Kincheloe Air Force Base was a United States Air Force (USAF) base during the Cold War. Built in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in 1943 during World War II, the base was in service The base was known by various names, including Kinross Municipal Airport, Kinross Army Air Field, Kinross Air Field, Kinross Air Force Auxiliary Field, and Kinross Air Force Base. The present-day Chippewa County International Airport, Kinross Correctional Facility, and the community of Kincheloe are located on the site of the base. The base was named for Iven Kincheloe a test pilot from Michigan. History Origins During World War II, the Soo Locks were considered vital to the war efforts. An airport was planned in Kinross as early as June 1941. The airport was built by the United States Government through lease, license, easements and by fee of different tracts of land. A small airfield with three 5,520-foot x 300-foot runways was constructed in a triangle pattern with a small aircraft parking area and a few support buildings. The airfield was designated the Kinross Auxiliary Airfield, and was designated a Sub-Base of the Air Transport Command Alpena Army Airfield. The mission of Kinross AAF was to serve as a refueling stop for aircraft headed for Alaska as well as to defend the locks of Sault Ste. Marie. However, no tactical units were assigned there during the war and the few support personnel who were stationed there were under the command of the 4250th Army Air Force Base Unit at Alpena AAF. The base was inactive beginning in 1945, and after the end of World War II, the airfield was leased to the City of Sault Ste. Marie for a civilian airport. After the war, the airfield then served as a hub for private and commercial aviation. The city operated the airport and Capital Airlines and Trans-Canada Air Lines used it for commercial air service from 1945 to 1952. Air Defense Command With the outbreak of the Cold War in 1948 and active combat in the Korean War in June, 1950, the United States began building up its defenses. Army troops returned to the Sault, and the World War II Kinross Auxiliary Airfield, with its close proximity to the locks was reactivated using a right of return. On 1 July 1952, Kinross Air Force Base was transferred from civil control to the United States Air Force. It was placed