Nouasseur Air Base
Encyclopedia
Nouasseur Air Base near Casablanca
, French Morocco
is a former United States Air Force
Strategic Air Command
(SAC) base. It was designed for B-36 and B-47 bombers.
Today, Nouasseur AB is known as Mohammed V International Airport
.
. In the early 1950s, SAC developed a reflex operation strategy between its southern bases and Morocco, with B-36 and B-47 wings rotating to North Africa
for extended temporary duty as a staging area for bombers pointed at the Soviet Union
.
Nouasseur Air Base was constructed by the Morrison-Knudsen (M-K) Consortium, assisted by the 496th Air Installation Squadron (AIS) of the US Air Force from August 1951 to June 1952.
SAC's 5th Air Division was activated on 14 January 1951, at Offutt AFB, NE then moved without personnel and equipment, to Rabat/Sale in May 1951, absorbing the resources and responsibilities of the USAF Mission to Morocco. The division was assigned the task of manning, training and equipping assigned units and preparing installations in French Morocco for the support of deployed SAC units.
and the Sahara Desert. Their mission was to calibrate, set up, and maintain early warning and tactical control radar
and radio sites in support of the Strategic Air Command.
Nouasseur Air Base was critically important for SAC during its forward deployment exercises. Nouasseur was quite capable of hosting any of SAC's aircraft, with an asphalt-concrete runway
of 12,000 feet. The airfield became operational in June 1952.
The aircraft flown by SAC to Morocco from the United States
remained on alert status for a specified number of days, then returned to their CONUS bases. The 5th Air Division never had any assigned combat units, such as wings, only individual aircraft that were assigned to units back in the United States. The 5th Air Division's did oversee the 3922d Air Base (Later: Combat Support) Group as the base operating unit. The division commander also acted as a representative to the Moroccan Liaison Office for the Commander, 16th Air Force.
During the middle and late-1950s, SAC adopted a dispersal program—spreading out its potential as a Soviet target by placing its aircraft, weapons, and personnel on many more bases, with each bombardment wing having two additional installations to which it could disperse. Nouasseur was one of a ring of overseas SAC air bases located from Greenland to North Africa.
In addition, SAC devised a deployment program to use its shorter-range B-47s, which Nouasseur hosted, rotating squadrons on a 90-day basis and kept the aircraft on 15-minute alert for that time period. The overseas bases moved the B-47s into effective range of their targets without aerial refueling
.
USAFE F-86 Sabres began flying gunnery training missions during the spring of 1954 from Nouasseur.
The 5th Air Division was deactivated on 15 January 1958. It was replaced by the 4310th Air Division
, which remained the host unit until the base closed in 1963.
With the destabilization of the French government in Morocco, and Moroccan independence in 1956, the government of Mohammed V wanted the US Air Force to pull out of the SAC bases in Morocco, insisting on such action after American intervention in Lebanon
in 1958.
The United States
agreed to leave as of December 1959, and was fully out of Nouasseur Air Base, closing the facility on 15 August 1963.
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
, French Morocco
French Morocco
French Protectorate of Morocco was a French protectorate in Morocco, established by the Treaty of Fez. French Morocco did not include the north of the country, which was a Spanish protectorate...
is a former United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
(SAC) base. It was designed for B-36 and B-47 bombers.
Today, Nouasseur AB is known as Mohammed V International Airport
Mohammed V International Airport
Mohammed V International Airport is an airport operated by ONDA . Located in Province of Nouaceur, a suburb 30 km south-east of Casablanca, it is the busiest airport in Morocco with almost 7.25 million passengers passing through the airport in 2010...
.
Origins
USAF air base siting in French Morocco developed out of the Allied presence there at the close of World War IIWorld 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...
. In the early 1950s, SAC developed a reflex operation strategy between its southern bases and Morocco, with B-36 and B-47 wings rotating to North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
for extended temporary duty as a staging area for bombers pointed at the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
Nouasseur Air Base was constructed by the Morrison-Knudsen (M-K) Consortium, assisted by the 496th Air Installation Squadron (AIS) of the US Air Force from August 1951 to June 1952.
SAC's 5th Air Division was activated on 14 January 1951, at Offutt AFB, NE then moved without personnel and equipment, to Rabat/Sale in May 1951, absorbing the resources and responsibilities of the USAF Mission to Morocco. The division was assigned the task of manning, training and equipping assigned units and preparing installations in French Morocco for the support of deployed SAC units.
SAC use
In December 1951, the 118th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was transferred to Nouasseur. The majority of the 118th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron personnel were located at Nouasseur Air Base, but they also had detachments in the field in the Atlas MountainsAtlas Mountains
The Atlas Mountains is a mountain range across a northern stretch of Africa extending about through Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. The highest peak is Toubkal, with an elevation of in southwestern Morocco. The Atlas ranges separate the Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines from the Sahara Desert...
and the Sahara Desert. Their mission was to calibrate, set up, and maintain early warning and tactical control radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
and radio sites in support of the Strategic Air Command.
Nouasseur Air Base was critically important for SAC during its forward deployment exercises. Nouasseur was quite capable of hosting any of SAC's aircraft, with an asphalt-concrete runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
of 12,000 feet. The airfield became operational in June 1952.
The aircraft flown by SAC to Morocco from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
remained on alert status for a specified number of days, then returned to their CONUS bases. The 5th Air Division never had any assigned combat units, such as wings, only individual aircraft that were assigned to units back in the United States. The 5th Air Division's did oversee the 3922d Air Base (Later: Combat Support) Group as the base operating unit. The division commander also acted as a representative to the Moroccan Liaison Office for the Commander, 16th Air Force.
During the middle and late-1950s, SAC adopted a dispersal program—spreading out its potential as a Soviet target by placing its aircraft, weapons, and personnel on many more bases, with each bombardment wing having two additional installations to which it could disperse. Nouasseur was one of a ring of overseas SAC air bases located from Greenland to North Africa.
In addition, SAC devised a deployment program to use its shorter-range B-47s, which Nouasseur hosted, rotating squadrons on a 90-day basis and kept the aircraft on 15-minute alert for that time period. The overseas bases moved the B-47s into effective range of their targets without aerial refueling
Aerial refueling
Aerial refueling, also called air refueling, in-flight refueling , air-to-air refueling or tanking, is the process of transferring fuel from one aircraft to another during flight....
.
USAFE F-86 Sabres began flying gunnery training missions during the spring of 1954 from Nouasseur.
The 5th Air Division was deactivated on 15 January 1958. It was replaced by the 4310th Air Division
4310th Air Division
The 4310th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was last assigned to the Sixteenth Air Force, and stationed at Nouasseur Air Base, Morocco...
, which remained the host unit until the base closed in 1963.
With the destabilization of the French government in Morocco, and Moroccan independence in 1956, the government of Mohammed V wanted the US Air Force to pull out of the SAC bases in Morocco, insisting on such action after American intervention in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
in 1958.
The United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
agreed to leave as of December 1959, and was fully out of Nouasseur Air Base, closing the facility on 15 August 1963.
External links
- Nouasseur-Nelson C. Brown Elementary & High School Alumni Association
- Nouasseur Air Base Map
- Nouasseur @ GlobalSecurity.Org
- 3973d Combat Defense Squadron's Webpage for the SAC's 16th Air Force Units and Bases, Nouasseur AB, Morocco