Westover Air Reserve Base (
IATA: CEF,
ICAO: KCEF,
FAALID: CEF) is an
Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) installation located in the Massachusetts communities of
Chicopee and
Ludlow, near the city of
Springfield, Massachusetts. Established at the outset of
World War II, today Westover is the largest Air Force Reserve base in the United States, home to approximately 5,500 military and civilian personnel, and covering 2500 acres (10 km²).[2] Until 2011, it was a backup landing site for the
NASASpace Shuttle and in the past few years has expanded to include a growing civilian access airport (
Westover Metropolitan Airport) sharing Westover's military-maintained runways.[3] The installation was named for Major General
Oscar Westover who was commanding officer of the
Army Air Corps in the 1930s.[4]
The host unit is the
439th Airlift Wing (439 AW) of the
Fourth Air Force (4 AF), Air Force Reserve Command. Outside of the AFRC command structure, the 439 AW and Westover are operationally gained by the
Air Mobility Command (AMC).
Due to its location as one of the few remaining active military air bases in the northeast United States, Westover ARB is transited by many different U.S. military aircraft of all the services.[5]
Westover ARB has the longest runway in Massachusetts.
226th Transportation Company (Railway Operating)(assigned to the 757th Transportation Battalion (Railway),[6] Milwaukee, WI; battalion and all subordinate units inactivated by September 2015)
Navy:
Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 27
Marine Corps:
Marine Wing Support Squadron 472, Detachment B
Marine Air Support Squadron 6
Military Entry Processing Command (DOD):
Springfield Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS)
History
The field was constructed in anticipation of
World War II.[7]
From 1954 to 1962 the Stony Brook Air Force Station in
Ludlow was a nuclear weapons Operational Storage Site for
Air Materiel Command (AMC-OSS), one of five in the U.S. During this period Stony Brook was the home of the 3084th Aviation Depot Group, part of the
3079th Aviation Depot Wing. In 1962 Stony Brook was transferred to SAC with the 24th Munitions Maintenance Squadron replacing the 3084th, and stored and maintained nuclear weapons for SAC aircraft at Westover until deactivation in 1973.[8] Today, the Stony Brook site is the home of the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (MMWEC),
Hampden County Jail, and other local businesses.
On June 27, 1958, a
USAFBoeing KC-135 Stratotanker stalled and crashed, skidded across the
Massachusetts Turnpike, disintegrated and burned. Was attempting a world speed record from New York-London with 3 other USAF KC-135s. All 15 occupants died.[10]
On June 21, 1963, a USAF Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker crashed into a wooded hillside nearly 6 miles N of Westover AFB during an instrument approach in heavy rain. One occupant died.[11]
On January 7, 1971, after taking off from Westover Air Force Base, a Boeing B-52C Stratofortress (serial 54-26660) of Strategic Air Command crashed into northern Lake Michigan at the mouth of Little Traverse Bay near Charlevoix, Michigan, while on a low-level training flight. All nine crew members aboard were lost. No remains of the crewmen were recovered.[12]
The new Armed Forces Reserve Center hosts Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy Reserve operations. The Massachusetts Army National Guard also made its debut at the base.[14]
The local government credits Westover with spurring development of the Memorial Drive corridor, including several planned hotels and a retail plaza.[14]
Facilities and aircraft
The portion of the Westover complex still under military control covers an area of 2,500 acres (10 km²) which contains two
runways: 5/23: measuring 11,597 ft × 300 ft (3,535 m × 91 m) and 15/33 measuring 7,085 ft × 150 ft (2,160 m × 46 m).[16] A new
Air Traffic Control tower was constructed in 2002 and the old tower was demolished. As a center for military air operations, Westover Air Reserve Base poses several hazards to local residents. These include air pollution, noise pollution, and water contamination hazards – all of which are shared with similar-sized commercial airports.[17] Westover's extended operations history has produced numerous hazardous waste sites.[18]
According to
Federal Aviation Administration records for the 12-month period ending 31 May 2022, the airport had 16,693 aircraft operations, an average of 46 per day: 60% military, 36%
general aviation, 4% air taxi and <1%
air carrier. There were 37 aircraft at the time based at this airport: 16 military, 10 single engine, 4 multi-engine, 3 jet aircraft, 2 gliders and 2
helicopter.[19]
Military facilities are under control of Col. Joseph D. Janik, Commander, 439th Airlift Wing.[20] The civilian portion of the airport is run by Michael Bolton, Director of Civil Aviation (an employee of the Westover Metropolitan Corporation).
^"Westover Air Force Base". Hampshire College, Amherst, Mass.: Military Waste Cleanup Project, Institute for Science and Interdisciplinary Studies. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office 1961 (republished 1983, Office of Air Force History,
ISBN0-912799-02-1).
Mueller, Robert. Air Force Bases Volume I: Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982. Office of Air Force History, 1989.