New Boston Air Force Station
New Boston Air Force Station
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|---|---|
| Part of Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) | |
| Hillsborough County, New Hampshire | |
| Coordinates | 42°56′32″N 71°38′10″W / 42.942350°N 71.636095°WCoordinates: 42°56′32″N 71°38′10″W / 42.942350°N 71.636095°W |
| Type | Air Force Station |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | United States Air Force |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1942 |
| In use | 1959 - present |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison | 23d Space Operations Squadron |
New Boston Air Force Station is a United States Air Force facility located in Hillsborough County in south central New Hampshire. It occupies more than 2,800 acres (11 km2) in three towns: New Boston, Amherst, and Mont Vernon. It was established in 1942 as a practice area for bombers and fighter planes from nearby Grenier Army Air Field (now Manchester–Boston Regional Airport). Starting in 1959, it was turned into a satellite-tracking station. During the late 1970s and early 1980s it was known as Detachment 1 of the 2014th Communications Squadron located at Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford, Massachusetts.
New Boston AFS is operated by the 23d Space Operations Squadron (23 SOPS), a geographically separated unit (GSU) of the 50th Network Operations Group, 50th Space Wing, Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado.
The New Boston Air Force Station dates back to 1942, when Grenier Field - now Manchester–Boston Regional Airport - was preparing to meet the demands of World War II.
On Sept. 5, 1941, Col. John Moore, commanding officer of the U.S. Army Air Corps at Grenier Field, wrote a letter proposing the government create a bombing range in New Boston near Joe English Pond. "The nature of the terrain around the pond is such that aerial bombing thereon would offer the elements of surprise, concealed approach and navigation to a point," Moore wrote. "It is believed that Joe English Hill (altitude 1,245 feet) would be a satisfactory stop for any ricochet bullets from ground machine gun targets."
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