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Laughlin Air Force Base

Coordinates: 29°21′34″N 100°46′41″W / 29.35944°N 100.77806°W / 29.35944; -100.77806
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Laughlin Air Force Base
Near Del Rio, Texas in United States of America
A Beechcraft T-6 Texan II of the 47th Flying Training Wing based at Laughlin AFB, Texas
Laughlin AFB is located in North America
Laughlin AFB
Laughlin AFB
Laughlin AFB is located in the United States
Laughlin AFB
Laughlin AFB
Laughlin AFB is located in Texas
Laughlin AFB
Laughlin AFB
Coordinates29°21′34″N 100°46′41″W / 29.35944°N 100.77806°W / 29.35944; -100.77806
TypeUS Air Force base
Site information
OwnerDepartment of Defense
OperatorUS Air Force
Controlled byAir Education and Training Command (AETC)
ConditionOperational
Websitewww.laughlin.af.mil
Site history
Built1943 (1943) (as Laughlin Army Air Field)
In use1943 – present
Garrison information
Current
commander		Colonel Tyler Ellison
Garrison47th Flying Training Wing (Host)
Airfield information
IdentifiersIATA: DLF, ICAO: KDLF, FAA LID: DLF, WMO: 722615
Elevation329.4 metres (1,081 ft) AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
13C/31C 2,698 metres (8,852 ft) Asphalt
13L/31R 2,534.4 metres (8,315 ft) Porous European Mix
13R/31L 2,002.8 metres (6,571 ft) Asphalt
Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1]

Laughlin Air Force Base (IATA: DLF, ICAO: KDLF, FAA LID: DLF) is a facility of the United States Air Force located east of Del Rio, Texas.

Overview

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Laughlin AFB, the largest pilot training base in the US Air Force, is home to the 47th Flying Training Wing of the Air Education and Training Command and the 96th Flying Training Squadron of the Air Force Reserve Command. On weekdays, the airfield sees more takeoffs and landings than any other airport in the country.[citation needed]

History

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Laughlin Army Air Field

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Laughlin Army Air Field photo pictorial

Laughlin AFB was originally named Laughlin Army Air Field on March 3, 1943, after Jack T. Laughlin, a B-17E Flying Fortress pilot. He was trained as a pilot and was actually co-pilot of B-17E, tail number 41-2476. On the day of his first bombing mission, he was bumped by the Group Commander Major Stanley K. Robinson (Robinson was co-pilot next to pilot Capt. Walter W. Sparks). Major Robinson brought along his own combat-experienced navigator, Lt. Richard Cease. Laughlin had no assigned position on the plane for the mission. He became Del Rio's first World War II casualty when the plane he was flying in (most likely as a waist gunner for the mission) was lost at sea, having succumbed to damage received over the Makassar Strait on 29 (or 28) January 1942. The damage occurred during two bombing runs against Japanese warships and transports in the Makassar Strait off the coast of Balikpapan, Borneo. The field became simply Laughlin Field on November 11, 1943, and later an U.S. Army Air Forces Auxiliary Field. During World War II, Laughlin's primary mission was the training of B-26 Marauder pilots and aircrews. It was closed in October 1945.

Laughlin Air Force Base

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Laughlin Air Force Base reopened on May 1, 1952. In October 1952, ATC transferred the base to Crew Training Air Force (CREWTAF) and activated the 3645th Flying Training Wing (Fighter), as a combat crew replacement training facility for pilots headed for Korea. Training provided new pilots with basic bombing and gunnery combat skills in the F-80 Shooting Star, F-84 Thunderjet, and T-33 jet aircraft, but within short time crews used only the T-33. In September 1955, Laughlin came under the control of the Flying Training Air Force and switched missions with Williams Air Force Base, Arizona. Laughlin undertook single-engine pilot training, still using the T-33.

Strategic Air Command

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The U.S. Air Force transferred jurisdiction of the base to the Strategic Air Command on April 1, 1957, and the 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing (Light) moved there from Turner Air Force Base, Georgia. Following the graduation of the last class in March 1957, ATC inactivated the 3645th FTW. The 4080th Wing provided high-altitude reconnaissance and air sampling using the Lockheed U-2A and the RB-57D Canberra. The 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing was redesignated as the 4080th Strategic Wing on June 15, 1960, and the RB-57 mission was phased out.

Laughlin U-2s were among the first to provide photographic evidence of Soviet missile installations in Cuba in 1962 when 4080th U-2 pilot major Steve Heyser flew his U-2C over Cuba after taking off from Edwards AFB, California. Heyser landed at McCoy AFB, Florida, following the mission, with McCoy becoming a U-2 operating location for the duration of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The film from Major Heyser's mission was developed, analyzed and the photos were shown to the United Nations Security Council on October 22, 1962, proving to the world, that offensive missiles were on the island of Cuba.

Another 4080th pilot, Major Rudolf Anderson, Jr., perished when his U-2 was hit by shrapnel from a Soviet-made SA-2 surface-to-air missile on October 22, 1962, while overflying Cuba from McCoy AFB. While the U-2 did not suffer a direct hit, Anderson was struck by fragments from the proximity fused warhead's explosion which penetrated and compromised his pressure suit (at altitude, unconsciousness and death came very quickly). His body was returned to the U.S. following the crisis, still clad in its pressure suit. Major Anderson posthumously became the first recipient of the Air Force Cross. Laughlin's primary operations training complex, Anderson Hall, is named in his honor.

United States Air Force / Public domain
1972, Main Gate

Air Training Command

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In 1961, Headquarters U.S. Air Force notified Laughlin officials their mission would expand to again include an Air Training Command undergraduate pilot training program. Plans called to transfer in about half the student load from Laredo Air Force Base, Texas. ATC reactivated the 3645th Pilot Training Wing (later redesignated 3646th Pilot Training Wing) at Laughlin in October 1961 to prepare for the phase-in of students and T-37 and T-33 trainers. The 4080th SW continued at Laughlin as a tenant organization until 1963.

Today, aircraft flown at Laughlin include the T-6A Texan II, the T-38C Talon and T-1A Jayhawk. Fifteen classes of approximately 20–25 pilots graduate annually.

Based units

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Flying and notable non-flying units based at Laughlin Air Force Base:[2][3]

United States Air Force

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Air Education and Training Command (AETC)

Air Force Reserve Command

Geography

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According to the United States Census Bureau, the base has a total area of 5.9 square miles (15.3 km2), all land.

Demographics

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Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
19703,458—
19802,994−13.4%
19902,556−14.6%
20002,225−12.9%
20101,569−29.5%
20201,6736.6%
U.S. Decennial Census[4]
1850–1900[5] 1910[6]
1920[7] 1930[8] 1940[9]
1950[10] 1960[11] 1970[12]
1980[13] 1990[14] 2000[15]
2010[16] 2020[17]

The U.S. Census Bureau counts the base as a census-designated place (Laughlin AFB CDP) with a population at the 2020 census of 1,673.[18] It first appeared as an unincorporated community in the 1970 U.S. Census[12] and a census designated place in the 1980 U.S. Census.[13]

Laughlin AFB CDP, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) Pop 1990[14] Pop 2000[19] Pop 2010[20] Pop 2020[17] % 1990 % 2000 % 2010 % 2020
White alone (NH) 1,790 1,581 1,178 1,183 70.03% 71.06% 75.08% 70.71%
Black or African American alone (NH) 286 236 112 107 11.19% 10.61% 7.14% 6.40%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 16 5 8 2 0.63% 0.22% 0.51% 0.12%
Asian alone (NH) 97 61 40 63 3.79% 2.74% 2.55% 3.77%
Pacific Islander alone (NH) x 1 5 5 x 0.04% 0.32% 0.30%
Other race alone (NH) 2 12 0 5 0.08% 0.54% 0.00% 0.30%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) x 55 54 55 x 2.47% 3.44% 3.29%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 365 274 172 253 14.28% 12.31% 10.96% 15.12%
Total 2,556 2,225 1,569 1,673 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

Education

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Laughlin AFB is served by the San Felipe Del Rio Consolidated Independent School District. The school district operates an elementary school inside Laughlin AFB, the Roberto Barrera STEM Elementary school (K–5) (formerly known as Laughlin STEM elementary school).[21]

Park University[22] offers onsite and online classes on base. Its office is located at the Education Center and is open to military and civilian personnel.

See also

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References

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Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

  • Manning, Thomas A. (2005), History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas OCLC 71006954, 29991467
  • Shaw, Frederick J. (2004), Locating Air Force Base Sites, History’s Legacy, Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force, Washington DC. OCLC 57007862, 1050653629
  • FAA Airport Form 5010 for DLF PDF
  1. ^ "Airport Diagram – Laughlin AFB (KDLF)" (PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. 15 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  2. ^ "Units". Laughlin Air Force Base. US Air Force. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  3. ^ "Aircraft and Squadrons of the US Air Force". United States Air Force Air Power Review 2018. Key Publishing: 96 and 97. 2018.
  4. ^ "Decennial Census by Decade". United States Census Bureau.
  5. ^ "1900 Census of Population - Population of Texas By Counties And Minor Civil Divisions" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  6. ^ "1910 Census of Population - Supplement for Texas" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  7. ^ "1920 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Texas" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  8. ^ "1930 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Texas" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  9. ^ "1940 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Texas" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  10. ^ "1950 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Texas" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  11. ^ "1960 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Texas" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  12. ^ a b "1970 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Texas" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  13. ^ a b "1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Texas" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  14. ^ a b "1990 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - Texas" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  15. ^ "2000 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - Texas" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  16. ^ "2010 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - Texas" (PDF). United States Census Bureau.
  17. ^ a b "P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Laughlin AFB CDP, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
  18. ^ "Laughlin AFB CDP, Texas". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  19. ^ "P004 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Lackland AFB CDP, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
  20. ^ "P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Laughlin AFB CDP, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
  21. ^ "Laughlin AFB, Texas" (Archive). U.S. Department of Defense. Retrieved on August 13, 2015.
  22. ^ Park University
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