Whiteman Air Force Base

2d Lieutenant George A. Whiteman (1919–1941) 509th Bomb Wing B-2 Spirit over St. Louis A-10s of the 442d Fighter Wing T-38C of the 509th Bomb Wing Main Gate, now known as "Spirit Gate" Memorial Park Fairchild Republic A-10A Thunderbolt II, AF Ser. No. 76-0530 on static display Boeing B-29A-40-BN Superfortress, AAF Ser. No. 44-61671 on static display by the Spirit Gate. Spirit Gate during winter Whiteman Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force base located approximately south of Knob Noster, MO; east of Warrensburg, MO, and east-southeast of Kansas City. 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.