Ethan Allen Air Force Base
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Ethan Allen Air Force Base (1951-1960) - A United States Air Force Base first established in 1951 at the former U.S. Army Fort Ethan Allen near Burlington, Chittenden County, Vermont. Closed in 1960.
HistoryOn 1 Nov 1952 Fort Ethan Allen transitioned from the U.S. Army to become Ethan Allen Air Force Base, an active duty Air defense Command (ADC) installation however the former Army post did not have a suitable flight line to support ADC fighter/interceptor aircraft. Prior operations had been conducted from the Burlington Municipal Airport just north of the Air Force base. Negotiations were undertaken for joint use of that flight line and the necessary Air Force facilities were built on the north side of the airstrip. These facilities were activated by ADC on the north side of Burlington Airport on 16 Feb 1953 and the squadron's aircraft were upgraded to the F-86D Sabre Interceptor on 16 Jun 1953. The old Army post area served as a cantonment area for the non-flying activities of the Air Force Base while the north side of the Burlington Airport housed all the flight-line support facilities. On 1 Mar 1956, the 37th Fighter Interceptor Squadron F-86Ds were upgraded to the Convair F-102A Delta Dagger supersonic interceptor aircraft. On 1 May 1960, ADC closed Ethan Allen AFB due to budget constraints. Current StatusFollowing the closure of Ethan Allen AFB, the flight line facilities were transferred to the Vermont Air National Guard for use as an Air National Guard base. The cantonment area of the Air Force Base was put up for public sale. For 33 years, the 158th Fighter Wing flew U.S. Air Force General Dynamics F-16C/D Fighting Falcon fighter aircraft from the facilities on the north side of Burlington International Airport. The unit now flies the F-35A Lightning II aircraft as the first Air Guard unit to complete the 3-year transition to the F-35.
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