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73-603: Homestead Air Reserve Base ( IATA : HST , ICAO : KHST , FAA LID : HST ) ( Homestead ARB ), previously known as Homestead Air Force Base ( Homestead AFB ) is located in Miami–Dade County, Florida , to the northeast of the city of Homestead . It is home to the 482nd Fighter Wing (482 FW) of the Air Force Reserve Command 's Tenth Air Force (10 AF), as well as the headquarters of Special Operations Command South . Much of Homestead Air Force Base

146-576: A former United States Air Force base in Louisiana , located 5 miles (8.0 km) northwest of Alexandria and about 170 miles (270 km) northwest of New Orleans . Originally known as Alexandria Army Air Base , on 23 June 1955 the facility was renamed England Air Force Base in honor of Lt Col John Brooke England (1923–1954). The base was closed in 1992. The airfield and buildings are now Alexandria International Airport . Three episodes of The Crocodile Hunter were recorded in this base because

219-567: 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

292-435: A parent unit based at another location. Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) Tenth Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC) Air National Guard (ANG) United States Special Operations Command Atlantic Area U.S. Customs and Border Protection - Air and Marine Operations, Miami Air and Marine Branch IATA airport code The assignment of these codes is governed by IATA Resolution 763, and it

365-765: A tenant command at Homestead AFB in June 1957. The 19th Bombardment Wing (19 BMW) moved to Homestead AFB from Pinecastle Air Force Base , Florida in April 1956 and also flew the B-47 and KC-97. The 379 BMW moved to Wurtsmith Air Force Base , Michigan without equipment in January 1961 in preparation for transition to the B-52H Stratofortress and KC-135A Stratotanker . In 1960, three Air Force Reserve (AFRES) units previously located at Miami International Airport ,

438-433: A tent city in preparation for a possible land invasion of Cuba. Additional U.S. Army air defense artillery personnel manned several MIM-23 Hawk mobile surface-to-air missile (SAM) batteries and AN/MPQ-35 search radars that were place around the base for defense against Soviet and/or Cuban aircraft. The 512th Troop Carrier Wing (512 TCW), an AFRES unit operationally gained by TAC and based at NAS Willow Grove , Pennsylvania,

511-597: A third F-4E fighter squadron combat-coded for overseas deployment. At the same time, among the AFRES units, the 301 ARS acquired former SH-34J Seabat helicopters from the US Navy, redesignating them as HH-34Js and providing a rotary-wing capability in addition to their amphibious fixed-wing capability. The 915 MAG also inactivated and the 79 MAS retired its C-124C aircraft, shifting to an airborne early warning mission with EC-121T Warning Star aircraft and being redesignated as

584-509: 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

657-627: 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 ,

730-617: 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

803-523: 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

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876-513: 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

949-543: 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

1022-416: 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

1095-470: The 301st Air Rescue Squadron with its SA-16 (later redesignated as HU-16) Albatross amphibious air-sea rescue aircraft and the 435th Troop Carrier Wing (435 TCW) and its 76th Troop Carrier Squadron (76 TCS) with C-119 Flying Boxcar aircraft relocated to Homestead AFB. On 1 July 1961, the 19 BMW was redesignated as the 19th Bombardment Wing (Heavy) and began converting to the B-52H and KC-135A. In 1962,

1168-405: The 31st Fighter Wing (31 FW), the 482 TFW became the 482nd Fighter Wing (482 FW), and the subordinate tactical fighter squadrons in both wings were redesignated as fighter squadrons (FS). At the same time, the 301 ARS, which had been in the process of retiring its HH-3E aircraft and replacing them with HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters, was redesignated as the 301st Rescue Squadron (301 RQS), while

1241-548: The 31st Tactical Fighter Wing , a unit of the Tactical Air Command (TAC), relocated to Homestead AFB from George Air Force Base , California with its F-100 Super Sabre jet fighters and established itself as a TAC tenant unit at Homestead, the base remaining under SAC control. Homestead AFB also figured prominently during the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis . All SAC aircraft of the 19 BMW were dispersed while

1314-482: The 79th Airborne Early Warning and Control Squadron (79 AEW&CS), operationally-gained by ADC. With the end of combat operations in Vietnam in 1973, Homestead AFB and its host and tenant units were re-centered on Cold War mission taskings. The 301 ARRS transitioned to an all rotary-wing unit, retiring its last HU-16 and acquiring HH-1H Iroqouis (“Huey”) helicopters in addition to its HH-34Js. During 1973 and 1974,

1387-489: The 93rd Tactical Fighter Squadron (93 TFS) was activated at Homestead AFB with F-4C Phantom II aircraft. The following year, ADC was also inactivated and all its former assets and units were transferred to TAC, to include shifting the 125 FIG and its Det 1 to the operational claimancy of TAC. In 1979 and 1980, the 31 TFW transferred its F-4E aircraft to ANG units and the Egyptian Air Force and transitioned to

1460-648: The Air Defense Command (ADC) regarding Soviet Air Force activity in Cuba, Detachment 1 of the 125th Fighter Interceptor Group (125 FIG, Det 1) of the Florida Air National Guard was established at Homestead AFB with no less than two armed F-102A Delta Dagger aircraft and a combination of full-time Air Reserve Technician (ART) personnel and drilling Traditional Guardsmen (TG) / Drill Status Guardsmen (DSG) on 24/7/365 alert, rotated from

1533-687: The Air National Guard . Acted as holding unit for arriving LTV A-7D Corsair II aircraft starting April 1972. The 4403d TFW and the 416th TFS both inactivated on 1 July 1972. On 1 July 1972, the 23d Tactical Fighter Wing reactivated at the base, without personnel or equipment, and took over the organization and assets of the temporary 4403d TFW. Three A-7D tactical fighter ( 74th , 75th , 76th ) squadrons formed. The wing re-equipped with Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft in 1981. Redesignated 23d Fighter Wing 1 October 1991. Inactivated 1 June 1992. Alexandria (and later England) AFB

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1606-571: 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

1679-689: The F-4D Phantom II , eventually assuming a Formal Training Unit (FTU) role for the F-4D. Also in 1979, the 301 ARRS retired its HH-1H aircraft and acquired HC-130P/N Hercules search and rescue aircraft, returning to a dual fixed-wing and rotary-wing fleet. With its new emphasis as the F-4D FTU, the 31 TFW was redesignated as the 31st Tactical Training Wing (31 TTW) in March 1981 while retaining host wing responsibilities for Homestead AFB. In addition to

1752-528: The 125 FIG (to include 125 FIG, Det 1) exchanged its F-102 aircraft for F-106A and F-106B Delta Dart aircraft transferred from the Regular Air Force. This was followed between 1974 and 1975 with the 301 ARRS replacing its HH-34Js with HH-3E Jolly Green Giant helicopters transferred from the Regular Air Force. On 1 December 1976, the former 915 MAG was also reactivated as the 915th Airborne Early Warning and Control Group (915 AEW&CG), again with

1825-750: The 301 RQS rescue aircraft to Patrick Air Force Base at Cocoa Beach, Florida . All base personnel and their families were under evacuation orders prior to the arrival of the Category 5 storm. The storm-related damage and destruction at Homestead AFB was extensive and precluded any immediate return of home station units, especially those conducting or in direct support of operational flying missions. The 31 FW and essential personnel stayed at Wright-Patterson AFB until April 1993, at which point they were transferred back to MacDill AFB . The 125 FIG Det 1 would take up temporary residence at Naval Air Station Key West , Florida, utilizing fighter alert facilities dating from

1898-452: The 31 TFW deployed to Southeast Asia for combat operations over Vietnam, the 4531st Tactical Fighter Wing was established as a provisional unit for host wing duties at Homestead AFB pending the return of the 31 TFW in 1970. While the 31 TFW was deployed, the 19 BMW moved without personnel or equipment on 25 July 1968 to Robins Air Force Base , Georgia, and absorbing the resources of the 465th Bombardment Wing (465 BMW) at Robins AFB and marking

1971-485: The 31 TFW was augmented by additional F-100 aircraft from the 401st Tactical Fighter Wing (401 TFW) from England AFB , Louisiana and the 474th Tactical Fighter Wing (474 TFW) from Cannon AFB , New Mexico. This combined organization, designated the 1st Provisional Air Division, was composed of over 181 F-100 fighter-bombers and over 1600 pilots and forward deployed aircraft maintenance personnel. Over 10,000 U.S. Army personnel were also deployed to Homestead AFB and housed in

2044-640: The 482 FW in 2015, while the base concurrently maintains a 24/7/365 alert detachment of armed F-15C Eagle fighter aircraft from the Florida ANG's 125th Fighter Wing Detachment 1 (125 FW Det 1) conducting the Continental NORAD Region (CONR) air sovereignty/air defense mission of the southeastern United States. Flying and notable non-flying units based at Homestead Air Reserve Base. Units marked GSU are Geographically Separate Units, which although based at Homestead ARB are subordinate to

2117-569: The 79 AEW&CS as a subordinate unit. With the impending phaseout of the EC-121 as the new E-3A Sentry aircraft, also known as the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS), entered the USAF inventory, the 915 AEW&CG was redesignated the 915th Tactical Fighter Group (915 TFG) on 1 October 1978 with the retirement of its EC-121T aircraft. The 79 AEW&CS was also inactivated and

2190-673: The Air Force went through its most massive structural reorganization since its establishment as a separate service in September 1947. This included the inactivation of TAC and its succession by the Air Combat Command (ACC) on 1 June 1992. With this change, all flying units at Homestead AFB became part of ACC, either directly in the case of active duty units, or operationally-gained in the case of assigned AFRES and ANG units. As an ACC installation, Homestead AFB's 31 TFW also became

2263-513: The Cuban Missile Crisis while the 482 FW would remain at MacDill. Given the extent of damage, the U.S. Navy elected to close NAVSECGRUACT Homestead at Homestead AFB in June 1993. The stay at MacDill AFB and NAS Key West for the fighter aircraft was short-lived as the 31 FW, 482 FW, and 125 FW Det 1 returned to Homestead in March 1994 while the 301 RQS aircraft and personnel permanently remained at Patrick AFB, eventually evolving into

Homestead Air Reserve Base - Misplaced Pages Continue

2336-493: The F-16 or losing flying missions outright. Ultimately, most of the base, to include the runway and airfield proper, remained under DoD control and completed its conversion from an active duty base to its present-day reserve base configuration with the 482 FW as the host wing and continuing to fly its F-16C/D Block 30 fighter aircraft. The active duty 367th Fighter Squadron (367 FS) was added as an ACC Active Associate F-16 unit to

2409-509: The F-4D, relinquishing the FTU mission and transitioning to the F-16A and F-16B Fighting Falcon aircraft as a fully combat coded unit, resulting in the wing again being redesignated as the 31st Tactical Fighter Wing (31 TFW). In 1987, the 125 FIG also commenced replacement of its F-106 aircraft with F-16A and F-16B aircraft at home station in its F-16 Air Defense Fighter (F-16A/B ADF) variant, which

2482-541: The FPS-20A, being known as Alexandria, Louisiana. Virtually all other parts of this old Air Force radar station have been removed. A golf course now occupies part of the old M-125 site. In October 1990, the 1991 Base Realignment and Closure Commission decided that England Air Force Base would be closed by September 1992. Reduction of equipment and personnel began almost immediately. The 23d Fighter Wing's Fairchild A-10 "Thunderbolt II" aircraft were sent to other units, and

2555-866: The Miami area to Key West in what would become the Miami-Homestead Air Defense Area of the U.S. Army Air Defense Command (ARADCOM). The ARADCOM functional activities came under the aegis of the 6th Battalion, 65th Artillery (later renamed the 6th Battalion, 65th Air Defense Artillery) operating a combination of MIM-13 Hawk and fixed-site MIM-3 Nike Ajax , later upgraded to MIM-14 Nike Hercules , surface-to-air missile (SAM) batteries and associated radar and command and control sites. These Army air defense facilities would remain in operation at Homestead AFB and across South Florida until 1979. One of these sites, Nike Missile Site HM-69 located just west of Homestead ARB, remains preserved today and open to

2628-452: 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 . England AFB England Air Force Base is

2701-741: The United States Air Force reopened Alexandria Air Force Base during the Korean War . The station's primary mission was tactical fighter operations for Tactical Air Command . Its major operating units were: On 15 September 1970, the 4403d Tactical Fighter Wing, a temporary Major Air Command-Controlled (MAJCOM) unit, activated at England. With its subordinate 416th (activated 28 September 1970) and 431st Tactical Fighter Squadrons, it absorbed returning North American F-100 Super Sabre aircraft of 31st TFW from Tuy Hoa Air Base South Vietnam. It transferred aircraft and other assets to

2774-526: The United States to support the permanent Radar network established during the Cold War for air defense of the United States. This deployment had been projected to be operational by mid-1952. Funding, constant site changes, construction, and equipment delivery delayed deployment. On 1 November 1954 the 653d Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron began operations at Alexandria AFB with the activation of AN/MPS-14 , AN/TPS-1 D, and AN/TPS-10 D radars. The site

2847-481: 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

2920-440: 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,

2993-418: 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

Homestead Air Reserve Base - Misplaced Pages Continue

3066-484: The area is an important area for conservation. The base was opened on 21 October 1942 and during the Second World War performed Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress aircrew training. It was placed on inactive status on 23 September 1946, although a small cadre of Army and Air Force personnel (331 Composite Squadron) remained assigned to Alexandria Municipal Airport throughout the late 1940s. On 10 October 1950,

3139-525: The assets of the 401st Fighter Wing (401 FW), a US Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) organization. The same day, Homestead AFB transferred from ACC to AFRES control and was renamed Homestead Air Reserve Station with the 482 FW as the new host wing. As part of the BRAC process, the acreage "footprint" of the base was reduced and some portions of the base were declared surplus and relinquished from DoD control, with

3212-502: 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

3285-585: The end home-based B-52 and KC-135 operations at Homestead AFB. 1971 also saw extensive changes at Homestead AFB. Following its return from Southeast Asia, the 31 TFW transitioned from the F-100 to the F-4E Phantom II and performed concurrent missions of air defense of southern Florida in tandem with the Florida ANG's 125 FIG detachment, combat crew replacement training in the F-4E in two fighter squadrons, and

3358-934: 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

3431-557: 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

3504-478: 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

3577-597: 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

3650-479: The group's home station at Imeson Airport in Jacksonville, Florida. This detachment would also become known as FL ANG Operating Location ALPHA ALPHA (OL-AA). On 1 December 1965, the 435 TCW inactivated and the 915 TCG was redesignated the 915th Air Transport Group (915 ATG). The next change was the January 1966 redesignation of the 301 ARS as the 301st Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron (301 ARRS). This

3723-487: 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

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3796-612: 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

3869-416: 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

3942-448: The organizational changes in TAC modifying the 31 TTW mission, concurrent changes in AFRES in April 1981 resulted in the inactivation of the 915 TFG and its replacement replaced by the newly activated 482nd Tactical Fighter Wing (482 TFW), absorbing the personnel and assets of the 915th while maintaining the extant 93 TFS as its operational flying squadron. In 1985, the 31 TTW began retiring

4015-490: The parent unit for 125 FIG, Det 1 was redesignated as the 125th Fighter Group (125 FG). As Hurricane Andrew approached South Florida in late August 1992, the base evacuated their F-16 fighter aircraft, with the 31 TFW aircraft going to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio; the 482 FW aircraft to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida ; the 125 FIG Det 1 aircraft to their home station of Jacksonville ANGB ; and

4088-611: The present day 920th Rescue Wing . During this time, Homestead AFB was placed on the Base Realignment and Closure Commission 's initial base closings list, potentially dooming the base to closure. However, the BRAC Commission recommended retaining Homestead AFB and rebuilding and realigning the installation as an AFRES installation. The 31 FW inactivated on 1 April 1994, reactivating the same day without personnel or equipment at Aviano Air Base , Italy where it assumed

4161-481: The public under the auspices of the National Park Service . On 11 February 1963, the 915th Troop Carrier Group (915 TCG) was activated as a TAC-gained AFRES organization at Homestead AFB under the 435 TCW, with the 76 TCS as a subordinate unit. 1965 and 1966 also saw significant changes to AFRES and Air National Guard (ANG) operations at Homestead AFB. In early 1965, given increased concerns of

4234-485: The ravaged station. The civilian community, including state and federal government leaders, rallied in support of the station, and launched a fight for the station's survival. The BRAC Commission subsequently withdrew Homestead ARS from the closure list in June 1995. In 1997, AFRES was redesignated from a Field Operating Agency to Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC), an Air Force Major Command (MAJCOM), and Homestead ARS became an AFRC installation. In December 2003, Homestead ARS

4307-428: The real estate and/or extant structures transferred to the control of local municipal entities, i.e., City of Homestead, Miami-Dade County, etc. For a period, transfer of the runway and airfield proper to Miami-Dade County was also considered, with the base envisioned for conversion to a joint civilian-military airport. In February 1995, Homestead ARS again faced potential closure from the 1995 BRAC, which sought to close

4380-506: 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

4453-500: 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

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4526-515: 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

4599-529: 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

4672-548: Was a planned Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) Data Center (DC) location, for the also-planned Shreveport Air-Defense Sector. However, in March 1963 Air Defense Command ordered the site to close due to budget reductions and operations ceased on 23 April. The station was picked up by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after the ADC shut down operations. The site is still in operations using

4745-483: Was again redesignated to its current name of Homestead Air Reserve Base . However, for a third time, Homestead ARB again faced potential closure, this time from the 2005 BRAC Commission. The base received numerous visits throughout the year from government decision makers and the BRAC Commission eventually decided to keep Homestead ARB open, to include redistributing nine more F-16 aircraft from other Air Reserve Component F-16 bases that were changing to aircraft other than

4818-683: Was also called to active service and forward deployed to Homestead AFB with its C-119 aircraft, augmenting the 435 TCW for possible air drop of U.S. Army personnel into Cuba incipient to a ground invasion of the island. Following the peaceful resolution of the crisis, forward deployed TAC and AFRES units returned to their home stations and the 19 BMW aircraft returned to Homestead AFB. U.S. Army personnel other than Hawk air defense crews also returned to home garrisons. Hawk air defense systems and personnel would later be replaced by an enhanced U.S. Army air defense artillery presence in South Florida from

4891-602: Was also reflected in rotational alert aircraft at 125 FIG, Det 1. By 1989, the 482 TFW also began retiring its F-4C aircraft and transitioning to the F-16A and F-16B. Finally, in 1990, the 301 ARRS was again redesignated as the 301st Air Rescue Squadron (301 ARS). Following Operation DESERT STORM in Spring 1991, the 31 TFW began retiring its F-16A and F-16B aircraft and transitioning to the F-16C and F-16D Block 40 variant. In 1992,

4964-469: Was base for Air Defense Command interceptor and radar units along the Gulf Coast. In 1959, the 332d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron , assigned to the 32d Air Division stationed F-102 Delta Dagger interceptors at the base between 1959 and 1960. In addition to the fighter-interceptor squadron, England AFB part of the planned deployment by Air Defense Command of forty-four Mobile radar stations across

5037-496: Was designated as M-125 , and initially the station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) and warning station. As a GCI station, the squadron's role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit's radar scopes. The AN/MPS-14 continued to operate until site closure in 1963. In 1958 the site was operating an AN/FPS-20 search set. In addition to the main facility, Air Defense Command operated three AN/FPS-18 Gap Filler sites: England AFB

5110-631: Was destroyed by Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and subsequently rebuilt. The installation was named Homestead Army Air Field on 16 September 1942 as a base for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II , and construction began the next day. Homestead opened as an Air Transport Command (ATC) ferry airfield in November; ATC pilots were trained at the base from February 1943 in the C-46 , C-54 and C-87 aircraft. The base

5183-483: Was followed on 1 April 1966 by the redesignation of the 915 ATG as the 915th Military Airlift Group (915 MAG), inactivation of the group's 76 TCS, and activation of the 79th Military Airlift Squadron (79 MAS) at Homestead AFB flying the C-124C Globemaster II , all on the same day. With the impending departure of the 19 BMW, control of Homestead AFB passed from SAC to TAC on 1 July 1968. However, with

5256-440: Was heavily damaged by a hurricane in September 1945, resulting in its inactivation on 14 December 1945. When the U.S. Air Force was established as a separate service on 18 September 1947, the old Homestead AAF lay in ruins. Reactivated for the Cold War as a Strategic Air Command (SAC) installation, an advance team arrived at the old base in the summer of 1954 and initiated clean-up and reconstruction efforts. The installation

5329-597: Was renamed as Homestead Air Force Base on 1 February 1955 and the 379th Bombardment Wing (379 BMW) was activated at Homestead AFB on 1 November 1955. The 379 BMW replaced the 4276th Air Base Squadron, the latter unit having overseen the reconstruction of the base, and spent the next few months becoming organized and manned. The 379 BMW received B-47E Stratojet and KC-97G Stratofreighter aircraft in April 1956 and began training for strategic bombardment and air refueling operations. The U.S. Navy also established Naval Security Group Activity Homestead (NAVSECGRUACT Homestead) as

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