Hillsborough Army Airfield
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Hillsborough Army Airfield
|
|
|---|---|
| Part of Army Air Force Training Command | |
| Located near Tampa, Florida | |
 15 January 1948 photo |
|
| Type | Army Airfield |
| Coordinates | |
| Built | 1943 |
| In use | 1943-1945 |
| Controlled by | United States Army Air Forces |
| Garrison | Army Air Force Training Command |
Hillsborough Army Airfield is a former World War II United States Army Air Forces airfield which was located about 7 miles west of Tampa, Florida.
[edit] History
Hillsborough was built about 1943 and its primary mission was to be a auxiliary airfield for both Drew AAF and MacDill AAF. It had three runways (NE/SW, NW/SE & E/W) of about 5,200' in length and several hangars along the west side of the airfield. The base normally had about 28 airplanes at the field at one time. The base closed in early 1945.
At some point after World War II, Hillsborough was reused as a civilian airport, known as Henderson Airport, however it was closed in the late 1950s. The University of South Florida campus began construction in 1957 on a site adjacent to the north side of Henderson Airport,and the Busch Gardens theme park was opened in 1959 just south of the airport.
Today the airfield is all but unrecognizeable in the urbanized area of Tampa.
