Grand Island Army Airfield
Encyclopedia
- For the civil use of this facility and airport information, see Central Nebraska Regional AirportCentral Nebraska Regional AirportCentral Nebraska Regional Airport is a public use airport located three nautical miles northeast of the central business district of Grand Island, a city in Hall County, Nebraska, United States...
Grand Island Army Airfield was a 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....
airfield which operated from 1942 to 1946. After its closure, the base was reopened as Central Nebraska Regional Airport
Central Nebraska Regional Airport
Central Nebraska Regional Airport is a public use airport located three nautical miles northeast of the central business district of Grand Island, a city in Hall County, Nebraska, United States...
.
History
Grand Island Army Airfield was opened in 1942, and was one of eleven USAAF training bases in NebraskaNebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
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...
. A portion of the 2125 acres (8.6 km²) site was a former national defense airport. The site is bordered on all sides by farm ground. The Army Airfield was constructed, in part, over the pre-existing Grand Island Arrasmith Airport. To convert the existing airport into a military airfield, 173 buildings and structures were constructed at Grand Island Army Airfield.
The airfield was activated on 1 April 1943, under the command of Second Air Force
Second Air Force
The Second Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command . It is headquartered at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi....
Headquarters, Colorado Springs Army Air Base, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. It was used in the early part of the war to train bomber air crews. Later in the war, the field was a staging area for bomber crews preparing for assignments in Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
and Tinian
Tinian
Tinian is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.-Geography:Tinian is about 5 miles southwest of its sister island, Saipan, from which it is separated by the Saipan Channel. It has a land area of 39 sq.mi....
in the Pacific Theater of Operations
Pacific Theater of Operations
The Pacific Theater of Operations was the World War II area of military activity in the Pacific Ocean and the countries bordering it, a geographic scope that reflected the operational and administrative command structures of the American forces during that period...
. It was also a Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
base in 1946. Major engine and airframe repair facilities were available for B-17 Flying Fortress and B-29 Superfortress
B-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
bombers. One bombardment training wing (Second Air Force), and three bombardment groups (Twentieth Air Force
Twentieth Air Force
The Twentieth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming.20 AF's primary mission is Intercontinental Ballistic Missile operations...
) were attached to Grand Island during the war.
The 242nd (Operational Training Unit, Very Heavy) of the 17th Bombardment Training Wing commanded the support elements at Grand Island AAF as part of Air Technical Service Command.
Known B-29 Superfortress
B-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
units that trained at Grand Island AAF were:
- 6th Bombardment Group6th Air Mobility WingThe United States Air Force's 6th Air Mobility Wing is the host wing for MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. It is part of Air Mobility Command's Eighteenth Air Force....
(18 May - 19 November 1944)
- 24th, 39th and 40th Bombardment Squadrons
- Deployed to Twentieth Air ForceTwentieth Air ForceThe Twentieth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming.20 AF's primary mission is Intercontinental Ballistic Missile operations...
, TinianTinianTinian is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.-Geography:Tinian is about 5 miles southwest of its sister island, Saipan, from which it is separated by the Saipan Channel. It has a land area of 39 sq.mi....
- 502d Bombardment Group502d Bombardment GroupThe 502d Bombardment Group was a World War II United States Army Air Forces combat organization. The unit was inactivated on 15 April 1946....
(26 September 1944 - 7 April 1945)
- 402nd, 411th, and 430th Bombardment Squadrons
- Deployed to Twentieth Air ForceTwentieth Air ForceThe Twentieth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming.20 AF's primary mission is Intercontinental Ballistic Missile operations...
, GuamGuamGuam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
- 376th Bombardment Group376th Air Expeditionary WingThe 376th Air Expeditionary Wing is a provisional United States Air Force Air Combat Command unit. It is currently stationed at the Transit Center at Manas International Airport, Kyrgyz Republic...
(25 June - 10 November 1945)
- 512th, 513th, 514th, and 515th Bombardment Squadrons
- Inactivated 10 November 1945
- 449th Bombardment Group449th Air Expeditionary GroupThe 449th Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to the 17th Air Force supporting United States Africa Command. It was last known to be stationed at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti....
(8 September 1945 - 4 August 1946)
- 716th, 717th, 718th, and 719th Bombardment Squadrons
- Assigned to Strategic Air CommandStrategic Air CommandThe Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
at Grand Island AAF - Inactivated 4 August 1946
- 28th Bombardment Group28th Bomb WingThe 28th Bomb Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command Twelfth Air Force. It is stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota...
(4 August 1946 - 6 October 1946)
- 77th, 717th, and 718th Bombardment Squadrons
- Assigned personnel and equipment from inactivated 449th Bombardment Group, reassigned to Elmendorf AAF AlaskaAlaskaAlaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
.
- 28th Bombardment Group
With the departure of the B-29 units the USAAF closed Grand Island Army Airfield on 31 October 1946. The facility was turned over to the City of Grand Island for use as a municipal airport and industrial park.
However the military use of the base did not end entirely. During the 1960s, Grand Island Regional Airport was utilized by Convair F-106 Delta Darts of the 328th Fighter Wing, 326th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron
326th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron
The 326th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 328th Fighter Wing stationed at Richards-Gebaur AFB, Missouri. It was inactivated on 2 January 1967.-History:...
(Air Defense) of Air Defense Command as a dispersal base. These aircraft were deployed from Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base
Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base
Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base is a closed United States Air Force base. It is located south of Kansas City, Missouri. It was closed in 1994....
outside of Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
. These dispersal flights ended in 1968.
Today, about a dozen military buildings still exist at Central Nebraska Regional Airport
Central Nebraska Regional Airport
Central Nebraska Regional Airport is a public use airport located three nautical miles northeast of the central business district of Grand Island, a city in Hall County, Nebraska, United States...
including several aircraft hangars, some former warehouses being used for commercial storage and several sheds along with the old parachute building.
See also
- Nebraska World War II Army AirfieldsNebraska World War II Army AirfieldsNebraska World War II army airfields were major United States Army Air Force training centers for pilots and aircrews of USAAF fighters and bombers during World War II. Nebraska was a favored because it has excellent, year-round flying conditions...