Located in Wichita, Kansas, McConnell Air Force Base is currently home to the 22nd Air Refueling Wing of the Air Mobility Command, the Air Force Reserve Command's 931st Air Refueling Group, and the Kansas Air National Guard's 184th Intelligence Wing. The base is named for Fred, Thomas and Edwin McConnell, three Wichita brothers who served in the Air Force during World War II.

History

McConnell AFB is located on the site of what was originally the Wichita Municipal Airport, which was dedicated on June 28, 1929. In August 1941, the Kansas National Guard 127th Observation Squadron was activated as the first military unit assigned to the Wichita airport. During World War II, Boeing Aircraft produced B-29 Superfortress bombers at their plant which shared a runway with the airport , and the U.S. Air Force took over control of the airport in order to oversee the transfer of aircraft to various installations. The airport was returned to civilian jurisdiction in 1946.

In 1950 the City of Wichita began work on a new airport west of the city and the Air Force agreed to take over the old airport grounds and locate an air base there. The Air Force took title to the old airport on May 31, 1951, and Wichita Air Force Base was officially activated on May 15, 1953; it was formally renamed McConnell Air Force Base on April 12, 1954.

Major Commands to Which the Base Has Been Assigned

Materiel Command, March 1, 1942 - July 17, 1944
AAF Materiel and Services, July 17, 1944 - August 31, 1944
AAF Technical Service Command, August 31, 1944 - July 1, 1945
Air Technical Service Command, July 1, 1945 - March 6, 1946
Air Materiel Command, March 9, 1946 - November 15, 1946
Air Training Command, June 7, 1951 - July 1, 1958
Strategic Air Command, July 1, 1958 - July 1, 1963
Tactical Air Command, July 1, 1963 - July 1, 1972
Strategic Air Command, July 1, 1972 - June 1, 1992
Air Combat Command, June 1, 1992 - December 31, 1993
Air Mobility Command, December 31, 1993 - present

Major Units Assigned to Base

Midwestern Procurement District Group, March 1, 1942 - September 7, 1945
724th AAF Base Unit, April 1, 1944 - July 31, 1945
4156th AAF Base Unit, September 7, 1945 - November 15, 1946
3520th Combat Crew Training Wing, June 5, 1951 - June 15, 1953
4347th Air Base Group, July 1, 1958 - January 1, 1959
4347th Combat Support Group, January 1, 1959 - March 1, 1962
42nd Air Division, June 15, 1959 - July 1, 1963
381st Strategic Missile Wing, March 1, 1962 - August 8, 1986
388th Tactical Fighter Wing, October 1, 1962 - February 8, 1964
23rd Tactical Fighter Wing, February 8, 1964 - April 27, 1972
355th Tactical Fighter Wing, July 21, 1964 - June 8, 1969
835th Air Division, July 1, 1964 - June 8, 1969
91st Air Refueling Squadron, April 7, 1971 - November 30, 1971
384th Air Refueling Wing, December 1, 1971 - December 31, 1993
22nd Air Refueling Wing, January 1, 1994 - present

Official website: http://mcconnell.af.mil

World War II
B-29 Superfortress
U.S. Air Force

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