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Clark Air Base was arguably the most urbanized military facility in history, and was the largest American base overseas. The base was converted into a special economic zone after the American military left the Philippines in 1992.
The base was the location of the Far East Air Force's 4th Composite Group . Located at 15° 11'N 120° 33'E, altitude 478 ft (146 m), Clark Air Base was an American military facility from 1903 to 1991. The base covered 14.3 square miles (37 kmē) with a military reservation extending north that covered another 230 square miles (596 kmē).
At its peak around 1990, it had a permanent population of 15,000. The base was a stronghold of American forces during the end of World War II, and until 1975, it was a backbone of logistical support during the Vietnam War.
Clark Air Base was originally established as Fort Stotsenberg in 1903 and was under control of the U.S. Army. A flying school was created in 1912, with the runway designated Clark Field in 1919.
The base was overrun by Japanese forces during World War II in early 1942, but was recaptured by Americans in January 1945 after three months of fierce fighting.
On March 14, 1947, the U.S. and the Philippines signed the Military Bases Agreement which provided for use of Clark Air Base until the year 2046. In 1949, the base was transferred from the Army to the U.S. Air Force, and was known as Clark Air Base (or Clark AB).
Clark Air Base was completely evacuated beginning June 10, 1991, as Mount Pinatubo erupted.
The Philippine Senate rejected an extension of the Military Bases Agreement that September, and the base was transferred to the Philippine government on November 26, 1991.
Major Air Force units included the 13th Air Force, the 3rd Combat Support Group, the 3rd Security Police Group, and the 405th Fighter Wing.
The heart of Clark's aircraft force during the 1970s and 1980s was the F-4E fighter jet. Other planes included the T-33The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star (also designated the TO-1) is an American-built jet trainer. It was produced by Lockheed and had its first flight in 1948. The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 and was initially designated TP-80C with subseque trainer, the C-130The Lockheed C-130 Hercules a four-engine turboprop aircraft, is the main tactical air transport aircraft of the United States military forces. Capable of landing and taking off from short, rough dirt runways, it is a people and cargo hauler and is used i transport, and a small number of F-5The F-5 Freedom Fighter (or Tiger is a fighter aircraft, designed and built by Northrop in the USA, beginning in 1962. Originally designed by Northrop (designated N-156) as a low-cost, low-maintenance fighter, there was little market for such a craft. fighters.
Transient aircraft of many types, especially cargo jets, were very common. Fighter planes regularly visited to participate in aerial warfare exercises at Crow Valley about 30 miles (50 km) to the north.
Clark was served regularly by cargo and passenger flights to and from Andersen AFB, Guam; Kadena AB, Japan; Diego Garcia; Jakarta, Indonesia; and Saigon, Vietnam (until 1975). During the 1970s, passengers arrived via Trans International Douglas DC-8The Douglas DC-8 is a four-engined jet airliner, manufactured between 1959 and 1972. Background At the time the world's first jet airliner was introduced, the de Havilland Comet in 1949, Douglas held a commanding position in the aircraft market. Although flights from Travis AFB, California (via Honolulu and Guam).
By 1980, the base had grown to such an extent that weekly Flying Tigers Boeing 747The Boeing 747 also popularly known as the jumbo jet is the second largest passenger airliner after Airbus A380. Until the first commercial flight of the A380 in 2006, however, it remains the largest aircraft in commercial service. The four-engine 747, pr service to St. Louis (via Kadena AB Japan; Anchorage; and Los Angeles) had begun. The 747 service was taken over by Tower Air sometime in the late 1980s.