Osan Air Base (K-55; ; Hanja: ), is a United States Air Force (USAF) and Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) base located near Songtan Station in the city of Pyeongtaek, South Korea, south of Seoul. Despite its name, Osan AB is not within Osan City, which is to the north. The base is the home of the headquarters for Seventh Air Force, Pacific Air Forces' 51st Fighter Wing, and a number of tenant units. The base is also the headquarters of the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) Operations Command. Osan Air Base is also the departure and arrival point for U.S. government-contracted "Patriot Express" flights bringing service members and their family members to South Korea from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in the U.S. state of Washington, Misawa Air Base and Yokota Air Base in Japan.
As the most forward deployed permanently based wing in the Air Force, and equipped with A-10 Thunderbolt IIs and F-16 Fighting Falcons (about 48 aircraft), the 51st Fighter Wing is charged with executing combat operations, receiving follow-on forces and defending the base from attack. As the air component to United States Forces Korea and Combined Forces Command, 7th Air Force provides the command and control structures and personnel necessary to deliver precise, persistent, combined air and space power in defense of the Republic of Korea.
Osan Air Base is one of two major U.S. Air Force installations operated by U.S. Forces Korea, the other being Kunsan Air Base.
History
Korean War
Osan Air Base is one of two major airfields operated by the USAF in the Republic of Korea and the only base on the peninsula entirely planned and built from scratch by Aviation Engineers (SCARWAF) units attached to the USAF during the Korean War.
In the spring of 1951, the Korean People's Army and Chinese People's Volunteer Army were driven back north of the 38th parallel, and resulted in the return of Fifth Air Force tactical fighter units to peninsula. Aviation engineers, meanwhile, surveyed locations in South Korea to build an air base capable of supporting jet fighters. They decided upon the area southwest of Osan-Ni. Established in November 1951, the base originally was named Osan-Ni AB. The name "Osan-Ni" was chosen for practical reasons – it was the only village shown on most military maps of the time, and it was easy to pronounce.
The 839th Aviation Engineer Battalion began construction of base support facilities and infrastructure early in 1952. On July 9, 1952, the 839th, joined by the 840th and 841st Engineer battalions (Reserve engineer units called up for active duty, the 840th from Tennessee and the 841st from Florida), all part of the 934th Engineer Aviation Group, started work to lay the airfield's runway, taxiway and parking ramps. Monsoon rains, though, impeded initial efforts to fill the rice paddies and begin airfield construction. The delay forced engineers to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week beginning in August. They completed laying a , concrete runway in months. With the taxiway also completed, and parking ramps nearing completion, the 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing and one of its F-51 Mustang combat squadrons arrived on December 26, 1952. With the wing's other two squadrons arriving shortly thereafter, the wing converted to the F-86F Sabre.
In February 1953, the 18th FBW began flying air superiority missions from Osan-Ni AB which continued through the remainder of the Korean War.
Cold War
With the Korean Armistice Agreement signed on July 27, 1953, the 18th FBW remained at Osan-Ni AB for defensive purposes until November 1954. Meanwhile, plans called for HQ Fifth Air Force (Advance) to move from Seoul National University to Yongsan Garrison in Seoul. This plan was changed, and in January 1954, the headquarters relocated to Osan-Ni AB, and established the base as the major hub of operations for U.S. air power in South Korea.
As the Armistice took hold, the USAF redeployed all but one tactical fighter wing from the peninsula, and in November 1954, after Fifth Air Force relocated to Tokyo, the 314th Air Division replaced its former advanced headquarters at Osan-Ni AB. The 58th Fighter-Bomber Wing moved from Daegu AB to Osan-Ni AB in March 1955, and became the only permanently assigned tactical fighter wing in South Korea. On September 18, 1956, the base was redesignated Osan AB, its current name.