Pyote Air Force Base - World War II Use

World War II Use

The first troops were assigned within a month, well before the base was completed. Troops and civilian technicians poured in, and the population of the base grew steadily to a peak of over 6,500 in October 1944.

Within four months of its opening, the base had become the largest bomber installation in the country. Despite morale problems caused by isolation and the shortage of off-base recreation and of dependents' housing, Pyote achieved a distinguished record in molding inexperienced individuals into effective bomber crews.

After the arrival of the famed 19th Bombardment Group on January 1, 1943, and the ceremonial inauguration of its training program on January 5, 1943, Pyote rapidly turned out crews proficient in hitting targets from the B-17 Flying Fortress until the summer of 1944, when it was switched to the B-29 Superfortress.

The 19th BG was the first air force unit to bomb Japanese targets. It flew to Pyote directly from combat in the Pacific. The base was redesignated the 19th Combat Crew Training School late in 1943 and then replaced on March 30, 1944, by the 236th Army Air Forces Base Unit (Combat Crew Training School).

Known B-17 units trained at Pyote AAB were:

• 381st Bombardment Group (Heavy) 3 January - 5 April 1943
• 96th Bombardment Group (Heavy) January - March 1943

In June 1945 the base claimed records for the most B-29 training hours flown by any base in a single month (7,396), in a week (1,873) and in a day (321).

Known B-29 groups which trained at Pyote AAB were:

• 301st Bombardment Group (Very Heavy)
• 454th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy)

With the end of the war in the Pacific in August 1945, both of these groups were inactivated.