6 Bases during the Cold War

Sembawang facility, which provided the U.S. Navy with extensive drydockingcapability as well as a good location in relation to possible flashpoints both inEast Asia and the Persian Gulf area. Elsewhere in Asia, during the bulk of theCold War, the U.S. Navy made use of Australian ports on both coasts, visitedports in Indonesia and (earlier on) Taiwan, and made extensive use of the Thaiport at Sattahip during the Vietnam War, during which the South Vietnameseport of DaNang was frequently used. The accompanying table details the USN’sbasing net as of the mid-to-late 1980s.U.S. Air Force bases12In relation to possible theaters of combat, throughout the bulk of the Cold War,the U.S. Air Force (USAF) made extensive use of a network of permanent andstandby bases, most of them in Western Europe and the Far East in proximity tomajor ground force deployments.In Germany, that long involved the major air bases at Bitburg, Ramstein,Spangdahlem, Zweibrucken, Sembach et al., at which were deployed the USAFsfrontline fighters, earlier on the F-4s, later on the F-15s and F-16s. Additionallyin Europe there were the major air bases at Keflavik in Iceland, Sosterberg in theNetherlands, Aviano in Italy, Torrejon, Zaragoza and Moron in Spain, and Incirlikin Turkey. Additionally, the USAF had deployed during the latter part of theCold War some 290 combat aircraft in the U.K. In addition to the 150 F111E/Fsdeployed as a nuclear strike force, that involved EF-111 Raven electronicwarfare aircraft, A-10s, RF-46 reconnaissance aircraft at several sites: Lakenheath,Alconbury, Upper Heyford, Woodbridge and Bentwaters. Finally, tacticalaircraft were routinely rotated forward to bases in Italy and Turkey, while a hostof other bases in NATO were designated as co-located host bases available forcrises, coercive diplomacy or outright war – there were several of these ineastern Turkey in proximity to Middle Eastern danger zones.In Asia, the USAF had forward fighter bases in Japan, the Philippines andSouth Korea. F-15s, F-16s and RF-4Cs were based at main bases at Yokota andMisawa, Marine Corps Harriers at Iwakuni. There were F-4 E/G deployments atClark Air Force Base in the Philippines. In South Korea, F-4Es, RF-43s, F-16sand A-10s were stationed at the major air bases at Osan, Kunsan and Taegu.In relation to conventional as well as nuclear scenarios, the USAF permanentlystationed KC-135 A/Q and KC-10A tankers in a number of places to deal withinterventions or arms resupply operations: in the U.K. (Mildenhall, Fairford),Spain (Zaragoza), the Philippines (Clark AFB), Okinawa (Kadena), Diego Garcia,Iceland (Keflavik) and Guam. Thule in Greenland and Goose Bay and Harmon inCanada were used for similar purposes. Still earlier, up to 1963, SAC’s KC-97swere based in Canada at Namao, Churchill, Cold Lake and Frobischer – some ofthese later were designated for dispersal and refueling operations.The USAF has also made extensive use of overseas bases for transport aircraft,often times ad hoc in relation either to routine staging of personnel ormatériel or to crises.102 Bases during the Cold Warİ 2007 Robert E. HarkavyMost of the primary U.S. aircraft for long-range lift operations – C-141s, C-5A/B, more latterly C-17s – have been based in the U.S., though they way bedispersed for contingencies. But the USAF also long had numerous squadrons ofC-130s designated for tactical purposes (i.e., with shorter ranges and able toutilize shorter runways). Some were based overseas at Rhein-Main (WestGermany), Howard AFB (Panama), Mildenhall (U.K.), Clark AFB (the Philippines),Yokota (Japan) and Kadena (Okinawa). Sometimes these aircraft mayhave used overseas facilities for tactical purposes – the Iran hostage raid wasconducted by C-130s based in Egypt.In 1973, U.S. transport aircraft engaged in the arms resupply effort on behalfof Israel made critical use of the Lajes air base in the Portuguese-owned AzoresIslands. In 1990–1991, USAF transport aircraft had extensive access to airfieldsalong routes to the Middle East both via the Atlantic and Europe, and via thePacific and Southeast Asia, where that access became domestic political issuesin Thailand and India. In the post-9/11 conflict in Afghanistan, U.S. transportaircraft were staged via Eastern Europe and utilized bases in the former SovietCentral Asian states of Uzbekistan, Tadzhikistan and Kyrghizstan. We shallPage 9Page 10