Editing Peterson Space Force Base (section)

== History ==
Colorado military construction during the [[United States home front during World War II|buildup of US training installations]] prior to the [[bombing of Pearl Harbor]] included the 1940 [[Lowry Air Force Base|Lowry bombardier school]] at [[Denver]] and [[Camp Carson]] south of [[Colorado Springs, Colorado|Colorado Springs]] (HQ completed on 31 January 1942). Sites "in the vicinity of Colorado Springs" were assessed in the summer of 1941 for a [[Colorado World War II Army Airfields|USAAF airfield]],<ref>{{cite report|date=August 1941|title=Report on Sites for Military Airfield in the Vicinity of Colorado Springs, Colorado|last1=Stratton|first1=Major James H.|last2=Cox|first2=Lt L.E.|last3=Harmon|first3=Lt H.C.|location=available at USAFA Special Collections; Harmon, Harold C. Series One--Site Selection and Development; Box 1 Folder 1}}</ref> and during April 1942 the [[Photographic Reconnaissance Operational Training Unit]] (PROTU) was activated in a leased facility{{Where|date=October 2013}} at Colorado Springs.{{r|Futrell}}<!--p. 131 has "April 1942"--> On 6 May 1942, the site adjacent to the airfield of the 1926 Colorado Springs Municipal Airport was selected,{{r|Mueller}} and the airport's airfield was subsequently leased as an "air support field"* for Camp Carson under the "air support base development program".<!--{{r|Futrell}}{{rp|137-8}}--> In May 1942, units such as the [[5th Mapping Squadron]] (from [[Bradley Air National Guard Base|Bradley Field]]) arrived and used city facilities. The "[[2d Photographic Reconnaissance Group|Second Photographic Group Reconnaissance]]" (activated 7 May 1942 at [[Will Rogers Field]]<!--, [[Oklahoma City]]-->)<ref>{{cite report|title=Organization History (First Installment): Second Photographic Group Reconnaissance|location=Special Collections, USAF Academy Library (item 128.31:17)|quote=''From Activation 7  May 1942 to 31 December 1942''}}</ref> transferred to Colorado Springs, and the "2nd Group ... headquarters was situated in a former garage across the street from the Post Office, barracks were in the [[City Auditorium, Colorado Springs|city auditorium]] ... and the mess hall was located at the busy horseshoe counter of the [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway|Santa Fe railway]] [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Passenger Depot (Colorado Springs, Colorado)|station]]."{{r|Prinzo}}  Land at [[the Broadmoor]] was used for maneuvers, and the 2nd Group initially operated without aircraft.<ref name=Prinzo>{{Citation |type=document with quotation|date=c. 1945|last=Prinzo (Corporal, 2nd Grp payroll clerk)|title=[description of sites used by 2nd Photo Grp]}} (quoted by First Installment)</ref> Personnel{{Specify|reason=What unit(s)?|date=October 2013}} were also "housed temporarily at [[Colorado College]]" and a youth camp near the Woodmen sanitorium.{{r|Nash2012}}  (the [[14th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron]] was located at the Kaufman Building on Tejon St.)<ref>{{cite book|last=Thole|first=David|title=Flying Lightning: The History of the 14th Fighter Squadron|date=24 August 2001|isbn=9780595199686 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=10ErUxaoKtgC&q=%22Colorado+Springs%22+%22Kaufman+Building%22&pg=PA2|format=Google books|access-date=2013-10-09}}</ref>

=== Army Air Base, Colorado Springs ===
{{Distinguish|Colorado Springs Tent Camp{{!}}the 1943 Colorado Springs Tent Camp}}

"'''Army Air Base, Colorado Springs'''",* construction began after 10 May 1942, on "nothing more than a large patch of Colorado plain",{{r|HQmemo}} and the installation was placed under the Headquarters, [[United States Army Air Forces|United States "AAF]] [on] 11 June 1942".{{r|Mueller}} The 373d [[Base HQ and Air Base Sq]] was activated{{Where|date=October 2013|reason=on the base, or at a leased CO Springs facility?}} as the base operating unit on 20 June 1942 (replaced by the 214th [[Air force “unit” designations of the United States|AAF Base Unit]] in <!--25 March -->1944), and the base was assigned to the [[2nd Air Force]] on 22 June 1942.<!--{{r|Mueller}}--> On 7 July 1942, "HQ PROTU" was on the "Army Air Base, Colorado Springs" and was ordered to provide "four to five months of training to each individual".<ref name=HQmemo>HQ Memo to HQ PROTU, 7 July 1942 (quoted by First Installment)</ref> During air base construction, the [[20th Combat Mapping Squadron]] was activated on 23 July 1942, and used the Alamo Garage<ref>{{cite book|last=St. John|first=Philip A.|title=The Liberator Legend: The Plane and the People|year=1990|isbn=9780938021995|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ndt0h2LHETAC&q=%22Army+Air+Base%2C+Colorado+Springs%22&pg=PA57|access-date=2013-04-11}}</ref> on Tejon Street.<ref>{{citation|format=phone book image|year=1940|title=Colorado Springs Area Telephone Directory |url=https://www.google.com/#hl=en&output=search&sclient=psy-ab&q=%22214+S.+Tejon%22&oq=%22214+S.+Tejon%22&gs_l=hp.3..38l2.2494.3696.0.4039.3.3.0.0.0.1.1242.1562.0j2j7-1.3.0...0.0...1c.1.8.psy-ab.Kti3nTjY16s&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.45107431,d.aWc&fp=ba0e4b184784c0e5&biw=1600&bih=793|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050720082857/http://www.google.com/#hl=en&output=search&sclient=psy-ab&q=%22214+S.+Tejon%22&oq=%22214+S.+Tejon%22&gs_l=hp.3..38l2.2494.3696.0.4039.3.3.0.0.0.1.1242.1562.0j2j7-1.3.0...0.0...1c.1.8.psy-ab.Kti3nTjY16s&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.45107431,d.aWc&fp=ba0e4b184784c0e5&biw=1600&bih=793|archive-date=2005-07-20}}</ref> Runways were completed in August 1942,{{r|Nash2012}}  and [[eponym]] 1st Lt Edward J. Peterson crashed 8 August 1942 on [[takeoff|take off]] (1st Coloradoan killed at the airfield.)

=== Peterson Field ===
{{For|the "Colorado Springs Hqs [[Second Air Force#History|2AF]]" west of "Peterson Fld"{{r|June1944map}} after its 1943 move from [[Fort George Wright]] to a leased facility in <ref>"''Hist. 2d AF, 7 December 1941 to 31 December 1942'', v. 2, p. 370; OCE, Hist. Branch, ''Mil. Constr. in the United States Under the Direction of the [illegible] and the C of E'', v. 2, p. 258." (cited by Futrell Ch. IV, pp. 126 & 232)</ref> "Colorado Springs",{{r|Arnold}} Colorado|Second Air Force}}

'''Peterson Field''' was the airfield named on 13 December 1942,{{r|Nash}} and included the runway used by both the municipal airport and the military installation:<ref>{{Air Force Historical Research Agency}}{{Full citation needed|date=May 2013}}</ref> "Army Air Base, Peterson Field", which had begun publishing the ''Wingspread'' base newspaper by 11 July 1942.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/32102346|title=Wingspread|date=4 May 2018|publisher=Colorado Springs, Colo. : Milo W. Williams|access-date=4 May 2018|via=Trove}}</ref> The "18 Dep Rpr Sq" was assigned to the military installation from 19 January – 29 April 1943,<!--1st of the "Units Assigned" per Mueller--> and the installation was assigned to the [[Third Air Force]] (5 March – 1 October 1943)<!--Mueller--> and by the end of the 1943 summer had tar paper barracks, an officer's club, and a theater in a [[Quonset hut|Quonset]].{{r|Didion}} After the base transferred to [[Second Air Force]] on 1 October 1943,{{r|Mueller}} in June 1944 Peterson Field began fighter pilot training{{Specify|reason=What unit?|date=October 2013}} with [[Curtiss P-40 Warhawk|P-40N Warhawks]].{{r|Nash}} "In March 1943 the [[Third Air Force]] took over the photographic reconnaissance Operational Training Unit which had been operating at Peterson Field ... under the direct control of the Director of Photography since April 1942".<ref name=Futrell131>Quotation by Futrell Ch. IV, p. 131, which cites the source(s) on p. 234: ''Hist. 3d AF, Flying Training 1941 to 1944'', v. 1, p. [tbd]; ''Narrative Hist. Rpt., Peterson Fld.'', 29 April 1942 to 1 October 1943, v. 2, pp. 2–4, in AFSHO 287.50-1, v. 2.</ref>

=== Bomber Commands ===
The 4th [[Heavy Bombardment Processing]] Headquarters ("4 H Bomb Processing HQ") was activated on 10 June 1943<!--{{r|Mueller}}--> (the 1st B-29 landed at Peterson Field in the summer of 1943),{{r|Didion}} and bomber training by the 214th AAF Base Unit (Combat Crew Training School, Heavy) [[B-24 Liberator]]){{Failed verification|date=October 2013}} began after the [[383rd Bombardment Group]] relocated from [[Geiger Field]], Washington{{r|Nash}} on 26 October 1943.<!--Mueller p. 472--> In 1944 (11 June – 20 October), the [[XXI Bomber Command]] was assigned to Peterson; and the "HQ and HQ Sq" of [[XXII Bomber Command]] was assigned 14 October 1944 – 13 February 1945,<!--Mueller p. 472-4--> and by 17 August 1944, 4 bomb wings (313th through 316th) were assigned to the base — the last left on 7 June 1945.{{r|Mueller}} The [[3903rd Radar Bomb Scoring Group#Background|263rd AAF Base Unit]] became the Peterson "base operating unit" on 8 March 1945 (transferred to [[Andrews Field]] on 17 March 1946).{{r|Mueller}}{{rp|8,471}} The [[Army Air Forces Instructor School]]{{Specify|Gunnery, bombing, photography, or any type of instructor? What was the unit name? (Mueller doesn't identify a "School" being established.)|date=October 2013}} opened at Peterson Field in April 1945,{{r|Nash}} and the base was one of several that transferred to [[Continental Air Forces]] on 16 April 1945.<!--Mueller p. 472--> ([[VIII Bomber Command]] arrived 17 August 1945).<!--Mueller p. 474-->

The base was inactivated 31 December 1945 after the [[13th Bombardment Wing]] (17 October) and [[VIII Bomber Command]] ({{circa|lk=no|15 December}}) departed, and site management by the base operating unit ended on 17 December 1945.<ref>Mueller p. 471 claims Peterson's base operating unit was the 263rd AAF BU from 8 Mar 1945 – 17 December 1946 — during the inactive and surplus period, but Mueller p. 8 claims the 263rd AAF BU was at Andrews AFB from 17 March 1946 until 23 February 1948. Perhaps "263" is a Mueller typo that should be "268", which is the number of the base operating unit for the preceding period and that Mueller claims continued until 10 March 1946?</ref> In 1946, Peterson's last AAF Base Units were discontinued: 260th AAF Base Unit (Fighter Wing) in January, the 202nd AAF Base Unit (Special) in February, and the 268th AAF Base Unit (Instrument Instructor Unit) in March and the 201st (Headquarters Base Unit) in April (the [[72nd Fighter Wing]] was at the base from "4 January 1946 - 9 April 1946").<!--Mueller--> The 703rd AAF Base Unit (Hq, 53d AACS Group) moved to Kelly Field in February. Designated surplus on 29 July 1946,{{r|Mueller}} "the U.S. Government returned control{{Specify|reason=Was the lease terminated, and if so, did it have the typical clause for the fed gov't to reactivate it?|date=October 2013}} of the [air]field to the City of Colorado Springs".{{r|Toro}} Many of the base buildings were torn down.{{r|Toro}} In 1946, [[Tonopah Air Force Base|Tonopah AAF]] (Nevada, on 1 October), [[Cannon Air Force Base|Clovis AAF]] (New Mexico, 16 October), and [[Casper Army Airfield|Casper AAF]] (Wyoming, on 15 December) became detached installations of the inactive base for a short period.

During planning for the new [[United States Air Force]], Colorado's [[Arlington Auxiliary Army Airfield]] became a detached installation of the surplus base (1 January – {{circa|lk=no|10 October}} 1947),<!--Mueller--> and the "468th Construction Co (15th AF)" became the inactive base's operating unit in February 1947. The base with new construction was activated 29 September 1947 – 15 January 1948, then was "surplus"{{r|Mueller}} until after the notice in November 1950 to reactivate [[Air Defense Command]]. The "23 Photo Sq 19 May 1943-9 August 1948" remained throughout both inactive/surplus periods, and the "4600 Maint & Sup Sq" was established at the surplus base on 1 December 1950).{{r|Mueller}}

=== USAF installation ===
[[File:2021 NORAD and NORTHCOM Sept. 11 Commemoration 210911-F-HL664-024.jpg|thumb|The [[September 11 attacks|9/11 memorial]] at Peterson as it appears after the 20th anniversary commemoration of the event, with wreaths laid, on September 11, 2021.]]

The military base at the municipal field reactivated as an off-base installation of [[Ent Air Force Base]] on 1 January 1951 and was operated by Ent's 4600 Air Base Group.{{r|Mueller}} After being assigned to Peterson on 1 March 1952,{{r|Mueller}} the 4602d [[Air Intelligence Service]] Squadron had subordinate organizations at the "Defense Force Headquarters [on] [[Hamilton Air Force Base]], California, at [[Fairfax Field|Kansas City, Missouri]],{{Specify|reason=Was the DF headquarters at Fairfax Field?|date=October 2013}} and at [[Stewart Air Force Base]]" New York.<ref>{{cite web|title=4602d AISS Unit History Sampler |url=http://www.cufon.org/cufon/4602smpl1.htm |format=transcribed excerpts of ''Secret History of 4602D Air Intelligence Squadron''|publisher=Cufon.org|access-date=2013-10-09|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004122638/http://www.cufon.org/cufon/4602smpl1.htm|archive-date=2013-10-04}}</ref> The 4600th Group became the [[4600th Air Base Wing]] on 8 April 1958 (moved to Peterson on 18 October 1972).{{r|Johnson}}{{rp|40}}<!--Mueller claims 1 November 1971--> The 4600th was replaced by the [[46th Aerospace Defense Wing]] on 1 April 1975.{{r|Johnson}}<!--Mueller p. 474 claims 15 March 1975--> In January 1968, [[Air Training Command]]'s 3253d Pilot Training Squadron at Peterson Field began light aircraft indoctrination for cadets. These operations moved to the [[United States Air Force Academy]] on 21 March 1974.<ref name=AETChistory>{{cite report|title=A Brief History of Keesler AFB and the 81st Training Wing|url=http://www.keesler.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-090203-089.pdf|volume=A-090203-089 |pages=173, 198|access-date=2013-07-08|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120904055045/http://www.keesler.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-090203-089.pdf|archive-date=2012-09-04}}</ref>  The military base at Peterson Field gained its own base commander{{Specify|reason=Mueller is not clear on whether the Ent & Peterson base commander, "Col John R. Budner, 4 April 1972", continued as the Peterson commander but not the Ent commander.|date=August 2013}} on 28 February 1975.<!--{{r|Mueller}}-->

=== Primary installation === <!--term from Mueller-->
{{External media
|image1=[https://www.petersonschriever.spaceforce.mil/?page=1 Peterson.AF.mil gallery]
|image3=JFK's Air Force One at Peterson during 1963 Chidlaw Building/Cheyenne Mountain visit
|image5=[https://archive.today/20131010033211/http://www.302aw.afrc.af.mil/photos/mediagallery.asp?galleryID=789 MAFFS aircraft at PAFB]
}}

Designated '''Peterson Air Force Base''' on 1 March 1975, when Ent AFB was being closed, Peterson was the last of the April 1945 [[Continental Air Forces]] airbases to be named an air force base. Also on 1 March, Peterson assumed several functions from Ent AFB, which became the "Ent Annex" of Peterson, 18 July 1975 – 7 February 1978{{r|Mueller}} (Peterson's off-base "Temporary Military Facility"<!--along Platte between Murray & Academy--> was opened for space training by 1986). During the first part of the reorganization that broke up ADCOM,{{r|Johnson}}{{rp|46}} the base "transferred to the [[Strategic Air Command]]" on 1 October 1979{{r|Toro}} (units transferred included the 47th Comm Sq to [[Air Force Communications Service|AFCS]] and the 46th Wing and 4602nd Computer Services Sq to SAC).{{r|Johnson}}{{rp|47}} ADCOM HQ offices at the [[Chidlaw Building]] became the [[Aerospace Defense Center]] at Peterson on 1 December 1979.

Peterson's NORAD COC Backup Facility achieved [[Full Operational Capability]] on 16 November 1982{{r|Brief}} from the [[Cheyenne Mountain Complex]] which was placed on warm standby.

[[File:210114-D-BN624-0138 (50836841477).jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|NORAD-USNORTHCOM headquarters at the Eberhart-Findley Building]]

The 1st Space Wing replaced the [[46th Aerospace Defense Wing#Cold War|46th Aerospace Defense Wing]] on 1 April 1983. Thereafter the 1st Space Wing transferred host unit responsibility to the 3d Space Support Wing activated on 15 October 1986. Army and other units transferred from the former [[Federal Building (Ent AFB)|Ent AFB Federal Building]] to Peterson Building 2{{citation needed|date=February 2015}} (renamed the Eberhart-Findley Building in October 2012).<ref name=Brief>{{Source-attribution|sentence=yes|{{cite web|url=http://www.norad.mil/Portals/29/Documents/History/A%20Brief%20History%20of%20NORAD.pdf|title=Archived copy|access-date=2012-09-21 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150420161330/http://www.norad.mil/Portals/29/Documents/History/A%20Brief%20History%20of%20NORAD.pdf|archive-date=2015-04-20}} }}</ref> On 15 May 1992, the personnel and equipment of both the 1st SW and 3d SSW merged to become the 21st Space Wing. Peterson's Space Analysis Center was at the corner of Academy & Fountain Blvds by 2004 before moving on base to bldg 1470, and in 2004 the Space Operations School used a building along [[Interstate 25 in Colorado|I-25]] at Woodmen Drive.

[[File:AF_Space_Command_celebrates_Air_Force_birthday_160916-F-TM170-022.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|Members of the Peterson AFB [[High Frontier Honor Guard]] [[Posting the Colours]] at the Air Force birthday ceremony, September 2016.]]

The [[Cheyenne Mountain Realignment]] moved NORAD/USNORTHCOM operations to Peterson AFB in 2006. In 2006, the [[76th Space Control Squadron|76th Space Control Facility]] was constructed at Peterson <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wbdg.org/ccb/AF/AFH/histbook.pdf|title=Archived copy|access-date=2013-05-12|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915103042/http://www.wbdg.org/ccb/AF/AFH/histbook.pdf |archive-date=2012-09-15}}</ref> (the squadron activated 22 January 2008). The [[MAFFS]] aircraft that fought the 2012 [[Waldo Canyon fire]] and 2013 [[Black Forest fire]] at Colorado Springs flew from Peterson AFB.

Some buildings from the Second World War have survived. Buildings remaining in 1996 were "the terminal, now the [[Peterson Air and Space Museum]], the Broadmoor hangar, and the Spanish House" next to the museum,<ref>{{Source-attribution|sentence=yes|{{cite journal|last=Gates|first=SSgt Andrew|date=September 1996|title=Medal of Honor grove highlights Air Force heroes|journal=Guardian|location=Peterson AFB|publisher=21st Space Wing public affairs |pages=16–17|quote=Medal of Honor grove, an anchor point for the base's historic district}} }}</ref> along with Building 391,<!-- (currently occupied by 4th Manpower Requirements Squadron)--> Building 365,<!-- (Canadian Forces Support Unit)--> supply warehouses and office buildings,<!-- currently used by the 21st Logistics Readiness Squadron. Many original--> and aircraft hangars and maintenance shops.{{r|Nash2012}}

The base's Retiree Activities Office has the representative for the Air Force Retiree Council Area IV ([[Colorado]], [[Nevada]], [[Utah]], and [[Wyoming]]).<ref>{{Source-attribution|sentence=yes|[http://www.peterson.af.mil/units/21stspacewingretireeactivitiesoffice.asp Peterson Air Force Base - 21st Space Wing Retiree Activities Office] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130609062019/http://www.peterson.af.mil/units/21stspacewingretireeactivitiesoffice.asp|date=2013-06-09}} Peterson.af.mil (2004-10-01) Retrieved on 2013-09-18 }}</ref>

On 20 December 2019, Air Force Space Command was redesignated as the [[United States Space Force|U.S. Space Force]] and elevated to become an independent military branch.<ref>{{Source-attribution|sentence=yes|{{cite web |url=https://www.spaceforce.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheet|title=Fact Sheet|website=spaceforce.mil}} }}</ref> With the new military branch, the Fourteenth Air Force and its units became Space Force [[Space Operations Command]] and Air Force Space Command's headquarters was redesignated as the Pentagon.