Raco Army Airfield
Encyclopedia
Raco Army Airfield is a closed military airfield. It is located 24.5 miles (39.4 km) west-southwest of Sault Ste. Marie
, Michigan. It was closed in 1972.
. It's use was likely to provide air service to the locks at Sault Sainte Marie. It was apparently acquired by the United States Government after the Pearl Harbor Attack and expanded through lease, license, easements and by fee of different tracts of land. A small airfield with three 5,520' x 300' runways was constructed in a triangle pattern. A large number of dispersal points were built in a forested area to the west of the airfield were constructed and a few support buildings were erected also in the woods. After construction, the airfield was designated Raco Auxiliary Airfield, and was designated a Sub-Base of the Air Transport Command
Alpena Army Airfield.
The mission of Raco AAF was to serve as a refueling stop for aircraft headed for Alaska
as well as to defend the locks of Sault Ste. Marie
. However, no Air Force tactical units were assigned there during the war and the few support personnel who were stationed there were under the command of the 4250th Army Air Force Base Unit at Alpena AAF. The United States Navy
may have assigned some aviation personnel to the base as well. The base was inactive beginning in 1945, and after the end of World War II, the airfield was closed.
were located. The guns were used to provide an air defense against incoming aircraft flying at low altitudes to attack the entrance of the Soo locks & shipping narrows. Peak deployment for Skysweeper battalions at Raco was achieved in the mid-1950s when 8 battalions were deployed.
As more and more Nike Ajax missile sites came online and the USAF Air Defense Command fighter-interceptor K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base
became operational in 1956, the US Army Air Defense Command (ARAACOM) reduced the number of batteries and eventually the site was closed at the end of 1957.
The 37th Air Defense Missile Squadron (BOMARC) was activated on 1 March 1960 with 28 CIM-10 Bomarc surface-to-air missile
s (SAM). The missile facility was known as the Kincheloe AFB BOMARC site, consisting of a rectangular installation, just southeast of the old runways. It operated the 2nd-generation IM-99B version of the BOMARC missile. About 40 personnel were stationed at the BOMARC site. The missiles remained on alert until they were inactivated on 31 July 1972.
The BOMARC site has been torn down and replaced by a testing track. No original military buildings remain, other than concrete foundations for the BOMARC launcher shelters.
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Sault Ste. Marie is a city in and the county seat of Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is in the north-eastern end of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, on the Canadian border, separated from its twin city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, by the St. Marys River...
, Michigan. It was closed in 1972.
World War II
An airfield at Raco was built prior to World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It's use was likely to provide air service to the locks at Sault Sainte Marie. It was apparently acquired by the United States Government after the Pearl Harbor Attack and expanded through lease, license, easements and by fee of different tracts of land. A small airfield with three 5,520' x 300' runways was constructed in a triangle pattern. A large number of dispersal points were built in a forested area to the west of the airfield were constructed and a few support buildings were erected also in the woods. After construction, the airfield was designated Raco Auxiliary Airfield, and was designated a Sub-Base of the Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its mission was to meet the urgent demand for the speedy reinforcement of the United States' military bases worldwide during World War II, using an air supply system to supplement surface transport...
Alpena Army Airfield.
The mission of Raco AAF was to serve as a refueling stop for aircraft headed for Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
as well as to defend the locks of Sault Ste. Marie
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Sault Ste. Marie is a city in and the county seat of Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is in the north-eastern end of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, on the Canadian border, separated from its twin city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, by the St. Marys River...
. However, no Air Force tactical units were assigned there during the war and the few support personnel who were stationed there were under the command of the 4250th Army Air Force Base Unit at Alpena AAF. The United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
may have assigned some aviation personnel to the base as well. The base was inactive beginning in 1945, and after the end of World War II, the airfield was closed.
United States Army use
After the war, the United States Army retained ownership to the Raco site and used it as an anti-aircraft artillery site. Two former taxiways to the west of the runways were turned into roads, and over two dozen aircraft dispersal pads were modified into round artillery pads where 75-mm Skysweeper anti-aircraft gunsSkysweeper
Skysweeper was an anti-aircraft gun deployed in the early 1950s by both the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force...
were located. The guns were used to provide an air defense against incoming aircraft flying at low altitudes to attack the entrance of the Soo locks & shipping narrows. Peak deployment for Skysweeper battalions at Raco was achieved in the mid-1950s when 8 battalions were deployed.
As more and more Nike Ajax missile sites came online and the USAF Air Defense Command fighter-interceptor K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base
K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base
K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base is a decommissioned U.S. Air Force base in Marquette County, Michigan, south of the city of Marquette. The base, near the center of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, closed in 1995. The county airport, Sawyer International, now occupies a portion of the base and has scheduled...
became operational in 1956, the US Army Air Defense Command (ARAACOM) reduced the number of batteries and eventually the site was closed at the end of 1957.
BOMARC Missile base
After the Army vacated the property, the Air Force began construction of an Air Defense Command CIM-10 Bomarc missile site to the east of the airfield. The supersonic Bomarc missiles were the first long-range anti-aircraft missiles in the world. They were capable of carrying conventional or nuclear warheads. Their intended role in defense was in an intrusion prevention perimeter. Bomarcs aligned on the eastern and western coasts of North America theoretically would launch and would destroy enemy bombers before the bombers could drop their payloads on industrial regions. They were capable of carrying conventional or nuclear warheads.The 37th Air Defense Missile Squadron (BOMARC) was activated on 1 March 1960 with 28 CIM-10 Bomarc surface-to-air missile
Surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles...
s (SAM). The missile facility was known as the Kincheloe AFB BOMARC site, consisting of a rectangular installation, just southeast of the old runways. It operated the 2nd-generation IM-99B version of the BOMARC missile. About 40 personnel were stationed at the BOMARC site. The missiles remained on alert until they were inactivated on 31 July 1972.
Current use
After the Air Force closed the missile site in 1972, the facility was sold off to private owners. It is now known as the Smithers Winter Test Center; a cold-weather testing site for vehicles and components in harsh winter climatic conditions. The Smithers Winter Test Center is utilized by manufacturers of vehicles ranging from small automobiles to Class 8 trucks, vehicle components (both OE and aftermarket), snow handling equipment, construction equipment, recreational and seasonal sport vehicles and military equipment. Smithers Winter Test Center has 17 separate testing areas for testing all types of vehicles and components.The BOMARC site has been torn down and replaced by a testing track. No original military buildings remain, other than concrete foundations for the BOMARC launcher shelters.