Bellows Air Force Station
Encyclopedia
Bellows Air Force Station (Bellows Field) is a United States
military reservation located in Waimanalo, Hawaii. Once an important air field during World War II
, the reservation now serves as a military training area and recreation area for active and retired military and civilian employees of the Department of Defense. It is operated by Detachment 2, 18th Force Support Squadron of the 18th Mission Support Group based at Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa, Japan.
Created in 1917 as the Waimanalo Military Reservation, the base was renamed Bellows Field in 1933 after Lt. Franklin Barney Bellows, a World War I
war hero. Bellows Field was made a permanent military post in July 1941, and it was one of the airfields attacked during the attack on Pearl Harbor
on December 7, 1941.
Bellows Field was used for recreational gliders in the late fifties and early sixties. A truck would tow a glider into the air, then the glider pilot would release the tow cable and then catch updrafts from the prevailing wind blowing inshore and deflecting upwards from the very nearby mountains. In this way the pilot could keep the glider in the air as long as desired.
Recent improvements to the training area over the old runway include construction of a forward operating base (FOB) mock-up around the old Bldg. 700, Bldg. 700 renovations, and a modular military operations in urban terrain (MOUT) training system that consists of 74 buildings (made from shipping containers) on four separate sites. Additional containers have been moved into the main training area to be used as part of a combat vehicle operators' course for Marines to simulate driving in real-world conditions.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
military reservation located in Waimanalo, Hawaii. Once an important air field during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the reservation now serves as a military training area and recreation area for active and retired military and civilian employees of the Department of Defense. It is operated by Detachment 2, 18th Force Support Squadron of the 18th Mission Support Group based at Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa, Japan.
Created in 1917 as the Waimanalo Military Reservation, the base was renamed Bellows Field in 1933 after Lt. Franklin Barney Bellows, a World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
war hero. Bellows Field was made a permanent military post in July 1941, and it was one of the airfields attacked during the attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
on December 7, 1941.
Bellows Field was used for recreational gliders in the late fifties and early sixties. A truck would tow a glider into the air, then the glider pilot would release the tow cable and then catch updrafts from the prevailing wind blowing inshore and deflecting upwards from the very nearby mountains. In this way the pilot could keep the glider in the air as long as desired.
Marine Corps Training Area Bellows
The Marine Corps acquired approximately 1,049 acres of Bellows from the Air Force in 1999. The Marine Corps Training Area Bellows is now part of Marine Corps Base Hawaii, headquartered in Kaneohe Bay. MCTAB adds significant training capabilities and maneuver space for non-live fire military training activities. The Marines and other services use the training areas to conduct amphibious, helicopter, and motorized exercises in conjunction with troop land maneuver training. It is currently the only place in Hawaii where amphibious landings can transition directly into maneuver training areas for extremely realistic military training.Recent improvements to the training area over the old runway include construction of a forward operating base (FOB) mock-up around the old Bldg. 700, Bldg. 700 renovations, and a modular military operations in urban terrain (MOUT) training system that consists of 74 buildings (made from shipping containers) on four separate sites. Additional containers have been moved into the main training area to be used as part of a combat vehicle operators' course for Marines to simulate driving in real-world conditions.
See also
- Hawaii World War II Army Airfields
External links
- Bellows Air Force Station Homepage
- Bellows Air Force Station at GlobalSecurity.orgGlobalSecurity.orgGlobalSecurity.org, launched in 2000, is a public policy organization focusing on the fields of defense, space exploration, intelligence, weapons of mass destruction and homeland security...