Zephyrhills Army Air Field

Zephyrhills Army Airfield
Part of Army Air Force Training Command
Located near: Zephyrhills, Florida
Zephyrhills Army Airfield - 1951
Zephyrhills Army Airfield
Coordinates	28°13′41″N 082°09′21″W / 28.22806°N 82.15583°W / 28.22806; -82.15583
Site history
In use	1940-1945

Zephyrhills Army Airfield, was a World War II United States Army Air Forces airfield, located 1.6 miles (2.6 km) east-southeast of Zephyrhills, Florida.

History

Originally developed in the late 1930s as a municipal airport, the citizens of Zephyrhills financed the construction through federal funds and matching local donations. The airport was taken over in January 1942 by the United States Army Air Corps, and Zephyrhills Army Airfield was assigned as a sub-base to the Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics (AAFSAT) at Orlando Army Airfield.

Known sub-bases and auxiliaries:

• Withlacoochee Army Airfield 28°29′17″N 082°02′26″W / 28.48806°N 82.04056°W / 28.48806; -82.04056

The airfield was used by the 10th Fighter Squadron (Special), which initially flew P-40 Warhawks at the airfield from 4 January 1943 - 29 January 1944. The airfield was used to train pilots in ground intercept missions. In July 1943, the squadron converted to P-51 Mustangs. Zephyrhills AAF was also used as a standby landing strip for other USAAF aircraft flying in the area, such as those from MacDill Field and Drane Field.

After the 10th Fighter Squadron deployed to Ninth Air Force in England, it was replaced by the 372d Army Air Forces Base Unit, which continued with the conduct of fighter pilot training.

Closure

The military use of the airport ended on 31 October 1944 and jurisdiction of the airfield was transferred to Air Technical Service Command (ATSC), whose mission was the transfer of any useful military equipment to other bases around the country. Under ATSC, buildings and equipment were sold and any useful military equipment was transferred to other bases around the country. The base was declared as surplus in 1946 and was turned over to the War Assets Administration (WAA) for disposal and return to civil use.

In 1947 the airport was deeded to the city, which has run it ever since.

See also

• Florida World War II Army Airfields
• Army Air Force School of Applied Tactics

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

• Maurer Maurer (1982-01-01). Air Force Combat Units of World War II: History and Insignia. Zenger Publishing Company, Incorporated. ISBN 978-0-89201-092-9. 
• {A number of US squadrons are directly placed in [[Category:Aviation in World War I]]. While looking for an appropriate narrower category, I saw that [[Category:United States Army Air Service World War I Combat Units]] is a direct subcategory of this Category, while [[Category:Aviation units and formations of the United States in World War I]] is a subcategory of [[Category:Military aviation units and formations in World War I]] and there is also a subcategory of [[Category:Aviation units and formations of the United States in World War I]] called [[Category:Military units and formations of the United States Army Air Service]] US Aero Squadrons seem to be randomly assigned to these categories.
• It seems to me that [[Category:United States Army Air Service World War I Combat Units]] should be moved to become a subcategory of [[Category:Aviation units and formations of the United States in World War I]] and all squadrons directly categorized under [[Category:Aviation in World War I]] should be moved to [[Category:Aviation units and formations of the United States in World War I]] (I assume that a bot can do this). Knowledgeable editors can then determine which should be moved to the combat category.
• Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556. 
• Shaw, Frederick J. (2004), Locating Air Force Base Sites History’s Legacy, Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force, Washington DC, 2004.
• World War II airfields database: Florida
• AFHRA search Zephyrhills Army Airfield

External links

Army Air Forces Training Command Flying Training Flying Schools Eastern Flying Training Command Central Flying Training Command Western Flying Training Command Specialized Schools Bombardier Contract Flying Glider Training Gunnery Navigator Technical Training Eastern Technical Training Command Central Technical Training Command Western Technical Training Command