History

During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the United States Army Air Forces

United States Army Air Forces

The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....

 used Garden City Airport as a training airfield by the Army Air Forces Flying Training Command

Air Training Command

Air Training Command is a former major command of the United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force. ATC came into being as a redesignation of the Army Air Forces Training Command on July 1, 1946...

, Gulf Coast Training Center. The facility was known as Garden City Army Airfield.

The immediate construction involved runways and airplane hangars, with five concrete runways, several taxiways and a large parking apron and a control tower. Four large hangars were also constructed. Buildings were ultimately utilitarian and quickly assembled. Most base buildings, not meant for long-term use, were constructed of temporary or semi-permanent materials. Although some hangars had steel frames and the occasional brick or tile brick building could be seen, most support buildings sat on concrete foundations but were of frame construction clad in little more than plywood and tarpaper.

The airfield opened in early 1942 and originally trained Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 pilots in basic flight training. In June 1943 it was converted as part of the 70,000 Pilot Training Program into the Army Air Forces Pilot School (Basic) (later 49th Basic Flying Training Group). Flying cadets learned to fly with Vultee BT-13A Valiants. The BT-13 was the basic trainer flown by most pilots during World War II. It was the second phase of the three phase training program for pilots.

There were three auxiliary airfields associated with Garden City AAF which were built in 1943. On 15 December 1944 flying training ceased at the airfield and Garden City AAF was reassigned to Air Service Command, becoming an auxiliary storage depot for the Oklahoma City Air Depot, and was placed on standby status. On 27 April 1945, the airfield was reactivated as an aircraft storage depot, and for the next two years, may of the basic and primary training aircraft used by Air Training Command were flown to Garden City for storage, and ultimately sale or reclamation. The main Garden City Army Airfield and it's auxiliaries were closed at the end of the war in November 1945, and were declared excess by the military on 18 May 1947. Civil authorities developed the main airfield into Garden City Regional Airport.

Garden City Regional Airport's former status as Garden City AAF helped it serve an important role during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. When orders were dispatched to ground all domestic flights, three large jets were ordered to land at GCRA as it was the closest airport with runways that could accommodate the planes. Since planes of such size don't normally use the airport, the passengers had to be evacuated with the aid of ladder trucks from the Garden City Fire Department.

See also

• Kansas World War II Army Airfields
  Kansas World War II Army Airfields
  During World War II, Kansas was a major United States Army Air Force training center for pilots and aircrews of USAAF fighters and bombers. Kansas was a favored because it has excellent, year-round flying conditions...