About Lockbourne/Rickenbacker AFB • ANGB • IAP


The year 2007 highlighted the 65th anniversary of Lockbourne/Rickenbacker as a military installation. The long and storied history of the facility dates back to the summer of 1942 when it first opened as an advanced glider training base during World War II.   That fall the base began a transition to a B-17 pilot training center. During the course of the war, activity would be expanded to include training for instructors, and an experimental program designed to test the competency of women as B-17 pilots.  By the end of the war, more than 6,000 pilots had received some form of B-17 flight training there.

The Postwar Years would witness the arrival of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen.  As history would have it, Lockbourne would serve as the final home of all-black aircrews and support personnel prior to the announcement of plans for formal integration of the United States Armed Forces in 1948.  Under the leadership of  Colonel Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., the stellar performance of the 332nd Fighter Wing at Lockbourne would be credited by many as the driving force behind integration at that moment in time.

The decade of the 1950s would introduce the mission of the Strategic Air Command to Lockbourne. As a result, the base would now be home to strategic reconnaissance units.  For most of the decade, six-engine Boeing B-47 Stratojets would roar day and night above central Ohio, many en route to fulfilling missions all throughout the world.  By the latter part of the decade, SAC had replaced its reconnaissance activity with bombardment wings featuring the mission of electronic warfare. This unique mission would continue from Lockbourne utilizing B-47 Stratojets until 1965.

The decade of the 1960s would clearly mark the apex of military activity at Lockbourne.  The Air Force would be represented by three major command structures, simultaneously no less.  The Strategic Air Command, Air Defense Command, and the Tactical Air Command would all have units serving from Lockbourne at the same time.  Unit missions were greatly diversified and included electronic countermeasures, air refueling, post attack command and control, tactical airlift, gunship, tactical fighter, and air defense.

The 1970s would introduce significant changes at Lockbourne.  A base name change, a base realignment, changes in jurisdiction, and the addition of several new units would all occur during the decade.  In 1974, the base was officially renamed in honor of Columbus native and World War I flying ace, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker.

Resisting governmental pressure to close the base, local officials secured an agreement near the end of the decade that provided for base realignment rather than complete closure. This move would permit Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard, and Naval Reserve units to continue to operate from Rickenbacker and opened the door for commercial development of excess base acreage through the newly formed Rickenbacker Port Authority.  As a first step in the process, the 301st Air Refueling Wing, a base tenant since 1957, was deactivated in September of 1979, bringing an end to the facility as an active duty Air Force base.  In the years that would follow, civilian and military resources would come to co-exist at Rickenbacker.

On April 1, 1980, Rickenbacker was officially redesignated an Air National Guard base. Over the next quarter-century the facility would evolve into one of the finest military reserve installations in the country.  Units representing every branch of service with the exception of the Coast Guard would eventually call Rickenbacker home.  Reserve forces would take on greater importance in an era now characterized by an all-volunteer army.  In the years to follow, members of Rickenbacker units would be called upon to serve in numerous missions and deployments, supporting various operations and exercises around the world.  In recent years, Rickenbacker personnel have been asked to serve in nearly every combat-phase of the War on Terrorism to include operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.  In the process of doing so, many have made the ultimate sacrifice.

Today, Rickenbacker is home to military units representing the Ohio Army and Air National Guard, U.S. Army Reserve, U.S. Navy Reserve, and U.S. Marine Corps Reserve.  Rickenbacker functions commercially as an international cargo airport operated by the Columbus Regional Airport Authority. In addition to air cargo, Rickenbacker boasts three other key business segments including an intermodal yard, an industrial park initiative, and a Foreign-Trade Zone.

You can learn more about the grand history of Lockbourne/Rickenbacker AFB•ANGB•IAP in the book Crossroads of Liberty!