Losey Field

Losey Field
Part of Sixth Air Force
Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico
An October 30, 2004 USGS aerial view looking northwest at the site of Losey AAF
Losey AAF
Coordinates	18°00′32″N 066°30′22″W / 18.00889°N 66.50611°W / 18.00889; -66.50611Coordinates: 18°00′32″N 066°30′22″W / 18.00889°N 66.50611°W / 18.00889; -66.50611
Type	Military airfield
Site information
Controlled by	United States Army Air Forces
Site history
In use	1941-1944

Losey Field is a former United States Army Air Forces World War II air base on Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico. It is located on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. Today it is a military training center of the Puerto Rico National Guard called Fort Allen.^[1]

Losey Field was established by the Army Air Corps in 1941 and was used during World War II by fighter & bomber units. It was named for Captain Robert M. Losey, an aeronautical meteorologist who in April 1940 became the United States' first military casualty in World War II. Units assigned were:

• 4th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (13th Composite Wing, 72nd Observation Group) 1 April 1941 – 27 October 1943
• 20th Troop Carrier Squadron (Sixth Air Force Base Command) 10 May–June 1942
• 36th Fighter Group (Headquarters), January 1941-May 1943

22d Fighter Squadron, 6 January-13 December 1941 (P-40 Warhawk)

23rd Fighter Squadron, 6 January-31 May 1941; 15 November-13 December 1941(P-40 Warhawk)

32d Fighter Squadron, 6 January 1941-19 February 1942; 9 March-14 June 1943 (P-40 Warhawk)

• 417th Bombardment Squadron (25th Bombardment Group) 29 May 1943 – 24 March 1944 (B-18 Bolo)

After the departure of the 417th Bombardment Squadron in 1944, the airfield was turned over to Army ground forces. It was renamed Camp Losey in 1950

See also

• Losey Airfield photos

http://www.airfields-freeman.com/PR/Airfields_PR_W.htm

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

• Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
• 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. 

Notes