Ainsworth Army Airfield

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Ainsworth Regional Airport


IATA: ANW - ICAO: KANW
Summary
Airport type		Civilian
Elevation AMSL		2589 ft (789 m)
Coordinates		42°34′45″N, 99°59′34″W
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
17/35	6,824	2,080	Asphalt
12/30	5,501	1,677	Asphalt

Ainsworth Army Airfield was located in Brown County on Highway 20, 6 miles NW of Ainsworth, Nebraska. The airfield was activated on 30 November 1942.

It was was one of eleven United States Army Air Force training bases in Nebraska during World War II. The base was under the command of Second Air Force Headquarters, Colorado Springs, Colorado and was a satellite of Rapid City AAF, South Dakota.

The base's primary mission was to provide pilots proficiency training using Bell P-39 Airacobra and Republic P-47 Thunderbolts. In addition training with Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress was also provided. Aircraft camouflage experiments were also conducted on the site.

Known units that trained at Ainsworth were:

364th Fighter Squadron (7 October - 9 November 1943)
Part of the 357th Fighter Group
Trained with P-39s, flew North American P-51 Mustangs in England under 8th Air Force
53d Fighter Squadron (November 1943 - March 1944)
Part of the 36th Fighter Group
Trained with P-47s, Transferred to England under 9th Air Force
540th & 543d Bombardment Squadrons (April 1944 - August 1944)
Were B-17 replacement training units based at Ainsworth.
Deactivated and reactivated as Boeing B-29 Superfortress squadrons as part of the 383d Bomb Group at Dalhart AAF Texas.

The 4315th Army Air Force Base Unit commanded the support elements at Ainsworth as part of Air Technical Service Command.

The 2,496-acre field included three 7,300 x 150-foot concrete runways, a hangar, warehouse, repair and machine shops, link and bomb trainers, Norden bombsite vaults, and barracks for over 600 officers and enlisted men.

The base closed on 31 December 1945. In 1946 the city of Ainsworth received a U.S. Government revocable license for commercial aircraft operations on the field. In 1948 the War Assets Administration declared the property surplus, and the city of Ainsworth received title to the airfield for use as a municipal airport.

Today the airfield is known as Ainsworth Regional Airport (ANW).