| Category | Games |
|---|---|
| Canon | Wasteland Wasteland 2 Wasteland 3 |
| Non-Canon | Fountain of Dreams Meantime |
| Related games | Fallout |
The History of the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base is a book in Wasteland 2.
Background
An old, yellowing book with a photograph of a P-51 Mustang on the cover.
Location
- Damonta: On the body of a woman near the motel.
Transcript
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base is named for Lieutenants Samuel H. Davis and Oscar Monthan, two natives of Tucson, Arizona and pilots during World War I, who died in separate military aircraft accidents in the years following the war.
In 1925, a year after Monthan had passed and four years after Davis died, Tucson's City Council purchased 1,280 acres of land southeast of town to locate the city's municipal airport. Construction was completed in 1927 and the world famous aviator Charles Lindbergh formally dedicated the site in honor of the two deceased airmen. This site would later become the heart of the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.
While primarily a civilian air base for years, in 1940 with the war effort ramping up for World War II, the War Department officially established an Army Air Force base in Tucson. Davis-Monthan soon became home to newly assigned units such as the 1st Bombardment Wing and 31st Air Base Group. The base was officially named Davis-Monthan Field. As the war progressed it was used for training and deployment of B-17 Fortress and B-24 Liberator bombers, key to the war effort.
Following the war, Davis-Monthan continued operating both as a storage for Army Air Force planes – Tucson's dry climate making it an ideal location for preservation – as well as a base of operations for bombers. In 1948 it was officially redesignated the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.
In 1953 the first jets came to D-M, in the form of four Lockheed T-33 Shooting Stars, right after completion of a new runway able to serve these jets. Stratojets and fighter intercepter jets followed. All training was focused on eventual missions against the US's prime antagonist, the USSR.
In the 1960s D-M was officially selected as the site of an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) wing, as well as the announcement of 18 sites around Tucson being selected for the construction of Titan II Missile Silos. From 1961-1962 construction on the appropriate bunker facilities, blast lock doors and the required electronics were completed.
In the 1970s Davis-Monthan continued to be used as a training site for worldwide deployment. In 1975 jurisdiction of D-M was officially transferred from Strategic Air Command to Tactical Air Command.
In 1981 the 836th Air Division activated, and activity in D-M was slowly but surely ramped up. Still primarily a training base, the activity of bomber training was increased to prepare for the seemingly inevitable conflict with the USSR. With many air force units at the ready as well as its ICBM facilities, Davis-Monthan will not doubt play a major part in whatever challenges the US will face in the future.