Morón Air Base
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| Morón Air Base
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| IATA: OZP – ICAO: LEMO | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Military | ||
| Operator | US Air Force | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 285 ft / 87 m | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 02/20 | 11,801 | 3,597 | Asphalt |
Morón Air Base (IATA: OZP, ICAO: LEMO) is located at in southern Spain, approximately 35 miles (56 km) southeast of the city of Seville and 75 miles (121 km) northeast of Naval Station Rota. The base gets its name from the town of Morón de la Frontera situated nearby.
Morón's massive flight line, in-ground aircraft refueling system, long runway and prime location on the Iberian peninsula, close to the Mediterranean and the Middle East, means the base is a vital link in any operation moving east from the United States.
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[edit] History
Morón Air Base began to function as an airfield in 1941 and was established to train fighter pilots for the Spanish Army Air Force.
In 1953, the Spanish and American governments finalized agreements to establish a number of Spanish-American air bases, including Morón Air Base. Morón was one of three major USAF Cold War airbases in Spain, the others being Zaragoza Air Base near Zaragoza and Torrejón Air Base near Madrid. Construction efforts began in 1953 under the direction of the US Navy, taking over 3 years to complete.
On May 13, 1958, the first flight of B-47s were assigned to Morón Air Base to conduct Reflex operations and then KC-97s arrived to conduct strip alert tanker missions, and 6 weeks later the first rotational fighter squadron, the 1st Fighter Day Squadron, flying F-100 Super Sabres and commanded by Lt.Col. Chuck Yeager, arrived from George AFB, CA, for temporary duty to conduct air defence alert.
Morón continued to operate primarily as a Reflex base until 1962, when the first KC-135 aircraft arrived. In 1966, the base was transferred from Strategic Air Command (SAC) to United States Air Forces Europe (USAFE). The mission changed to communications support, "fair weather" flying operations of Temporary Duty (TDY) for RF-4Cs from RAF Alconbury, England and RF-101 reconnaissance units and the support of air rescue operations provided by the 67th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron.
In 1971, Morón Air Base was re-designated to "modified caretaker status." Torrejón Air Base was designated as the Primary Support Base (PSB).
In November 1983, during the joint Spanish/American military exercise CRISEX 83, USAF B-52 bombers were allowed once again to enter Spanish air space and land at Morón Air Base. The B-52 bombers were previously banned from entering Spanish air space after the January 17, 1966 incident near Palomares, when an in-air refuelling B-52 collided with a United States Air Force KC-135 jet tanker. Two hydrogen bombs ruptured, dispersing radioactive particles over nearby farms. An intact bomb landed near Palomares. The fourth bomb was lost at sea, 12 miles (20 km) off the coast. A search involving three months and 12,000 men was required to recover the device.
During 1991, the basing plan for Spain called for retaining Morón AB, along with Torrejón AB, and Naval Station Rota, but on a drastically reduced scale. In 1995, the 496th Air Base Squadron was activated to replace the 712th Air Base Flight. Also at this time, USAFE redesignated Morón as a limited-use base, defined as austerely manned and no permanently assigned operational tactical forces. Throughout this time it was used as a staging base to support deployments. It was heavily used during the Gulf War by B-52s and tankers and during Operation Restore Hope and Operation Allied Force. Throughout 1995 to 1997, Morón became a popular staging area to host Coronet East movements to and from Turkey and Southwest Asia with over 95 fighter and tanker missions. In 1996, the 496th was placed under the 31st Support Group of Aviano Air Base, Italy. In 1999, Morón provided extensive refueling support for Operation Allied Force of the Kosovo War.
In 2001, the base provided record numbers of airlift and fighter rotations for Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. In 2003, the operations increased even more as Morón became a key pillar in the airbridge for airlift and fighter deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2004, Morón started reporting to the 712th Air Base Group and was realigned under the 38th Combat Support Wing of Ramstein Air Base, Germany later that year. In 2007, the 712th ABG deactivated and the 496th ABS was realigned again under the 86th Operations Group of Ramstein Air Base.
[edit] Space Shuttle
In 1984, Morón became a NASA Space Shuttle Transoceanic Abort Landing (TAL) site in support of the space shuttle program. Special navigation and landing aids are in place, and personnel are highly trained to recover landing of the orbiter vehicle.
[edit] Tanker operations
In 1990, SAC deployed 22 KC-135 and KC-10 tankers to support Operation Desert Shield and changed Morón Air Base from refueling to bomber operations. The 801st Bomb Wing (Provisional) at Morón Air Base consisted of 24 B-52s, 3 KC-135s and over 2,800 personnel. This was the largest deployed bomber wing during the war.
In 1999, Morón became the home of the 92d Air Expeditionary Wing – tasked with providing fuel to Operation Allied Force. In addition to serving as the HQ 92 AEW (serving units in France, Crete, Sicily and Spain), Morón hosted 37 tankers (KC-135 and KC-10) and 800 personnel. The 92 AEW became the largest Tanker Wing since the Vietnam War and held the distinction of being the largest tanker base during the Kosovo war.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official site
- Airport information for LEMO at World Aero Data
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