Whiteman Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Knob Noster, Missouri; 70 miles (110 km) east-southeast of Kansas City, Missouri.
The host unit at Whiteman AFB is the 509th Bomb Wing (509 BW), assigned to the Eighth Air Force of the Air Force Global Strike Command . The 509 BW operates the B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber, designed to be employed to strike high-value targets that are either out of range of conventional aircraft or considered to be too heavily defended for conventional aircraft to strike without a high risk of loss.
Whiteman AFB was established in 1942 as Sedalia Glider Base.
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE HISTORY
Named in honor of 2d Lieutenant George Allison Whiteman (1919–1941). On 7 December 1941 Lieutenant Whiteman attempted to take off from Wheeler Field during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Hit by enemy fire, his P-40 Warhawk crashed and Lieutenant Whiteman became the first member of the United States armed forces to die in aerial combat in World War II.
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE LOCATION
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE FACTS
ICAO/IATA: KSZL/SZL
Lat: 38°43′49″N
Long: 093°32′53″W
Elevation: 870 ft.
Runway length available: 01/19 12400×200 ft.
