Military

Hancock Field ANGB

The 174th Fighter Wing, Hancock Field (ANGB) is located at the Syracuse-Hancock International Airport in Central New York State. It is approximately 5 miles north of the city of Syracuse in Onondaga County. The New York Air National Guard facilities at Hancock Field comprise a total of 356 acres of Fee-Owned land that was acquired from the city of Syracuse, NY in 1947. The 174th Fighter Wing population is currently authorized at 340 full time and increases to 1,178 total personnel on drill duty weekends that occur once per month. The base currently has approximately 52 facilities: 5 administrative, 6 services, and 41 industrial facilities, amounting to approximately 492,000 square feet. The base has no Military Family Housing or Unaccompanied / Transient Housing. A project was awarded in September 2000 to construct a new Air Control Group Facility, Air Operations Squadron Facility, and an Aircraft Support Equipment and Storage Facility (net increase is 25,700SF). The project also includes infrastructure improvements as follows: install additional waterlines; replace fire hydrants; install new ductbanks; and place a portion of the overhead electrical distribution system underground. The 174th Fighter Wing is equipped with F-16 aircraft. Other tenants on the base include the Civil Air Patrol and Columbia College.

At Syracuse Hancock International Airport there are two runways open for use and one that has been permanently closed. The two runways in use are Runway 10-28 which is 9003 feet long and 150 feet wide and Runway 15-33 which is 7500 feet by 150 feet. Runway 28 has a Category II Instrument Landing System (ILS) as does Runway 10. Runways 15 and 33 have non-precision instrument approaches.

With the outbreak of World War II, many believed that the East Coast was vulnerable to enemy attack. On December 31, 1941, twenty-four days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Office of the Chief of the Army Air Force authorized the construction of an air base at Syracuse. A 3,500 acre parcel located north of the city was selected, displacing several inhabited farms. In 1942, three 5,500 foot runways were built, at a cost to the Army of more than $16,000,000. These runways were constructed over existing asparagus beds, which continue to produce asparagus to this day. The First Concentration Command, later known as the Air Service Command, used the base to assemble and test B-24 aircraft, and then were sent to fly bombing missions over England. The first airmen to train at this base, known as the Mattydale Bomber Base, were The Boys from Syracuse. They used the base as a staging and storage area, repairing and re-outfitting the B-17 and B-24 aircraft that had been used in World War II.

On July 22, 1946, the City of Syracuse took over the Mattydale Bomber Base on an interim lease. At the end of the City's centennial year, in 1948, the base was dedicated as a commercial airfield. The Clarence E. Hancock Airport opened to the public on September 17, 1949. The Airport was originally named after Clarence E. Hancock, who was a Congressman in the 36th District from 1927 to 1946. The district included the City of Syracuse and all of Onondaga County. In 1970, the International Civil Airport Organization awarded international airport status to Hancock Airport.