Sandia Base - Manzano Base

Manzano Base

In August, 1947, the Denver Post ran a copyrighted story that claimed the military was building a secret base consisting of huge caverns for atomic weapons defense purposes. The Post said the new base was in the Manzano Mountains southeast of Sandia Base. The military responded by issuing a statement that operations and construction near Sandia Base were top-secret. In fact, however, the AFSWP was building one of several bases around the country that would be used for nuclear weapons storage. The AFSWP code-named the base "Site Able."

Construction of Site Able was delayed by a workers strike in which laborers demanded a 25-cent per hour increase in their minimum wage of $1.75 per hour.

On February 22, 1952, the now-completed Site Able was renamed Manzano Base and turned over to the operational control of the Air Force. The Denver Post story apparently was correct insofar as it described the general nature of the base. What appeared to be secure bunkers were visible to people (mostly military personnel) who went to a recreational camping area nearby known as Coyote Canyon. The military, however, never officially confirmed the nature of the activities at Manzano Base. At one point, a military spokesman said that Manzano Base had nothing to do with Sandia Base. Manzano has since been identified as the first of six original National Stockpile Sites (NSS) (for nuclear weapons). The other original NSS installations similar to Manzano were: Site Baker at Killeen Base, adjacent to Gray Air Force Base and Fort Hood, Texas; Site Charlie at Campbell Air Force Base and adjacent to Fort Campbell (Tennessee and Kentucky); Site Dog at Bossier Base, adjacent to Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana; Lake Mead Base, adjacent to Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, and Medina Base, adjacent to Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.

On July 1, 1971, Manzano Base was merged, along with Sandia Base, into Kirtland Air Force Base.