Biggs Air Force Base
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Biggs Army Airfield Biggs Air Force Base Biggs Field |
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USGS aerial image as of 2006
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Military | ||||||||||
| Owner | U.S. Army ATCA-ASO | ||||||||||
| Location | Fort Bliss, El Paso County, Texas | ||||||||||
| Built | 1942 | ||||||||||
| In use | 1942–1968 | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 3,946 ft / 1,203 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 31°50′58″N 106°22′48″W / 31.84944°N 106.38000°WCoordinates: 31°50′58″N 106°22′48″W / 31.84944°N 106.38000°W | ||||||||||
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 KBIF
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Source: Federal Aviation Administration
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Biggs Army Airfield, Biggs AAF, Biggs Field, or simply "Biggs" (IATA: BIF, ICAO: KBIF, FAA LID: BIF) is a military airport located at Fort Bliss in El Paso, El Paso County, Texas, in the United States. The airfield was previously Biggs Air Force Base, a Strategic Air Command installation, between 1947 and 1966. The United States Army began operations supporting Fort Bliss and its mission in 1973.
Biggs Field is now the home of the United States Army 1st Armored Division. In October 2011, the Airfield became home of the Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Armored Division. Biggs is also the headquarters for the El Paso Intelligence Center, a federal tactical operational intelligence center, and its DoD counterpart, Joint Task Force North. Biggs Field is designated a military power projection platform.
What is now Biggs Army Airfield started life in 1915 as an encampment at Fort Bliss, Texas, for the 82d Field Artillery. That location was on what is now Ft Bliss, approximately two miles, south southwest of the current Biggs Army Airfield. The next year aircraft of the 1st Aero Squadron used the field as a stopping point between San Antonio, Texas, and Columbus, New Mexico, in response to Pancho Villa's raid on the town. They were equipped with Curtiss JN-2 "Jennys", and their mission included scouting, observation, and courier service for the cavalry and infantry units on the ground. The field was referred to as "Fort Bliss Aviation Field". In 1919, the field was used to conduct air patrols of the US–Mexico border, when two squadrons of DeHavilland DH.4 bombers, known affectionately as "Flying Coffins", replaced the frail Jennys and the Border Air Patrol was born.
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