Fairchild Air Force Base has been an integral part of our nation’s defense strategy since 1942; first as key a WW II repair and supply depot, then as a Strategic Air Command bomber, tanker and ICBM wing during the Cold War and, finally, as an Air Mobility Command air refueling wing supporting contingency operations around the world. Today, Fairchild is the home of the Air Force’s premier tanker base and survival training school house. The citizens of Spokane in large part made the base a reality.
As the 20th Century got underway, Spokane city leaders desired greater economic growth for their city. They worked to attract more federal and state investment for civil engineering projects and local aviation enthusiasts began to capitalize on emerging aviation technology. When the War Department announced plans to build seven new Air Corps Logistics Depots nationwide, these visionary city leaders had perfectly positioned Spokane as an ideal location for military aviation. The area had a strategic inland location, a direct air route to Alaska, a robust railroad infrastructure, and proximity to suppliers. The city beat out its rivals and clinched the deal in November 1941 when they presented the War Department with the title for 1,400 acres of flat farm land 12 miles west of the city that was ready for expeditious construction. The motivated citizens of Spokane fundraised nearly $125,000 in less than two weeks to buy the land. With the attack on Pearl Harbor a month later, construction for the new depot was given the highest priority and the site became operational in under 18 months.
Between 1941 and 1947, the depot would be known by nine different names. The Army originally referred to it as the Northwest Air Depot. The locals referred to it as Galena, which was the closest train station. The first official name would be Spokane Army Air Depot, but other names such as Bong Air Base, Spokane Air Technical Service Command, Spokane Air Material Area, Spokane Air Service Command, Spokane Army Air Field, and Spokane Air Force Base would all be used at various times over the next decade in official and unofficial capacities.
The base originally operated as a supply and repair depot for damaged aircraft and during the war years most of the personnel working at the depot were civilians. The depot repaired over 1,250 B-17s during its operation, along with an impressive variety of other aircraft including B-24s, B-25s, C-47s, P-38s, P-47s and P-51s. A major milestone occurred in June of 1945, when three women completed work on the 10,000th B-17 refurbished engine. In all, nearly 11,000 engines were overhauled and over 150,000 tons of material transferred through the depot, with nearly 20 percent going overseas.
On the same day the depot activated in Spokane—March 1, 1942—the 92nd Bomb Group (92nd BG) activated at Barksdale Field, Louisiana. The 92nd BG quickly made history by being the first heavy bomber unit to fly the North Atlantic route from Maine to Newfoundland to Scotland. The bomb group was affectionately dubbed “Fame’s Favored Few” following many critical missions during the war, including the Schweinfurt Raid on Black Thursday, the Battle of the Bulge, and the D-day invasion at Normandy. During its service overseas, the group flew 310 combat missions.
Following World War II, the 92nd Bomb Group was re-activated as the 92nd Bombardment Wing, assigned to Strategic Air Command (SAC) and re-located to Spokane. The base rapidly transitioned from a repair and supply depot operated mostly by civilians to an active-duty airbase flying the most modern bomber of the day—the Boeing B-29 Superfortress. The 98th Bombardment Wing and the 111th Bomb Group (Reserve) were also assigned to the base at that time. With their combined aircraft, the base became the largest bomber base in SAC.
The 1950s stand out in the base’s history as a decade of significant change. Both the 92nd BW and 98 BW deployed to Japan during the Korean conflict and flew over 800 sorties and dropped 33,000 bombs. Not long after the units returned home, the base received its current name in memory of Air Force Vice Chief of Staff, General Muir S. Fairchild, a native of Bellingham, Washington, who had died on active duty in 1950. Fairchild Air Force Base began receiving B-36 Peacemakers the following year. In 1953, the 92nd BW’s B-36s deployed again for Operation BIG STICK, which was the first time B-36s flew non-stop from the United States to the Far East and the first time SAC rotated a B-36 wing to the Pacific. The 92nd BW earned its first of many Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards (AFOUA) for this operation.
From 1956 to 1957, the 92nd BW began a conversion called Operation BIG SWITCH, which saw the first of forty-five newly assigned B-52D (#55-0673) arrive and the last B-36J (#52-2827) depart. On September 13, 1957 the 92nd Air Refueling Squadron activated at Fairchild in preparation for the arrival of the new Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker. The 92nd ARS established eight world records in the new aircraft that same year. In 1959, 92nd Bomb Wing earned the second Air Force Outstanding Unit Award for its pioneer work in night heavy-weight air refueling on 24-hour missions under Project HEADSTART II which began March 3, 1959, and ended with Operation STEELTRAP I on October 6, 1959.
In 1961, the 92nd BW became the first “aerospace” wing in the nation with the activation of the 567th Strategic Missile Squadron and acquisition and deployment of Atlas-E intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) at nine complexes located throughout the Inland Empire. With the new role and the addition of missiles, the 92nd Bomb Wing was re-designated the 92nd Strategic Aerospace Wing (SAW) on February 15, 1962. The ICBMs played an integral deterrence role in the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. However, rapid advancements in technology prompted the removal of the missiles by 1965.
As the demand for air refueling increased, Fairchild tankers and aircrews became actively involved in Operation YOUNG TIGER, refueling tactical combat aircraft in Southeast Asia. During 1968 and 1969, all the wings B–52s and half its KC–135 resources, plus over 1,400 support personnel, deployed to Anderson AFB, Guam to support for Operation ARC LIGHT and other bombing missions against enemy strongholds in Vietnam including Operations LINEBACKER I and LINEBACKER II.
In July 1972, the 92nd SAW was re-designated the 92nd Bombardment Wing. As the situation intensified in Vietnam, for the third time in four years, all the wing’s B-52s, nearly all the KC-135s and 1,500 maintenance and support personnel once again deployed from June 1972 to October 1973. On December 21, 1972, the wing suffered its second loss of a B-52 and its only loss of a B-52 in combat. During a nighttime raid on Hanoi, a Fairchild B-52 was hit by enemy fire and went down. A short time later, the North Vietnamese released a Prisoner-of-War list which included the names of two the aircrew. They were Lieutenant Colonel James Y. Nagahiro, pilot, and Captain Lynn R. Beens, navigator and they returned home in April 1973. The rest of the crew remained missing in action. The wing’s nine-year involvement in Vietnam ended when the wing’s bombers returned home on 25 October 1973.
As the Vietnam Conflict came to an end, the 92nd returned to its primary mission of strategic deterrence, involving 24/7 alert status for certain crews and aircraft. The wing performed joint USAF/Navy sea reconnaissance and surveillance missions and provided KC-135s to support tanker task forces in the US, Europe and the Pacific. By the early 1980s, the wing’s B-52Gs were modified to carry AGM-86B Air Launched Cruise Missiles (ALCM). In 1985, the B-52Hs were upgraded with improved strategic weapons carriage and offensive electronics capabilities. The wing earned the Fairchild Trophy in the 1986 SAC Bombing/Navigation competition, nearly sweeping all the awards by taking nine of eleven awards.
Another transitional decade for Fairchild Air Force Base was the 1990s. Throughout the decade, the 92nd BW participated in virtually every major contingency operation worldwide, underwent three name re-designations, and transitioned to a singular aircraft. With sweeping changes in Europe following the fall of the Berlin Wall in September 1991, Strategic Air Command’s bombers and tankers came off of 24/7 alert status for the first time in 33 years. As the Air Force reorganized, the 92nd Bombardment Wing (Heavy) was re-designated the 92nd Wing in September 1991, emphasizing a dual bombing and refueling role. However, less than a year later in June 1992nd, the wing became part of Air Combat Command (ACC) and was re-designated the 92nd Bomb Wing. In the early 1990s, Wing personnel routinely deployed in support of Operation SOUTHERN WATCH and Operation NORTHERN WATCH. The base received its first KC-135 R Model, nicknamed the Lilac Princess and began transferring its B-52s to other bases, marking the first step in Fairchild’s transition to only be an air refueling wing. The departure of B-52s continued throughout the spring of 1994, with the last bomber leaving May 25, 1994. With that flight, the bomber mission of the 92nd ended after 47 years.
On July 1, 1994, the 92nd Bomb Wing was re-designated the 92nd Air Refueling Wing (ARW), and Fairchild AFB was transferred from ACC to Air Mobility Command (AMC) in a ceremony marking the creation of the largest air refueling wing in the Air Force with five active duty air refueling squadrons totaling with over 60 KC-135s assigned. Dubbed as the new “tanker hub of the Northwest,” the wing could maintain an air bridge across the nation and the world in support of US and allied forces.
Following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, base personnel and aircraft deployed to DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM. Wing personnel answered the call for operations DESERT STRIKE and PHOENIX SCORPION. Personnel routinely deployed in support of Operation SOUTHERN WATCH and Operation NORTHERN WATCH, which required a constant presence of tankers and associated support personnel to help enforce the UN-sanctioned no-fly zones in Iraq. The wing also deployed aircraft and personnel in support of Operation ALLIED FORCE, the mission to stop Serb aggression in Kosovo.
The 92nd ARW has not had to meet these challenges alone. Since 1974, the wing has benefited from a classic association with the Washington Air National Guard 141st Air Refueling Wing, which is also located on Fairchild Air Force Base. With numerous shops and units co-located and integrated on the base, the two wings support each other’s efforts both in terms of personnel, aircraft, and expertise in meeting a critical mission under a demanding operational tempo.
When the new millennium began, the Wing faced one of its most significant challenges in history. Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the wing provided around-the-clock air refueling of Combat Air Patrol fighter aircraft and initiated 24-hour ground alert operations in support of homeland defense, Operation NOBLE EAGLE. Preparations also began for what would become a series of extended Operation ENDURING FREEDOM (OEF) deployments for aircrews and maintainers as well as combat support and medical personnel, which lasted until 2014. In the last twenty years, overseas deployments extended to support Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, NEW DAWN, INHERENT RESOLVE, FREEDOM’S SENTINEL, and Operation ALLIES REFUGE.
Today, on any given day, the Wing has approximately 25 percent of its personnel—aircrews, maintainers, force support, and medical—deployed worldwide in support of USAF operations.
The 92nd Air Refueling Wing, the 141st Air Refueling Wing, the 336th Training Group, and the associate units at Fairchild, and the Spokane community have forged an impressive relationship over the years and have earned a well-deserved reputation for excellence. Team Fairchild is always ready to protect the homeland, deter aggression, fight, and win whenever and wherever our nation calls.
Updated April 2025