Hill AFB and the 1550th Aircrew Training and Test Wing

  • Published
  • 75th Air Base Wing History Office

Editor's note: This feature is part of a Hill Air Force Base 80th anniversary series. These articles will feature the base’s historical innovations and achievements, and will highlight mission platforms that have been operated and supported throughout the decades.

Activated and assigned to Hill AFB on April 1, 1971, the 1550th Aircrew Training and Test Wing brought with it seven squadrons. With an authorized strength of 1,400 military and 100 civilian personnel, it became Hill AFB's largest tenant upon its arrival at the installation.

The activation of the 1550 ATTW consolidated at Hill AFB all Air Force helicopter combat crew training schools (those previously at Sheppard AFB, Texas; Shaw AFB, South Carolina; and two at Eglin AFB, Florida). Hill AFB met the required geophysical training criteria: ready access to mountains with elevations over 5,000 feet, availability of a large expanse of water, a nearby air-to-ground gunnery range, and a relatively unobstructed air refueling area.

During the years the unit operated at Hill, approximately 1,200 pilots and aircrew members graduated annually. The first class began in July 1971 with about 280 students enrolled. The wing’s assigned aircraft consisted of 68 helicopters and six fixed-wing HC-130s. In June 1971, the wing received the transfer of the last of the three H-21 Workhorse helicopters assigned to Hill. The unit removed its rotor blades and used the aircraft as a ground trainer. Originally assigned to Hill AFB in 1967, this H-21 previously supported operations at the Hill Air Force Range (now the Utah Test and Training Range or UTTR).

In support of the 1550 ATTW and its training program, the Ogden Air Materiel Area constructed a fire training site at Little Mountain Air Force Training Annex and activated it in September 1971. This facility included aircraft landing pads, fire pits, and fuel piping. Hill AFB also established the first Air Force H-3 helicopter simulator, which became operational on August 24, 1973. With the simulator, the 1550th reduced the required flying hours for student pilots at an Air Force savings of $7,200 per student.

On December 12, 1975, the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force announced that the 1550th would move to Kirtland AFB, New Mexico. With a strength at that time of 181 officers, 651 airmen, and 34 civilians, relocating the unit opened space needed to bring the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing from Korat Royal Thai Air Base, Thailand, to Hill AFB. The ability of the Hill/Wendover/Dugway Range complex to readily accept required weapons training played a key role in the wing’s assignment to Hill. The change resulted in an increase of 1,100 military personnel and a decrease of 50 civilian positions at the installation.

The 1550 ATTW officially relocated from Hill AFM to Kirtland AFB on March 15, 1976. The next year, during January 1977, two helicopter simulators belonging to the 1550th were shipped to its newly built facilities at Kirtland AFB. The $3 million, seven-ton simulators were used by the wing while at Hill AFB in the training of over 2,000 U.S. and foreign students in flying proficiency for the CH-3 Jolly Green Giant and the HH-53C Super Jolly Green Giant helicopters.