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Kingman Airport (Arizona)
Encyclopedia
Kingman Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport
located eight nautical mile
s (9 mi
, 15 km
) northeast of the central business district
of Kingman
, a city in Mohave County
, Arizona
, United States
. It has scheduled service provided by one commercial airline, which is subsidized by the Essential Air Service
program. A number of aircraft withdrawn from commercial service are stored or scrapped there.
As per Federal Aviation Administration
records, the airport had 897 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year
2010, an increase of 2.2% from the 878 enplanements in 2009. This airport is included in the FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems
for 2011–2015, which categorized
it as a general aviation
airport (the commercial service category requires at least 2,500 enplanements per year).
s (1,700 ha
) at an elevation
of 3,449 feet (1,051 m) above mean sea level. It has two asphalt
paved runway
s: 3/21 is 6,827 by 150 feet (2,081 x 46 m) and 17/35 is 6,725 by 75 feet (2,050 x 23 m).
For the 12-month period ending April 30, 2011, the airport had 44,137 aircraft operations, an average of 120 per day: 95% general aviation
, 4% scheduled commercial
, 1% air taxi
, and <1% military
. At that time there were 185 aircraft based at this airport: 51% single-engine
, 23% multi-engine, 23% jet
, 1% helicopter
, 1% glider
and 1% ultralight.
:
program:
United States Army Air Force training field. Between 1942 and 1945, the U.S. Army Air Force acquired approximately 4,145 acres in Mohave County outside of Kingman, Arizona and established the Kingman Army Airfield and associated Kingman Aerial Gunnery School training facilities in 1942.
operated several emergency landing strips.
The Gunnery Ranges were used to train gunners in air-to-air firing techniques. Five target flight lines and two auxiliary landing fields were established within this range. Initially, gunnery trainees fired at targets towed along these target flight lines. This technique did not provide a sufficient quality of training and other training techniques were tried. One of the first tried was to place a gun camera on the machine gun and instead of firing bullets the camera would record the gunners site picture whenever the trigger was pulled. In this situation, instead of aiming at a towed target sleeve, P-39 and P-63 aircraft were used as targets. Another technique tried involved the use of frangible bullets which were fired at specially armored versions of the P-39 and P-63s. This was called Operation PINBALL.
On 7 May 1943 the facility was officially named the Kingman Army Air Field. The base continued to grow and change with many new squadrons being added to the base and some of the existing ones combined. The host unit at Kingman Field was the 460th AAF Base Unit. Training units were as follows:
The 1120th and the 329th merged with the 328th to become the 328th Flexible Gunnery Training Group. The 1122nd, 537th, and 538th were consolidated to form the 1123rd Flexible Gunnery Training Group. The 1121st became the 329th. The 536th and the 760th Flexible Gunnery Training Groups were added to the list. Also assigned to the B17 fighting groups was the 31st Altitude Squadron, training for operations at high altitude.
Kingman Army Air Field was set up to handle two classes of about 200 students at any one time. During 1943, the policy was to have a class fire 1,200 rounds per student for one week on the Kingman Air to Air Gunnery Range (week five of the training cycle) and then move to Yucca AAF and have them fire 1,000 rounds during the second week.
Initially, the ammunition used was .30 caliber. As the .50 caliber machine gun became available, the use of the .30 caliber was slowly phased out. The P-39 and P-63 aircraft, used as targets, were normally equipped with a 37mm cannon. When the aircraft was in use as a target, this cannon was supposed to be removed and a light replaced it which would signal the gunners when hits were scored on the aircraft. During the latter part of the period this range was operational, the policy was that the gun camera missions were flown on this range and the live fire missions were flown on the Yucca Air to Air Range.
On 22 April 1944 the Kingman Army Air Field was consolidated and the host unit was redesignated as the 3018th Army Air Force Base Unit. Each of the units on the base became subdivisions of 3018th. During 1944 the 3018th was one of the top training schools in the United States.
The war ended on both fronts in 1945. With peace in the world there was no further need for a gunnery school - or for the airplanes that carried the guns. That year saw the base gradually wind down to a stop. On 15 November 1945, the property was declared surplus, and between 1946 and 1950 the various parcels were returned and leases cancelled.
After the war, the Reconstruction Finance Corporation
established five large storage, sales and scrapping centers for Army Air Forces aircraft. These were located at: Albuquerque AAF, New Mexico
, Altus AAF, Oklahoma
, Kingman, Arizona, Ontario AAF
, California
and Walnut Ridge AAF
, Arkansas
. A sixth facility for storing, selling and scrapping Navy and Marine aircraft was located at Clinton, Oklahoma.
Estimates of the number of excess surplus airplanes ran as high as 150,000. Consideration was given to storing a substantial number of these. By the summer of 1945, at least 30 sales-storage depots and 23 sales centers were in operation. In November 1945, it was estimated a total of 117,210 aircraft would be transferred as surplus.
Between 1945 and June 1947, the RFC, War Assets Corporation and the War Assets Administration (disposal function of the RFC was transferred to WAC on January 15, 1946, and to the WAA in March 1946) processed approximately 61,600 World War II aircraft, of which 34,700 were sold for flyable purposes and 26,900, primarily combat types, were sold for scrapping.
War Assets Administration came to KAAF to set up Sales & Storage Depot 41. Depot 41 was to sell of the base buildings and equipment. Not only that, it would store aircraft from the Army Air Force. It is estimated that approximately 10,000 warbirds were flown to Kingman in 1945 and 1946 for storage and sale. Some sources report the number to be over 11,000. It is reported that at least 100 of the 118 B-32 Heavy Bombers built were flown there, many straight from the assembly line.
Most of the transports and trainers could be used in the civilian fleet, and trainers were sold for $875 to $2,400. The fighters and bombers were of little peacetime use, although some were sold. Typical prices for surplus aircraft were:
Many aircraft were transferred to schools for educational purposes, and to communities for memorial use for a minimal fee. A Boy Scout troop bought a B-17 for $350.
General sales were conducted from these centers; however, the idea for long term storage, considering the approximate cost of $20 per month per aircraft, was soon discarded, and in June 1946, the remaining aircraft, except those at Altus, were put up for scrap bid.
The tens of thousands of warbirds that had survived the enemy fighter planes and fierce anti-aircraft fire ended up at Albuquerque, Altus, Kingman, Ontario, Walnut Ridge and Clinton.
After the Depot 41 did it’s job, the airfield was turned over to Mohave County to be used as an airport for the county.
All but a few of the original Kingman Army Airfield buildings have been removed. The property was formerly used as a support facility for aircraft training and has been redeveloped into a civil airport and industrial park. Today, some civilian airliners are stored there and remarketed or recycled into spare parts and into their base metals.
The Kingman Army Airfield Historical Society was also established, creating a museum to preserve the field's history with artifacts, photos, and displays. It also includes recognition of all conflicts in which Americans have served.
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 eight nautical mile
Nautical mile
The nautical mile is a unit of length that is about one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian, but is approximately one minute of arc of longitude only at the equator...
s (9 mi
Mile
A mile is a unit of length, most commonly 5,280 feet . The mile of 5,280 feet is sometimes called the statute mile or land mile to distinguish it from the nautical mile...
, 15 km
Kilometre
The kilometre is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to one thousand metres and is therefore exactly equal to the distance travelled by light in free space in of a second...
) northeast of the central business district
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
of Kingman
Kingman, Arizona
Kingman is located in a desert climate on the edge of the Mojave Desert, but its higher elevation and location between the Colorado Plateau and the Lower Colorado River Valley tempers summer high temperatures and contributes to winter cold and rare snowfall. Summer daytime highs reach above 90 °F ...
, a city in Mohave County
Mohave County, Arizona
Mohave County is located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2010 census, its population was 200,186, an increase of 45,154 people since the 2000 census count of 155,032. The county seat is Kingman...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It has scheduled service provided by one commercial airline, which is subsidized by the Essential Air Service
Essential Air Service
Essential Air Service is a U.S. government program enacted to guarantee that small communities in the United States, which, prior to deregulation, were served by certificated airlines, maintained commercial service. Its aim is to maintain a minimal level of scheduled air service to these...
program. A number of aircraft withdrawn from commercial service are stored or scrapped there.
As per Federal Aviation Administration
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
records, the airport had 897 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year
Calendar year
Generally speaking, a calendar year begins on the New Year's Day of the given calendar system and ends on the day before the following New Year's Day. By convention, a calendar year consists of a natural number of days. To reconcile the calendar year with an astronomical cycle , certain years...
2010, an increase of 2.2% from the 878 enplanements in 2009. This airport is included in the FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems
National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems
The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems is an inventory of U.S. aviation infrastructure assets. It is developed and maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration . Its purposes are:* to identify all the airports in the U.S...
for 2011–2015, which categorized
FAA airport categories
The United States Federal Aviation Administration has a system for categorizing public-use airports that is primarily based on the level of commercial passenger traffic through each facility. It is used to determine if an airport is eligible for funding through the federal government's Airport...
it as a general aviation
General aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
airport (the commercial service category requires at least 2,500 enplanements per year).
Facilities and aircraft
Kingman Airport covers an area of 4,200 acreAcre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
s (1,700 ha
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
) at an elevation
Elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....
of 3,449 feet (1,051 m) above mean sea level. It has two asphalt
Asphalt
Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...
paved runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
s: 3/21 is 6,827 by 150 feet (2,081 x 46 m) and 17/35 is 6,725 by 75 feet (2,050 x 23 m).
For the 12-month period ending April 30, 2011, the airport had 44,137 aircraft operations, an average of 120 per day: 95% general aviation
General aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
, 4% scheduled commercial
Airline
An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...
, 1% air taxi
Air taxi
An air taxi is an air charter passenger or cargo aircraft which operates on an on-demand basis.-Regulation:In the United States, air taxi and air charter operations are governed by Part 135 of the Federal Aviation Regulations , unlike the larger scheduled air carriers which are governed by more...
, and <1% military
Military aviation
Military aviation is the use of aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling warfare, including national airlift capacity to provide logistical supply to forces stationed in a theater or along a front. Air power includes the national means of conducting such...
. At that time there were 185 aircraft based at this airport: 51% single-engine
Aircraft engine
An aircraft engine is the component of the propulsion system for an aircraft that generates mechanical power. Aircraft engines are almost always either lightweight piston engines or gas turbines...
, 23% multi-engine, 23% jet
Jet aircraft
A jet aircraft is an aircraft propelled by jet engines. Jet aircraft generally fly much faster than propeller-powered aircraft and at higher altitudes – as high as . At these altitudes, jet engines achieve maximum efficiency over long distances. The engines in propeller-powered aircraft...
, 1% helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
, 1% glider
Glider (sailplane)
A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the sport of gliding. Some gliders, known as motor gliders are used for gliding and soaring as well, but have engines which can, in some cases, be used for take-off or for extending a flight...
and 1% ultralight.
Passenger statistics
Passenger boardings (enplanements) by year, as per the Federal Aviation AdministrationFederal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
:
| Year | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enplanements | 1,907 | 2,417 | 2,437 | 1,260 | 878 | 897 |
| Change | -22.9% | +26.7% | +0.8% | -48.3% | -30.3% | +2.2% |
Airlines and destinations
Scheduled service subsidized by the Essential Air ServiceEssential Air Service
Essential Air Service is a U.S. government program enacted to guarantee that small communities in the United States, which, prior to deregulation, were served by certificated airlines, maintained commercial service. Its aim is to maintain a minimal level of scheduled air service to these...
program:
History
The Kingman Airport was originally built as a World War IIWorld 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...
United States Army Air Force training field. Between 1942 and 1945, the U.S. Army Air Force acquired approximately 4,145 acres in Mohave County outside of Kingman, Arizona and established the Kingman Army Airfield and associated Kingman Aerial Gunnery School training facilities in 1942.
Wartime Aircraft Gunnery School
Kingman Army Airfield was established as a training base for Army Air Force aerial gunners. In addition to the main base, the Kingman Ground to Ground Gunnery Range and Kingman Air to Air Gunnery Range was located about six miles north of the present city limits of the City of Kingman. From this point, the former practice gunnery ranges extended northward approximately 31 miles, generally following the Hualapai Valley. To support the training at the main facility, Yucca Army AirfieldYucca Army Airfield
Yucca Army Airfield is a former military airfield located about west of Yucca, in Mohave County, Arizona. It is on the east side of Interstate 40, south of Kingman. It is presently used as a testing facility by Chrysler LLC.- Military use:...
operated several emergency landing strips.
The Gunnery Ranges were used to train gunners in air-to-air firing techniques. Five target flight lines and two auxiliary landing fields were established within this range. Initially, gunnery trainees fired at targets towed along these target flight lines. This technique did not provide a sufficient quality of training and other training techniques were tried. One of the first tried was to place a gun camera on the machine gun and instead of firing bullets the camera would record the gunners site picture whenever the trigger was pulled. In this situation, instead of aiming at a towed target sleeve, P-39 and P-63 aircraft were used as targets. Another technique tried involved the use of frangible bullets which were fired at specially armored versions of the P-39 and P-63s. This was called Operation PINBALL.
On 7 May 1943 the facility was officially named the Kingman Army Air Field. The base continued to grow and change with many new squadrons being added to the base and some of the existing ones combined. The host unit at Kingman Field was the 460th AAF Base Unit. Training units were as follows:
- 1120th Flexible Gunnery Training Squadron
- 1121st Flexible Gunnery Training Squadron
- 1122d Flexible Gunnery Training Squadron
- 1123rd Flexible Gunnery Training Squadron
- 334th Aviation Squadron
The 1120th and the 329th merged with the 328th to become the 328th Flexible Gunnery Training Group. The 1122nd, 537th, and 538th were consolidated to form the 1123rd Flexible Gunnery Training Group. The 1121st became the 329th. The 536th and the 760th Flexible Gunnery Training Groups were added to the list. Also assigned to the B17 fighting groups was the 31st Altitude Squadron, training for operations at high altitude.
Kingman Army Air Field was set up to handle two classes of about 200 students at any one time. During 1943, the policy was to have a class fire 1,200 rounds per student for one week on the Kingman Air to Air Gunnery Range (week five of the training cycle) and then move to Yucca AAF and have them fire 1,000 rounds during the second week.
Initially, the ammunition used was .30 caliber. As the .50 caliber machine gun became available, the use of the .30 caliber was slowly phased out. The P-39 and P-63 aircraft, used as targets, were normally equipped with a 37mm cannon. When the aircraft was in use as a target, this cannon was supposed to be removed and a light replaced it which would signal the gunners when hits were scored on the aircraft. During the latter part of the period this range was operational, the policy was that the gun camera missions were flown on this range and the live fire missions were flown on the Yucca Air to Air Range.
On 22 April 1944 the Kingman Army Air Field was consolidated and the host unit was redesignated as the 3018th Army Air Force Base Unit. Each of the units on the base became subdivisions of 3018th. During 1944 the 3018th was one of the top training schools in the United States.
The war ended on both fronts in 1945. With peace in the world there was no further need for a gunnery school - or for the airplanes that carried the guns. That year saw the base gradually wind down to a stop. On 15 November 1945, the property was declared surplus, and between 1946 and 1950 the various parcels were returned and leases cancelled.
World War II aircraft disposal
Reconstruction Finance Corporation
The Reconstruction Finance Corporation was an independent agency of the United States government, established and chartered by the US Congress in 1932, Act of January 22, 1932, c. 8, 47 Stat. 5, during the administration of President Herbert Hoover. It was modeled after the War Finance Corporation...
established five large storage, sales and scrapping centers for Army Air Forces aircraft. These were located at: Albuquerque AAF, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, Altus AAF, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, Kingman, Arizona, Ontario AAF
Ontario International Airport
LA/Ontario International Airport , formerly Ontario International Airport, is a public airport located east of the central business district of Ontario, a city in San Bernardino County, California, USA. This airport is owned and operated by the Los Angeles World Airports , an agency of the city...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and Walnut Ridge AAF
Walnut Ridge Regional Airport
Walnut Ridge Regional Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located four nautical miles northeast of the central business district of Walnut Ridge, a city in Lawrence County, Arkansas, United States...
, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
. A sixth facility for storing, selling and scrapping Navy and Marine aircraft was located at Clinton, Oklahoma.
Estimates of the number of excess surplus airplanes ran as high as 150,000. Consideration was given to storing a substantial number of these. By the summer of 1945, at least 30 sales-storage depots and 23 sales centers were in operation. In November 1945, it was estimated a total of 117,210 aircraft would be transferred as surplus.
Between 1945 and June 1947, the RFC, War Assets Corporation and the War Assets Administration (disposal function of the RFC was transferred to WAC on January 15, 1946, and to the WAA in March 1946) processed approximately 61,600 World War II aircraft, of which 34,700 were sold for flyable purposes and 26,900, primarily combat types, were sold for scrapping.
War Assets Administration came to KAAF to set up Sales & Storage Depot 41. Depot 41 was to sell of the base buildings and equipment. Not only that, it would store aircraft from the Army Air Force. It is estimated that approximately 10,000 warbirds were flown to Kingman in 1945 and 1946 for storage and sale. Some sources report the number to be over 11,000. It is reported that at least 100 of the 118 B-32 Heavy Bombers built were flown there, many straight from the assembly line.
Most of the transports and trainers could be used in the civilian fleet, and trainers were sold for $875 to $2,400. The fighters and bombers were of little peacetime use, although some were sold. Typical prices for surplus aircraft were:
- BT-13 $450
- P-38 $1,250
- AT-6T-6 TexanThe North American Aviation T-6 Texan was a single-engine advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces, United States Navy, Royal Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and into the 1950s...
$1,500 - A-26A-26 InvaderThe Douglas A-26 Invader was a United States twin-engined light attack bomber built by the Douglas Aircraft Co. during World War II that also saw service during several of the Cold War's major conflicts...
$2,000 - P-51 $3,500
- B-25 $8,250
- B-17 $13,750
- B-24 $13,750
- B-32B-32 DominatorThe Consolidated B-32 Dominator was a heavy bomber made for United States Army Air Forces during World War II, and has the distinction of being the last Allied aircraft to be engaged in combat during World War II. It was developed in parallel with the Boeing B-29 Superfortress as a fallback design...
$32,500
Many aircraft were transferred to schools for educational purposes, and to communities for memorial use for a minimal fee. A Boy Scout troop bought a B-17 for $350.
General sales were conducted from these centers; however, the idea for long term storage, considering the approximate cost of $20 per month per aircraft, was soon discarded, and in June 1946, the remaining aircraft, except those at Altus, were put up for scrap bid.
The tens of thousands of warbirds that had survived the enemy fighter planes and fierce anti-aircraft fire ended up at Albuquerque, Altus, Kingman, Ontario, Walnut Ridge and Clinton.
After the Depot 41 did it’s job, the airfield was turned over to Mohave County to be used as an airport for the county.
Kingman Airport and Industrial Park
With the disposal of the military aircraft completed, Kingman AAF was returned to civilian use in 1949.All but a few of the original Kingman Army Airfield buildings have been removed. The property was formerly used as a support facility for aircraft training and has been redeveloped into a civil airport and industrial park. Today, some civilian airliners are stored there and remarketed or recycled into spare parts and into their base metals.
The Kingman Army Airfield Historical Society was also established, creating a museum to preserve the field's history with artifacts, photos, and displays. It also includes recognition of all conflicts in which Americans have served.
External links
- A Trip Through Kingman Army Airfield
- Kingman Airport Authority
- "An Airport Classic: Kingman Airport Café", SW Aviator Online
- Kingman Airport (IGM) at Arizona DOT airport directory
- Photo of scrapped aircraft at Airliners.netAirliners.netAirliners.net is an aviation website founded by Johan Lundgren, Sweden, in 1997, evolving from his previous Pictures of Modern Airliners site started in 1994...
- AAFCollection.info Kingman Army Air Field base activities booklet and postcards
- Aerial image as of 3 July 1997 from USGS The National Map
