Holloman AFB New Mexico
Named in the memory of George V. Holloman, a missile research pioneer, Holloman AFB is located only 10 km from Alamogordo, in the southern part of New Mexico. It is run by the US Air Force and “hidden” between two mountainous chains – San Andres and Sacramento. The military base is popular for its fastest and longest test track in the world, spreading on 10 km and going for more than 3 km per second.
History
The base was initially set up as the Alamogordo Army Air Field in the summer of 1942, a few months after the United States of America joined World War II. It kept this name for 6 years only, when it was renamed to what it is today. Although it was built on the US territory, the base was actually serving the British air force and served as a training spot for the British fighters. Once with the Japanese attacks over Pearl Harbor and the surrounding islands, the British decided to cancel their overseas training sessions. The Americans saw a great opportunity in this action and took over the base, willing to use it in their own interests. The first units joined the base in May, 1942. Before becoming fully functional, it was fit with runways, hangars and a wide variety of other buildings to serve the inhabitants. Over World War II, the place represented the training place for more than 20 different units, whether they used the powerful Consolidated B 42 Liberators or the popular Boeing B 17 Flying Fortresses.
When World War II ended, no one knew anything about the future of the base. Most thought it was about to be closed, especially since all the operations had been stopped. However, things completely changed when it was taken over by the Air Materiel Command and became the most important center for testing operations. The upcoming 25 years came with plenty of missile tests, including Falcon, AGM 45 Shrike or MGM 1 Matador.
One of the most important events in the history of Holloman AFB took place in 1961, when a chimpanzee trained on site was sent on the orbit, did two complete orbits and returned on Earth. It was the first specimen sent by the US into space. Its name was HAM and was only 3 years old. The base is also responsible for hosting the world record for speed on land, established in 2003, when a railed vehicle reached almost 10500 km per hour.
Units
Holloman AFB is the home of the 49-th Wing, responsible with maintaining peace and security all over the world. This wing has actively joined the most important wars of the 20-th century, with all its five groups – materiel maintenance, mission support, maintenance, operations and medical. The base is also the home of the 46-th Test Group, the 4-th Space Control Squadron and a German Air Force unit.
Housing
The housing opportunities at Holloman AFB are limited, so set up a reservation from time. Fill up the application months before actually being deployed there, otherwise you will need to look after a real estate agent for off site accommodation.
Location: 32.8373, -106.0969
Phone: (505) 572-6511
DSN: 572-6511December 4, 2011
Military Bases in New Mexico
Holloman AFB CommentsNamed in the memory of George V. Holloman, a missile research pioneer, Holloman AFB is located only 10 km from Alamogordo, in the southern part of New Mexico. It is run by the US Air Force and “hidden” between two mountainous ...
White Sands Missile Range CommentsWhite Sands Missile Range is simply the widest and largest military base in the United States of America. It covers almost 8300 square km and spreads over five different counties. It is located in the southern part of New Mexico. ...
Cannon AFB CommentsEstablished about 10 km from Clovis, in the eastern part of New Mexico, Cannon AFB is run by the Air Force and responsible with testing operations, tactics and new techniques with the latest aircrafts in the Air Force. It can also...