Books for the Aviator in Your Life

Rapid City Army Air Base was constructed in 1942 and used as a training location for B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber aircrews throughout the duration of World War II. After the war, the newly renamed Rapid City Air Force Base (AFB) led the nation’s strategic bombardment force, deploying B-29 Superfortresses to Britain during the Berlin Blockade and later flying the B-36 Peacemaker heavy bomber. In 1953, Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower renamed the base for Brig. Gen. Richard E. Ellsworth, who was killed during a mission over Burgoyne’s Cove, Newfoundland. From 1960 to 1994, Ellsworth AFB was a Strategic Air Command superbase containing two legs of the American Strategic Nuclear Triad—heavy bomber aircraft (B-52 Stratofortresses and B-1B Lancers) and land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (Titan and Minuteman). Today, the personnel at Ellsworth AFB continue to build upon the storied legacy of the South Dakota base, projecting American airpower around the world.

The South Dakota Air National Guard's 114th Fighter Wing's history began during World War II with the 356th Fighter Group. It became a post-World War II Air Guard unit, initially flying the North American F-51D Mustang removed from storage as the active duty Air Force began transitioning to turbojet fighters. It was slowly upgraded to turbojet aircraft, first with the T-33 trainer to assist pilots into to the F-94 Starfighter. One of the most dramatic upgrades was with the F-89D Norhtrop Scorpion, which had onboard radar for all-weather interception, and the F-89J, armed with the nuclear warhead Genie rockets to shoot down Russian bombers. Its first supersonic fighter was the Convair F-102A Delta Dagger, a delta-wing fighter. The wing continued to transition through various turbojet fighters to the current General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon from 1992 to the present. The unit is fully integrated into the US Air Force's aerial defense of the United States and the Global War on Terrorism.

The first aircraft heavier than air took to the skies in South Dakota in 1911. Since that time, pilots, mechanics, and dreamers have used aviation in innovative ways to shrink the large distances between the prairies and the mountains of the state. The start of the U.S. Space Program began at the Stratobowl in the 1930s and evolved into today's modern hot air balloons. People have used aircraft, not only for transportation, but also for controlling varmints, from grasshoppers to coyotes. Firefighters routinely use aircraft to put out forest fires, and many a tourist has seen Mount Rushmore from a helicopter. South Dakota has also served the military since World War II with the major bombers of the U.S. Air Force's arsenal. Perhaps best of all, South Dakotans enjoy flying for pure enjoyment.