Gunter Air Force Base
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Gunter Air Force Base began life as Montgomery (Alabama) Municipal Airport, constructed on the northeast side of the city. Mayor William Gunter was an aviation advocate who championed the airport and there were several effort to have the airport officially named in his honor while he was still living. Although he successfully resisted these efforts, the airport was still commonly referred to by residents as 'Gunter Field'.
In 1940, the 'Plan for the Expansion of the Air Corps Training Program' was published and indicated a need for a preliminary flying school in the Montgomery area. The Commandant of the Air Corps Tactical School at Maxwell Field, Colonel Walter Weaver, picked the Montgomery Municipal Airport and the surrounding area as the location for the flying school. This included a newly-built, but as yet unoccupied state hospital for tuberculosis patients. In June of 1940 the War Department approved the recommendation to lease the land.
In August of 1940 the first military personnel arrived and construction began. The hospital was used as a headquarters building and Colonel Aubrey Hornsby was the project officer and later the first commanding officer. Runways were constructed and quarters were built and in November the first class of two hundred arrived.
In late 1940, Mayor Gunter died and, on the recommendation of Colonel Aubrey, the flying field was officially named 'Gunter Field' in early 1941. By July of 1941, construction of the field was largely complete.
During World War II, the field served as a flying school for not just Army pilots, but for British, French and Canadians as well. By 1944, there were nearly four hundred aircraft assigned to Gunter Field; primarily trainers of the North American BT-14 and AT-6, Vultee BT-13 types. At this time, Gunter Army Airfield had a 3,500 ft. hard-surface runway, as well as seven satellite airfields in the area.
After World War II ended, flight training was transferred to Spence Army Air Field (Georgia) and, other than some contingents of French and Chinese flight students, training ended there. By February of 1946 Gunter's remaining aircraft were transferred to Maxwell Army Air Base and the field went to 'stand by' status.
In January of 1948 Gunter Field was redesignated Gunter Air Force Base. In May of 1950 the Air University located the Extension Course Institute there. In October of that year a branch of the School of Aviation Medicine was established.
In 1957 the Air Force created the 'Montgomery Air Defense Sector' at Gunter and constructed a four-story, reinforced concrete blockhouse housing the computers and personnel who manned this portion of the 'Semi-Automated Ground Environment' (SAGE) system, which was intended to provide early warning and response for a Soviet nuclear attack. This was manned continually until 1969 when techonology advances allowed the Air Force to shut down many SAGE blockhouses.
In 1971, nearly 800 acres of Gunter were returned to the city of Montgomery. In that year the Air Force Data Systems Design Center moved there and in 1972 the Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy came to Gunter. In early 1973, Gunter was redesignated an 'Air Force Station'.
Major construction was undertaken in the 1980s and 1990s, thanks to the advocacy of Congressman William Dickinson and in 1988 Gunter was redesignated an 'Air Force Base'. The primary tenants being, still, the Extension Course Institute, the Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy and the Air Force Data Systems Design Center.
In March of 1992, Gunter was again redesignated, this time as 'Maxwell Air Force Base, Gunter Annex' and now falls under the command of nearby Maxwell Air Force Base.
Gunter Annex is located at 32.41 North 86.23 West (East of Downtown Montgomery, AL).
