Major Airfields
Along with the existing Fort Crook/Offutt Army Airfield, the USAAF established eleven airfields (AAF), the majority of them being under the command of Second Air Force, headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado between 1942 and 1945. These were:
| USAAF Name Current Name |
Mission | Host Unit | Location | Coordinates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ainsworth Army Airfield Ainsworth Municipal Airport |
B-17 Bomber Training Single Engine Fighter Training |
II Bomber Command 4315th Army Air Force Base Unit |
Ainsworth | 42°34′45″N 099°59′35″W / 42.57917°N 99.99306°W / 42.57917; -99.99306 (Ainsworth AAF) | Satellite field of Rapid City Army Air Base, South Dakota. Closed 1945. |
| Alliance Army Airfield Alliance Municipal Airport |
C-47 Training, Glider training; Flexible Gunnery School; Parachute Training | I Troop Carrier Command 434th Troop Carrier Group |
Alliance | 42°03′12″N 102°48′14″W / 42.05333°N 102.80389°W / 42.05333; -102.80389 (Alliance AAF) | In addition to the C-47s, the unit repaired B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator aircraft from other airfields. Closed 1945. |
| Bruning Army Airfield | B-24 Bomber Training Single Engine Fighter Training |
II Bomber Command 510th Army Air Force Base Unit |
Bruning | 40°20′25″N 097°25′42″W / 40.34028°N 97.42833°W / 40.34028; -97.42833 (Bruning AAF) | Closed 1945. Operated as an airport until 1969. Now abandoned; currently in agricultural use and as a cattle feedlot |
| Fairmont Army Airfield Fairmont State Airfield |
B-24/B-29 Bomber training | II Bomber Command 511th Army Air Force Base Unit |
Fairmont | 40°35′10″N 097°34′23″W / 40.58611°N 97.57306°W / 40.58611; -97.57306 (Fairmont AAF) | Closed 1945 |
| Grand Island Army Airfield Central Nebraska Regional Airport |
B-29 Superfortress Bomber training | Second Air Force 17th Bombardment Training Wing |
Grand Island | 40°58′03″N 098°18′35″W / 40.96750°N 98.30972°W / 40.96750; -98.30972 (Grand Island AAF) | Assigned to Strategic Air Command, March 1946. Closed October 1946. Became civil airport, however occasional use by Air Defense Command interceptors from Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base, Kansas City until ADC shut down fighter operations in 1968. |
| Harvard Army Airfield Harvard State Airport |
B-17/B-24/B-29 Bomber training | II Bomber Command Second Air Force 521st Army Air Force Base Unit (B-17/B-24) 17th Bombardment Training Wing (B-29) |
Harvard | 40°39′05″N 098°04′47″W / 40.65139°N 98.07972°W / 40.65139; -98.07972 (Harvard AAF) | Closed May 1946. |
| Kearney Army Airfield Kearney Air Force Base Kearney Regional Airport |
II Bomber Command B-29 Bomber training SAC Fighter Escort Base |
Army Air Forces Training Command 4-Engine Flying School (B-17/B-24) Strategic Air Command B-52/ICBM Base< Nebraska Air National Guard KC-135 Tanker base |
Kearney | 40°43′37″N 099°00′24″W / 40.72694°N 99.00667°W / 40.72694; -99.00667 (Kearney AFB) | B-29 training base during World War II; Strategic Air Command F-82 Twin Mustang Fighter base 1946; Closed March 1949. |
| Lincoln Army Airfield Lincoln Air Force Base Lincoln Air National Guard Base Lincoln Airpor |
B-29 Bomber training SAC B-47 Bomber/ICBM Base NANG Air Refueling Base |
Army Air Forces Training Command, Western Technical Training Command SAC 98th Bombardment Wing NANG 155th Air Refueling Wing. |
Lincoln | 40°51′04″N 096°45′33″W / 40.85111°N 96.75917°W / 40.85111; -96.75917 (Lincoln ANGB) | Inactivated by AAFTC 1946. Used by Nebraska ANG afterwards, also by United States Navy as Naval Air Station Lincoln. Has been active as a military base since 1941. Joint-use civil airport/military airbase since 1966 |
| McCook Army Airfield | B-17/B-24/B-29 Bomber training | II Bomber Command Second Air Force 520th Operational Training Unit (B-17/B-24) 17th Bombardment Training Wing (B-29) |
McCook | 40°18′25″N 100°42′07″W / 40.30694°N 100.70194°W / 40.30694; -100.70194 (McCook AAF) | Closed December 1945. Now farmland, abandoned. |
| Scottsbluff Army Airfield Western Nebraska Regional Airport |
B-17 Bomber training C-47 Training |
II Bomber Command 4190th Army Air Force Base Unit I Troop Carrier Command |
Scottsbluff | 41°52′26″N 103°35′44″W / 41.87389°N 103.59556°W / 41.87389; -103.59556 (Scottsbluff AAF) | B-17 heavy bomber training, 1941–1944; C-47 training 1944-1945. Glider crews. Aircraft and radio maintenance personnel also trained here. Became sub-base of Alliance AAF under I Troop Carrier Command. Closed December 1945. |
| Scribner Army Airfield Scribner State Airport |
B-17/B-24 Bomber training; Single engine fighter training | II Bomber Command 4316th Army Air Force Base Unit |
Scribner | 41°36′37″N 096°37′48″W / 41.61028°N 96.63000°W / 41.61028; -96.63000 (Scribner AAF) | Closed December 1945 |
Currently, of the World War II Army Airfields in Nebraska, six are municipal airports (Ainsworth, Alliance, Scottsbluff, Lincoln, Kearney, Grand Island), four are owned by the Nebraska Department of Aeronautics (three, Harvard, Fairmont and Scribner, are operated as state airfields, and one, Bruning, is not), one is privately owned (McCook) and one is Offutt Air Force Base and Lincoln Airport hosts the Nebraska Air National Guard.
The memories of them still remain in the small towns which are very proud of the part they played in wartime.
Read more about this topic: Nebraska World War II Army Airfields
Famous quotes containing the word major:
“Inanimate objects are classified scientifically into three major categories—those that don’t work, those that break down and those that get lost.”
—Russell Baker (b. 1925)