Editing Ellsworth Air Force Base (section)

===28th Bombardment Wing, 1948–1958===
[[File:Rapid City Air Force Base B-36 Hangar 1952.jpg|thumb|Rapid City Air Force Base B-36 hangar. A B-36 bears the SAC tail code Triangle-S of the 28th Bomb Wing. SAC eliminated tail codes in 1953.|left]]
When operations resumed in 1947, its primary unit was the new 28th Bombardment Wing (28 BMW) flying the B-29.

The installation changed names a few more times during its early years. In January 1948, [[Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force|Air Force Chief of Staff]] general [[Carl A. Spaatz]] renamed it Weaver Air Force Base in honor of brigadier general [[Walter Reed Weaver|Walter R. Weaver]], one of the pioneers in the development of the [[United States Air Force]] as an independent service. In June of that year, in response to overwhelming public appeals, [[Secretary of the Air Force]] [[Stuart Symington]] returned the base name to its previous name of Rapid City AFB.

More runway improvements were completed in July 1949, allowing the 28 BMW to switch from B-29s to the huge [[B-36 Peacemaker]]. In April 1950, the Air Staff reassigned the base from [[15th Air Force]] to [[8th Air Force]].

In March 1953, an [[RB-36]] crashed in [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]] while returning from a routine exercise in Europe, killing all 23 aboard, including brigadier general [[Richard E. Ellsworth]], commander of the 28th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing. On 13 June 1953, president [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] visited the base to re-dedicate it in memory of Ellsworth. The base was subsequently renamed Ellsworth AFB, and unlike the previous local controversy in 1948, there was no community objection to the name change.

On August 27, 1954, another RB-36H crashed into a hill while performing a landing, following a routine training mission. 24 of the 27 crewmembers were killed in the initial crash, and the remaining 3 were critically injured;<ref>{{cite news |title=B-36 Crash at Ellsworth Kills 24, Injures Three |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/deadwood-pioneer-times-b-36-crash-at-ell/141692157/ |access-date=20 February 2024 |work=Deadwood Pioneer-Times |agency=[[United Press]] |volume=79 |issue=70 |date=28 August 1954 |location=Rapid City |page=1 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> 2 later died from their injuries, leaving only one survivor. At a total death toll of 26, this crash remains the deadliest in B-36 history,<ref name="asn1954">{{cite web |title=ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 25560 |url=https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/25560 |website=Aviation Safety Network |publisher=[[Flight Safety Foundation]] |access-date=20 February 2024}}</ref> surpassing the record set by the crash in Newfoundland the previous year.<ref>{{cite news |title=R.C. Air Mishap Victim Improves |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/argus-leader-rc-air-mishap-victim-impr/141693946/ |access-date=20 February 2024 |work=Argus-Leader |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=12 September 1954 |location=Rapid City |page=12 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> An investigation revealed multiple factors contributed to the crash. A previous lightning storm had damaged the warning lights on the hillside and they had not been fixed. Additionally, both the plane's altimeter and the ground radar had been incorrectly calibrated, causing both pilot and ground control to misinterpret the distance and angle at which the aircraft was approaching.<ref name="asn1954"/>

Headquarters [[Strategic Air Command]] (SAC) reassigned the 28 BMW from 8th Air Force back to 15th Air Force in October 1955. About one year later, SAC set plans in motion to replace the 28th's B-36s with the new all-jet [[B-52 Stratofortress]]. The last B-36 left Ellsworth on 29 May 1957 and the first B-52 arrived sixteen days later. In 1958, all base units came under the command of the [[821st Strategic Aerospace Division]], headquartered at Ellsworth.

====Air Defense Command, 1953–1962====
[[Air Defense Command]] (ADC) activated the [[740th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron]] at Rapid City AFB on 1 February 1953 under the ADC [[31st Air Division]]. The site was located on the base, and was given designation M-97. The site was part of the ADC's planned deployment of 44 mobile radar stations across the United States to support the permanent air defense radar network established during the [[Cold War]]. The squadron was reassigned to the [[29th Air Division]] on 16 February 1953, and Rapid City AFB was re-designated Ellsworth AFB.

The 740th AC&W Squadron began operations in 1955 with [[AN/MPS-7]] search radar, and initially the station functioned as a ground-controlled interception (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.

An [[AN/MPS-14]] height-finder radar was added in 1956. In 1959 an [[AN/FPS-20]]A search radar replaced the AN/MPS-7 set. The squadron was reassigned to the [[Minot Air Defense Sector]] on 1 January 1961.

Air Defense Command deactivated the Ellsworth radar site on 15 August 1962 and the 740th was discontinued. After M-97 closed, coverage was assumed by [[Sundance AFS]], Wyoming (TM-201/Z-201).<ref>A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946 – 1980, by Lloyd H. Cornett and Mildred W. Johnson, Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado</ref><ref>Winkler, David F. (1997), Searching the skies: the legacy of the United States Cold War defense radar program. Prepared for United States Air Force Headquarters Air Combat Command.</ref>

====Nike missiles, 1957–1962====
[[File:Ellsworth AFB Defense Area.png|thumb|Nike missile air defense sites around Ellsworth]]

To provide air defense of the base, the [[United States Army]] established the [[Ellsworth AFB Defense Area]] in 1957 and constructed [[MIM-3 Nike Ajax|Nike-Ajax]] [[surface-to-air missile]] sites. Sites were located near Ellsworth AFB: E-01 was north {{Coord|44|12|09|N|103|05|50|W}}, E-20 was east-northeast {{Coord|44|09|02|N|103|00|10|W}}, E-40 was south-southeast {{Coord|44|06|14|N|103|05|54|W}}, and E-70 was west-southwest {{Coord|44|09|12|N|103|12|59|W}}. Headquarters facilities were located at Ellsworth. In 1958, batteries E-20, E-40, and E-70 were removed from service and E-01 was converted to fire [[Nike Hercules]] missiles. This battery remained in service until 1961 as part of the reduction of the air defenses in the United States against aircraft.

An Army Air-Defense Command Post (AADCP) was established at Ellsworth in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions. The site was equipped with the AN/GSG-5(V) BIRDIE solid-state computer system. The AADCP was integrated with the Air Defense Command [[United States general surveillance radar stations|general surveillance radar facilities]]. The AADCP ceased all operations when the ADC radar site shut down in 1962.

After the Army closed their facilities, the military housing at the Nike Integrated Fire Control sites was transferred to control of Ellsworth, and was used as USAF military family housing until about 1990.

====4th Airborne Command and Control Squadron====
[[File:Boeing EC-135G (717-148), USA - Air Force AN0823212.jpg|thumb|4th ACCS EC-135G [[Airborne Launch Control Center]] at Ellsworth AFB, SD|left]]

From 1 April 1970 to 30 September 1992, the [[4th Airborne Command and Control Squadron]] (ACCS), part of the 28th BMW, provided airborne command post responsibilities with specially modified [[Boeing EC-135]] airborne command post aircraft for [[Strategic Air Command]]. The 4th ACCS was the workhorse of [[Airborne Launch Control System]] (ALCS) operations. Three dedicated [[Airborne Launch Control Center]]s (ALCC) (pronounced "Al-see"), designated ALCC No. 1, ALCC No. 2, and ALCC No. 3 were on ground alert around-the-clock providing ALCS coverage for five of the six [[LGM-30 Minuteman|Minuteman]] [[intercontinental ballistic missile]] (ICBM) Wings. These dedicated ALCCs were mostly EC-135A aircraft but sometimes were EC-135C or EC-135G aircraft, depending on availability. ALCC No. 1 was on ground alert at Ellsworth and during a wartime scenario, its role would have been to take off and orbit between the Minuteman Wings at Ellsworth AFB and [[F.E. Warren AFB]], Wyoming, providing ALCS assistance if needed. ALCCs No. 2 and No. 3 were routinely on forward deployed ground alert at [[Minot AFB]], North Dakota. During a wartime scenario, ALCC No. 3's role would have been to take off and orbit between the Minuteman ICBM Wings at Minot AFB and [[Grand Forks AFB]], North Dakota, providing ALCS assistance if needed. ALCC No. 2's dedicated role was to take off and orbit near the Minuteman ICBM Wing at [[Malmstrom AFB]], Montana, providing ALCS assistance if needed. The 4th ACCS also maintained an EC-135C or EC-135G on ground alert at Ellsworth as the West Auxiliary Airborne Command Post (WESTAUXCP), which was a backup to SAC's [[Operation Looking Glass|Looking Glass]] Airborne National Command Post (ABNCP), as well as a radio relay link between the Looking Glass and ALCCs when airborne. Although equipped with ALCS, the WESTAUXCP did not have a dedicated Minuteman ICBM wing to provide ALCS assistance to.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://afmissileers.com/Mar17.pdf |title=ALCS Article, page 14 |access-date=13 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702014829/http://afmissileers.com/Mar17.pdf |archive-date=2 July 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[Hopkins III, Robert S. 1997. Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker: More Than Just a Tanker. Leicester, England: Midland Publishing Limited, p. 114-117, 196]</ref>