Pennsylvania World War II Army Airfields
Encyclopedia
During World War II
, the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) established numerous airfields in Pennsylvania
for training pilots and aircrews of USAAF fighters and bombers.
Most of these airfields were under the command of First Air Force
or the Army Air Forces Training Command
(AAFTC) (A predecessor of the current-day United States Air Force
Air Education and Training Command
). 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
installations and were front-line bases during the Cold War
. Hundreds of the temporary buildings that were used survive today, and are being used for other purposes.
First Air Force
Air Transport Command
Army Air Forces Training Command
Other
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 Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
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
Air Technical Service Command- Connellsville MAP, ConnellsvilleConnellsville, PennsylvaniaConnellsville is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, USA, 57 miles southeast of Pittsburgh on the Youghiogheny River, a tributary of the Monongahela River. It is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. In 1890, 5,629 people lived in Connellsville, which was a borough at that time...
- Now: Joseph A. Hardy Connellsville AirportJoseph A. Hardy Connellsville AirportJoseph A. Hardy Connellsville Airport is a public-use airport located four nautical miles southwest of the central business district of Connellsville, a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is owned by the Fayette County Airport Authority...
- Olmsted Field AAF, MiddletownMiddletown, PennsylvaniaMiddletown is the name of more than one location in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania:*Middletown, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania: 17057, of the Harrisburg metropolitan area*Middletown, Northampton County, Pennsylvania: 18017...
- 487th/496th Army Air Force Base Unit
- Was: Olmsted Air Force BaseOlmsted Air Force BaseHarrisburg Air National Guard Base is a United States Air Force base, located at Harrisburg International Airport, Pennsylvania. It is located west-southwest of Middletown, Pennsylvania....
(1947-1968) - Now: Harrisburg International AirportHarrisburg International Airport-Statistics:-Air cargo:Harrisburg International Airport is well positioned with freight-forwarding capabilities. The airport is located adjacent to I-76 , I-83, and I-81, allowing for fast air-to-ground transfer of goods and commodities...
First Air Force
- Philadelphia MAP, Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
- 431st Army Air Force Base Unit (Reduced)
- Now: Philadelphia International AirportPhiladelphia International AirportPhiladelphia International Airport is a major airport in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, and is the largest airport in the Delaware Valley region and in Pennsylvania...
- Reading AAF, ReadingReading, PennsylvaniaReading is a city in southeastern Pennsylvania, USA, and seat of Berks County. Reading is the principal city of the Greater Reading Area and had a population of 88,082 as of the 2010 census, making it the fifth most populated city in the state after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown and Erie,...
- 390th Army Air Force Base Unit
- Now: Reading Regional AirportReading Regional AirportReading Regional Airport , also known as Carl A. Spaatz Field, is a public airport located three miles northwest of the central business district of Reading, a city in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States...
Air Transport Command
- Pittsburgh Army Air Base, PittsburghPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
- Now: Pittsburgh International AirportPittsburgh International AirportPittsburgh International Airport , formerly Greater Pittsburgh Airport, Greater Pittsburgh International Airport and commonly referred to as Pittsburgh International, is a joint civil–military international airport located in the Pittsburgh suburb of Findlay Township, approximately west of...
Army Air Forces Training Command
- Waynesboro MAP, WaynesboroWaynesboro, PennsylvaniaWaynesboro is a borough in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, located northwest of Baltimore, Maryland, 67 miles southwest of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and north of the Mason-Dixon Line. The population within the borough limits was 9,614 at the 2000 census. When combined with the surrounding...
- Contract Primary Pilot Training
- Closed, 1950 Now: non-aviation industrial site.
Other
- Other known airfields used by the USAAF were at EbensburgEbensburg, PennsylvaniaEbensburg is a borough located in, and is the seat of, Cambria County, Pennsylvania, west of Altoona and surrounded by Cambria Township. It is situated in the Alleghenies about 2025 feet above sea level. Ebensburg is located in a rich bituminous coal region. In the past, saw mills, tanneries,...
, MiltonMilton, PennsylvaniaMilton is a borough in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, on the Susquehanna River, north of Harrisburg. Settled in 1770, it was incorporated in 1817, and is governed by a charter that was revised in 1890...
, Beaver FallsBeaver Falls, PennsylvaniaBeaver Falls is a city in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 8,987 at the 2010 census. It is located 31 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, and on the Beaver River, six miles from its confluence with the Ohio River...
and WilliamsportWilliamsport, PennsylvaniaWilliamsport is a city in and the county seat of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania in the United States. In 2009, the population was estimated at 29,304...
. It has yet to be discovered the use the AAF made for those facilities.