Once we brought that up and cleaned the tag, we knew it was the 221226 serial number.. The cockpit canopy offered exceptional all-round visibility for the pilot. The former base includes 4,626 acres (1,872ha) located approximately two miles west of Lake Huron in the Charter Township of Oscoda, bordered by Van Ettan Lake, the The popular legend, supported by interviews and other historical documents, is that Wurtsmith was established as the direct result of a fishing trip by Lt. Ennis Whitehead (later Lt. Gen. Whitehead, commander of the Fifth and Far Eastern Air Forces during and after World War . Comprehensive Base Plan, Department of the Air Force, Directorate of Engineering and Services DCS/PRE - Washington DC 1 April 1970 (revised 12 July 1978) . Airport History. Thanks for sending to you and Pat. At the time, it was considered a vital Air Defense Command base and was equipped and manned with interceptor aircraft capable of flying over the North Pole into the Soviet Union. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. Over the 50 years of operation Wurtsmith Air Force Base had manydifferent missions. [1] This tight knit community was not confined to just the Air Force Base, but extended into the community as well. [4] Enchanted Forest Web Page Design Service. We offer visitors three hangars full of military (all branches) and aviation history, static aircraft displays, artifacts, equipment and lots of WAFB memorabilia. Wurtsmith Air Museum (Oscoda) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go [1] At some point over the week an alarm would sound,signaling to the flight crew that the B-52s had to be in the air. For example a KC-135 could take off from Wurtsmith Air Force Base, fly across the Pacific Ocean, land in Spain, have the flight crew be relieved by a fresh crew, fly into theater, complete the mission and return to Spain, where the original crew would be rested and ready to fly the KC-135 back to Wurtsmith Air Force Base. Wurtsmith Air Force Base - Oscoda As seenin the picture of the runways, there is a Christmas tree coming off of thebeginning of the runway with a building next to it. I am pretty sure Diabetes and Sleep Apnea I have now and neuro dammage in both arms are related , So Presumptive Claims puzzleing I have a claim in and never heard anything I know Senator Kilddee of Michigan is trying to help veterans on this matter but congress are dragging this out. I served at Wursmith AFB from 1982 to 1989, living in base housing the entire time and drinking the water. At one point, they had to use these toxic foam chemicals to put out a fire at the Oscoda High School in 1995. http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2017/04/wurtsmith_pfas_pfc_april_45_me.html. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. The military has not begun cleanups at any of the 50 Department of Defense sites Congress has identified as highly contaminated with the "forever chemicals" known as PFAS - and it could be years before cleanups are complete. P-6E, serial number 32-156, 17th Pursuit Squadron from Selfridge Field Michigan. My son, was born on the base, has a malformed aorta and congenital nerve damage hearing loss. I recall we lost a tanker on touch and goes which had to be extinguished with a massive amount of this chemical. [1] This meant that there was always at least threeB-52s armed with nuclear bombs, ready to take off at a moments notice. I was stationed there from 11/84-1989. These, planes would regularly fly missions from Wurtsmith Air Force Base during the, The 379th Bomb Wing moved to Wurtsmith Air Force Base in June of, 19661. [4] Over the tenure of the base it was home to an aerial gunnery range, a fighter-interceptor training base and later home to the 379th Bomb Wing as a member of the Strategic Air Command.[4]. The result was an airplane which had a much deeper and broader fuselage than did the P-1. Many of drums ruptured. This weapon system used some hazardous and a lot of special chemicals to support it. As long as these assignments were under 180 days they were considered Temporary Duty Assignments. The average person has around 3 or 4 parts per billion of these chemicals present in their blood. Their water table has been contaminated with high levels of PFOA because of the leakage of chemicals from Wurtsmith Air Force Base. wurtsmith air force base - PICRYL We make no endorsements or recommendations of any VSO, attorney, law firm, claims specialists or organization working with veterans on their service-connected claim(s). 1970 - The Air Force knew that some of the Webb Air Force Base Family Housing units, located in Big Spring Texas, were contaminated with and the occupants exposed to a large quantity of chlordane. At the time, George was a hub of F-4 Phantom fighter jets and OV-10 Bronco reconnaissance planes. The 5,223-acre Wurtsmith Air Force Base (Wurtsmith AFB) is located on the northeastern part of Michigans lower peninsula. Wurtsmith earned recognition during the war as the leader of the group of pilots using P-40 and P-38 fighter . During World War II, P-47 fighters were assigned to Oscoda. The Losinskis are divers David has been diving since 1977; his son, Drew, since 2002 and both are former members of the St. Clair County Dive Team. The single enlisted airmen who lived on base were housed in barracks. [1], As new technologies and mission goals evolved with time the need for the Strategic Air Commands need for the northern tier became obsolete. out of Prince Abdullah AB in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Veteran Compensation Programs (veteranprograms.com) assumes NO liability, and expressly disclaims any and all responsibility, for the content of all posts, surveys, topics, comments, blogs or responses. This could be from hydrant flushing or a water main break. If you are interested in any particular aircraft of time period please let me know. During the Cold War, the base became part of Strategic Air Command. A sand and gravel aquifer of glacial origin underlies Wurtsmith Air Force Base in northeastern lower Michigan. Everyone from the mechanics keeping the planes flyable, to the cookspreparing food for the airmen stationed at Wurtsmith Air Force Base, to thecommanders who ensured that everything from the flight schedules being correctto the proper paperwork being completed to allow the missions to continue. A series of stringers were added to the fuselage sides to round out the cross section. Robert Krouse, 12/31/19Stationed at Wurtsmith AFB from 1978 to 1980 and lived in barracks. [1] On the first Wednesday the, fresh flight crew would relive the current flight crew in the bunkers. The majority of married enlisted and officers preferred to live on base because of the free daycare for children. As seen, in the picture of the runways, there is a Christmas tree coming off of the, beginning of the runway with a building next to it. On January 18, 1994 it was listed as a Superfund due to extensive groundwater contamination with heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, including trichloroethylene, 1,1-dichloroethane, 1,1,1-trichloroethane . In addition, the rear fuselage was deepened in order that it could faire cleanly into the bottom of the radiator. The former base includes 4,626 acres (1,872 ha) located approximately two miles west of Lake Huron in the Charter Township of Oscoda, bordered by Van Ettan Lake, the Au . At the start of 1985, Wurtsmith maintained an $80 million annual payroll with 3,600 military and civilian personnel. [6], During the Gulf War B-52s from Wurtsmith Air Force Base were flownout of Prince Abdullah AB in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. One of the unfortunate risks in flying is a crash. Most individuals are not educated on what the base did before and after World War II, what is currently happening at this location, or how the historical space is impacting the land and local citizens today. Aircraft upper wing, left lower wing, rudder and propeller damaged. [1] Mr. Norton also landed. This is an evolving issue with many moving parts. The Allison V-1710-85 liquid-cooled V-12 engine behind the pilots seat drove the propeller by means of a driveshaft mounted under the pilots seat. In 1960 it became part of the Strategic Air Command . Aircraft was at Camp Skeel, Oscoda Michigan for Aerial Gunnery training. U.S. Wurtsmith AFB and its Contamination - Military History of the Upper Section 107, the written material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed an interest in receiving the included information for educational purposes. All four of the the guys that were in that flight were from Tuskegee, Losinksi said. Heart condition, prostate cancer, diabetic, sometimes confused in making decisions. With all of this in a single family, the V.A. There were frequently extremely large and loud airplanes taxiing, taking off, and landing in the base. [1] As tensions increased around the world and the likelihood of an actual mission being flown while on ready alert increased, the weekbecame more stressful. The base is located in Oscoda, Iosco County, Michigan. It was formed on 1 August 1961 to merge the 3908th Strategic Standardization Group for SAC aircrew evaluation with the 1st Radar Bomb Scoring Group that had originated from the 263rd Army Air Force Base Unit which transferred from 15th AF to directly under Strategic Air Command c. [5] The 379th flew with a Triangle K tail flash to continue the, tradition from their World War II counterparts. The 4026th was a SAC Major Command controlled (MAJCON) wing that had been organized on 1 August 1958. Wurtsmith Air Force Base is a decommissioned United States Air Force base in Iosco County, Michigan.It operated from 1923 until decommissioned in 1993. After a trip to the Boneyard in September 2019, hundreds of current and vintage photos are being sorted, scanned and uploaded. Mrs. Cecil V. Fowler saw the crash, according to the Times Herald article. [1] This meant that there was always at least three, B-52s armed with nuclear bombs, ready to take off at a moments notice. [5] One crew flew 29, mission out of Jeddah, setting the record for most missions flew by a bomber, crew in theater. Veterans 'likely' drank PFAS at Wurtsmith air base Here is a list of military bases that are known to have had their drinking water contaminated with PFAS chemicals: Alameda Naval base, California. Home - Wurtsmith Air Museum The story stated Moody and three other pilots were taking gunnery practice about three miles north of Port Huron. Wurtsmith AFB has a better paper trail showing irrefutable evidence of contamination of the base drinking water with Trichloroethelene (TCE) first discovered in 1977 as a result of a complaint from a base housing resident. Prior to our IOC inspection for the SRAM we were ordered to clean out igloos full of barrels 5gal to 55gal drums,1,000s of gallons which had been ordered by mistake to start the system. distance from the bunker. The base became a permanent installation on January 1, 1951, when the U. S. Air Force designated it as a fighter training base for the Air Defense command. Lee N. 2023 Aspyre Media Group, LLC. As previously stated, there is a museum open to the public which has artifacts and information on the bases history. Two years after release I started to experience very visible loss of musculature and strength. The last was delivered in December 1930. [5] While the 379thBomb Wing was stationed at Wurtsmith Air Force Base they were part of the ReadyAlert Nuclear Strike Force. Although in the past the Wurtsmith Air Force Base was extremely successful there are some prevalent issues with it today. [1], Over the course of Mr. Nortons career as both a KC-135 Navigator, and a DC-10 Pilot, Mr. Norton served as a flight commander, served numerous, deployments during the Gulf War escorting fighter squadrons from the United, States into theater, supporting fighter squadrons and bomber squadrons in, theater, served multiple temporary duty assignments to England, Spain, Saudi, Arabia, Alaska, and other Air Force Bases around the globe. It was also possible for these missions to originate in the United States. While the vast majority of personnel on Wurtsmith AirForce Base were not part of a flight crew rotating through ready alert, theirrespective jobs all served to ensure those planes could take off at a momentsnotice. While these crews were on ready alert they did not have a wholelot to do. Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Mich., served primarily as a combat crew and bomber training base throughout its 70-year history. Posts and surveys made on this website are opinions or suggestions of users of this website and are not representations, opinions or suggestions of U.S. PFOA exposure is also shown to be associated with increased risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children between ages 12-15. This cycle was from Wednesday to Wednesday. "Keeping Wurtsmith AFB and Aviation History of NE MI Alive" Opens on Armed Forces Day in May, hosts a Welcome Home. the first KC-135 in operation Southern Watch. These organizations primarily fall into seven types of activities: aviation, manufacturing, technology, medical, housing, education, community services and technology. She has all kinds of problems, my ex died of cancer and I have all kinds of problems. [1] Wurtsmith Air Force Base was 2nd Lt. Nortons first, permanent duty station in the United States Air Force. These are simply the specific . [1] Mr. Norton also landedthe first KC-135 in operation Southern Watch. I will try and highlight some of the most interesting aircraft and their stories!. From humble beginnings in the 1920's as a aircraft gunnery range, to its status as a vital member of our strategic defense, Wurtsmith Air Force Base has distinguished itself as an important part of our country's military history. 2 talking about this. Powerplant: 1 Allison V-1710-85 liquid-cooled V-12, 1,200 hp (895 kW), Maximum speed: 376 mph (605 km/h) (Redline dive speed was 525 mph), Range: 525 miles on internal fuel (840 km).