reasons: better weather conditions for flying, the location 300 miles (480 km) from the coast , and the Cascade Range providing a natural barrier against possible Japanese attack. As an added incentive to

6699-596: Was a United States Army Air Forces combat air force deployed to the European Theater of World War II, bombing Europe from bases in southern Italy and engaging in air-to-air fighter combat against enemy aircraft. During the Cold War , 15 AF was one of three Numbered Air Forces of the United States Air Force Strategic Air Command (SAC), commanding USAF strategic bombers and missiles on

6786-516: Was active between 1957 – June 1960; Deep Creek Sep 1958 – March 1966; Medical Lake 1957 – March 1966 and the Spokane site between 1957 and June 1960. On 16 October 1984, an unarmed B-52G (57-6479) from Fairchild crashed in northeast Arizona during a nighttime low-level training flight, with five survivors and two fatalities: the gunner and a colonel in the observer jump seat. In 1985, Fairchild's fifteen B-52G aircraft were replaced with nineteen B-52H ;

6873-539: Was bombing missions in support of the Anzio Landings in Italy, Operation Shingle beginning on 22 January 1944. Strikes on German and fascist Italian targets were carried out and caused widespread damage to Axis forces. "Big Week" was the name of an intense Eighth and Fifteenth Air Forces series of attacks on Germany in a series of co-ordinated raids on the German aircraft industry. The plan, code-named "Operation Argument,"

6960-433: Was flown 1 May when 27 B-17s escorted by 51 P38's of the 14th FG attacked Salzburg rail targets. With the German surrender in Italy, 15th Air Force aircraft began dropping supplies over Yugoslavia and evacuating Allied prisoners of war. It performing its last mission on 16 May 1945. A total of around 2,110 bombers were lost on operations by its 15 B-24 and six B-17 bombardment groups , while its seven fighter groups claimed

7047-550: Was in full swing and few of these groups were fully equipped or manned. All of these groups were equipped with B-29 Superfortresses , most or all of which were aircraft which returned from Twentieth Air Force groups returning from the Pacific War . When SAC was established in 1946, its primary bomber aircraft was the B-29. Although there were many in storage, they were war-weary. The plane was greatly improved and soon new models, designated

7134-408: Was one of the thirteen original sites built for storage, maintenance, and operational readiness of the nuclear stockpile. Deep Creek became part of Fairchild AFB on 1 July 1962, with operations transferred to SAC. On 15 March 1966, the 336th Combat Crew Training Group was established at Fairchild. In 1971, the group became a wing and assumed control over all Air Force survival schools. Later reduced to

7221-614: Was re-designated the 92d Strategic Aerospace Wing. However, the designation remained longer than the missiles, as the Atlas missiles were soon obsolete and removed in 1965. The weapons storage area (WSA) for the bombers was located south of the runway at Deep Creek Air Force Station, a separate installation constructed from 1950 to 1953 by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and operated by the Air Materiel Command . The facility

7308-407: Was reassigned to Cannon Air Force Base where similar events led to him being returned to psychologists for evaluation. After this evaluation, he was discharged from Cannon AFB as being unfit for military service; he had been diagnosed with mild autism , generalized anxiety disorder and paranoid personality disorder . Mellberg traveled to Spokane, Washington, near Fairchild AFB, where he purchased

7395-636: Was served by a rail connection to the Great Northern Railway . From 1942 until 1946, the base served as a repair depot for damaged aircraft returning from the Pacific Theater. The depot command at the base went through several name changes, at one point being designated the Spokane Air Technical Service Command . Effective at 2359L on 31 August 1947, the base was transferred to the Strategic Air Command (SAC) and assigned to

7482-416: Was the first step in Fairchild's transition to an air refueling wing. The departure of B-52s continued throughout the spring of 1994, with most of the bombers gone by 25 May 1994. On 1 July 1994, the 92d Bomb Wing was re-designated the 92d Air Refueling Wing (92 ARW), and Fairchild AFB was transferred from ACC to Air Mobility Command (AMC) in a ceremony marking the creation of the largest air refueling wing in

7569-538: Was to use both American strategic air forces in Europe, with support by the Royal Air Force with night bombing raids to destroy or seriously cripple the German ability to produce combat aircraft. The Americans were facing strong Luftwaffe fighter opposition to their daylight bombing raids over Nazi-occupied Europe, and it was planned to initiate Operation Argument at the earliest possible date. On 22 February 1944, Fifteenth Air Force made its first attack on Germany, with an attack on Regensburg . The Fifteenth dispatched

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