Not at posted coordinates! Be sure to check the logbook for the bonus codes!
One of the key BUFF wings was one of the newest—410th Bomb Wing, K.I. Sawyer AFB, MI. Named for a Marquette, MI civil engineer who desired a civilian airport to help grow the area’s commerce, Kenneth Ingalls Sawyer, the 1930s was time of growth for the Marquette area. By the 1937, a small airport was built southwest of Marquette, but was soon outgrown. With Sawyer now a county highway superintendent, he stepped outside his role and presented a plan for a larger airport in 1941. The county agreed, but the airport was not built until 1945. With Sawyer dying in 1944 before seeing his dream fulfilled, the new airport was named K. I. Sawyer Airport in his honor. Known for a wealth of blueberry patches, the airport was used by private aviation until 1948 when Nationwide Airlines started routine flights.
By February 1954, the Air Force was seeking to grow, and sought a lease of K.I Sawyer Airport, with a limit of 300 civilian aircraft landings/monthly, and would invest $12 million in a new jet base. The 99-year lease agreement was made in January 1955, and construction to build and upgrade the airport for air base use (including a mammoth 12,366-foot-long, 24-inches thick and 300-foot-wide runway by 1959) started almost immediately. K. I. Sawyer Airport officially opened as a joint civil-military facility on 8 April 1956, but it wasn’t long before the Air Force wanted to keep the facility for itself and assist the Marquette area with a $447,000 appropriation to build their own airport. The area featured very little opposing air traffic, for safe and efficient air base operations. With the transfer of civilian air traffic to the new Marquette County Airport in 1957, K.I. Sawyer AFB was born as a strictly military installation on 8 May 1959.
Initially when military operations began at the airport, operations were overseen by Air Defense Command (ADC) and a host of fighter aircraft. On 8 April 1956, The 473d Fighter Group was activated as the host unit, under the ADC 4706th Air Defense Wing at O'Hare International Airport, Illinois. The first aircraft assigned to K. I. Sawyer were F-102 Delta Daggers from the 438th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron at Kincheloe AFB MI, which were temporarily stationed at K. I. Sawyer during the summer of 1958. Fighters of many types were stationed at or had air defense responsibilities at K.I. Sawyer AFB for many years, but that is beyond the scope of this writing.
Strategic Air Command (SAC) became a tenant organization at K. I. Sawyer AFB on 1 August 1958 with the organization of the 4042d Strategic Wing. B-52H dispersal was an initial mission at K.I. Sawyer, as well as KC-135 tankers until the fully rebuilt runway was completed. The first operational units were 923d Air Refueling Squadron on 1 May 1960 which was fully operational that November, and the 526th Bombardment Squadron on 1 June 1961. The first H-models arrived thaton 4 August., serial number 60-0024 took the honor first. In SAC tradition, the 4-digit strategic wing designation was phased out on 1 February 1963, when the 4042d Strategic Wing was discontinued and the 410th Bombardment Wing (Heavy) (410 BW (H)) was activated. SAC finally became fully responsible for K.I. Sawyer on 1 January 1964.
When the Vietnam War kindled hot a year later, bomber crews in 1968 (no aircraft as no H-models were sent to Southeast Asia), and tankers and their crews were deployed in 1964 to aid in the Operation Arc Light missions until 1975. The bomber crews being proficient with H-models needed to be cross-trained on the D-models they’d fly in Southeast Asia, so SAC sent them to Castle AFB to Stratofortress College for a 2-week course to fly the dissimilar D’s.
After the Vietnam War, crews and aircraft were sent back home and placed back on nuclear ground alert. In the early 1980s, K.I Sawyer added the AGM-86/B Air Launched Cruise Missile to its arsenal, and became the first SAC wing to develop tactics and use the new Electro-Optical Viewing system. On 15 September 1983, B-52D serial number 55-0062 named the “Black Bandit” arrives from Carswell AFB, Texas for static display. Additionally, K.I. Sawyer was also the first to employ the AGM-129 Advanced Cruise Missile, conduct its follow-on testing and stockpile operational missiles. As the 1980s camcame to a close, so too did the Cold War and the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. Long a symbol of the Warsaw Pact, Soviet Union and the Iron Curtain between Communism and the west, when the Wall fell, the end was near for ground alert and for SAC itself. Ground alerts ended by Presidential direction on 18 September 1991, and in June 1992, SAC had passed the guidon (the flag in a ceremonial change of command) to Air Combat Command. Despite K.I. Sawyer’s importance, in 1993, Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission announced the base would be closed. On 21 November 1994, last B-52H, serial number 60-0026 departed for Minot AFB, ND and had finished operations by September 1995.
Today, the base is again a civilian airport, the blueberry patches still sprawl across the old base and a forest products plant has sprung up within the once ultra-secure weapons storage area, where AGM-129s and other weapons were stored between ground or airborne alerts. Amazing how things can come full-circle.
To find this cache, navigate to thesecalculate the coordinates from the information in this listing.
N 48° AB.CDE W 101° FG.HIJ
A= Year Kenneth Ingalls Sawyer died before seeing his dream come true, XXXN, A=(N/2)
B= Total length of K.I. Sawyer’s massive runway, XX.XXX WXXX,XXN feet, B=(N-6)
C= Day in May 1959 K.I. Sawyer became strictly a military installation, N May, C=(N/8)
D= Year 410th Bombardment Wing (Heavy) was activated, XXXN, D=(Nx3)
E= Year the first bomber crews were deployed for Arc Light, XXXN, E=(N/4)
F= Year B-52Hs first arrived at K.I. Sawyer, XXXN, F=(Nx1)
G= Day in September 1983 B-52D “Black Bandit” arrives, NN September, G=(NN-8)
H= Day in September 1991 ground alert ended, XN September, H=(N-1)
I= Year SAC was inactivated and Air Combat Command assumed responsibility, XXXN, I=(Nx3)
J= Serial number of final B-52H to leave K.I. Sawyer, 60-XXXN, J=(N+3)
https://kishamuseum.org/pages/k-i-sawyer-air-force-base-history-timeline
http://www.strategic-air-command.com/bases/K_I_Sawyer_AFB.htm
http://www.strategic-air-command.com/wings/0410bw.htm
https://www.afcec.af.mil/Home/BRAC/K-I-Sawyer/