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57-464: The Tonopah Mining District ( 38°07′29″N 117°15′02″W  /  38.12472°N 117.25056°W  / 38.12472; -117.25056 with Tonopah Manhattan Stage Route ( 38°04′06″N 117°10′03″W  /  38.06833°N 117.16750°W  / 38.06833; -117.16750 ) was an area of the 1900-1921 silver rush , and in September 1939, GHQ Air Force considered improving

114-680: A border incident in Korea prompted the U.S. to augment its military contingent in South Korea as a show of force. The 366th deployed a squadron of 20 F-111 fighters, which reached South Korea only 31 hours after receiving launch notification. Tensions eased shortly afterward and the detachment returned home. In early 1991, the USAF announced that the 366th would become the Air Force's premier "air intervention" composite wing. The wing would grow with

171-689: A byproduct of the mining of gold. The largest byproducers were the Hycroft Mine (1.82 million oz), the Phoenix Mine (1.65 million oz), the Midas Mine (1.49 million oz) and Round Mountain (0.58 million oz). The Rochester district in Pershing County was discovered and named in the 1860s by prospectors from Rochester, New York . The district was not a large producer until the early 20th century. In its boom years from 1912 to 1921,

228-549: A gangue of limonite , goethite , and calcite . When the miners extended the shafts down into the unoxidized zone, they mined the original sulfide minerals, and added zinc to the list of recoverable metals. Through 1964, Eureka made 4.0 million troy ounces (120 metric tons) of silver , 170 thousand troy ounces (5.3 metric tons) of gold , 370 million pounds (170 thousand metric tons) of lead , 14 million pounds (6,400 metric tons) of zinc , and 2.1 million pounds (950 metric tons) of copper . Mining in

285-600: A tenant unit began operating at the south end of the base, using part of the original SAC alert area, and about half of the Mole Hole alert facility, sharing the other half with an NCO leadership school from the main base. Det. 1, 320 BW carried out an alert mission with two B-52 bombers and two KC-135 tankers. The unit disbanded in the spring of 1975 and returned to Mather AFB . Operations continued unchanged for several years. The wing tested its readiness in August 1976 when

342-590: A training base for bombers , after the war it briefly had transports , then was a bomber and missile base. It became a fighter base in 1966. The host unit at Mountain Home has been the 366th Fighter Wing (366 FW) of the Air Combat Command (ACC), nicknamed the Gunfighters, since 1972. The base's primary mission is to provide combat airpower and support for worldwide contingency operations. Part of

399-564: Is 1,100 feet (340 m) higher than the Thunderbirds' home at Nellis AFB near Las Vegas , Nevada . Climbing to only 1,670 ft (510 m) above ground level (AGL) instead of 2,500 ft (760 m), Stricklin had insufficient altitude to complete the descending half-loop maneuver. He guided the F-16C aircraft down runway 30, away from the spectators and ejected less than one second before impact. His parachute deployed when he

456-662: Is located at (43.049511, −115.866452), at an elevation of 2,996 ft (913 m) above sea level . It is in the western portion of the Snake River Plain , about 3 miles (5 km) north of C. J. Strike Reservoir , an impoundment of the Snake River (and Bruneau River ). According to the United States Census Bureau , the CDP has a total area of 9.9 sq mi (26 km ), and 0.10%

513-505: Is owned by Coeur Mining . The Comstock Lode had been a minor gold placer district since 1849. In 1859, several prospectors discovered its rich lode silver ore, and a great rush of miners poured eastward from California, and established Gold Hill and Virginia City , the principal towns of the Comstock Lode . The district has been mostly inactive since the 1920s. The Comstock was the first important silver-mining district in

570-459: Is twelve miles (20 km) southwest of Mountain Home , which is forty miles (65 km) southeast of Boise via Interstate 84 . The base is also used by the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), which has a detachment of F-15SG combat aircraft on long term assignment to the base and a squadron composed of RSAF and USAF personnel. Constructed in the early 1940s during World War II as

627-603: Is water. It is connected to the city of Mountain Home by State Highway 67 . As of the census of 2000, there were 8,894 people, 1,476 households, and 1,452 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 896 inhabitants per square mile (346/km ). There were 1,590 housing units at an average density of 160 per square mile (62/km ). The racial makeup of the CDP was 83.2% White , 6.9% Black or African American , 0.8% Native American , 2.5% Asian , 0.2% Pacific Islander , 2.7% from other races , and 3.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.5% of

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684-566: The 354th Fighter Group arrived on January 18, 1943 and left at the beginning of March when squadrons of the 357th Fighter Group arrived. Tonopah crashes included those due to P-39 engine limitations at the airfield's altitude and temperatures. In June 1943, a B-24 group transferred to Tonopah from Mountain Home Army Airfield . Download coordinates as: In September 1943 the base was shut down to expand for Consolidated B-24 Liberator training. By October 1943, about half of

741-514: The 458th Bombardment Group arrived for training. When the 458th departed in January 1944, the 470th Bombardment Group arrived at Tonopah as a B-24 replacement training unit. In a March 31, 1944, reorganization the 470th was disbanded and its training functions being taken over by the 442nd Army Air Force Base Unit . In the summer of 1944, a Field Test Unit of Wright Field's Special Weapons Branch * tested guided bombs (e.g., GB-4 , GB-6 and

798-611: The B-17 Flying Fortress . However, before the first B-17s arrived, plans for the field changed and the 396th was transferred to Moses Lake AAF , Washington . Mountain Home airmen then transitioned to training crews for the B-24 Liberator . The first group to do so was the 470th Bombardment Group (Heavy) , which trained at Mountain Home from May 1943 until January 1944, when the unit moved to Tonopah AAF Nevada . The 490th Bombardment Group (Heavy) replaced

855-597: The Fourth Air Force placed the Tonopah AAFld on inactive status, all training classes were stopped on August 26, and combat crew flight training was stopped soon after. By September 15 just four aircraft remained at the airfield, on October 15 the 442nd AAF Base Unit was discontinued and the field was made a sub-base of Hamilton Field , California, and on October 16 the War Department requested

912-503: The GB-8 ). The post exchange that had opened in August 1942 paid a 13 November 1943 dividend of $ 10,741.48, and the base's large bakery during 1943 and 1944 sold an average of 400 dozen doughnuts a day (a flightline doughnut shop opened in March 1945. In October, 1944, there were 66 B-24 aircraft available for the training program and there were 1,264 officers and 5,273 enlisted men assigned to

969-873: The Pioche district in Lincoln County began in 1869 from silver veins in the Cambrian Prospect Mountain quartzite . Replacement manto -type ore bodies were later discovered in the Highland Peak Limestone of Cambrian age. The last great silver-mining district to be developed in Nevada was Tonopah , in Nye County , discovered in 1900. The silver deposits are replacement veins in Tertiary volcanic rocks. Through 1921,

1026-580: The Tactical Air Command (TAC) in early 1966. The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) has been training at Mountain Home since 1998. As such, the 428th Fighter Squadron consists of a joint squadron of air forces of both countries. Prior to this, the RSAF has also been training at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona since the 1980s. The 366th Fighter Wing (in various designations) has been

1083-821: The Tonopah Airport , which occasionally has USAF or Department of Energy traffic. An open house was held on August 1 and by August 16, "large quantities" of house furnishings from Tonopah Air Force Base were arriving at Spokane Air Force Base . A 1949 ordnance disposal team cleared "all lands within the Tonopah Air Force Base Gunnery Range, located approximately seven (7) miles east of Tonopah, Nevada", and those "Tonopah Army Airfield Practice Bombing Ranges" (NV9799F9893 / J09NV1112, 38°1′29″N 117°8′8″W  /  38.02472°N 117.13556°W  / 38.02472; -117.13556 ) were subsequently designated FUDS. In addition to

1140-466: The 366 FW is to prepare Airmen and their families, professionally and personally, for expeditionary operations and foster an environment that promotes integration of all facets of wing operations. The wing comprises three operational fighter squadrons: In addition, the 726th Air Control Squadron gives an air picture to the aircraft as they train. An active Idaho Air National Guard unit, the 266th Range Squadron, controls and maintains emitter sites within

1197-511: The 470th and trained B-24 crews until it deployed to RAF Eye England in April 1944. The 494th Bombardment Group then replaced the 490th, once more training Liberator crews. The base was placed in inactive status in October 1945. The base remained inactive for over three years until December 1948, when the newly independent U.S. Air Force (USAF) reopened the base. The 4205th Air Base Group

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1254-481: The 7,412 sq mi (19,200 km ) operational training range in southwestern Idaho. The following flying and notable non-flying units have been based at Mountain Home. Units marked GSU are Geographically Separate Units, which although based at Mountain Home, are subordinate to a parent unit based at another location. Air Combat Command (ACC) Air National Guard (ANG) Mountain Home AFB

1311-783: The AFB and the Tonopah Bombing Range (FUDS) , by 2002 the Tonopah Rifle Range (NV99799F603400) and the "Tonopah AFB Beacon Site Nos. 1-7"(NV9799F6031 / J09NV096738, 38°13′45″N 117°7′22″W  /  38.22917°N 117.12278°W  / 38.22917; -117.12278 ) were also designated FUDS. *"The Special Weapons branch, now [22 October 1952] a part of the Development Operations Division, deputy for Operations, Wright Air Development Center, Air Research and Development Command,

1368-404: The CDP, the population was spread out, with 24.0% under the age of 18, 24.4% from 18 to 24, 49.7% from 25 to 44, 1.8% from 45 to 64, and 0.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females, there were 180.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 219.5 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $ 31,634, and the median income for

1425-589: The Idaho State Police, with assistance from the Air Force Office of Special Investigations , it was discovered that the Humvees were not authorized for use as transportation and did not meet Air Force standards for maintenance. The investigator of the case told the bomb range manager, who had let the cadets drive the Humvees unsupervised on their final day of training, that he was suspected for

1482-606: The Nevada World War II Army Airfield be retained. On 21 March 1946, Tonopah was a sub-base of Castle Field and transferred with Castle to Strategic Air Command —by August 1946, there were just a few assigned personnel at the airfield. On 1 October 1946 after jurisdiction transferred to Clovis Army Air Field , the Tonopah sub-base was "satellited on the 200th Army Air Forces Base Unit (AAFBU), Colorado Springs, Colorado ". In June 1947 Tonopah AAF

1539-538: The Reese River mining district were discovered in 1862. The town of Austin was established, and in 1863 became the county seat of the newly formed Lander County . By 1867, there were 11 ore-processing mills in the district. The ore deposits are veins in quartz monzonite and quartzite . The silver deposits at Eureka in Eureka County were discovered in 1864, but because of the high lead content of

1596-775: The United States, and its discovery stimulated a great deal of prospecting for silver across the Great Basin area of the United States. The resulting silver rush led to many other silver discoveries in Nevada , including Austin (1862), Eureka (1864), and Pioche (1869). The largest operating mine in the Comstock District is the Lucerne Mine near Gold Hill, which produced 222,416 ounces of silver and 19,601 ounces of gold in 2014. The silver deposits of

1653-452: The addition of a squadron of EF-111A Raven electronic warfare aircraft and a squadron of B-1B Lancer bombers to become a dynamic, five squadron wing with the ability to deploy rapidly and deliver integrated combat airpower. The air intervention composite wing's rapid transition from concept to reality began in October 1991 when the USAF redesignated the wing as the 366th Wing . The wing's newly reactivated "fighter squadrons" became part of

1710-472: The airdrome at Tonopah. After World War I , Nevada and other western inland states were surveyed by Capt. Lowell H. Smith and Sgt. William B. Whitefield for landing sites, and by "mid-1925 the Air Service possessed information on nearly thirty-five hundred landing places, including more than twenty-eight hundred emergency landing areas, in the United States." The 1929 McCarran Field north of Las Vegas

1767-424: The base (437 officers, 3,707 enlisted men, and 184 civilians by March 1945). Accidents associated with the base included an April 1944 crash near the field and a 19 August 1944 B-24 training mission crash at the airfield. In 1945, five corporals at Tonopah developed a three-story tower trainer for gunnery crews to simulated firing at four simultaneous combat movies with "electric-eye ammunition". On 23 August 1945,

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1824-474: The base is a census-designated place (CDP); the population was 3,238 at the 2010 census . Crews started building the base in November 1942 and the new field officially opened on 7 August 1943. Shortly thereafter, airmen at the field began training U.S. Army Air Forces crews for World War II . The 396th Bombardment Group (Heavy) was the first unit assigned and its planned mission was to train crews for

1881-511: The call. While the 34th Bomb Squadron deployed to Diego Garcia as the B-1 component of the 28th Air Expeditionary Wing , the wing sent a Base Operations Support package to Al Udeid Air Base , Qatar , to transform the bare base into a fully functional airfield for large-scale combat operations. In October 2001, the 391st Fighter Squadron deployed to Al Jaber Air Base , Kuwait , while the 389th Fighter Squadron went to Al Udeid in November. Following

1938-428: The composite wing in March 1992. The 389th Fighter Squadron began flying the dual-role F-16C Fighting Falcon , while the 391st Fighter Squadron was equipped with the new F-15E Strike Eagle . These two squadrons provide the Gunfighters round-the-clock precision strike capability. Following the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 , the resultant initiation of Operation Enduring Freedom , the 366th Wing once again got

1995-488: The crime of misusing government property. An ROTC officer who had been supervising the group during the week was also informed he was suspected of dereliction of duty under the military code. The 569th Strategic Missile Squadron Operated three HGM-25A Titan I ICBM sites: (1 Jun 1961 – 25 Jun 1965). The first missiles arrived in April 1962. Mountain Home AFB is the home of the 366th Fighter Wing (366 FW), which reports to Air Combat Command (ACC). The mission of

2052-464: The departure of these assets, the USAF re-designated the 366th as a Fighter Wing. With these changes, the wing's 10-year mission as the Air Force's only standing air expeditionary wing came to an end. A continued reconstruction of the 366 Fighter Wing was official with the 2005 base realignment, coinciding with the large scale integration of the 150+ F-22 Raptors . After the F-16 departure, Mountain Home AFB

2109-570: The district produced 138 million troy ounces (4,300 metric tons) of silver and 1.5 million ounces (47 metric tons) of gold. Mountain Home Army Airfield Mountain Home Air Force Base ( IATA : MUO , ICAO : KMUO , FAA LID : MUO ) is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation in the western United States . Located in southwestern Idaho in Elmore County , the base

2166-767: The district produced 6.4 million troy ounces (200 metric tons) of silver, 52 thousand troy ounces (1.6 metric tons) of gold, and 110 thousand pounds (50 metric tons) of lead. The minerals occur in quartz veins contained in Triassic rhyolite . The Rochester Mine is the only currently operating primary silver producer in Nevada and the second largest in the US, after the Greens Creek mine in Alaska. In 2015 it produced 4.6 million ounces of silver and 52,588 ounces of gold from an open pit and heap leaching operation. It

2223-511: The host unit at Mountain Home for over 50 years, following its return from the Vietnam War in late 1972. Before the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing's arrival at Mountain Home, the 389th, 390th, and 391st Tactical Fighter Squadrons had returned from South Vietnam, joined the 347th, and began converting to F-111A Aardvark aircraft. For the first time since it left for Vietnam, the wing once again had its three original flying units. During 1969,

2280-535: The new B-47 Stratojet bomber and the KC-97 tanker in September 1954, keeping alert bombers ready for war at a moment’s notice and continuing its mission as a deterrent force throughout the Cold War years of the 1950s and early 1960s. In 1959, construction of three SM-68 Titan missile sites began in the local area, and missiles arrived in April 1962. The 569th Strategic Missile Squadron controlled these sites and

2337-485: The ore, the silver could not be successfully recovered by amalgamation mills . Mining did not boom until after a smelter was built in the district in 1869. Most metal production occurred from 1869 to 1893. The ore bodies are replacement deposits of silver and gold-bearing galena in Paleozoic sedimentary rocks. Early production was of the oxidized zone, where the galena was altered to cerussite and anglesite in

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2394-534: The personnel were moved temporarily to Bishop Army Air Field , California, in order to provide housing at Tonopah for construction contractors on a $ 3,000,000 project. Most construction was complete by the beginning of November 1943, and training facilities included a rifle range, pistol range, skeet ranges, turret trainers, bomb trainers equipped with Norden or Sperry sights , flexible gunnery trainers , navigation trainers, and schools for gunners and radio operators. Personnel at Bishop returned on November 1, 1943, and

2451-519: The pilot. Thunderbird pilots now also climb an extra 1,000 ft (300 m) before performing the Split S maneuver. On June 24, 2022, nineteen Air Force ROTC cadets were participating in a training exercise when there was an accident involving a Humvee . One cadet, nineteen-year-old Mackenzie Wilson, was pronounced dead at the scene while two other cadets were taken to nearby St. Alphonsus Hospital and treated for injuries. After an investigation by

2508-405: The population. There were 1,476 households, of which 76.4% had children under the age of 18, 91.9% were married couples, 4.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 1.6% were non-families. 1.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and none had anyone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.40 and the average family size was 3.43. In

2565-613: The region were also USAF facilities: the Cottonwood radar station in North Central Idaho and SAC's Larson AFB , a B-52E Stratofortress (and KC-135A Stratotanker ) installation in Eastern Washington at Moses Lake . In late 1965, the USAF also began phasing out the aging B-47 and announced plans to bring the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing to Mountain Home, transferring the base from SAC to

2622-545: The wing's return from Southwest Asia , the USAF began consolidating its B-1 Lancer and KC-135 Stratotanker forces. This led to the reallocation of the wing's bombers and tankers. The 22 ARS' aircraft began transferring to McConnell AFB , Kansas , in May 2002 and the squadron inactivated the following August. The 34 BS' B-1Bs began moving to Ellsworth AFB , South Dakota , in June and the squadron officially moved in September. Following

2679-658: Was "the first organization to arrive at what [became] the Tonopah Army Air Field" after activating "1 July 1942 at Muroc Lake, California " (the commander, Lt. Col. F.D. Gore arrived 2 July.) Ready for occupancy in July, the airbase included runways, barracks, mess halls and a hospital when finally occupied and when opened, was a sub-base of March Field . "The 2043rd and 2044th Quartermaster companies (colored) were activated at this field on 1 October 1942...and departed on 15 January 1943. The 1799th Ordnance Company

2736-527: Was activated at this field on 1 December 1942 and departed for Santa Maria, California on 15 January 1943. Likewise, the 1404th Quartermaster Company was activated...and left for overseas the first part of May 1943. The 402nd Service Squadron was activated on this field on 6 January 1943 and departed on 2 September for POE ." In June 1944, Col. Patteson assumed command from Col Jacob W. McCrillis who had succeeded Gore in December 1941 (Lt Col Albert V. Walter

2793-617: Was activated on 12 December to prepare the newly re-designated Mountain Home Air Force Base for operational use. Three wings of the Air Resupply and Communications Service used the base in the early 1950s. In 1953, the base was transferred to Strategic Air Command (SAC), which assigned its 9th Bombardment Wing to Mountain Home. The 9th relocated to Mountain Home AFB in May 1953 and began flying B-29 bombers and KB-29H refueling aircraft. The 9th began converting to

2850-467: Was assigned to the 9th Bombardment Wing in August 1962. To prepare for the addition of missiles to its bomber forces, it was redesignated the 9th Strategic Aerospace Wing in April 1962. A few years later, SAC's mission at Mountain Home began to wind down, and in November 1964, the USAF announced that the missile sites would close by mid-1965, part of a major round of base closures announced by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara . Other closures in

2907-598: Was chosen to become an F-15E installation because of its ideal training terrain range that is suited for air-to-ground, and air-to-air training missions. The base was the site of a Thunderbirds crash on 14 September 2003 in which no one was killed. Captain Chris Stricklin, flying Thunderbird 6 (opposing solo, serial #87-0327), attempted a " Split S " maneuver (which he had performed over 200 times) immediately after takeoff based on an incorrect mean-sea-level elevation. Similar in desert appearance, Mountain Home AFB

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2964-551: Was declared excess along with its 3 auxiliary areas ( Mizpah & Butler housing terraces and Columbia Junction gasoline unloading station). In June 1948 the "Tonopah Bombing and Gunnery Range [transferred] from the Fifteenth Air Force to the Flying Division ", and Tonopah Air Force Base transferred to the " Corps of Engineers " on 21 August as surplus, and was later turned over to the town of Tonopah as

3021-535: Was established on or about January 1946". Tonopah Mining District Silver mining in Nevada , a state of the United States , began in 1858 with the discovery of the Comstock Lode , the first major silver -mining district in the United States. Nevada calls itself the "Silver State." Nevada is the nation's second-largest producer of silver, after Alaska . In 2014 Nevada produced 10.93 million troy ounces of silver, of which 6.74 million ounces were as

3078-629: Was formed by the community to have an airstrip built and although use of the range was delayed until December 1941, the Civil Aeronautics Administration sponsored 1940 construction on a new airfield financed in part by the Works Progress Administration —the 79th Air Base Gp (adv det) became Las Vegas Army Airfield 's 1st base operating unit on 17 June 1941, and its Air Corps Gunnery School began on 16 June. The Bombing and Gunnery Range Detachment

3135-584: Was just above the ground and Stricklin survived with only minor injuries. No one on the ground was injured, but the $ 20 million aircraft was destroyed. Official procedure for demonstration "Split-S" maneuvers was changed, and the USAF now requires Thunderbird pilots and airshow ground controllers to both work in above mean-sea-level (AMSL) altitudes, as opposed to ground control working in AGL and pilots in AMSL, which led to two sets of numbers that had to be reconciled by

3192-428: Was the December 1944 commander when a B-24 crashed). Through 31 November 1943, Tonopah AAF "aided in the training of 8 bombardment squadrons and 12 fighter squadrons." The first planes to arrive were Bell P-39 Airacobra training fighters and by the beginning of 1943 there were 227 officers and 1,779 enlisted men at the field (e.g., of the 75th and 390th Bombardment Squadrons .) The 255th, 353rd and 356th squadrons of

3249-615: Was used by the Army Air Corps for 1930s training flights. After the 1939 Invasion of Poland , the "western site board" had located a southern Nevada area "near Tonopah, Nev " by April 1940 for a military range, and in October 1940, Air Corps Major David Schlatter surveyed the southwest United States for a military airfield. "The 60 x 90 mile area at Tonopah was transferred to the War Department on 29 October 1940" by Executive Order 8578. The 1940 Tonopah Airport Committee

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