Fairmont State Airfield

Fairmont State Airfield
(former Fairmont Army Airfield)

Summary
Airport type Public
Owner Nebraska Department of Aeronautics
Serves Fairmont, Nebraska
Location Madison Township, Fillmore County
Elevation AMSL 1,636 ft / 499 m
Coordinates 40°35′10″N 097°34′23″W / 40.58611°N 97.57306°W / 40.58611; -97.57306Coordinates: 40°35′10″N 097°34′23″W / 40.58611°N 97.57306°W / 40.58611; -97.57306
Map
FMZ
FMZ

Location of airport in Nebraska / United States

Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
17/35 4,317 1,316 Concrete
12/30 3,021 921 Concrete
Statistics (2012)
Aircraft operations 1,625
Based aircraft 21
Fairmont Army Airfield
Nearest city Fairmont, Nebraska
Area 1,827 acres (739 ha)
Built 1942
Architectural style Other, Aircraft hangars
NRHP Reference # 03000105[2]
Added to NRHP March 11, 2003

Fairmont State Airfield (ICAO: KFMZ, FAA LID: FMZ) is three miles south of Fairmont, in Fillmore County, Nebraska. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a general aviation facility. It has no scheduled airline service.

Most U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier for the FAA and IATA, but this airport is FMZ to the FAA and has no IATA code.

History

Construction of Fairmont State Airfield by the United States Army Air Forces began on September 17, 1942. It was one of eleven training airfields built in Nebraska during World War II. Shortly after construction began, a railroad spur was built from Fairmont to the site to haul materials for the construction. About 1,000 laborers were hired to build the base, and the small towns of Geneva (pop. 1,888) and Fairmont (pop. 800) were hard pressed to find housing for the workers. Early in the construction, the facility was referred to as the Fairmont Satellite Airfield, and was designated a satellite of the Topeka Army Air Base in Kansas, however by early 1943, the name was changed to the Fairmont Army Airfield, as its mission was determined to be a training facility for heavy bomber groups. The first military personnel arrived in November 1942

The airfield was under the command of Second Air Force Headquarters, Colorado Springs, Colorado. The 241st Army Air Force Base Unit was the Operational Training Unit at the airfield. It was assigned to the 15th Bombardment Training Wing (September 1943 - March 1944), then transferred to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing in March 1944 for B-29 training. The 511th Army Air Force Base Unit commanded the support elements at Fairmont as part of Air Technical Service Command.

Fairmont Army Airfield was a training installation for twenty-seven bombardment squadrons. Complete engine and airframe repairs were available for Consolidated B-24 Liberator and eventually in the more technologically advanced Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers at the five hangars on the field. Extensive concrete runways and other structures were built. A 350-bed hospital served personnel from Fairmont along with Harvard AAF and Bruning AAF. The cantonment area provided quarters for nearly 6,000 officers and enlisted men.

Known units that trained at Fairmont AAF were:

828th, 829th, 830th and 831st Bombardment Squadrons
Deployed to: Fifteenth Air Force, in Italy (B-24 Liberator)
724th, 725th, 726th and 727th Bombardment Squadrons
Deployed to: Fifteenth Air Force, in Italy (B-24 Liberator)
393rd, 398th, 421st and 507th Bombardment Squadrons
Deployed to: Twentieth Air Force in Tinian (B-29 Superfortress)
15th, 16th and 17th Bombardment Squadrons
Deployed to: Twentieth Air Force in Guam (B-29 Superfortress)
343rd, 344th, 345th, and 415th Bombardment Squadrons
Trained on B-29 Superfortresses but inactivated in November 1945
788th, 789th, 790th and 791st Bombardment Squadrons
Trained on B-29 Superfortresses but inactivated in August 1946
844th, 845th, 846th and 847th Bombardment Squadrons
Trained on B-29 Superfortresses but inactivated in October 1945

In September 1944 Lt. Col. Paul Tibbets visited Fairmont and selected the 393d Bombardment Squadron of the 504th to join the 509th Composite Group at Wendover AAF, Utah. This group dropped both atomic bombs on Japan.

The base was inactivated on December 31, 1945. In the spring of 1946, the War Assets Administration declared the property surplus in the spring of 1946. Buildings were sold and dismantled or moved. The chapel was moved to Friend, Nebraska. The Enlisted Men's Service Club was dismantled and rebuilt in Shickley, Nebraska as St. Mary's Church. In 1946 Nebraska Department of Aeronautics acquired the Airfield from the U.S. Government for use as a state-owned civilian airport.

The Fairmont Army Airfield, with its well maintained hangars, support buildings, and commander's house, was the best remaining example, as a collection of buildings, of the Army Airfields in the State of Nebraska. Due to the rural location, unencumbered by surrounding development, and the good condition of the remaining buildings, particularly the hangars, the Fairmont Army Airfield was placed on the National Register of Historic Places as an historic district. The District includes the hardstands, aprons and existing runways, all remaining buildings, extending to the edges of the roads where buildings remain. This encompasses historic landscape features such as roads and World War II-era planted trees.

Facilities

Fairmont State Airfield covers 687 acres (278 ha) at an elevation of 1,636 feet (499 m). It has two concrete runways: 17/35 is 4,317 by 75 feet (1,316 x 23 m) and 12/30 is 3,021 by 60 feet (921 x 18 m).[1]

In the year ending June 12, 2012 the airport had 1,625 aircraft operations, average 135 per month: 99.7% general aviation and 0.3% military. 21 aircraft were then based at this airport: 95% single-engine and 5% multi-engine.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 FAA Airport Master Record for FMZ (Form 5010 PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. Effective November 15, 2012.
  2. ↑ National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.


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