Loring AFB Maine, now a restricted nature refuge

reply to post by jazy510


Not that I would ever divulge where I live, but...I'm game.

Can you give more direction than just somewhere on the old Loring Base?

Interesting that Larry King reran that show about aliens near bases with nuclear weapons (showed video of missiles being "shot down") and Loring is not too far from where the Allegash abductions took place.

Hmmm

Interesting thread. I didn't realize Loring AFB was so far north and east. Parts of Maine off the main highway can be very remote by todays standards. I had a reportable experience about 200-300 miles south of there last summer and a couple others at different times this decade. It would be a great place to test aircraft and other things.

reply to post by jazy510

The story he told me, was that he got the required paperwork to go deer hunting in the remote section of the base, and off he went by himself in the back-country of the base... and he ended up following an iced-over stream, and he followed it farther than he had ever gone, and he ended up finding a building out in the midst of the woods, which he thought was really odd..

Do have any idea of time he had traveled back in the sticks before he ran across this "Protected Bldg"?

And possibly a general beginning point and location of his starting point? From the bases location of course.

reply to post by Anonymous ATS
The smaller cement building was used to store the plutonium triggers. The larger builidng the cores and the plans on building weapons as Loring was the first opeartional Nuclear base, The 1974 +1975 incidents were helicopters not UFO's. There are some hot areas East ot the runway. There were 3 sections to the WSA as well as numerous iron bomb structures. All this info is all readily available except for the bigfoot story. One was sited by Security,Base Police and a K-8 unit. They followed it for about 30 minutes and then quit. I asked the flight chief why they quit and he said and I quote"What woul dI do with it if I caught it". It looked like a cross between a man and a bear, This was in the winter of 1975 I believe.

reply to post by Anonymous ATSJust a small correction. The SP patrol was a K-9 (canine) unit, not a K-8 unit.

There is a reason it is referred to as a "Wildlife Refuge"

reply to post by Anonymous ATS


Correct it is K-9, I hit the wrong key. The original design for Loring was to house 100, B-36 bombers and support aircraft and crews. One good thing about working nights is that outside of the alert area where lighting was diminished the sky was awseome. We saw a comet any number of satallites and things that could be classified as UFO's as we could not raedily identify them. Most of the time just seeing the stars was great.

reply to post by jazy510


reply to post by jazy510



Loring AFB was carved out of the woods of Maine in 1953. It was named after Maj. Charles J. Loring, Jr., an Air Force jet fighter pilot who won the CMO in the Korean War the hard way, posthumously. It was the closest Air Force base on the east coast to Europe. It was originally built with a capacity of 100 B-36 Peacemaker bombers. (That would be 25 squadrons in 5 groups in 1 wing).

The Nuclear Weapons Storage Area at Loring once operated as a separate, top secret facility. Originally called Caribou Air Force Station, the remote area to the northeast of Loring’s property was the first U.S. site specifically constructed for the storage, assembly, and testing of atomic weapons.

A parallel ribbon of four fences, one of which was electrified, surrounded the heart of the storage area. This area was nicknamed the “Q” area, which denoted the Department of Energy’s "Q" level security clearance required to enter.

Loring AFB was first targeted for closure in 1976. The Air Force's primary rationale at that time was the poor condition of Loring AFB's facilities. It was estimated that Loring AFB needed up to $300 million in facilities improvements. Between 1976 and 1979, considerable debate took place over the strategic importance of Loring AFB, resulting in a reversal of the Air Force decision to close the base.

When the decision to keep Loring AFB open was made in 1979, Congress committed itself to upgrade the base facilities. Beginning in 1981, nearly $300 million in military construction and operations and maintenance funds were spent to upgrade the facilities.

In 1991, the Secretary of Defense identified six SAC bases for closure and Loring AFB was one of the six bases on the list. The official base closure date was September 30, 1994.The 9,472 acre base property is now administered by the State of Maine, Loring Development Authority. The base site is now called the Loring Commerce Center and is marketed as an "aviation and industrial complex and business park". As of the census of 2000, there were 225 people residing on the base.

I served at Loring from late 1954 to mid-1955. The overall 42nd Bomb Wing (H), (1953-1994) and its subsidiary 42nd Air Refueling Squadron (1955-1994). The base was home at first to the 10 engine B-36 Peacemaker (Apr 1 1953-6 Sep 1956) and later, to the KC-97G Stratotanker (15 Feb 1955-16 Dec 1957).

I was in the 42nd A&E (armaments and electronics) Squadron. I worked on both the B36 and the new Boeing KC97s we received in late 1954. (“K” meaning tanker for in-flight refueling). It did not refuel the B36 (which needed no in-flight refueling), but rather B52s flying from other SAC bases.

The ground at Loring was covered with snow by September 30, and I did not see brown earth until the next June! I have been told it snowed 150 inches the winter of ‘54-‘55. I do recall driving off base to pick up six pizzas for me and my barrack mates. While I waited for the pizzas, a snowfall blocked my car and the road. Fortunately for me, the other customers pushed my car back to the road and I fell in just behind a snow plow which led me back to the base with little lost time!

The coldest temp I experienced was either -45 F. or -50 F. depending on who tells the story. In fact, it could have been both because there is no place more windy than an airport flight line!

Limestone was about 7-8 miles from New Brunswick. We GIs had just discovered Canada’s Moose Head beer. We’d drive over to Edmonsonton (try saying that fast 3 times) and imbibe. Canada being Canada, we had to “rent” a hotel room where Room Service would bring us 1 beer per person, per order. COD. The rent was very nominal.

I enjoyed my short tour there. I was enrolled in the NCO Academy where I learned to do the Manual of Arms with an M1 rifle. Not fun but not too many AF types have that experience. I was reassigned to Keesler AFB, Biloxi, MS, as an instructor. What a change!

Aerial photograph showing Weapons Storage Area (originally called Caribou Air Force Station), from Master Plan of Caribou AS. Photograph, probably taken in the 1960's.

en.wikipedia.org...:LORING_AFB_WSA_67.jpg
en.wikipedia.org...

You know, as a resident of the area, i have heard story from two different people with a simular experience. Apparently, if you enter the main front gate and travel to the extreme left of the base, you will find a building with a dirt road that travels behind it. There is a Federal No Trespassing sign out there and if you do trespass, men dressed in black gear will escort you out of the area. I know this sounds like a pretty lame story, seeing as how the base has been closed for such a long time. However, while one of the people i know may have a reputation for extending the truth, the other one is quite credible.....

reply to post by jazy510


I am from the area and I plan on visiting 4 or 5 different places this spring/summer, loring being one of my stops. I'm wondering if anyone can give me specific directions to some interresting places to check out. I would like to see that building in the woods, I would also like to visit areas that might lead me to the underground. I will be visiting Loring and nike sites in Perham, Caribou, and Connor. Any info on must see sites in the area would greatly be appreciated!

[edit on 11-3-2010 by stewed]