Hanscom Air Force Base

A non-flying base, Hanscom Air Force Base is named after Laurence G. Hanscom (1906–1941), a pilot, aviation enthusiast, and State House reporter who was killed in a plane crash at Saugus, Massachusetts. Hanscom was a reporter for the Boston Globe, Worcester Telegram & Gazette and the Wilmington (MA) News. Hanscom was active in early aviation, founding the Massachusetts Civil Air Reserve. At the time of his death, Hanscom had been lobbying for the establishment of an airfield in Bedford. The base was named in his honor on 26 June 1941. Hanscom Field, a civilian general-aviation airport adjacent to the Air Force Base, and Massport are the primary operators of the air field and runways. Less than one percent of the air traffic at Hanscom Field is military aircraft. ==History==

World War II Hanscom Air Force Base began its existence while the United States was considering its entry into World War II. In May 1941, the Massachusetts Legislature authorized the purchase of a large tract of farmland spanning the borders of the towns of Bedford, Lincoln, Concord and Lexington for a Boston Auxiliary Airport. Funds to build the new airport were contributed by the federal government, which had appropriated $40 million to build 250 new civil airports across the United States that could serve for future national defense. In mid-1942, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts leased the Bedford airport to the War Department for use by the Army Air Forces. Fighter squadrons trained there in 1942 through 1943. The 85th Fighter Squadron and the 318th Fighter Squadron, who trained at Bedford on the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, went on to combat in North Africa and Europe. The Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) air defense computer system, completed in the early 1960s, revolutionized air defense and also contributed significantly to advances in air traffic control systems. As the SAGE system matured, the Air Force developed a number of advanced command, control and communications systems. On June 30, 1964, a Massachusetts Air National Guard F-86 fighter from Hanscom crashed into a Haverhill, Massachusetts neighborhood killing 2 children. Previous names , showing adjacent buildings comprising Hanscom AFB • Laurence G. Hanscom Field, Boston Auxiliary Airport at Bedford, 26 Jun 1941 • Bedford Municipal Airport, 29 Jun 1942 • Bedford Army Air Field, 8 Apr 1943 • Hanscom Airport, 15 Oct 1947 • Bedford Air Field, Mar 1948 • Hanscom Field, Jun 1948 • Laurence G. Hanscom Field, 24 Dec 1952 • Laurence G. Hanscom Air Force Base, 22 Jun 1974-18 January 1977 Major commands to which assigned • First Air Force, 2 July 1942 • AAF Technical Service Command, 15 October 1944 : Re-designated: Air Technical Service Command, 1 July 1945-12 August 1945 • Air Defense Command, 1 July 1947 • Continental Air Command, 1 December 1948 • Air Defense Command, 1 January 1951 • Air Research and Development Command, 1 August 1951 : Re-designated: Air Force Systems Command, 1 April 1961 • Air Force Materiel Command, 1 July 1992–present ==Role and operations==

Air Force Life Cycle Management Center The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center is the single center responsible for total life cycle management of Air Force weapon systems 66th Air Base Group The 66th Air Base Group performs host unit functions of the base, supporting the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center. Other units Hanscom also supports the Massachusetts National Guard Joint Force Headquarters, Massachusetts Wing Civil Air Patrol, MIT Lincoln Laboratory and MITRE Federally Funded Research and Development Centers, and various other companies and groups related to the Department of Defense. == Based units ==

Flying and notable non-flying units based at Hanscom Air Force Base. Units marked GSU are Geographically Separate Units, which although based at Hanscom, are subordinate to a parent unit based at another location. === United States Air Force === Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) • Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (GSU) • Battle Management Programme Executive Office • Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence and Networks (C3I&N) Programme Executive Office • Nuclear Command, Control and Communications (NC3) Programme Executive Office • 66th Air Base Group • 66th Force Support Squadron • 66th Medical Squadron • 66th Security Forces Squadron • Air Force Recruiting Service • 319th Recruiting Squadron === Massachusetts National Guard === • Massachusetts Army and Air Force Joint Force Headquarters-Massachusetts ==Education==

Hanscom School, the on-post K-8 school, is operated by the Lincoln School District. High school students who are dependents of active duty military personnel are sent to Bedford High School of the Bedford School District. The base has an agreement with Bedford School District to educate high school students. High school students living on the base who are not dependents of active duty military personnel are sent to Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School of the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional School District. The census-designated place is physically divided between the following school districts: Lincoln School District (elementary) and Lincoln-Sudbury School District (secondary) in the part in Lincoln Town, and Bedford School District for the part in Bedford Town. ==See also==