| Westover Air Reserve Base | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicopee, Massachusetts in the United States | |||||||||
 An aerial view showing C-5 Galaxies of the 439th Airlift Wing parked on the ramp at Westover ARB | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
  Westover ARB  Westover ARB  Westover ARB  Westover ARB | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 42°11′38″N 72°32′05″W / 42.19389°N 72.53472°W | ||||||||
| Type | Air Reserve base | ||||||||
| Site information | |||||||||
| Owner | Department of Defense | ||||||||
| Operator | US Air Force (USAF) | ||||||||
| Controlled by | Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) | ||||||||
| Condition | Operational | ||||||||
| Website | www | ||||||||
| Site history | |||||||||
| Built | 1939 | ||||||||
| In use | 1939 – present | ||||||||
| Garrison information | |||||||||
| Garrison | 439th Airlift Wing (host) | ||||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||||
| Identifiers | IATA: CEF, ICAO: KCEF, FAA LID: CEF, WMO: 744910 | ||||||||
| Elevation | 73.4 metres (241 ft) AMSL | ||||||||
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| Airfield shared with Westover Metropolitan Airport Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1] | |||||||||
Westover Air Reserve Base (IATA: CEF, ICAO: KCEF, FAA LID: CEF) is an Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) installation located in the Massachusetts communities of Chicopee and Ludlow, near the city of Springfield, Massachusetts. Established at the outset of World War II, today Westover is the largest Air Force Reserve base in the United States, home to approximately 5,500 military and civilian personnel, and covering 2,500 acres (10 km²).[2] Until 2011, it was a backup landing site for the NASA Space Shuttle and in the past few years has expanded to include a growing civilian access airport (Westover Metropolitan Airport) sharing Westover's military-maintained runways.[3] The installation was named for Major General Oscar Westover who was commanding officer of the Army Air Corps in the 1930s.[4]
The host unit is the 439th Airlift Wing (439 AW) of the Fourth Air Force (4 AF), Air Force Reserve Command. Outside of the AFRC command structure, the 439 AW and Westover are operationally gained by the Air Mobility Command (AMC).
Due to its location as one of the few remaining active military air bases in the northeast United States, Westover ARB is transited by many different U.S. military aircraft of all the services.[5]
Westover ARB has the longest runway in Massachusetts.
- ^ "Airport Diagram – Westover ARB/Metropolitan (CEF)" (PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. 13 August 2020. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
- ^ "About Westover Air Reserve Base". Westover Air Reserve Base. United States Air Force. Archived from the original on 5 September 2019.
- ^ "Westover AFB, Mass - 99th Bomb Wing - B-52 - NEED INFO". www.strategic-air-command.com. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
- ^ Bowers, Peter M., "Captain of the Clouds", Airpower, Granada Hills, California, July 1972, Volume 2, Number 4, page 33.
- ^ "Presidential aircraft parked temporarily at Westover". 439th Airlift Wing Public Affairs. 25 September 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2015.