Chanute Air Force Base

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Chanute Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base located in Rantoul, Illinois.

Beginnings

In 1917, Rantoul was chosen to be the site of the Chanute Field due to its proximity to the Illinois Central Railroad and the War Department’s ground school housed at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The field was named for aviation pioneer Octave Chanute. In the 1930s, Chanute grew, dominating the local economy.

WWII and ties to Tuskeegee Airman

During World War II, thousands of airmen were stationed there to train new recruits who cycled in and out. On March 19, 1941, the 99th Pursuit Squadron (Pursuit being an early WWII synonym for "Fighter") was activated at Chanute Field in Rantoul, Illinois Over 250 enlisted men were trained at Chanute in aircraft ground support trades. This small number of enlisted men was to become the core of other black squadrons forming at Tuskegee and Maxwell Fields in Alabama — the famed Tuskegee Airmen.

PostWar

After World War II, with the formation of the Air Force, Chanute Field was renamed Chanute Air Force Base. It served as a major training facility for Air Force meteorology, fuels, and missile maintenance.

The Host Units at Chanute were:

• 10th Aero Sq, 7 Jul 1917 - 18 Apr 1921
• Army Air Corps Technical School, 18 Apr 1921 - 1 Aug 1933
• 98th School Sq, 1 Aug 1933 - 1 Sep 1936
• 10th Air Base Sq (Special), 1 Sep 1936 - 17 Feb 1941
• 9th Air Base Sq (Special), 17 Feb 1941 - 1 May 1944
• 3502d AAF Base Unit (Technical School), 1 May 1944 - 26 Aug 1948
• 3345th Air Base Gp, 26 Aug 1948 - 1993
• 3496th Air Training Command Headquarters 1950 - 1958

Closing & Transition to Civilian Use

The base was recommended for closure in 1988 and officially closed in 1993. Despite short term blows to the local economy in the years leading up to and immediately after closing, in many ways, the transition of Chanute Air Force Base from military to civilian use has been successful.

Many of the Air Force Base's buildings and facilities have found new life, with purposes that range from motels, retirement communities, restaurants, a fitness center, an Aerospace Museum, prominent datacenter and several light manufacturing facilities. The Golf Course, once only available to servicemembers and their guests, is now one of the most popular in East Central Illinois. The housing on base, once homes for airmen with families, are now occupied by civilians. Even so, many buildings remain unoccupied, and they are slowly falling apart due to lack of work done to them.

[edit] See also

• Rantoul, Illinois

[edit] References

• Botner, John K., http://www.angelfire.com/nc/johninraleigh/Chanute.html, pictures of the base as it stand now.

• Ravenstein, Charles A., Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947-1977, Office of Air Force History, 1984

• Mueller, Robert, Air Force Bases Volume I, Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982, Office of Air Force History, 1989

• Endicott, Judy G., USAF Active Flying, Space, and Missile Squadrons as of 1 October 1995. Office of Air Force History

[edit] External links

• Illinois EPA
• Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress) - Survey number HABS IL-1185
• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 40.2944444° -88.1430556°
  • Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
  • Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA