Georgia World War II Army Airfields
Encyclopedia
During World War II
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 Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

 for antisubmarine defense in the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...

 and for training pilots and aircrews of USAAF fighters and bombers.

Most of these airfields were under the command of Third Air Force
Third Air Force
The Third Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe . It is headquartered at Ramstein Air Base, Germany....

 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

Army Air Forces Training Command
  • Bainbridge Army Airfield, Bainbridge
    Bainbridge, Georgia
    As of the census of 2000, there were 11,722 people, 4,444 households, and 3,013 families residing in the city. The population density was 255.6/km² . There were 5,051 housing units at an average density of 285.2 per square mile...

Army Air Forces Pilot School (Advanced Single-Engine)
Later: Bainbridge Air Base (1951-1961)
3305th Pilot Training Group (Contract Primary)
Now: Decatur County Industrial Air Park

  • Bush Army Airfield
Eastern Flying Training Command
Contract Flying School: Georgia Aero Tech
72d Army Air Force Flight trainng Detachment (Basic)
Now: Augusta Regional Airport at Bush Field

  • Cochran Army Airfield, Macon
    Macon, Georgia
    Macon is a city located in central Georgia, US. Founded at the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is part of the Macon metropolitan area, and the county seat of Bibb County. A small portion of the city extends into Jones County. Macon is the biggest city in central Georgia...

Southeast Training Center, 1941
Eastern Flying Training Command
Army Air Force Pilot School (Basic)
27th Flying Training Wing
Now: Middle Georgia Regional Airport
Middle Georgia Regional Airport
- History :Early in 1940, Macon's Chamber of Commerce began a campaign to bring war industries and defense installations to the City. Negotiations with the Army Air Corps resulted in a tract of land in a highly developed agricultural area nine miles south of the City known as Avondale being...


  • Douglas Army Airfield, Douglas, Georgia
    Douglas, Georgia
    Douglas is a city in Coffee County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 11,589. Douglas is the county seat of Coffee County and the core city of the Douglas, Georgia Micropolitan Statistical Area which has a population of 48,708 as of the 2008 census...

Eastern Flying Training Command
63d Flight Training Detachment
South Georgia College Civil Pilot Training School (Primary)
Now: Douglas Municipal Airport
Douglas Municipal Airport (Georgia)
Douglas Municipal Airport is a public airport located two miles south of the central business district of Douglas, a city in Coffee County, Georgia, United States. It is owned by the City of Douglas.Although most U.S...


  • Moody Army Airfield, Valdosta
Southeast Training Center, 1941
Eastern Flying Training Command
Army Air Force Pilot School (Primary)
29th Flying Training Wing
Now: Moody Air Force Base
Moody Air Force Base
Moody Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation located in Lowndes County and Lanier County, about northeast of Valdosta, Georgia, United States.Moody Air Force Base is home to the 23d Wing...


  • Souther Army Airfield, Americus
    Americus, Georgia
    -Early years:Americus, Georgia was named and chartered by Sen. Lovett B. Smith in 1832.For its first two decades, Americus was a small courthouse town. The arrival of the railroad in 1854 and, three decades later, local attorney Samuel H. Hawkins' construction of the only privately financed...

Eastern Flying Training Command
Souther Civil Pilot Training School (Primary)
56th AAF Flying Training Detachment
Now: Souther Field
Souther Field
Jimmy Carter Regional Airport aka Souther Field is a public airport located four miles northeast of the central business district of Americus, in Sumter County, Georgia, United States. It owned by the City of Americus.Although most U.S...


  • Spence Army Airfield, Moultrie
    Moultrie, Georgia
    Moultrie is the county seat and largest city of Colquitt County and the third largest in Southwest Georgia behind Thomasville and Albany. As of 2009, Moultrie's population is 15,199 people. Since 2000, it has had a population growth of 6.07 percent....

Southeast Training Center, 1941
Eastern Flying Training Command
Army Air Forces Pilot School (Advanced Single-Engine)
Spence Air Base (1951-1961)
3302d Flying Training Squadron (Contract Flying)
Now: Spence Airport
Spence Airport
Spence Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located four nautical miles southeast of the central business district of Moultrie, a city in Colquitt County, Georgia, United States...


  • Turner Army Airfield
    Turner Air Force Base
    Turner Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base whose site is located within the current city limits of Albany, Georgia. Following its closure as a USAF installation in the late 1960s, it was transferred to the U.S. Navy and renamed Naval Air Station Albany...

    , Albany
    Albany, Georgia
    Albany is a city in and the county seat of Dougherty County, Georgia, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. It is the principal city of the Albany, Georgia metropolitan area and the southwest part of the state. The population was 77,434 at the 2010 U.S. Census, making it the...

Southeast Training Center, 1941
Eastern Flying Training Command
74th Flying Training Wing
Was: Turner Air Force Base
Turner Air Force Base
Turner Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base whose site is located within the current city limits of Albany, Georgia. Following its closure as a USAF installation in the late 1960s, it was transferred to the U.S. Navy and renamed Naval Air Station Albany...

 (1947-1967)
Was: Naval Air Station Albany (1967-1976)
Now: Non-Aviation Use (Industrial Area)

  • Albany Army Airfield, Albany
    Albany, Georgia
    Albany is a city in and the county seat of Dougherty County, Georgia, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. It is the principal city of the Albany, Georgia metropolitan area and the southwest part of the state. The population was 77,434 at the 2010 U.S. Census, making it the...

(Turner AAF Aux No. 4)
Eastern Flying Training Command
Contract Flying School: Darr Aero Tech
52nd Army Air Force Fight Training Detachment. (Primary)
Now: Southwest Georgia Regional Airport
Southwest Georgia Regional Airport
Southwest Georgia Regional Airport is a public airport located three miles southwest of the central business district of Albany, a city in Dougherty County, Georgia, United States...


  • Cordele Army Airfield, Cordele
    Cordele, Georgia
    Cordele, also known as The Watermelon Capital of the World, is a city in Crisp County, Georgia, United States. The population was 11,608 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Crisp County...

(Turner AAF Aux No. 7)
Eastern Flying Training Command
Now: Crisp County-Cordele Airport
Crisp County-Cordele Airport
Crisp County-Cordele Airport is a county-owned public-use airport located two nautical miles northeast of the central business district of Cordele, in Crisp County, Georgia, United States...


  • Vidalia-Lyons Army Airfield, Vidalia
    Vidalia, Georgia
    Vidalia, is a city in Toombs and very slightly into Montgomery counties in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 10,491. It is the largest city in Toombs, but is not the county seat...

(Turner AAF Aux No. 8)
Eastern Flying Training Command
Now: Vidalia Regional Airport
Vidalia Regional Airport
Vidalia Regional Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located three nautical miles southeast of the central business district of the city Vidalia, in Toombs County, Georgia, United States.- Facilities and aircraft :...


  • Tifton Army Airfield, Tifton
    Tifton, Georgia
    Tifton is a city in Tift County, Georgia, United States. The population was 15,060 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Tift County.-Major highways:* Interstate 75* U.S. Highway 41* U.S. Highway 82* U.S...

(Turner AAF Aux No. 9)
Eastern Flying Training Command
Advanced Two-Engine Flying School
Now: Henry Tift Myers Airport
Henry Tift Myers Airport
Henry Tift Myers Airport is a public airport located 2 miles southeast of Tifton, Georgia. The airport serves the general aviation community, with no scheduled commercial airline service.-History:...


Air Technical Service Command
  • Atlanta Army Airfield
    Atlanta Army Airfield
    Atlanta Army Airfield is a former United States Army Air Corps training facility that operated on the grounds of the present Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport during World War II.-History:...

    , Atlanta
303d Army Air Force Base Unit
USAAF/Civil Airfield Joint Use
Now: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport , known locally as Atlanta Airport, Hartsfield Airport, and Hartsfield–Jackson, is located seven miles south of the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States...


  • Liberty Army Airfield, Camp Stewart, Hinesville
142d Army Air Force Base Unit
WASP/Antiaircraft Training
Now: Wright Army Airfield
Wright Army Airfield
MidCoast Regional Airport at Wright Army Airfield is a joint public and military use airport at Fort Stewart, a United States Army post located near the city of Hinesville in Liberty County, Georgia, United States. The airport's physical address is 1116 E. Lowe Circle, Fort Stewart, GA 31314 and...


  • Robins Army Airfield, Warner Robins
    Warner Robins, Georgia
    Warner Robins is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located primarily in Houston County with a small portion in Peach County. The city has its own metropolitan statistical area . As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 48,804...

4117th Army Air Force Base Unit
Warner Robins Air Depot
Now: Robins Air Force Base
Robins Air Force Base
Robins Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force base located in Houston County, Georgia, United States. The base is located just east of and adjacent to the city of Warner Robins, Georgia, SSE of Macon, Georgia, and about SSE of Atlanta, Georgia...



Second Air Force
  • Marietta Army Airfield, Atlanta
292d Army Air Force Base Unit
B-29 Superfortress
B-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...

 Manufacturing/Delivery
Now: Dobbins Joint Air Reserve Base


Third Air Force
  • Chatam Army Airfield, Savannah
    Savannah, Georgia
    Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...

425th Army Air Force Base Unit
Was: Chatham Air Force Base (1947-1950)
Now: Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport
Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport
"Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport , formerly Savannah International Airport, Travis Field and Chatham Field, is a joint civil-military airport located northwest of Savannah, Georgia just off Interstate 95, between Savannah and the city of Pooler, Georgia...


  • Daniel Field Airport
    Daniel Field Airport
    Daniel Field is a public-use airport located one nautical mile west of the central business district of Augusta, a city in Richmond County, Georgia, United States. It is owned and operated by the City of Augusta.-Facilities and aircraft:...

    , Augusta
    Augusta, Georgia
    Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...

Antisubmarine patrols, transport group formation
Used by Air Technical Service Command (1943-1945)
387th Air Service Group
Auxiliary of Warner Robins Air Service Command (Robins Field)
Joint use USAAF/Civil Airfield (1940-1945)

  • Harris Neck Army Airfield
    Harris Neck Army Airfield
    Harris Neck Army Airfield is an abandoned military airfield located in what is now the Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge, McIntosh County, Georgia. It is located north of the intersection of Route 131 & Harris Neck Airport Road, about southwest of Savannah, Georgia.-History:Harris Neck is a...

    , McIntosh County
    McIntosh County, Georgia
    McIntosh County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is part of the Brunswick, Georgia, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of McIntosh, Glynn, and Brantley counties. As of 2010, the population is 14,333. The county seat is Darien.-History:McIntosh County was split...

85th Fighter-Bomber Group
Sub-Base of Dale Mabry AAF, Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by...

Now: Abandoned, part of Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge
Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge
The Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1962 by transfer of federal lands formerly managed by the Federal Aviation Administration as a World War II Army airfield. It consists of of saltwater marsh, grassland, mixed deciduous woods, and cropland.HNNWR is located in McIntosh...


  • Herbert Smart Airport
    Macon Downtown Airport
    Macon Downtown Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located three nautical miles southeast of the central business district of Macon, in Bibb County, Georgia, United States. It is also known as Herbert Smart Downtown Airport...

    , Macon
    Macon, Georgia
    Macon is a city located in central Georgia, US. Founded at the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is part of the Macon metropolitan area, and the county seat of Bibb County. A small portion of the city extends into Jones County. Macon is the biggest city in central Georgia...

USAAF/Civil Airfield Joint Use
Used by Air Technical Service Command (1943-1944)

  • Hunter Army Airfield
    Hunter Army Airfield
    Hunter Army Airfield , located in Savannah, Georgia, United States, is a military airfield and subordinate installation to Fort Stewart.Hunter features a runway that is 11,375 feet long and an aircraft parking area that is more than 350 acres...

    , Savannah
    Savannah, Georgia
    Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...

36th Army Air Force Base Unit
Was: Hunter Air Force Base (1950-1967)
Now: Hunter Army Airfield
Hunter Army Airfield
Hunter Army Airfield , located in Savannah, Georgia, United States, is a military airfield and subordinate installation to Fort Stewart.Hunter features a runway that is 11,375 feet long and an aircraft parking area that is more than 350 acres...


  • Statesboro Army Airfield, Statesboro
    Statesboro, Georgia
    Statesboro is a city in southeast Georgia, United States, and is the county seat and most populous city of Bulloch County. Statesboro has a population of 28,422 and the Statesboro, GA Micropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 70,217...

343d Army Air Force Base Unit
Now: Statesboro-Bulloch County Airport
Statesboro-Bulloch County Airport
Statesboro-Bulloch County Airport is a public airport located three miles northeast of the central business district of Statesboro, a city in Bulloch County, Georgia, United States. It is owned by the City of Statesboro and Bulloch County...


  • Thomasville Army Airfield, Thomasville
    Thomasville, Georgia
    Thomasville is the county seat of Thomas County, Georgia, United States. The city is the second largest in Southwest Georgia after Albany.The city deems itself the City of Roses and holds an annual Rose Festival. The town features plantations open to the public, a historic downtown, a large...

42d Army Air Force Base Unit
Now: Thomasville Regional Airport
Thomasville Regional Airport
Thomasville Regional Airport is a public airport located 4 miles northeast of Thomasville, Georgia. The airport serves the general aviation community, with no scheduled commercial airline service.-History:...


  • Waycross Army Airfield, Waycross
    Waycross, Georgia
    Waycross is the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Ware County in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population was 14,725 at the 2010 Census. A small portion of the city extends into Pierce County. According the U.S...

531st Army Air Force Base Unit
Now: Waycross-Ware County Airport
Waycross-Ware County Airport
Waycross-Ware County Airport is a public airport located three miles northwest of the central business district of Waycross, a city in Ware County, Georgia, United States. It is owned by the City of Waycross and Ware County....



Troop Carrier Command
  • Lawson Army Airfield
    Lawson Army Airfield
    Lawson Army Airfield is a military airport located at Fort Benning in Chattahoochee County, Georgia, south of the city of Columbus, Georgia. It is Fort Benning's primary Force Projection Platform.- Facilities :Lawson Army Airfield has one runway:...

    , Fort Benning
    Fort Benning
    Fort Benning is a United States Army post located southeast of the city of Columbus in Muscogee and Chattahoochee counties in Georgia and Russell County, Alabama...

    , Columbus
    Columbus, Georgia
    Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...

54th Army Air Force Base Unit (I TCC)
Was: Lawson Air Force Base (1947-1954)
Now: Lawson Army Airfield
Lawson Army Airfield
Lawson Army Airfield is a military airport located at Fort Benning in Chattahoochee County, Georgia, south of the city of Columbus, Georgia. It is Fort Benning's primary Force Projection Platform.- Facilities :Lawson Army Airfield has one runway:...

(1954-Pres)


External links

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