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Langley Air Force Base
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Langley Air Force Base | |||
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| IATA: LFI – ICAO: KLFI | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Military | ||
| Operator | USAF | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 11 ft / 3.4 m | ||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 08/26 | 10,000 | 3,048 | Concrete |
Langley Air Force Base (IATA: LFI, ICAO: KLFI) is the home of the United States Air Force 1st Fighter Wing and the 480th Intelligence Wing. It also hosts Headquarters, Air Combat Command. The base is named for aviation pioneer Samuel Pierpont Langley, and is located 3 miles north of Hampton, Virginia.
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The 1st Fighter Wing, under various designations, has been the host unit at Langley since moving from MacDill AFB Florida on 30 June 1975. Operational squadrons of the 1st Fighter Wing are:
1st Fighter Wing F-22As and F-15Cs are all tail coded "FF".
In January 1976, the 1st Tactical Fighter Wing was the first operational unit to fly the F-15A/B Eagle. In May 2005, Langley became the home of 26 F-22 Raptors assigned to the 27th Fighter Squadron of the 1st Fighter Wing. In December 2005, the 94th Fighter Squadron started to convert to the F-22A . The 27th FS flew the first F-22A operational mission in January 2006 in support of Operation Noble Eagle (ONE).
On 7 August 1990 the 1st Tactical Fighter Wing, deployed to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Desert Shield, was the first USAF unit to establish air superiority over Saudi Arabia. Through both Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, the wing flew more than 6,200 sorties and nearly 25,000 flying hours. The wing also recorded an aerial victory when Capt Steve Tate of the 71st FS shot down an Iraqi Dassault Mirage F1.
In 2003, the 1st FW deployed again to Southwest Asia to provide air superiority in combat. The wing deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom where it flew over 360 training and combat sorties.
Other historical firsts for the 1st Fighter Wing are:
- The first U.S. group-level unit to enter air combat.
- The first U.S. unit to destroy enemy aircraft in World War 1.
- The parent unit of the first winner of the Medal of Honor for aerial combat.
- The parent unit of the two highest scoring U.S. aces in World War 1.
- The first fighter unit to deploy en masse over the North Atlantic.
- The first U.S. unit to destroy a German aircraft in World War ll.
- The first U.S. jet fighter unit.
At Langley, the 480th Intelligence Wing is the Air Force lead wing for Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS) operations, geospatial intelligence and intelligence products for combat mission planning and execution. The 497th Intelligence Group is a warfighting unit leveraging the most robust national/DoD intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance air, space and ground systems architecture. Operates Deployable Ground Station-1 of the Air Force Distributed Common Ground System. Projects global vigilance, providing persistent world-class timely and tailored multi-discipline intelligence analysis to the warfighter while directing reachback/distributed operations
Langley Air Force Base is the first military base built in the United States specifically for air power. Acquired in December 1916. Major base operating units at Langley have been:
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Pre World War II Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps
General Headquarters (GHQ), Air Force
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World War II
AAF Training Command
Air Transport Command |
- 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, 15 August 1947
- 160th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (RF-80)
- 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (RF-80)
- 12th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (RB-26)
Tactical Air Command
- 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, 1 September 1950
- 12th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (RB-26)
- 47th Bombardment Wing, 12 March 1951 (B-26, B-45)
- 4430th Air Base Wing, 12 February 1952
- 405th Fighter-Bomber Wing, 1 May 1953 (B-26, B/RB-57, F-100)
- 4505 Air Refueling Wing, 15 January 1958 (KB-29, KB-50)
- 463d Troop Carrier Wing, 1 July 1963 (C-130)
- 316th Tactical Airlift Wing, 1 January 1966 (C-130)
Tactical Air Command / Air Combat Command
Headquarters Tactical Air Command was established at Langley on 1 May 1946. Headquarters Air Combat Command replaced Tactical Air Command on 1 June 1992.
In 1916, the National Advisory Council for Aeronautics (NACA), predecessor to NASA, established the need for a joint airfield and proving ground for Army, Navy and NACA aircraft. NACA determined that the site must be near water for over-water flying, be flat and relatively clear for expansion and the landing and take-off of aircraft and near an Army post. Fifteen locations were scouted before the site near Hampton was selected. In 1917, the new proving ground was designated Langley Field.
Several buildings had been constructed on the field by late 1918. Aircraft at the base at that time included the JN-4 Curtis Jenny, used by Langley's School of Aerial Photography, and the de Havilland DH-4 bomber, both used during World War I. Although short-lived, hydrogen-filled dirigibles played an important role in Langley's early history and a portion of the base is still referred to as the LTA (lighter-than-air) area.
Brigadier General Billy Mitchell led bombing runs from Langley over war prize German warships anchored off the coast of Virginia. These first successful tests set the precedent for the airplane's new role of strategic bombardment.
At the outbreak of World War II Langley began to develop special detector equipment used in antisubmarine warfare.
On 25 May 1946 the headquarters of the newly formed Tactical Air Command were established at Langley. The arrival of Tactical Air Command and jet aircraft marked the beginning of a new era in the history of the field, and in January 1948 Langley Field officially became Langley Air Force Base.
On 1 June 1992, Langley became the headquarters of the newly formed Air Combat Command.
The BRAC 2005 commission recommended an expansion of Langley Air Force Base.
- The 3rd Wing at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska would distribute 24 of 42 assigned F-15C/D aircraft to the 1st Fighter Wing.
- The closure of Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station (ARS), NY. The 914th Airlift Wing's headquarters would move to Langley AFB as a result of this closure.
- A realignment of base-level F-15 avionics intermediate maintenance from Langley AFB to Tyndall AFB, FL, by establishing a Centralized Intermediate Repair Facility (CIRF) at Tyndall AFB for F-15 avionics.
- DoD would establish a Combat Air Force Logistics Support Center at Langley Air Force Base by realigning Regional Supply Squadrons positions from Hickam Air Force Base and Sembach Air Base, Germany (non-BRAC programmatic) as well as base-level Logistics Readiness Squadron (LRS) positions from Luke Air Force Base.
- DoD would realign Fort Eustis, VA, by relocating the installation management functions to Langley AFB.
- GlobalSecurity.org: Langley AFB (source for history)
- Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982 USAF Reference Series, Office of Air Force History, United States Air Force, Washington, D.C., 1989
- Airport Master Record (FAA Form 5010), also available as a printable form (PDF)
- Endicott, Judy G., USAF Active Flying, Space, and Missile Squadrons as of 1 October 1995. Office of Air Force History
- Maurer Maurer, Air Force Combat Units Of World War II, Office of Air Force History, 1983
- Ravenstein, Charles A., Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947-1977, Office of Air Force History, 1984
- Langley Air Force Base (official site)
- Langley Fighter -- Unofficial Langley AFB Newspaper
- News of Langley AFB at af.mil
- Langley Air Force Base Information (unofficial site)
- Resources for this U.S. military airport:
- AirNav airport information for KLFI
- ASN accident history for LFI
- NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for KLFI
- FAA Airport Diagram (PDF)
- Langley Air Force Base is at coordinates Coordinates:
