Point of Interest
Loring AFB
Street Address: Loring AFB, 154 Development Rd, Limestone, ME
The second largest of USA's 21 Strategic Air Command bases. It was built in 1953 for 100 B-36 bombers, but later they were replaced by B-52 bombers and KC-135 air tankers. It had two runways and a peak military population of some 10,000, including three army anti-aircraft defence sites, with one of these missile sites sited right on the international border. Located in the most northeasterly corner of continental United States it was ideally positioned for potential Cold War conflicts in western Soviet Union, Europe and the Middle East. In 1976, the base received a $300 million upgrade. Although the base was used in the deployment for the Gulf War in 1991, with the end of the Cold War, it was closed in 1994. This base had a major economic and social impact on northwestern New Brunswick, including putting the area directly in the front line if a nuclear war had occurred.