| North Auxiliary Airfield | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: none – ICAO: KXNO – FAA LID: XNO | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Military | ||
| Owner | U.S. Air Force | ||
| Location | North, South Carolina | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 321 ft / 98 m | ||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 6/24 | 10,000 | 3,048 | Asphalt |
| 5/23 | 3,500 | 1,067 | Asphalt |
| Sources: U.S. Air Force[1] and FAA[2] | |||
North Air Force Auxiliary Airfield (ICAO: KXNO, FAA LID: XNO) is a military airfield located 3 miles (4.8 km) east of North, a town in Orangeburg County, South Carolina, United States.[1][2]
It is owned by the U.S. Air Force and is used primarily for C-17 Globemaster III training by the 437th Airlift Wing and its Air Force Reserve "Associate" unit, the 315th Airlift Wing, at Charleston Air Force Base. Additional "bare base" operations are also conducted by the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw Air Force Base and the 169th Fighter Wing at McEntire Air National Guard Station. Other units can utilize North with prior coordination with the 437 AW. The 437th Civil Engineering Squadron (437 CES) of the 437th Airlift Wing at Charleston AFB mainains a detachment to maintain and operate the airfield. The only permanently assigned personnel are 10 USAF firefighters and one civilian grounds keeper.[1]
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North Auxiliary Airfield covers an area of 2,400 acres (971 ha), of which 1,150 acres (465 ha) are undeveloped. It contains two asphalt paved runways: the main runway (6/24) measuring 10,000 x 150 ft (3,048 x 46 m) and an assault runway (5/23) measuring 3,500 x 90 ft (1,067 x 27 m).[1][2] The primary airstrip runs parallel to U.S. Route 178 but is screened from view from the road by trees.
The land for North Army Airfield was bought between 1942 and 1945. The airfield was built by the United States Army Air Forces The original dirt runway was constructed in April 1943 and used by Hughes Aircraft Company for testing, as well as being a satellite airfield of Columbia Army Air Base, supporting B-25 Mitchell medium bomber training for Third Air Force III Air Support Command. Training was accomplished by 74th Station Complement Squadron which also maintained the facility.
After the war, a 12,000 ft runway and a 3,000 ft assault runway were built. North Airfield (Later North Auxiliary Airfield, Northfield Air Base), has been under the jurisdiction of Fort Jackson, Shaw AFB, the Department of Energy, and on 1 October 1979, Charleston AFB assumed real property jurisdiction, control, and accountability over North Field.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.