What would become Pease Air Force Base started as the
Portsmouth Municipal Airport in the 1930s. With the onset of
World War II, improvements to the airport were announced in December 1941. The airport was closed to civilian traffic effective August 1942, as part of defense measures along the
east coast.
Civil Air Patrol usage started in February 1944, and in August the airport was leased to the
U.S. Navy, who already had a nearby presence at
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. The
U.S. Air Force assumed control of the airport in 1951, when the installation was selected for development as a
Strategic Air Command (SAC) base. Purchase of additional land for expansion of the base started in 1952 and was completed in 1956. Ground breaking for the new SAC facilities took place in 1954, and the first
B-47 Stratojet bombers arrived in 1956. Renamed
Portsmouth Air Force Base, the installation formally opened on 30 June 1956. On 7 September 1957, it was renamed
Pease Air Force Base in honor of New Hampshire native Captain
Harl Pease Jr.,
USAAC, who was posthumously awarded the
Medal of Honor for heroism during World War II. Pease AFB was the home of the
100th Bombardment Wing and from 1958 onward the
509th Bombardment Wing, the latter arriving from
Walker AFB, New Mexico, as successor to the famed 509th Composite Group of World War II that had executed the
atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and had transitioned to the B-47 and KC-97 in the mid-1950s. Their mission was strategic warfare in the event of war. From 1956 until its closure in 1991, Pease Air Force Base maintained a combat-ready force for long-range bombardment and
nuclear strikes.
B-47 Stratojet,
B-52 Stratofortress, and
FB-111 Aardvark bomber aircraft, as well as
KC-97 Stratofreighter and
KC-135 Stratotanker air refueling aircraft and
C-97 Stratofreighter,
C-124 Globemaster and
C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft, were all based at Pease AFB at varying times. In 1961 and 1962, the base received consideration as a potential site for
Minuteman missile deployments. The
100th Bombardment Wing was converted in June 1966 to a strategic reconnaissance wing and transferred to
Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona. This left the
509th Bombardment Wing as the principal host wing for Pease AFB. The 509th was phased down for inactivation in 1965, but, cognizant of the historical significance of the 509th in SAC, the wing converted to the B-52D and KC-135A and was redesignated as the 509th Bombardment Wing, Heavy, in 1966. From 1 April to 1 October 1968 and from 26 March to 20 September 1969, more than one-half of the wing was deployed in
Southeast Asia. The 509th supported SAC combat and contingency operations in Southeast Asia with KC–135A aircraft and crews from 1966 to 1975, and with B–52D aircraft and crews from 1966 to 1970. By 1 December 1969, the wing had transferred all its B-52D aircraft to other SAC units in preparation for transition to the
General Dynamics FB-111A. Redesignated as the 509th Bombardment Wing, Medium, the 509th had no bomber aircraft from November 1969 until 1970, but continued KC-135 refueling and alert operations and performed FB-111 ground training. The wing resumed flying training with the FB-111 in December 1970 and assumed FB–111 alert commitments from 1 July 1971 until September 1990. During this time, the 509th won the SAC Bombing and Navigation Competition and the
Fairchild Trophy in 1979, 1981, 1982, and 1983, and the Sanders Trophy for best air refueling unit in 1982. In 1966, the
New Hampshire Air National Guard relocated the 157th Military Airlift Group (157 MAG) from the deactivating
Grenier AFB in nearby
Manchester, New Hampshire, to Pease AFB. Operating the
C-97 Stratofreighter, the group transitioned to the
C-124 Globemaster in 1968 and to the
C-130 Hercules in 1971. The mission of the group was changed in 1975 when it was designated as the 157th Air Refueling Group (157 ARG) and transitioned to the KC-135A in 1975. The 157th later transitioned to the KC-135E in 1984, the KC-135R in 1993, and to the KC-46A in 2019. Pease AFB served as a base conducting summer field training for U.S. Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) cadets during the 1960s and '70s.
Air Force Base closure In December 1988, Pease AFB was one of 86 military installations to be closed as part of the Secretary of Defense's
Base Realignment and Closure process. In 1989, 3,461 active-duty military, 741 civil service workers and 347 non-appropriated fund employees were employed at Pease AFB. Of the total active duty personnel, 49 were assigned to the Air National Guard. It is estimated that the base created a total of 2,466 secondary jobs within the local communities. Military personnel began leaving the base in June 1990, and Pease AFB officially closed on 31 March 1991. The 509th BW transferred its FB-111 aircraft to
Tactical Air Command and its KC-135s to other SAC units. The wing was then administratively moved to
Whiteman AFB Missouri in September 1990, but not manned until April 1993. Four historical aircraft on static display near the main gate were disassembled and moved to other locations;
Ellsworth AFB in
South Dakota received a B-47, and Whiteman AFB received a B-29, KC-97, and B-52.
Air National Guard Base greeting airmen at Pease in September 2012 The majority of Pease AFB was transferred to the Pease Development Authority, who now operate Pease International Tradeport including
Portsmouth International Airport at Pease. The remaining part of the former Pease AFB that remained under military control was transferred to the
New Hampshire Air National Guard and renamed
Pease Air National Guard Base with the 157 ARG designated as the host unit. With the introduction of the USAF "objective wing" concept into the
Air National Guard in the early 1990s, the 157 ARG was redesignated to its current title as the
157th Air Refueling Wing (157 ARW) on October 16, 1995. On October 2, 2009, the
64th Air Refueling Squadron (64 ARS) was activated at Pease as the 157th's active-guard associate. This was the first time that an active duty Air Force unit had returned to Pease since 1991. In August 2014, the Air Force announced that the 157 ARW would become the first Air National Guard unit to equip with the new
Boeing KC-46 Pegasus aerial refueling aircraft. The KC-46A was scheduled to enter the Air Force inventory during fiscal year 2016, with Pease ANGB to receive its first Pegasus after October 2017. By the end of 2018, a Weapons System Trainer, Boom Operator Trainer, and Fuselage Trainer for the KC-46A were installed at Pease. In early February 2019, it was announced that the 157 ARW would receive the new aircraft by the fall of 2019. The final KC-135 at Pease, serial number 57-1419, departed on March 24, 2019, for
Goldwater Air National Guard Base in
Phoenix, Arizona. The first KC-46A arrived at Pease on August 8, 2019. The 12th and final KC-46A was delivered on February 5, 2021.
Incidents/accidents All noted aircraft were based at Pease AFB, unless stated otherwise. On November 20, 1957, a
KC-97 from
Dow Air Force Base in
Maine made an emergency landing at Pease after its
refueling boom could not be retracted; there were no injuries. On April 15, 1958, a
B-47 (
serial number 52–0562) from
Walker Air Force Base in
New Mexico crashed on takeoff at Pease; all four crewmen were killed. On July 22, 1959, a KC-97 (serial number 52-2703) crashed near
Andover, New Hampshire, while on a nighttime training mission; all seven crewmen were killed. On January 4, 1961, a B-47 (serial number 53-4244) crashed on takeoff at Pease; all four crewmen were killed. Some of the wreckage was scattered across nearby
New Hampshire Route 101, On July 21, 1965, a B-47 (serial number 52-0160) was forced to make a
belly landing at Pease due to inoperative
landing gear; there were no injuries. The accident was ultimately attributed to "incorrect" actions of the pilot during a
stall spin. On January 11, 1990, a KC-135 (serial number 59-1494) caught fire on the
tarmac at Pease during maintenance work—there were no injuries; however, the aircraft was destroyed.
Events during the 2021 air show at Pease ANGB Prior to its closure as an active base in 1991, frequent
air shows were held at Pease, typically featuring either the
United States Air Force Thunderbirds or the
Blue Angels of the
United States Navy. The 1977 show was promoted as being the "21st annual Open House". Air shows held at Pease AFB include those held in September 1960 with the Thunderbirds, August 1972 with the Thunderbirds, July 1977 with the Thunderbirds, July 1987 with the Thunderbirds, May 1988 with the Blue Angels, September 1989 with the Thunderbirds, and May 1990 with the Blue Angels. Subsequent air shows have been held infrequently. These include August 2010 with the Blue Angels, August 2011 with the Thunderbirds, June 2012 with the Blue Angels, September 2021 with the Thunderbirds, and September 2023 with the
Air Combat Command F-16 Viper Demonstration Team. The Blue Angels performed in the "Thunder Over New Hampshire Air Show" at Pease on September 6, 2025. ==Environmental issues==