Editing Loring Air Force Base (section)

==Overview==
For the majority of its operational lifetime, Loring was a [[Strategic bomber|heavy bomber]], [[aerial refueling]], and [[Interceptor aircraft|interception]] facility for military aircraft, equipment, and supplies first as part of [[Strategic Air Command]] (SAC) (1947–1992), then as part of the succeeding [[Air Combat Command]] (ACC) (1992–1994).<ref name="HAERLoring">{{Cite web |url=https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/me/me0300/me0307/data/me0307data.pdf |title=Loring Air Force Base |author=Earth Tech, Inc. |date=1994 |website=[[Historic American Engineering Record]] |publisher=Library of Congress |location=Washington, D.C. |access-date=8 November 2020}}</ref>

Loring was planned in 1947 as '''Limestone Army Air Field''' and was designed with a capacity of over 100 [[Convair B-36 Peacemaker|B-36 Peacemaker]] strategic bombers. This plan was only partially completed due to budget constraints. Loring later became one of the largest air bases of SAC. After the B-36 was phased out, the [[Boeing B-52 Stratofortress|B-52 Stratofortress]] was based at Loring, first with D models, then with B-52Gs. The [[Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter]] was also based there for a number of years, until it was replaced by the [[Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker|KC-135A Stratotanker]].<ref name="HAERLoring" />

Loring was home to many facilities that were a part of the base, or were nearby. [[Caribou Air Force Station]] was the weapons storage area that operated separately from Loring until it was absorbed in 1961.<ref name="HAERLoring" /> [[Caswell Air Force Station]] operated to the east, but had a unit associated with Loring before it became fully operational. On-base facilities included the [[Loring Air Force Base Alert Area|Alert Area]], which operated as a separate facility within Loring, due to crews being constantly stationed on alert.<ref name="HAER1">{{Cite web |url=https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/me/me0300/me0312/data/me0312data.pdf |title=Loring Air Force Base, Alert Area |author=Earth Tech, Inc. |date=1994 |website=[[Historic American Engineering Record]] |publisher=Library of Congress |location=Washington, D.C. |access-date=8 November 2020}}</ref> The [[Loring Air Force Base Double Cantilever Hangar|Double Cantilever Hangar]] was the largest hangar at the facility, with the capacity to hold six parked B-52s, or five B-36s.<ref name="HAER2">{{Cite web |url=https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/me/me0300/me0310/data/me0310data.pdf |title=Loring Air Force Base, Double Cantilever Hangar |author=Earth Tech, Inc. |date=1994 |website=[[Historic American Engineering Record]] |publisher=Library of Congress |location=Washington, D.C. |access-date=8 November 2020}}</ref>

Another nearby installation was the GLOBECOM Communications Annex #2, located in [[Perham, Maine]]. From 1955 to 1962, it was run by the [[2192nd Communications Squadron]], which operated from Loring AFB.<ref name=CM>{{cite web|title=Pre-pre-Internet post present in Perham|date=26 June 2014|url=http://centurymaine.blogspot.com/2014/06/pre-pre-internet-present-in-perham.html|publisher=Century Maine|access-date=11 July 2014}} and [http://www.coldwarrelics.com/perham_globecom Site information] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708173643/http://coldwarrelics.com/perham_globecom |date=8 July 2017 }}</ref>

One of Loring's major secondary missions included serving as the headquarters for the [[45th Air Division]] from 8 October 1954 to 18 January 1958, and on 20 November 1958. Loring's host wing was the [[42d Bombardment Wing]] except for a small portion of its early existence. Loring was primarily home to active duty units, although this changed in the 1980s, when the [[Massachusetts Air National Guard]]'s [[101st Fighter Squadron]] sent a detachment to Loring. As the base was the closest in the US to Europe, it also functioned as an important stopover point.<ref name="HAERLoring" />

The 1991 Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended closure of Loring AFB, and it was closed in September 1994.<ref name="HAERLoring" /> It was later reopened as the [[Loring Commerce Centre]].<ref name="LCC">{{cite web|title=Loring Commerce Centre|url=http://www.loring.org/|publisher=Loring Commerce Centre|access-date=16 March 2014|year=2014}}</ref>