Suffolk County Army Air Field The
Suffolk County Army Air Field was built in 1943 as a
United States Army Air Forces sub-base of
Mitchel Field. Later assigned to
First Air Force, the 437th Army Air Force Base Unit defended the New York City area and flew antisubmarine patrols. After World War II, the airfield was conveyed to
Suffolk County for use as a civilian airport, but to include a reversal clause if future military use was ever needed.
Suffolk County Air Force Base Renamed when the
United States Air Force reclaimed the airport in 1951,
Suffolk County Air Force Base was part of the
Eastern Air Defense Force's defense of the
NYC metro area. The
Air National Guard's
103rd Fighter-Interceptor Wing (103 FIW), along with the 118th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron and its
F-47N Thunderbolts, was federalized on March 2, 1951, and moved from
Brainard Field, Connecticut, to Suffolk County AFB on June 1. The 103 FIW was returned to state control on February 6, 1952, and remained briefly at Suffolk County until replaced by the 45th and 75th Fighter-Interceptor Squadrons in November 1952, flying the
F-86 Sabre as part of the
23rd Fighter-Interceptor Group (23 FIG). In 1955, the 23 FIG was reassigned to
Presque Isle Air Force Base and replaced by the newly activated
52nd Fighter-Interceptor Wing (52 FIW), which flew under various designations from Suffolk County AFB until 1969, with the 2d and 5th Fighter-Interceptor Squadrons flying
F-94 Starfire,
F-101 Voodoo and
F-102 Delta Dagger interceptors. In 1963, the 52 FIW was renamed the 52nd Fighter Wing (Air Defense) and became part of the
New York Air Defense Sector (NY ADS), the NY ADS being one of four USAF air defense sectors employing the
Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system. Suffolk County AFB was also the main support base for the
Suffolk County Missile Annex, a nearby USAF
CIM-10 Bomarc surface-to-air missile
launch complex for the defense of the New York City metropolitan area under the control of a
missile launch control center at
McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey. As a result of funding shortfalls for the
Vietnam War that resulted in the closure of numerous stateside air force bases and naval air stations, Suffolk County AFB deactivated in 1969 and the
military installation was again transferred to the Suffolk County government for use as a civilian airport.
Francis S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base from the
103d Rescue Squadron rappel from the top of a parachute drying facility to conduct confined space rescue training.|alt=|left
Suffolk County Airport (
Francis S. Gabreski Airport after 1991) operated without a military unit until June 1970 when the
102nd Air Refueling Squadron of the
New York Air National Guard relocated from
Naval Air Station Floyd Bennett Field with its
KC-97 Stratofreighters. In 1972, the 102d switched to
F-102 Delta Daggers and became the 102d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron. In 1975, the unit had another mission change and became an Aerospace Rescue and Recovery squadron, later renamed the
102nd Rescue Squadron in 1995. Today, the
106th Rescue Wing uses
HC-130J Combat King II transport aircraft and
HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters for both peacetime and combat
search and rescue. == Based units ==