Keystone Heights Airport
Encyclopedia
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
located within the city limits of Keystone Heights, Florida
Keystone Heights, Florida
Keystone Heights is a town located in both Bradford County and Clay County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,349 at the 2000 census, all of it in the Clay County section, although over 40 percent of the city's area lies in Bradford County. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S...
.
The airport is adjacent to Camp Blanding
Camp Blanding
Camp Blanding Joint Training Center is the primary military reservation and training base for the Florida National Guard, both the Florida Army National Guard and certain non-flying activities of the Florida Air National Guard. The installation is located in Clay County, Florida near the city of...
, the Florida National Guard
Florida National Guard
The Florida National Guard is the National Guard force of the U.S. state of Florida. It comprises the Florida Army National Guard and the Florida Air National Guard.The United States Constitution charges the National Guard with dual federal and state missions...
Reservation and "Fly through History" Military Museum and Memorial Park. This museum at Camp Blanding is dedicated to the 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...
units that trained there during the early 1940s.
Keystone Heights Airport employs one full-time clerk and one part-time maintenance workers. The airport is home to Express Air, a fixed wing flight training school, the European Rally and Performance Driving School, Wings of Dreams Aviation Museum
Wings of Dreams Aviation Museum
Wings of Dreams is an aviation museum located at the Keystone Heights Airport in Starke, Florida. The museum features exhibits on the airport's role as Keystone Army Air Base and training of pilots in preparation for the Normandy Invasion during World War II. It also features exhibits on Women...
and Warbird Restoration Center and 3 FAA certified airframe and power plant mechanics. The businesses located on airport property employ approximately 80 people.
History
The airport was constructed in 1942 as Crystal Lake Airfield, and was commissioned in December 1942 as Keystone Army Airfield (AAF) by the United States Army Air ForcesUnited 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....
. It was used as part of the Air University's Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics (AAFSAT) tactical combat simulation school in Central and Northern Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
Headquartered at Orlando Army Air Base, the school's mission was to develop tactics and techniques of aerial warfare and to establish technical and tactical proficiency requirements for combat units to effectively engage and defeat enemy air forces. This was done with a wide variety of aircraft, including heavy strategic bombers; tactical fighters; medium and light bombers; reconnaissance and dive bombers, based at different airfields of the school.
It was a base for the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Group
432d Wing
The 432d Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Combat Command, stationed at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada. The group operates unmanned reconnaissance aircraft which provide real-time reconnaissance, surveillance, and precision attack against fixed and time-critical targets...
. The 432d moved to Keystone from Alachua AAF
Gainesville Regional Airport
Gainesville Regional Airport is a public airport located three miles northeast of the central business district of Gainesville, a city in Alachua County, Florida, United States. The airport is owned by the City of Gainesville, FL and operated by the Gainesville-Alachua County Regional Airport...
on February 23, 1943 as the operational training unit (OTU) of the Army Air Force School of Applied Tactics
Army Air Force School of Applied Tactics
The Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics was a military training organization of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II...
. The group trained aircrews and provided reconnaissance training to assist fighter, bombardment, and ground units. Aircraft assigned were P-39 Airacobras, B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
s and P-47 Thunderbolt
P-47 Thunderbolt
Republic Aviation's P-47 Thunderbolt, also known as the "Jug", was the largest, heaviest, and most expensive fighter aircraft in history to be powered by a single reciprocating engine. It was heavily armed with eight .50-caliber machine guns, four per wing. When fully loaded, the P-47 weighed up to...
s.
The 423d was assigned to Keystone Heights until November 1, 1943, when the aircraft and personnel of the group were assigned to the Army Air Forces Tactical Center. The 423d was then reassigned without equipment or personnel to Shaw AAF, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
.
It was replaced by the 13th Fighter Squadron which flew P-40 Warhawks (17 November 1943-28 January 1944). After the end of 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 facility was turned over to the City of Keystone Heights in 1947.
See also
- Florida World War II Army Airfields
- Army Air Force School of Applied TacticsArmy Air Force School of Applied TacticsThe Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics was a military training organization of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II...
- Wings of Dreams Aviation MuseumWings of Dreams Aviation MuseumWings of Dreams is an aviation museum located at the Keystone Heights Airport in Starke, Florida. The museum features exhibits on the airport's role as Keystone Army Air Base and training of pilots in preparation for the Normandy Invasion during World War II. It also features exhibits on Women...