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Ellsworth Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base, located about 7 miles east of Rapid City, South Dakota and is home to the B-1B Lancer.
Location
Ellsworth AFB is located at 44°8'15" North, 103°4'5" West (44.137471, -103.068123)1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the U.S. Air Force base has a total area of 4.9 km² (1.9 mi²). None of the area is covered with water.
Host Unit
The host unit for Ellsworth AFB is the 28th Bomb Wing and is assigned to 12th Air Force under Air Combat Command.
Mission
As home to the B-1B, the 28th Bomb Wing provides operational support in areas such as security forces, personnel and administration, civil engineering, communications, supply, transportation, chaplain, recreation and food services.
Ellsworth controls all air space 40 miles around its area, including all landings in nearby Rapid City, South Dakota.
History
The base was initially opened as the Rapid City Army Air Base in September 1942 and was a training base for the B-17 "Flying Fortress". In June 1953, the base was renamed Ellsworth Air Force Base in honor of Brig Gen Richard E. Ellsworth, commander of the 28th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, who was killed in March 1953 when his RB-36 crashed in Newfoundland. President Dwight D. Eisenhower dedicated the base in honor of Gen Ellsworth.
In 2004, pilots for a commercial Northwest Airlines flight mistakenly landed there instead of at the Rapid City airport.
Nearby Installations
There are no nearby major military installations close to Ellsworth, although Rapid City is the home of Camp Rapid, the headquarters for the South Dakota National Guard
External links
Ellsworth Air Force Base Public Website (http://www.ellsworth.af.mil)
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