This 1958 file photo shows Nebraska Air National Guard planes inside a hangar at the former Lincoln Air Force Base.
Journal Star file photo
The 55th Wing has renovated one of two hangars that once housed Strategic Air Command B-47 Stratojet bombers at the former Lincoln Air Force Base for temporary use while the runway at Offutt Air Force Base is rebuilt. Up to 900 employees are expected to work there for 18 months.
STEVE LIEWER, Omaha World-Herald
The renovated hangar was state-of-the-art when it was built in the early 1950s — at 98,270 square feet, large enough to hold four of SAC’s B-47 Stratojet bombers. The 20-inch-thick floors are equipped with radiant heat. The building is billed as “earthquake-proof,†although earthquakes are uncommon in Nebraska.
WILLIAM O’BRIEN, U.S. Air Force
The 55th Wing has put up a second clamshell-style temporary hangar for maintenance and refueling at the former Lincoln Air Force Base, which will be the temporary home of the Wing’s RC-135 flight operations during 2021-22.
STEVE LIEWER, Omaha World-Herald
A “cubicle farm†with 105 work spaces was built for 55th Wing employees in a renovated hangar at the Lincoln Airport. The hangar was originally built for Air Force B-47 Stratojet bombers at the Lincoln Air Force Base. The base closed in 1966, and the hangar was one of two used by Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company to hold its inventory of radiator parts for 30 years, until Goodyear left in 2004.
WILLIAM O’BRIEN, U.S. Air Force
This 1957 file photo shows the control tower at the former Lincoln Air Force Base.
Journal Star file photo
This 1954 file photo shows planes on the runway at the former Lincoln Air Force Base.
Journal Star file photo
This 1955 file photo shows aircraft from the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps outside a hangar at the former Lincoln Air Force Base.
When the 55th Wing’s RC-135 reconnaissance jets hop from Offutt Air Force Base in Bellevue to their temporary quarters at the next spring, they will be following in the tire tracks of some of the Air Force’s earliest, and most historic, jet bombers.
From 1954-65, the newly renovated north hangar, its south twin and adjacent apron for parking aircraft were home to two Strategic Air Command bomb wings at what was then the . As many as 100 of the new B-47 Stratojets were assigned to Lincoln, along with KC-97 flying fuel tankers to keep them airborne on their extended missions. The Stratojets stood on alert to carry nuclear bombs in the case of war with the Soviet Union.
The 55th Wing has nearly completed a $31.6 million project to renovate the historic north hangar and adjacent apron, plus erect a smaller temporary hangar. The Air Force will also pay $27,000 a month to lease the space.
The 55th Wing plans to move up to 900 of its flight crew and support staff there next March. They will operate out of Lincoln while construction workers completely rebuild Offutt’s 11,700-foot runway for the first time since it was built, in 1941, and extended to its current length in the mid-1950s. That $144 million project is expected to continue until fall 2022.
Adding in $17 million for transportation and lodging costs, the total price tag is a little less than $200 million.
“We will be able to extend the life of Offutt for 50 years,†said Col. Alan Dayton, commander of the . “It affects generations of air crew to come.â€
Despite patchwork repairs over the years, the Offutt runway has been in terrible shape for a long time, Air Force officials say. Five years ago, concern about its deteriorating condition prompted Nebraska political leaders, including the congressional delegation, to lobby hard for funding for the runway project.
For several months, workers have been rehabbing the old north hangar and its surroundings at the Lincoln Airport. The 55th Wing took over a building that was little changed since it was built in the early 1950s and that had stood empty for 15 years, except for the birds who made a home there.
“It was heavy avian waste,†Dayton said. “Pretty archaic.â€
originally cost $750,000 ($7.2 million in today’s dollars), Branting said. They were sturdy and modern, featuring 20-inch-thick concrete floors with radiant heating, earthquake-proof masonry and deicing grids under the 6½-story doors. At 98,270 square feet, each could hold four B-47s and were among the 12 largest aircraft hangars in the country.
The Air Force used them until the base was closed and the area on the west side of the runways turned into an industrial park. Goodyear leased both hangars in the mid-1970s and used them until 2004 as its global distribution center for belts and radiator hoses, said Bob McNally, operations director for the Lincoln Airport Authority.
“They were never used (by Goodyear) as hangars. They were simply very large warehouses,†he said.
The south hangar is still being used as warehouse space by another company.
The 55th Wing has installed new lighting in the north hangar, so maintenance crews will be better able to see while inspecting and repairing the 55th Wing’s 29 C-135-variant reconnaissance jets. Chain-link fencing marks off areas for parts storage.
The most noticeable changes are new office space and a large lunchroom at the hangar’s east end, near the loading docks. Four refrigerators, three coffee makers and six microwaves are already there, waiting to be plugged in. Once the lunchroom is in use, the Army and Air Force Exchange Service will install a “micromart,†with food for sale.
Across the parking lot, the 55th Wing has put up a temporary clamshell hangar, for refueling and general maintenance. It is on the site of World War II-era hangars that have since been demolished.
Outside, the concrete apron was milled to a depth of 3 inches and resurfaced with asphalt.
“It’s about done. We could almost move in now,†said Lt. Col. Derek Michaud, deputy commander of the Mission Support Group and director of the runway program management office.
But in one of several delays to the project, the Wing decided to wait until March so most runway demolition at Offutt could take place during spring instead of winter.
Dayton said an inspection two weeks ago showed the pavement of the Offutt runway once again crumbling. Inspectors found chunks of ripped-up pavement, which poses a hazard to aircraft if ingested into jet engines.
“The timing couldn’t be any better,†he said. “We are at the end of the life of this runway.â€
The 55th Wing has renovated one of two hangars that once housed Strategic Air Command B-47 Stratojet bombers at the former Lincoln Air Force Base for temporary use while the runway at Offutt Air Force Base is rebuilt. Up to 900 employees are expected to work there for 18 months.
The renovated hangar was state-of-the-art when it was built in the early 1950s — at 98,270 square feet, large enough to hold four of SAC’s B-47 Stratojet bombers. The 20-inch-thick floors are equipped with radiant heat. The building is billed as “earthquake-proof,†although earthquakes are uncommon in Nebraska.
The 55th Wing has put up a second clamshell-style temporary hangar for maintenance and refueling at the former Lincoln Air Force Base, which will be the temporary home of the Wing’s RC-135 flight operations during 2021-22.
A “cubicle farm†with 105 work spaces was built for 55th Wing employees in a renovated hangar at the Lincoln Airport. The hangar was originally built for Air Force B-47 Stratojet bombers at the Lincoln Air Force Base. The base closed in 1966, and the hangar was one of two used by Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company to hold its inventory of radiator parts for 30 years, until Goodyear left in 2004.