RSDs: A thing of the past, present

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Rose Richeson
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  In the late 1950s, political and religious turmoil caused tension in the Middle East in the late 1950s that was spawned by the Lebanon Crisis (click here for the rest of the 1956-1960 Incirlik history article). American military presence slowly diminished with the end of the Lebanon crisis and for Incirlik that meant the first rotational squadron deployment would soon arrive.

With U.S. Air Forces in Europe responsible for air defense in Turkey, a new base was activated Feb. 1, 1961 as a site for the SM-78 Jupiter intermediate range ballistic missile. Cigli Air Base, 15 miles north of Izmir, housed five Jupiter launch sites with three launch pads per site. The U.S. Air Force continued manning Cigli side-by-side with Turkish Air Force members until Turkish crews took control of the site a year and a half later.

Over a two-day span in March 1963 Cigli was opened for use by Tactical Air Command rotational squadrons. Along with this transfer of fighters, the 612th Tactical Fighter Squadron moved from Incirlik to Cigli.

While Cigli was gaining a fighter platform it was also in the process of losing the 15 assigned ballistic missiles.

The background discussion for the removal of Jupiters from Turkey has been debated for years and has been the topic of blockbuster films concentrated on the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Kennedys maintained that neither John nor Robert Kennedy promised to withdraw the Jupiters as a concession in exchange for the removal of the Soviet missiles from Cuba. The Jupiters were regarded by President Kennedy as being of questionable strategic value and so he was fulfilling a pledge that was made to the Soviets during the Cuban Missile Crisis by withdrawing the missiles from Italy and Turkey. The removal was complete by April 1963.

The next year marked the first rotational fighter aircraft in Turkey with the arrival of F-105D Thunderchiefs assigned to TACs 354th Tactical Fighter Squadron out of George AFB, Calif. This specific fighter/bomber was converted to be an all weather, night bomber.

Nearly 50 years later, Incirlik continues to receive rotational squadron deployments. The most recent arrived here Jan. 8 from Spangdahlem, Germany, comprised of 16 F-16 Fighting Falcons with the 22nd Fighter Squadron.

(Editor's note: Over the next 9 months leading up to the AF's 60th birthday monumental milestones in Incirlik's history will be uncovered. You can read about Incirlik's coming of age during the last week each month either in the printed paper or online at www.incirlik.af.mil.)

(The 39th Air Base Wing historian office contributed to this story)