Natrona County International Airport
Encyclopedia
Ground transportation
Taxi service and car rental agencies are available at the airport. Several local hotels offer free shuttle service to and from the airport and their premises.History
The airport started as the Casper Army Airfield in September 1942. The wartime airfield consisted of four asphalt hard surfaced runways; varying in length between 8900' and 8600' (N/S; NE/SW; E/W; NW/SE).Casper AAF was assigned to 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....
, with a mission of being a heavy bomber (B-17; B-24) replacement training unit, with the 331st Bombardment Group being the training unit with four squadrons (461st, 462d, 463d and 464th Bombardment) performing training of personnel in heavy bomber operations. The 331st Combat Crew Training School provided the ground instruction. Once the personnel completed the training course, they were sent to various combat units overseas as replacement personnel.
The 331st was converted to a Very Heavy (B-29) group in July 1944 and began training for deployment to 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...
in the Pacific. The 211th Army Air Force Base Unit took control of the airfield. Casper AAF became part of Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its mission was to meet the urgent demand for the speedy reinforcement of the United States' military bases worldwide during World War II, using an air supply system to supplement surface transport...
, as a transit station for WASP pilots ferrying combat aircraft across the United States. The airfield was inactivated in March 1945, and on 30 September was turned over to the Army Corps of Engineers as surplus.
The airfield was converted to civil control by the War Assets Administration in the late 1940s, and in 1949 the former Army airfield become the Natrona County Municipal Airport. Before that the airport was located in what is now the town of Bar Nunn
Bar Nunn, Wyoming
Bar Nunn is a town in Natrona County, Wyoming, United States. It is a part of the Casper, Wyoming Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 936 at the 2000 census...
and what are now the streets were the runways at the airport.
Natrona County International Airport
Natrona County International Airport
-Ground transportation:Taxi service and car rental agencies are available at the airport. Several local hotels offer free shuttle service to and from the airport and their premises.-History:The airport started as the Casper Army Airfield in September 1942...
is now home to the Wyoming Veterans' Memorial Museum, a 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...
museum located at its business park.
See also
- Wyoming World War II Army AirfieldsWyoming World War II Army AirfieldsDuring World War II, the United States Army Air Force established numerous airfields in Wyoming for training pilots and aircrews of USAAF fighters and bombers....