Sondrestrom AB, Greenland
	Photo by Jack Cayton, Firebird Pilot
Sondrestrom AB Greenland. Photo taken from Danish side of the air base. Sondrestrom Air Base, code name Bluie West 8 during WWII, was founded on October 7, 1941, under the supervision of Colonel B. Balchen of the United States. On 9 April 1941, Danish Ambassador Henrick Kauffman and Secretary of State Cordell Hull signed, “The Agreement relating to the Defense of Greenland” in Washington.  President Roosevelt approved it on 7 Jun 1941.  In the agreement, the US agreed to take over the security of Greenland. This pact was replaced by a new agreement on April 27, 1951. The ferry route for World War II aircraft ran from Presque Isle in Maine to re-fueling points in Goose Bay, Labrador, then either to BLUIE WEST 1 (Narsarssuak) on the southern coast of Greenland, BW-8 (Sondre Stromfjord), or Reykjavik in Iceland, and from there to Prestwick, Scotland. On April 1, 1961, at Dyess AFB, Texas, the 17th TCS was activated as part of the 64th Troop Carrier Wing (TAC). The 17th inherited the mission of providing continuous logistical support to Greenland Ice Cap radar sites—DYE 2 and DYE 3—from the 61st TCS, Sewart, AFB, Tennessee. In the summer of 1975, the Greenland mission was transferred to the 109th Airlift Wing, NYANG.

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