Trip Report: Operation Solo Turkey
First published in 2001. Reformatted 2025. It was time to visit my brother's family and my dad, near Omaha, Nebraska. Just a reminder PIN means Permanent Installation Number and ILC means Installation Location Code; I include these for Air Force properties when I know them.Sunday, 18 November 2001
Canton Communications Site GWEN 661 OK, ILC DATQ. Departing home at 0500, I took I-35 north to Oklahoma City, cut west on I-40, then took US 270 north past Watonga and some back roads to Canton. This site was operational with the USAF from the 1980s through about 2000.Building at base of tower
General view
Tower Kegelman AF Auxiliary Field OK, ILC MBEB, 36-44-10, 98-07-30. The gate was locked, so I observed from the main entrance. Back in WWII this was a sub-base of Will Rogers Field, and was known as Great Salt Plains Bombing Range. Its assignment bounced around from Will Rogers to Clovis AAFld, Woodward AAFld, and Liberal AAFld until 1946 when it transferred to Enid AAFld (later Vance AFB). It's been supporting Vance ever since. The bombing range part of the installation was disposed of in 1947, but the airfield remains in use. It was known as Jet Auxiliary Field and Great Salt Plains Auxiliary Field, officially becoming Great Salt Plains AF Auxiliary Field in 1948. It took its present designation in 1949.
Gate
Gate and signs
View from gate McConnell AF Missile Site #10 KS, PIN 7828, ILC PRRB, 37-11-05, 97-24-31. I headed east and north, and off US 81 I found this former ICBM site. The fence was gone, and there were no gates or signs indicating that the property was posted or restricted. This was my first time on top of a Titan II site, so I took the opportunity to walk around. This site (along with the other 17 McConnell Titan II sites) was active from the early 1960s until the 1980s. This site, also known as site 532-1, was disposed of in 1991.
Access road and parking area
Concrete pad
Silo area
Manholes
Communications silo
Access road and parking area US 81 then I-35 north to Wichita and McConnell AFB. Security precautions were strict, as I had expected. I lucked into a VIP suite, created by joining two rooms that formerly housed two airmen each. I drove 525 miles in 11 hours today. After catching up on some work email, I called it an early night.
Monday, 19 November 2001
Ellsworth GFA KS, 38-50-28, 98-11-48. Departing from McConnell AFB at 0500, I took I-135 north past Salina, then I-70 west, then some back roads to this former gap filler radar. The building seemed reasonably intact, with some modifications, and was in use for farm storage. The radar antenna tower mounts were still in place.General view
Building
Building
Building
Building
Antenna mounts
Antenna mounts Offutt Communications Facility Annex (Survivable Low Frequency) NE, ILC SGDE, 41-20-46, 97-43-17. US 81 north towards Osceola, then local roads. This site was also known as Silver Creek Communications Annex No. 4, or simply Silver Creek. The administrative building at the entry gate was in poor condition. The site was acquired in 1965 and operations ended in about 1994. There was a 1,240-foot antenna here.
Sign
General view
General view
General view Lincoln AF Missile Site #12 NE. I took a quick look from the gate; is that the access portal to the left of the white building? I couldn't tell for sure. This was one of 12 Atlas F sites around Lincoln AFB.
Gate
View from gate Nike LI-01C NE, 41-01-25, 96-44-50. Now it was time to see northernmost of the two Lincoln Defense Area Nike sites. Several new buildings have been added, and the site is now a school.
General view
Gate
General view Nike LI-01L NE, 41-02-10, 96-44-25. It was gated and locked, but moving to the north I could see the outer sentry box, inner security gate and sentry box, and the berms of the launcher bays. The other Lincoln Nike site is LI-50, and I did not visit it on this trip.
General view
General view
General view Lincoln AFB NE, PIN 1369, ILC NGCB, 40-51, 96-46. I visited the west side of the current Lincoln airport, which was the main area for the Air Force. Several hangars and the parachute loft still stand, among other buildings. Opening in 1942, Lincoln AAFld was home to Basic Training Center #6 and Airplane Mechanics School #5. After the war it was disposed of, only to be reactivated as Lincoln Air Force Base in 1954. Closed in 1966, part of the former base was transferred to the National Guard in 1971.
Maintenance dock and double-cantilever hangar
Double-cantilever hangar
Parachute and dinghy shop Union Airport NE, 40-52-30, 96-37-45. On my way out of Lincoln, I stopped in an industrial park to look for the remains of a short-lived contract flying school from WWII. Under contract to the Army Air Forces, Lincoln Airplane and Flying School opened a primary school here; it operated from July 1939 until late 1940 before closing (the school moved to Lakeland, Florida). The Lincoln Aeronautical Institute did operate a civilian Inspection and Maintenance school for the AAF here until at least 1942. I noticed one distinctive masonry hangar, which has been modified. An adjacent building also looks like a hangar, although modified with an unusual roof design. South of the masonry hangar is a rotating beacon--nice of them to leave that as a landmark for researchers.
General view
Hangar
Hangar
Hangar
Airport beacon light Heading east towards Omaha, I followed signs to Offutt AFB, and checked into a nice lodging suite. The parade ground and some distinguished houses remain from the early days of Fort George Crook, named in 1891. First aviation use was in 1918, and in 1924 the flying field was named Offutt Field. The field was also home to the Martin Bomber Plant (Government Owned Assembly Plant #1, later Air Force Plant #1) and Modification Center #8. In 1948 the base was redesignated Offutt AFB. I covered 535 miles today, in 11.5 hours.
Tuesday, 20 November 2001
This was a day mostly for family and friends. I had lunch with my brother, visited my dad in the afternoon, and had dinner with a friend from high school! But my path did take me past a few places of interest. Offutt Family Housing Annex NE, ILC SGER. West of the main base, a public road (Capehart Road) passes through the center of this housing area. A small chunk of the property, on the northwest edge, has been declared excess and is for sale through GSA.General view
General view Bellevue Communications Site GWEN 667 IA, ILC BEZG, 41-06-27, 95-50-04. This one has been recently demolished and returned to farming. Thankfully the TerraServer image is several years old and still shows the site. From behind a gate and a no trespassing sign, it looks like the shelter pad is visible on the south edge of the access road. This site was also referred to as St. Mary's.
General view
General view Glenwood Communications Site GWEN 850 IA, ILC JAGM. This site is still almost intact. Leased in 1988, the site was disposed of in 1999. The eggbeater antenna (LF receive) has been removed, but otherwise the equipment and signage look original. This site has also been referred to as Pacific Junction or Omaha.
General view
Top of short tower
Main and short towers
Equipment building at base of main tower
Wednesday, 21 November 2001
Time for a father and son road trip! Dad drove today, so I had the rare chance to play copilot/navigator. We made a wide loop around Omaha, moving counterclockwise. Nike OF-60C NE, 40-59-20, 96-04-28. Operational from 1960 to 1966, this Nike Hercules Integrated Fire Control (IFC) site is now home to a religious facility, Camp of the Risen Son. The radar tower footings were still visible on a long, raised berm. Most buildings were original, and seemed to be in good condition.General view
General view
General view
General view
Building
Building Nike OF-60L NE, 40-59-01, 96-05-30. The launcher site consisted of bermed firing positions, without the underground missile storage of earlier Nike Ajax sites. We didn't go past the keep out signs, and could not see the berms from the public road.
Gate Nebraska Ordnance Plant NE. There are many munitions storage magazines on the former ordnance plant. This type is called the Richmond magazine, a wartime substitute for the standard igloo-style magazine when concrete was in short supply. After the war, the plant property was home to a few other military uses. In fact, the next three facilities were superimposed on the former ordnance plant.
Richmond magazines
Building
Richmond magazine Offutt Communications Annex #1 NE, 41-09-41, 96-24-58. Located on part of the former Nebraska Ordnance Plant (NOP), this short-lived site was activated as Offutt Globecom Annex #2 in July 1961. It was redesignated Omaha Globecom Annex #2, then Offutt Communications Annex #1, and was disposed of in October 1964. The distinctive building in the center of the one-mile square property a minimum-security prison for a time after its Air Force service, before serving as an agronomy research center for the University of Nebraska. Researcher Ron Plante shared a layout plan of the ordnance plant that showed this USAF communications site.
Building
Building
Building
Building
Building
General view Offutt Missile Annex #1 NE, ILC SGFD. Also referred to as Offutt Missile Annex A, site 549-A, or simply Mead, this site was home to three aboveground concrete launchers each holding an Atlas D missile. It is now used by the Nebraska National Guard as a training site.
Signs at gate
View from gate Nike Guided Missile Field Maintenance Shop and Allied Support Facility NE. This was our last stop on the Nebraska Ordnance Plant. Ron Plante also supplied the information on this one, via a drawing updated in 1959. Based on the location, this facility likely supported both the Omaha and Lincoln defense areas. It is still government property used by the Army National Guard and Army Reserve.
General view Omaha Communications Annex NE, 41-21-26, 96-04-42. We headed east to Omaha. Recognizable from the air as a GATR site, this facility supported the nearby Omaha AFS. We respected the signs and went no farther than the access road.
View from road Offutt Missile Annex #2 NE. This one was also called Missile Annex B, site 549-B, or simply Arlington. Gated and locked, we really couldn't see much detail from the road. The launch operations building and the power and pump house were visible, as were remote rate antenna buildings, and other buildings unrecognizable from a distance. The inner security gate was visible, as was this HF antenna to the east of the main site.
Gate
Launch operations building
Power and pump house
Power and pump house
Remote rate antenna building
Remote rate antenna building
Building
Building
Security gate
HF antenna Scribner AAFld NE, 41-37, 96-37. This airport was a Second Air Force field during WWII. Part of the airfield is currently used for a drag strip. We didn't find the spectator entrance, but we did stumble across the racer entrance.
General view
General view Lyons AT&T Site NE, 42-00-17, 96-24-50. This site looked empty and unused. It was a switching station on the transcontinental coaxial cable (L-3) route. It also hosted Ground Entry Point (GEP) antennas for the USAF. Much like the Fairview, Kansas, site there are two soft antennas and one hardened antenna in the GEP compound. This site also had blast detectors, both the overpressure detection type and the Gamma ray detection type. The access building and air intake for the underground facility were present. This site had turbine generators that produced a 500-degree exhaust, according to the warning sign.
Tower
Building
GEP antenna compound
Overpressure blast detector
Gamma ray blast detector
Turbine exhaust structure and gamma ray blast detector
Turbine exhaust structure detail
Parking lot, turbine exhaust structure, and gamma ray blast detector Offutt Missile Annex #3 IA. Also known as Offutt Missile Annex C, site 549-C, or simply as Missouri Valley. The concrete launch structures have been demolished, and the site appears to be in use as a private residence.
View from gate This was a great day, on the road with Dad, getting some fresh air and adventure. Quality time!
Friday, 23 November 2001
Rosecrans Field MO, 39-46, 94-55. Making a leisurely start from Offutt AFB at 0620, I took I-29 south to St Joseph's municipal airport. This field served Air Transport Command during WWII, occasionally known as St. Joseph AAFld. In 1960 the Army transferred 50.9 acres of Rosecrans Army Airfield to the USAF, and it was designated Rosecrans Memorial Airport for Air National Guard use. The Missouri ANG continues to be the largest presence on the airfield, flying C-130s.Terminal and control tower
Hangar
General view
General view Maple Hill Communications Site GWEN 842 KS, ILC PCGF. Taking I-29 south then I-70 east past Topeka, I found this GWEN site. It was also called Topeka, and served from the late 1980s until about 2000. The tower, equipment shelters, and signage are still in place.
Equipment shelters
General view
General view
Tower Wilsey GFA KS, 38-40-00, 96-44-10. I-70 west to Fairfield, then meandering south on state highways, took me to This one is for sale, although the condition is pretty rough. The exterior looks better than the interior.
Building
Building
Building
Building
Building interior
Possible antenna location and building Herington AAFld KS, 38-41-30, 96-48-30. Then it was only a short drive west to Herington Municipal Airport (HRU). This was a Second Air Force bomber training field during WWII. Some hangars, and a concrete water tower, remain from the wartime days. The concrete portion of a Norden bombsight storage building stands next to a Norden bombsight storage vault. Hogdon Powder owns much of the former base.
Buttresses of former hangar
Hangar
Hangar
Tower for water storage tank
Hangar
Norden bombsite storage and maintenance building remains (right) and Norden bombsite storage vault (center) McConnell AF Missile Site #2 KS, PIN 7426, ILC PRQT, 37-55-29, 96-50-37. US 56 and US 77 took me to this fenced Titan II site.
General view McConnell AF Missile Site #2 Water System Annex KS, 37-55-38, 96-50-37. To the north is the water system site.
General view US 77 then I-35 south took me to Wichita and McConnell AFB. I stayed in a standard suite this time. Wow, a short day! Only drove 460 miles, in 9 hours, 40 minutes.
Saturday, 24 November 2001
McConnell AF Missile Site #8 KS, PIN 7748, ILC PRQZ, 37-15-43, 96-51-14. From McConnell AFB, I made my way southeast. This site had the only azimuth marker post I saw at a Titan II site on this trip, located where the access road met the public road.Access road and parking lot
Azimuth marker post
Concrete pad
Concrete pad McConnell AF Missile Site #8 Water System Annex #1 KS, 37-15-22, 96-51-15. Two water well facilities were across the road from the missile site.
General view McConnell AF Missile Site #8 Water System Annex #2 KS, 37-15-14, 96-51-15. Two water well facilities were across the road from the missile site.
General view McConnell AF Missile Site #9 KS, PIN 7430, ILC PRRA, 37-17-36, 97-13-37. It looked like this Titan II site was in use as a residence.
View from public road McConnell AF Missile Site #9 Water System Annex KS, 37-19-05, 97-13-24. A water well annex was a mile north of the missile site.
General view
General view Pauls Valley Auxiliary Airfield OK, 34-42-39, 97-13-23. Backtrack south to US 160, then west to I-35, south on I-35 to Pauls Valley, exit 70 to the municipal airport (F61). This was an auxiliary field during WWII, possibly to Ardmore AAFld.
General view
General view
General view From Pauls Valley I rejoined I-35 and headed south to home. Traffic was heavy from this point on, making for the only uncomfortable part of this whole excursion. Another short day, 436 miles in 7 hours, 35 minutes. The entire trip covered 2,320 miles in seven days. (That's not including the 400 or so miles Dad drove us on Wednesday.) The Forester averaged 24.7 miles per gallon. Updated January 26, 2025
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