Presque Isle Air Force Base Presque Isle Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base , located in the city of Presque Isle , Maine . Early History . The Presque Isle Airport was constructed in 1930 by the Civilian Conservation Corps as a commercial airport located west of the " business center . " The initial field consisted of a L - shaped grass field , measuring 4 , 775 ' × 2 , 914 ' , with two grass runways measuring 1 , 700 ' east / west by 1 , 000 ' north / south . The field was also said to have a 100 ' × 80 ' hangar . Presque Isle ' s commercial aviation began in 1933 with Boston & Maine Airways . In 1940 , BMA changed their name to Northeast Airlines . Northeast Airlines , continued to operate from the airfield during the war , and was contracted to run regular air service from Presque Isle to a large number of destinations in Canada , most of which were weather stations . Presque Isle Army Air Field . Expanding the Air Base . In 1941 the federal government appropriated the local airport , establishing Presque Isle Army Airfield for planes bound to and from Great Britain . Activated as an Army Air Corps military airfield on 15 September , Presque Isle became a vital air transport installation and the City found itself a busy war center . World War II Military Operations . Together with Dow AAF in Bangor , the mission of Presque Isle was the delivery of Lend - Lease aircraft to Great Britain and as an Embarkation point for overseas movement of Army Air Forces personnel and equipment . The main Army Air Force unit at Presque Isle was the 23d Army Air Forces ( AAF ) Ferrying Wing , assigned to the Air Transport Command . The unit was activated on 12 June 1942 and conducted aircraft ferrying to Europe and other transport operations . Revised Mission . In July 1944 , the mission of Presque Isle AAF was changed to that of a port of debarkation and caring for casualties from the front in France . With the end of combat in Europe , beginning in June 1945 , troops scheduled for redeployment from Europe to the South Pacific began arriving for training bases in the United States . With the end of the war in August 1945 , this mission was terminated . Postwar Years . The aerial port at Presque Isle AAF was officially closed on 18 September and the airfield was de - activated on 20 September 1945 with the end of the war . The 716th Army Air Force Base Unit was assigned to the airfield with a mission of winterizing the buildings and storing equipment with the facility placed in reserve status , and was used as a communications facility . Air Defense Command use . The airfield was reactivated by the United States Air Force and redesignated Presque Isle Air Force Base on January 12 , 1948 and assigned to the Air Defense Command ( ADC ) Eastern Air Defense Force For much of the 1950s , Presque Isle AFB housed ADC fighter - interceptors . 23d Fighter - Interceptor Wing . The 23d Fighter - Interceptor Wing was assigned to Presque Isle on 10 November 1950 . The wing flew North American F - 86 Sabre , F - 51 Mustang , and F - 80 Shooting Star s from Presque Isle with the 74th and 75th Fighter - Interceptor Squadron s assigned . Its mission was to provide air defense for the northeastern United States during the Korean War and conduct basic training for about 500 Air Force recruits . The 23 FIW was inactivated February 6 , 1952 . The 23d Fighter Wing ( Air Defense ) was reactivated August 18 , 1955 , at Presque Isle with the 75th and 76th Fighter Squadrons assigned directly to wing . It flew Northrop F - 89 Scorpions as part of the Air Defense Command until again inactivated July 1 , 1959 . Strategic Air Command . On March 21 , 1957 , the Air Force , acting on the recommendation of the Strategic Missile Site Selection Panel , designated Presque Isle , as the site for the first SM - 62 Snark intercontinental cruise missile base . But in November 1959 , within a year of Power ' s request for a program evaluation , Strategic Air Command recommended cancellation of Snark ( the recommendation was endorsed by ARDC ) . Headquarters USAF , however , rejected that proposal . Despite General Power ' s recommendation , the Air Force and the Department of Defense decided to continue a limited program for the operational deployment of one Snark squadron to acquire some missile capability until Intercontinental ballistic missiles became available in quantity . On January 1 , 1959 , SAC activated the 702nd Strategic Missile Wing ( ICM - Snark ) at Presque Isle and assigned it to the Eighth Air Force , thus making it the first SAC missile wing to be assigned to a numbered air force . The 556th Strategic Missile Squadron ( SMS ) at Patrick AFB , Florida was assigned to the 702d SMW on April 1 , 1959 and was scheduled to move to Presque Isle in July , but SAC inactivated the squadron on 15 July 1959 before the move could be consummated . As a result of this action and the subsequent cancellation of the programmed activation of the 702nd Missile Maintenance Squadron , the 702nd SMW was put in the unique position of having no assigned subordinate units . All operational and maintenance functions associated with the Snark ICM were handled by the 702nd SMW ' s deputy commander for missiles . The 702d SMW placed the first Snark ICM on alert on March 18 , 1960 and by the end of fiscal year 1960 , a total of four Snark missiles were on strategic alert . Yet , it was not until February 28 , 1961 that SAC was able to declare the 702d SMW operational . But the Snark was living on borrowed time . Shortly after taking office in 1961 , President John F . Kennedy scrapped the project . The Strategic Air Command ' s negative evaluation of the Snark ' s potential was reinforced on March 28 , 1961 when President Kennedy , in a special defense budget message , directed the phase out of the missile because it was " obsolete and of marginal military value " relative to ballistic missiles . The President cited the weapon ' s low reliability ( a particularly sore point to his Secretary of Defense ) , inability to penetrate , lack of positive control , and vulnerable , unprotected launch sites . Accordingly , on June 25 , 1961 SAC inactivated the 702d Strategic Missile Wing at Presque Isle less than four months after it had been declared operational . Northern Maine Regional Airport and Presque Isle Industrial Park . With the missile wing inactivated all military activity ceased . The Presque Isle Industrial Council was formed to develop an industrial park . The former air base now consists of an airport , technical college , housing area and of industrial park . Popular Culture . John Wayne ' s , 1953 film Ernest K . Gann ' s , Fate is the Hunter