Baldsiefen Field, (Formerly: Eglin Air Force Auxiliary Field #8), is a closed United States Air Force field. It is located 10.2 miles east of
Valparaiso, Florida
Valparaiso is a city in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 5,036. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2018 estimates, the city had a population of 5,195. It is part of the Fort Walton Beach& ...
.
Overview
Auxiliary Field 8 is named Baldsiefen Field for 2nd Lt. Richard Edward Baldsiefen, a gunnery instructor at Eglin, killed 4 March 1942 along with Lt. John W. Smith, in the crash of
AT-6A-NA Texan, ''41-528'', which came down at Auxiliary Field 4.
[Crestview, Florida, "''Two Eglin Field Flyers Die In Crash Wednesday''", Okaloosa News-Journal, 6 March 1942, Vol. 28, No. 7, p. 1.] It is designated Site C-52C.
History
With the onset of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, the Eglin Field military reservation was greatly expanded when the
Choctawhatchee National Forest was turned over to the
War Department War Department may refer to:
* War Department (United Kingdom)
* United States Department of War (1789–1947)
See also
* War Office, a former department of the British Government
* Ministry of defence
* Ministry of War
* Ministry of Defence
* D ...
by the
U.S. Forestry Service on 18 October 1940, and a series of auxiliary airfields were constructed from January 1941.
The history of the Field is largely unknown, although the runways are pockmarked with craters and patches. Those are likely from either bombs or explosive charges being detonated, with civil engineering rapid runway repair teams using them for training.
Current status
The airfield was incorporated into Eglin AFB on 9 October 1959 and was inactivated. However, the airfield remains under the jurisdiction of the
96th Air Base Wing (96 ABW) as part of the active Eglin base and is not accessible to the public. Baldsiefen is located in an area of the Eglin base called Range 52. It is currently used for training involving rough field landings & takeoffs, cargo extractions, air assault landings & parachute drops.
It appears to be used as part of the Eglin target range, as aircraft airframes are visible from time to time on the ramp, likely used for ground targets. Current (2012) imagery shows two F-15s, two F-4s, an A-4 and a propeller-driven aircraft on the ramp, with one F-15 sitting out between the runways.
There also appears to be a vehicle R&M yard south of the airfield, along with a radio relay facility which is staffed by Eglin personnel.
See also
*
Florida World War II Army Airfields
During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) established numerous airfields in Florida for antisubmarine defense in the western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico and for training pilots and aircrews of USAAF fighters, attack planes, and ...
References
{{Reflist
Abandoned Airfields: Baldsiefen Field / Eglin Air Force Aux #8
Installations of the United States Air Force in Florida
Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Florida
Airports in Walton County, Florida
1941 establishments in Florida