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 Force (USAAF) established numerous airfields in Missouri

Missouri

Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

 for training pilots and aircrews of USAAF fighters and bombers.

Most of these airfields were under the command of First Air Force

First Air Force

The First Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida....

 or the Army Air Forces 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...

 (AAFTC) (A predecessor of the current-day United States Air Force

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

 Air Education and Training Command

Air Education and Training Command

Air Education and Training Command was established July 1, 1993, with the realignment of Air Training Command and Air University. It is one of the U.S. Air Force's ten major commands and reports to Headquarters, United States Air Force....

). However the other USAAF support commands (Air Technical Service Command (ATSC); Air Transport Command (ATC) or Troop Carrier Command) commanded a significant number of airfields in a support roles.

It is still possible to find remnants of these wartime airfields. Many were converted into municipal airports, some were returned to agriculture and several were retained as United States Air Force

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

 installations and were front-line bases during the Cold War

Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

. Hundreds of the temporary buildings that were used survive today, and are being used for other purposes.

Major Airfields

Troop Carrier Command

• Malden AAF, Malden
  Malden, Missouri
  Malden is a city in Dunklin County, Missouri, United States, located near the intersection of Missouri Route 25 and U.S. Route 62. The population is 5,123 at the 2010 census.Malden is within Missouri's 8th congressional district.-Geography:...
  
  

445th Army Air Force Base Unit

Was: Malden Air Base (1951-1960)

USAF Contract Flight Training

Now: Malden Municipal Airport

Malden Municipal Airport

Malden Regional Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located three nautical miles north of the central business district of Malden, a city in Dunklin County, Missouri, United States...

 

• Sedalia AAF, Knob Noster
  Knob Noster, Missouri
  Knob Noster is a city in Johnson County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,462 at the 2000 census. It is located adjacent to Whiteman Air Force Base. Knob Noster State Park is nearby.-History:...
  
  

I Troop Carrier Command

405th Army Air Force Base Unit

Was: Sedalia Air Force Auxiliary Field (1948-1951)

Was: Sedalia Air Force Base (1951-1955)

Now: Whiteman Air Force Base

Whiteman Air Force Base

Whiteman Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately south of Knob Noster, Missouri; east-southeast of Kansas City, Missouri....

 (1955-Pres)

Vichy AAF, Vichy

Vichy, Missouri

Vichy is an unincorporated community in southern Maries County, Missouri, United States. It is located on U.S. Route 63 about ten miles north of Rolla. The community was founded in 1880 and is named after Vichy, France. The Rolla National Airport, a former U.S...

Sub-base of Sedalia AAF

Now: Rolla National Airport 

Grandview Airport, Belton

Belton, Missouri

Belton is a city in Cass County, Missouri, and part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 21,730.-Geography:Belton is at ....

 (1944-1945)

Was: Grandview Air Force Base (1952-1957)

Was: 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....

 (1957-1976)

Was: Richards-Gebaur Airport (1976-1997)

Closed 1998. Now non-aviation use as Kansas City SmartPort

Kansas City SmartPort

Kansas City SmartPort is an economic development group for the existing logistics industry in Kansas City and the attraction of logistics investments in the Kansas City Region...

.

• Forney AAF, Fort Leonard Wood
  Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri
  Fort Leonard Wood is a census-designated place in Pulaski County, Missouri, United States. The population was 13,667 at the 2000 census. It is named in honor of Major General Leonard Wood, who was awarded the Medal of Honor...
  
  

Support airfield for Ft. Leonard Wood

Now: Waynesville Regional Airport at Forney Field

Waynesville Regional Airport at Forney Field

Waynesville-St. Robert Regional Airport , also known as Forney Field, is a public and military use airport located at Fort Leonard Wood in Pulaski County, Missouri, United States. The airport's passenger terminal is operated under the control of the U.S. Army and general aviation is under the...

Air Technical Service Command

• Lambert Field, St. Louis
  St. Louis, Missouri
  St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
  
  

Joint use USAAF/US Navy/Civil Airport

Now: Lambert-St. Louis International Airport

Lambert-St. Louis International Airport

Lambert-St. Louis International Airport is a Class B international airport serving Greater St. Louis. It is located approximately northwest of downtown St. Louis in unincorporated St. Louis County between Berkeley and Bridgeton. It is the largest and busiest airport in the state with 250 daily...

Air Transport Command

• Rosencrans Field AAF, St. Joseph

406th Army Air Force Base Unit

Now: Rosecrans Memorial Airport

Rosecrans Memorial Airport

Rosecrans Memorial Airport is a joint civil-military public airport located three miles northwest of the city of St. Joseph in Buchanan County, Missouri, USA....

• Kansas City Apt, Kansas City
  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...
  
  

Joint use USAAF/Civil Airport

Now: Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport

Army Air Force Training Command

• Chester Field, Perryville
  Perryville, Missouri
  Perryville is a city in Perry County, Missouri, United States. The population was 7,667 at the 2000 census. The 2008 estimated population is 8,172. It is the county seat of Perry County.-Governance:...
  
  

Contract flying training

Now: Perryville Municipal Airport

Perryville Municipal Airport

Perryville Municipal Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located nine nautical miles north of the central business district of Perryville, a city in Perry County, Missouri, United States....

 

• Harris Afld, Cape Girardeau
  Cape Girardeau, Missouri
  Cape Girardeau is a city located in Cape Girardeau and Scott counties in Southeast Missouri in the United States. It is located approximately southeast of St. Louis and north of Memphis. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 37,941. A college town, it is the home of Southeast Missouri...
  
  

Contract flying training

Now: Cape Girardeau Regional Airport

Cape Girardeau Regional Airport

Cape Girardeau Regional Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport located five nautical miles southwest of the central business district of Cape Girardeau, a city in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri although the airport is located in Scott County, Missouri, United States...

• Harvey Parks Afld, Sikeston
  Sikeston, Missouri
  Sikeston is a city located both in southern Scott County and northern New Madrid County, in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is geographically situated just north of the "Missouri Bootheel", although many locals consider Sikeston a part of it. By way of Interstate 55, Sikeston is close to the...
  
  

Contract flying training

Now: Sikeston Memorial Municipal Airport

Sikeston Memorial Municipal Airport

Sikeston Memorial Municipal Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located in Scott County, Missouri, United States. The airport is two nautical miles northeast of the central business district of the city of Sikeston....

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