Peterson Field

Peterson Field was the airfield named on December 13, 1942, and included the flight strip used for both the USAAF base and the municipal airport. The military installations 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th Reconnaissance Groups were reassigned to overseas theaters in early 1943. The installation was assigned to the Third Air Force (5 March-1 October 1943), then the Second Air Force. Peterson Field was the landing strip for the 1943 Colorado Springs Tent Camp nearer to the city (post-war Ent Air Force Base), and in June 1944 Peterson Field began fighter pilot training with P-40N Warhawks (HQ 72nd FW was at the field). The Army Air Forces Instructor School transferred to Peterson Field in April 1945 when the installation was assigned to Continental Air Forces.

The military portion of Peterson Field was returned to the city on December 31, 1945, and buildings were razed (the 3 remaining original buildings in 1996 are "the terminal, now the Peterson Air and Space Museum, the Broadmoor Hangar...and the Spanish House" next to the museum. The installation was reactivated from 29 September 1947 to 15 January 1948 and again from 22 September 1948 into 1949. During the former period the base was part of Strategic Air Command (the Fifteenth Air Force headquarters was nearby at the Colorado Springs Tent Camp from 15 September 1946 - 7 November 1949.) The 4600th Air Base Group activated at Peterson on 1 January 1951 and supported Air Defense Command activated at nearby Ent Air Force Base (Aerospace Defense Command in 1968, Ent Annex in 1975). In 1958 the group became the 4600th Air Base Wing (46th Aerospace Defense Wing on 1 April 1975).