Loring AFB

Loring Air Force Base is situated on 14,300 acres in northern Maine, just outside the town of Limestone. The base was named for Charles Loring, Jr., a native of Maine and Major in the US Air Force. Loring was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for deliberately crashing his aircraft into enemy anti-aircraft guns during the Korean War.

Though decommissioned in 1994, Loring still serves the surrounding communities as Loring Commerce Centre. The former air base is home to an extensive Job Corps training facility, an expansive wildlife refuge and hiking trails in the former Weapons Storage Area, Department of Defense Accounting (DFAS), New England Kenworth, and Loring Industries. In the past, buildings have been utilized by Maine Military Authority for HMMWV restoration and by SITEL for call centers. While many buildings have been razed and others fall in to disrepair, it is nice to see some of the infrastructure maintained.

Loring was home to the 42nd Bomb Wing, which originally flew B-36 Peacemakers, but later converted to the B-52 Stratofortress and the KC-135 Stratotanker. Loring had several distinctions within the Strategic Air Command (SAC), including:

Closest continental US base to the Soviet Union
Largest SAC base in the US
Largest weapons storage capacity in SAC (10 million net explosive weight)
Largest fuel storage capacity in SAC (9.1 million gallons)
Second largest ramp space in SAC (1.1 million square yards)
Downhill ski area (hey, it's Maine after all)

Aircraft based at Loring include the KC-135R, B-52G, B-52H, KC-135A, B-52C, KC-97G, B-36, and F-106 Delta Dart.

To reach Loring AFB from Bangor, take I-95 north to Houlton and then take Route 1 north to Caribou. From Caribou, take Route 89 east toward Limestone and the base will be easily spotted on your left (to the north). Travel time is approximately 3 hours.

In the photo gallery below, some pictures are out of chronological order, but in an order that makes sense regarding the layout of the base. I've done my best to provide dates and relevant information for each.

West Gate Back side of the west gate, taken May 2009.	Loring Inn Loring Inn, May 2009. Was closed and is now open again as the Bunker Inn under the same ownership as Loring Industries (August 2019).	Bank This is the base bank, in May 2009. This building has since been repurposed as a museum for the base with some really cool memorabilia inside.
Base Chapel One of two base chapels, May 2009	Theater Base movie theater, May 2009	Base Theater Base movie theater, May 2009
Alert Force HQ Alert Force HQ, May 2009	Alert Force HQ Alert Force HQ, May 2009	POL Area Loring Petroleum/Oil/Lubricant (POL) storage area. This was, at one time, the largest fuel storage area in all of SAC. Fuel was pumped to Loring via a pipeline that started at Mack Point terminal in Searsport, traveled to the former Dow AFB, and then all the way up to Limestone, to Loring AFB. Following the closure of the base, the pipeline was capped and filled with nitrogen to prevent corrosion. Pic is from May 2009.
Coal Storage Coal was shipped to Loring (most likely via rail car) and kept in this large holding yard, where it was fed under S. Carolina Rd to the heating plant to make steam for base heat and hot water. Pic is from May 2009	Coal Storage Coal was shipped to Loring (most likely via rail car) and kept in this large holding yard, where it was fed under S. Carolina Rd to the heating plant to make steam for base heat and hot water. Pic is from May 2009	Base Cleaners Base laundry/cleaners. May 2009
Motor Pool Motor Pool, May 2009	Motor Pool Motor Pool, May 2009	PMEL Precision Measurement Equipment Lab is where technicians would repair, modify, calibrate, and test maintenance equipment for the base. This is particularly important for aircraft maintenance. May 2009.
Auto Hobby Shop The former auto hobby shop building is now home to the Job Corps training program for auto mechanics and obtaining a commercial driver's license. May 2009.	NCO Club Former NCO Club. May 2009	Dental Clinic Former dental clinic. May 2009
Law Enforcement Former Law Enforcement office. May 2009	Pool and Gym Pool and gym, now in use by Job Corps. May 2009	Data and Automation Former Data and Automation building, now home to Job Corps technology training center. May 2009.
Youth Center Former youth center. May 2009	"New" Hospital Former base hospital, constructed in the 1980's. Now home to Defense Finance and Accounting (DFAS). May 2009	Base Chapel One of two base chapels. May 2009
Arch Hangar The arch hangar is one of the first major structures built at Loring Air Force Base for the B36 bomber. Originally, nine of these were planned. With the introduction of the B52 and need for more efficient space, the Air Force moved to the double cantilever hangar design. Sept 2008	Arch Hangar Arch Hangar August 2019	Arch Hangar Interior Inside the 300+ foot wide arch hangar. Still a fair amount of usable equipment in here, including a fuel truck, two de-icing trucks, and other service vehicles. August 2019
Arch Hangar Interior August 2019	Arch Hangar Interior August 2019	Fuel Truck An R Model Mack fuel truck with the bull dog still on the hood. I was told that POL guys liked to "liberate" the bull dogs as souvenirs. The other trucks I've seen at the former base corroborate this story. August 2019
De-Icing Truck Ford C-series de-icing truck. This particular truck dated from 1986 and had about 1500 miles on it. The interior looked like no one had ever sat in it. August 2019	Arch Hangar Interior Looking up approximately 90' to the roof access hatch. I didn't have the guts for that one on this particular day. August 2019	Arch Hangar Door Instructions Procedure for opening the hangar doors. August 2019
Arch Hangar Door Controls Arch hangar door controls. August 2019	Double Cantilever Hangar The 250'x600' Double Cantilever Hangar, one of the largest constructed by the US Air Force. This hangar was designed to enclose up to 6 B52's. I have been told by those that worked here that, at any given time, there was a B52 and two KC135's inside the hangar. Sept 2008	Double Cantilever Hangar Another exterior shot of the hangar. Oct 2008
DC Hangar Roof View looking north at the arch hangar and tower from the roof of the double cantilever hangar. Oct 2008	DC Hangar Roof View from the double cantilever hangar roof looking south toward the FIS Barns. At the time, Maine Military Authority was storing Hummers and Howitzers here. Oct 2008	DC Hangar Roof Looking southwest toward the heating plant. The heat plant was fed coal from across South Carolina Rd via a large conveyor system. The plant was knocked down in Sept 2011 to make way for a solar panel project. Oct 2008
DC Hangar Roof Looking north east at the former alert area, AKA "mole hole." At the time, the ramp, which was sometimes called a crow's foot or Christmas tree, due to its shape, was being used by Maine Military Authority for storage of Hummers and parts. Oct 2008	Jeep Tug I'm a little bit of a car guy, so please excuse the volume of vehicle pictures that are likely uninteresting to military history fans. These Jeep tugs are kind of a neat compilation of parts. Some CJ and some YJ with large, full floating rear axles. Oct 2008	Jeep Tug Interior I'm more of a Chevy guy than a Jeep guy, but this is looking a lot like a CJ5 inside with the doors from a YJ with a hard top. You Jeep guys out there, feel free to correct me. July 2009
Jeep Tug Rear 3/4 shot of a Jeep tug. You can see how short they were in this shot. Can also catch a glimpse of the hubs on the full floating axle. July 2009	Jeep Tug Manufacturer's label from PSI in Mount Clemens, MI. Google searches for the company's name and phone number don't turn up much, but I found an 80's magazine ad for custom vehicles like tugs, ambulances, mobile labs, troop carriers, and buses with a street address. The building is now home to TEK Transport (as of 8/2019), which handles FTL and LTL shipping. July 2009	DC Hangar Inside the DC hangar, east side. These are tanks for reclaimed JP4 fuel. Oct 2008
DC Hangar Looking west inside the DC hangar. It is hard to grasp the sheer size of this hangar from the photos. At one time, Telford Aviation was leasing some space here (now Wipaire), but I have not seen their signs or any aircraft parts since about 2008-2010. Note the yellow beams above. These could pivot out of the way to clear large aircraft tails and then swing back into place for chain hoists to slide along. Oct 2008	SR71 SR-71 Blackbird in the DC Hangar, March of 1983. Records show that this is tail number 980. In the 90's, this aircraft was handed over to NASA for high speed testing and assigned tail number 844. This particular aircraft was retired in 1999 and was the last Blackbird to fly. It is now a static display at the NASA Dryden Research Center at Edwards AFB.	DC Hangar Another shot of the reclaimed JP4 tanks. Oct 2008
DC Hangar Aircraft tire bead breaker. Oct 2008	DC Hangar Aircraft tire bead breaker. I checked into Randall and there is still a Randall out there in NJ, but they do food service delivery products like walk ramps and trailer bulkheads. The old Hillside, NJ building where this Randall MFG used to be is home to a company called RAMCO that makes safety shields and leak-detecting paint (as of 8/2019). Oct 2008	DC Hangar This is a door on the ground floor of the east side of the hangar. Oct 2008
DC Hangar Head on the first floor, east side of the hangar. Paper towels still in the dispenser. Oct 2008	DC Hangar Freight elevator on the east side of the hangar. Oct 2008	DC Hangar Heating for offices on the east side of the hangar. Oct 2008
DC Hangar Stairs to the offices and roof on the east side of the hangar. Oct 2008	DC Hangar Second floor offices on the east side of the hangar. Oct 2008	DC Hangar Looking out at the runway from the second floor offices on the east side. Oct 2008
DC Hangar Conference room mural on the second floor, east side. I love finding these old murals. Oct 2008	DC Hangar Second floor hallway on the east side of the hangar. Freight elevator at the end. Oct 2008	DC Hangar Third floor work space on the east side of the hangar. Freight elevator shaft comes out here as well. Oct 2008
DC Hangar Funny the stuff you find laying around. Oct 2008	DC Hangar Offices on the third floor with painted windows. Oct 2008	DC Hangar A reminder on the painted windows that this probably not the best place to hammer a nail to hang a picture of your wife. Oct 2008
DC Hangar Mobility Room, third floor on the east side. I don't know much about the USAF or working on planes, but Google says that it likely has to do with avionics repairs. Oct 2008	DC Hangar This is the top of the office block on the east side of the hangar. Oct 2008	DC Hangar Looking down on the hangar floor from the roof of the east side office block. Here you can see the chain hoists, lighting, and structural frame work. Oct 2008
DC Hangar I think these may be air start carts. I've read that a lot of the B52's used cartridge starts, which is what caused a lot of the black smoke on start-up. Oct 2008	DC Hangar Osh Kosh snowblowers. I'd like to have one of these for my driveway. Two passes in a heated cab and done. Many of these trucks had auction markings on them. Not sure if they were sold and not picked up or never sold or what the backstory was. They also had current fire extinguisher inspection tags on them. Oct 2008	DC Hangar More of the R model Mack tank trucks. These were missing their bull dogs. Oct 2008
DC Hangar Heavy duty Osh Kosh snow plow trucks. Oct 2008	DC Hangar Smoking policy, updated just in time for the base closure. Oct 2008	DC Hangar Inside the work shop in the west side of the hangar. This particular space is the hydraulic shop and the mural was painted in 1982 by Ricky Miles. Oct 2008
DC Hangar Another shot of the mural. Oct 2008	DC Hangar Hydraulic shop. Oct 2008	DC Hangar Sign near the stairs in the west side of the hangar. July 2009
DC Hangar I'd love to know how this came to be here. Was some dude just polishing the floor back in September of '94 and just walked away or what? July 2009	DC Hangar Second floor showers on the west side of the hangar. July 2009	DC Hangar Second floor lockers, west side of the hangar. July 2009
DC Hangar Third floor lockers, west side of the hangar. July 2009	DC Hangar Third floor has definitely seen better days. More moss and plants than carpet up here. Heavy mold throughout the exercise area. July 2009	DC Hangar Third floor exercise area, west side of the hangar. Heavy mold throughout. July 2009
DC Hangar Looking down from the top of the west side work spaces and exercise areas. July 2009	Steam Plant The steam plant provided heat for the entire base at Loring. It was demolished (somewhat comically) in the fall of 2011. Precision Explosives of NY used almost 300lbs of dynamite, which they said was substantially more than normal and they basically blew the siding and windows out of the building. The military did not mess around when they built stuff in the Cold War. It was ultimately knocked down with excavators. I now wish I had taken time to explore it. May 2009	Steam Plant The Air Force used what is referred to as "district heating," where there is a central plant that burns a fuel (coal in this instance) and distributes heat using pressurized hot water at temperatures above 100 degrees Celsius. The pressurized water was distributed in underground insulated pipes. Sept 2008
Steam Plant Sept 2008	Power Plant If Loring was ever separated from the grid due to power outage or attack, there was ample power generation on site to keep things running. May 2009	Crash Rescue Runway crash rescue building. May 2009
Crash Rescue Runway crash rescue. May 2009	Snow Plow This snow plow was pushed by a locomotive to keep the tracks around the base clear. Sept 2008	Tower Tower. Sept 2008
Drying Tower Parachute drying tower. Sept 2008	Nose Dock Hangar Nose dock hangars are constructed such that critical systems can be enclosed from the weather and serviced. The doors will close around the fuselage and leave the tail exposed. These hangars are take up less space and are more cost effective to build and heat. At one time there were approximately 18 of these at Loring, today only a few remain. May 2009	Nose Dock Hangars Two more nose dock hangars. August 2019
Hound Dog Missile Bldg Hound Dog Missile assembly and maintenance building, north of the nose dock hangars. The AGM28 Hound Dog was an air-launched cruise missile, designed to be launched from a B52 against Soviet ground defenses so that the aircraft could make its way to a final target without being shot down. Hound Dog missiles went into active alert use in 1962 and were taken off alert status in 1975. Loring was the last base to have the AGM28 and they were scrapped in 1979. May 2009	Hound Dog Missile Bldg Back side of the Hound Dog missile building. May 2009	Hound Dog Missile Bldg Inside the Hound Dog missile building. May 2009
Hound Dog Missile This is an AGM28 mounted on a pylon under a B52 (photo by USAF, date unknown). Today, you can see an AGM28 on display at the Loring Heritage Center or at Veterans Park in Presque Isle.	FIS Hangars Hangars for alert fighters. Alert fighters, like the F106, were housed here. Their mission was to intercept enemy bombers and destroy them before they could unleash a nuclear payload. These hangars are at the south end of the runways. Sept 2008	Alert Ramp Gate Sally port entrance to the alert ramp area. The alert area, also known as a Christmas Tree due to its shape, was where the alert force stayed and where their aircraft were parked in case of Soviet attack or in case a first strike was called for. Sept 2008
Alert Ramp Gate Turnstile inside the sally port gate where ID would be presented. Sept 2008	Mole Hole Readiness crew building, also called a Mole Hole. This is a hardened structure where the crews stayed while on alert. Sept 2009	Alert Ramp Gate This turnstile is inside the sally port gate. Crew members would show their ID here in order to gain access to the alert area. Or you could get shot through one of the gun ports in the guard shack. August 2019
Mole Hole Exterior of the mole hole. August 2019	Mole Hole Exterior of the Mole Hole. Gives a good wide shot of the 1983 two floor addition to the building. August 2019	Mole Hole Tunnel One of several tunnels that alert crews would have used for speedy access to the alert ramp. This was one of very few times since 1994 anyone has been in here. It was very much a time capsule, relative to other areas of the base. August 2019
Mole Hole Theater/Briefing Room Near the front of the Mole Hole is the theater which could also have been used as a briefing room. Smelled a little musty, but not in terrible shape. August 2019	Mole Hole Hallway This is the hallway behind the theater. It led to other exit/entrance tunnels and sleeping quarters. August 2019	Mole Hole Cafeteria
Mole Hole Kitchen This space would have prepared meals for the alert crews and support staff in the Mole Hole. August 2019	Mole Hole Cafeteria Looking out the cafeteria windows to the fence line. This area would have been patrolled and well lit. August 2019	Mole Hole Briefing Area This room was also labeled as a briefing area. Some chairs were left and, comically, an artificial plant. August 2019
Mole Hole Lower Level The lower level was quite moldy. It housed a workout room, bedrooms, laundry facilities, shower facilities and some office space. August 2019	Mole Hole Gym Workout facility for the alert crews. Still has a squat rack, decline situp bench, lat pulldown machine, and a few random weights. August 2019	Mole Hole Laundry Laundry facilities for the alert crews. August 2019
Wing Intel At some point in the 80's (approx 83-84), this addition was built on to the Mole Hole and it housed the wing intel shop. This would have coincided with Loring no longer having a nuclear mission. The alert area was already very secure, it likely made sense to utilize this space since the mole hole itself was probably not being utilized to its fullest. You can see the difference in construction between the old Mole Hole and the newer intel shop (left). August 2019	Intel Shop Access to the wing intel shop was made through a series of ID checks and heavy, vault-like doors. Pretty serious security. Had to get onto an active Air Force base, through a heavily guarded fence and sally port with ID check, then into a hardened building, and then through an ID check and a vault door. August 2019	Intel Shop 42nd OSS mural. Finding these murals is always fun. OSS stands for Operations Support Squad. OSS handles everything from mission planning and intelligence to weather and airfield management. August 2019
Intel Shop Another cool mural. August 2019	Intel Shop Another vault door. August 2019	Intel Shop Back side of a vault door. August 2019
Intel Shop - Server Room This is the entrance to the server room. Looked to be in some sort EMP-proof type box. Basically a box in a box with two vault doors, its own HVAC, a halon fire suppression system, and hardened battery backups. August 2019	Intel Shop - Server Room Inside the server room. The floor has the old school data center tiles that lift up to reveal cable raceways. The large box in the back is the AC unit for the room. August 2019	Intel Shop - Server Room Emergency power down switch and emergency AC shut off switch. I assume this was in case there was a fire in the room. August 2019
Intel Shop - Server Room Emergency door override button. Guessing this was also for fire escape. August 2019	Intel Shop Behind the server room, the halon gas suppression system was setup. August 2019	Intel Shop Hardened battery backups for the server room. August 2019
Intel Shop Stairs to a roof-mounted guard shack. They were big on security. In addition to the patrolled fence line and a ton of lighting, there was a guard shack on the roof of the building and also a guard tower on the other side of the alert ramp. August 2019	Intel Shop Roof Because the roof is a flat roof and ballasted, they built a walkway all the way to the guard shack. August 2019	Intel Shop Roof View of the alert ramps from the roof. Loring Industries is currently working on older generation Howitzers so they can be sold. August 2019
Intel Shop Roof Close up of the guard shack. Probably wasn't much fun up here in July or January. August 2019	Intel Shop Roof Finally, one of these companies is still in business. You can still buy a guard shack from Par-Kut. August 2019	Intel Shop Roof You can see down the fence line and also overlook the tennis court and basketball court. Crews were in the Mole Hole or on one or two week rotations, so they had to be able to keep active. August 2019
Alert Area Guard Tower This guard tower is on the north side of the alert area. August 2019	Alert Area Guard Tower Looking back at the Mole Hole from the guard tower. August 2019	Alert Area Guard Tower Bullet proof glass in the guard tower. Seems like a little bit of overkill. August 2019
Alert Area Guard Tower Looking out at the FIS barns. August 2019	Alert Area Guard Tower Looking across the runway at the arch hangar. August 2019	Weapons Storage Area The road to the weapons storage area more or less parallels Loring's long runways and curves off to the northeast slightly. This picture is looking out toward the sally port entrance to the weapons storage area and the Mine Shop. Here you can see that the rows of substantial fencing, some of which was electrified, have been removed. Oct 2008
Weapons Storage Area Sally port gate at the weapons storage area. Oct 2008	Weapons Storage Area Close up of the guard shack with turnstile for presenting ID, bullet proof windows, and gun ports. Oct 2008	Weapons Storage Area Inside the guard shack. Oct 2008
WSA Mine Shop Building 232, AKA the Mine Shop, was for test and assembly of nuclear weapons and missiles. In this picture, you can see a wooden shed has been built on the front. Oct 2008	WSA Mine Shop Close up of mine shop entrance. July 2009	WSA Mine Shop Mine Shop interior. There was asbestos remediation taking place at this time. July 2009
WSA Mine Shop Compressors inside the Mine Shop. July 2009	WSA Mine Shop Mine Shop doors. July 2009	WSA Mine Shop In this picture, you can see that the Mine Shop has been outfitted with proper garage doors and the wooden shed is gone. August 2019
WSA Fire Station Building 227, weapons storage area fire station. I believe this building has been bulldozed. This image is from Oct 2008.	WSA Power Station This is building 229, the weapons storage area electric power station. The Historic American Engineering Record documentation has a diagram of a building with this layout and calls it 227 (fire station), but says 229 is the power station. Also, this building doesn't look like a power station. There were no generator pads inside and it has gun ports. I believe this has also been bulldozed, so I may never find out. If someone out there knows, reach out. Pic is from Oct 2008	WSA Building 229 Doors to building 229. Oct 2008
WSA Building 229 Another cool mural. Oct 2008	WSA Building 229 Interior shot of the doors at building 229. Oct 2008.	Bldgs 227 and 229 Wider shot of buildings 227 and 229. July 2009
Igloos Looking at a couple of the rows of igloos used for ordinance storage. July 2009	New A Structure Early nuclear weapons had removable capsules which contained nuclear fissile material. These capsules were stored in vaults in hardened buildings known as A Structures. This particular building has a false second floor that is solid concrete. This is the newer of the two A Structures at Loring. Oct 2008	A Structure A more recent photo of the newer A Structure. You can see that the roof over the loading dock has been knocked down and the outer hallway has been gated off. August 2019
A Structure Looking down the outer hallway of the new A Structure toward the inner door that leads to the inner vault door and the capsule storage. Taken through the chain link gate. August 2019	A Structure Door This door is at the end of the exterior hallway and leads to an inner vault door. July 2009	A Structure Door Inner vault door that led to a hallway of interior vaults for capsule storage. Oct 2008
A Structure Door Another shot of the inner vault door. You can see one of the interior vault doors in the background. July 2009	A Structure Vaults Interior vaults used for capsule storage. July 2009	Old A Structure This is the older of the two A Structures at Loring. Like the newer building, the second floor is false and is all poured concrete. The interior is similar with smaller vaults within a vault. Oct 2008
Old A Structure The older A Structure has two pill boxes outside. I climbed on time and they were both welded shut, but you could see in through a gun port. Each one had a small heater in it. Oct 2008	Old A Structure Wide shot, showing the building and both pill boxes. August 2019	A Structure Pill Box Looking inside the pill box at the breaker panel and heater. The top lid was welded shut. Oct 2008
Old A Structure The entrance to the old A Structure. Oct 2008	Old A Structure Inner Door Someone cut out the inner vault door with a torch. It must have been some kind of torch and quite a process, looking at how thick this door is.	Old A Structure Vaults Looking through the hole in the vault door at the capsule storage vaults. July 2009
Tritium Storage At the far end of the WSA are two smaller igloos with large air exchangers. These were used for tritium storage. Tritium, which is also used in watch hands and night sights for guns, was used as a catalyst to jump start nuclear reactions. Due to its relatively short half life, it had to be replaced in the capsules on a regular schedule. Although not dangerous to humans in any normal quantity, heavy saturation could have possible long term effects, so air exchangers were used. August 2019	Tritium Storage Another vault within a vault. August 2019	Tritium Storage Large, ceiling-mounted air exchanger in one of the tritium storage igloos. August 2019