History
Nome Airport was used as a military transport base during World War II, facilitating the transit of Lend-Lease aircraft to the Soviet Union. Known as Marks Army Airfield it shared the facility with the civilian Nome Airport. It also was used as a defensive airfield in 1942 by the United States Army Air Force for the western coast of Alaska. Known USAAF units assigned were:
- 404th Bombardment Squadron (July 18–28, 1942) (28th BG)
- 56th Fighter Squadron (June 20 – October 20, 1942) (54th FG)
Renamed Marks Air Force Base in 1948, it was used as a cold weather survival school and a fighter-interceptor forward base. Marks was too close to the USSR to operate defending fighter-interceptors, so they were pulled back to Galena Airport. Although Marks AFB closed in 1950, an air base squadron was at Nome Airport until December 1956.
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