Texas World War II Army Airfields

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Texas World War II Army Airfields

Part of World War II

Locations of wartime training airfields in Texas (1942-1945)
USAAF Airfields are in red, Bases used by the USAF are in blue, minor training fields in green
Type Army Airfields
Built 1940-1944
In use 1940-Present
Controlled by United States Army Air Forces
Garrison Army Air Force Training Command
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Col. David Petersen, 80th Flying Training Wing commander, is greeted by Lt. Col. Andrew Toth, 80th Operations Group deputy commander, and Lt. Col. Ternell Washington, 80th FTW, Jan. 4. Colonel Petersen and Maj. Jeff Grayson, 97th Flying Training Squadron chief of training, traveled to Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, to retrieve the first T-6A Texan II's in Sheppard’s inventory. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Jacob Corbin)
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Col. David Petersen, 80th Flying Training Wing commander, is greeted by Lt. Col. Andrew Toth, 80th Operations Group deputy commander, and Lt. Col. Ternell Washington, 80th FTW, Jan. 4. Colonel Petersen and Maj. Jeff Grayson, 97th Flying Training Squadron chief of training, traveled to Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, to retrieve the first T-6A Texan II's in Sheppard’s inventory. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Jacob Corbin)

In today's United States Air Force, nearly every Airman and Officer has spent some of their military service being trained in Texas. Be it basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, technical training, officer training, or flight training, Texas is indeed, the "Home of the Air Force" with the headquarters of Air Education and Training Command being located at Randolph Air Force Base, near San Antonio.

Contents

[edit] Overview

This tradition of training goes back to the very beginnings of the Air Force, with early fight training being held at various Army camps and airfields in Texas prior to World War I, and in the 1920s and 1930s.

From the poorly armed and understaffed United States Army Air Corps that existed at the time the first bombs were dropped on Pearl Harbor, the United States produced, just a few years later, the greatest Air Force the world has ever seen. The effort to achieve this was unprecedented.

During World War II, Texas was a major United States Army Air Force (USAAF) training center for training fighter and bomber pilots and aircrews. Fourth Air Force, headquartered at Hamilton Army Airfield, California established numerous airfields in Texas between 1942 and 1945 with a mission to prepare groups and squadrons for combat in the various overseas theaters.

To build the facilities needed to train personnel, a massive land acquisition program was carried out. Often families who had lived on their land for generations were forced to move with little notice, their homes and buildings sold off or bulldozed into the ground so construction could begin. Within six months a small city replaced the farm or vacant land and training would start.

Typically the airfields were built from scratch on farm or vacant land and contained several hundred buildings of all descriptions. These training fields were small self contained towns that differed according to their use, but in many ways were the same. They varied in size from about 2,000 acres (8.1 km²) for a basic flight training base to more than 65,000 acres (260 km²) for a base used to teach gunnery. Thousands of men and women lived and worked on the bases either as trainers, trainees, support personnel, or family members.

The facilities vital to the training mission were constructed first and that part took about six months. Throughout the war, they were constantly improved to make living more comfortable and the training more efficient. Construction was of wood, tar paper, and non-masonry siding. The use of concrete and steel was limited because of the critical need elsewhere. Most buildings were hot and dusty in the summer and very cold in the winter.

Most fields had hangars, barracks, warehouses, hospitals, dental clinics, dining halls, and maintenance shops. There were libraries, social clubs for officers, and enlisted men, and stores to buy living necessities. Some training fields had swimming pools, all had sport fields.

It is still possible to find remnants of these wartime training fields. Many were converted into municipal airports, some are industrial parks, and others were retained as United States Air Force installations. Hundreds of the temporary buildings that were used survive today, and are being used for other purposes.

Texas, due to its warm climate and excellent year-round flying weather, had numerous training airfields constructed there. The following list is a compilation of the major and minor airfields that can be determined. Numerous auxiliary airfields were also built, mostly to handle the excess amount of air traffic at the major bases, but also so pilots could practice touch-and-go landings without disrupting the traffic pattern at the main bases. I have not included these auxiliary bases, mostly because they cannot be found or located and they have long since returned to agricultural use.

After the war, many of the airfields were returned to civil control. Others became United States Air Force bases. Some retained their training mission as part of Air Training Command; some became massive storage depots of reserve aircraft; others became front-line bases with Strategic Air Command and Tactical Air Command.

[edit] USAAF Airfields

[edit] Cold War U.S. Air Force Bases

During the Cold War (1948-1991), the United States Air Force took possession of the following World War II USAAF airfields:

[edit] Minor Airfields Used By The USAAF

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  • Freeman, Paul (2008) Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: Texas
  • Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0892010924.
  • Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947-1977. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0912799129.
  • Thole, Lou (1999), Forgotten Fields of America : World War II Bases and Training, Then and Now - Vol. 2. Publisher: Pictorial Histories Pub, ISBN 1575100517

[edit] External links