Cut Bank Army Air Field
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Cut Bank Municipal Airport is three miles southwest of Cut Bank, in Glacier County,
Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...
, United States. It is owned by Cut Bank and Glacier County. The airport's website calls it Cut Bank International Airport. Its first flight was on 1 June 1941.


Facilities

Cut Bank Municipal Airport covers at an
elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Ver ...
of 3,854 feet (1,175 m). It has two
asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term ...
runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concre ...
s: 5/23 is 5,299 by 75 feet (1,615 x 23 m) and 13/31 is 5,300 by 75 feet (1,615 x 23 m). In the year ending August 22, 2008 the airport had 5,800 aircraft operations, average 15 per day: 90%
general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
, 9%
air taxi An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand. In 2001 air taxi operations were promoted in the United States by a NASA and aerospace industry study on the potential Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) ...
and 2% military. 32 aircraft were then based at the airport: 88% single-engine, 3% multi-engine and 9%
ultralight Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with aile ...
.


History

During World War II Cut Bank Army Air Field was used by the
Second Air Force The Second Air Force (2 AF; ''2d Air Force'' in 1942) is a USAF numbered air force responsible for conducting basic military and technical training for Air Force enlisted members and non-flying officers. In World War II the CONUS unit defende ...
as an auxiliary heavy bomber training airfield, being controlled by Great Falls Army Air Base. Several squadrons of groups training at Great Falls in B-17 Flying Fortresses trained at Cut Bank. Known squadrons were: * 2nd Bombardment Group, 429th Bomb Squadron, November 1942-March 1943 * 385th Bombardment Group, 550th Bomb Squadron, March–June 1943 * 390th Bombardment Group, 569th Bomb Squadron, June–July 1943 * 401st Bombardment Group, 613th Bomb Squadron, July–October 1943 During the Cold War Cut Bank AFB was an interceptor base, part of Air Defense Command. The Cut Bank Municipal Airport and Army Air Force Base, on Valier Highway in
Cut Bank, Montana Cut Bank is a city in and the county seat of Glacier County, Montana, United States, located just east of the "cut bank" (gorge) along Cut Bank Creek. The population was 3,056 at the 2020 census, The town began in 1891 with the arrival of the G ...
was built in 1942. It was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 2008. The listing included eight contributing buildings, 27 contributing structures, and four contributing sites on . It was built by the Army Corps of Engineers and includes World War II temporary buildings. It has also been known as Cut Bank International Airport.


See also

*
Montana World War II Army Airfields During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) established numerous airfields in Montana for training pilots and aircrews of USAAF fighters and bombers. Most of these airfields were under the command of Second Air Force or the A ...
*
List of military installations in Montana There are at least 60 current and former U.S. military installations located in Montana. Installations listed as historical are no longer in service and may have no physical remains in the state. Current installations * Ekalaka Mini-Mutes R ...


References


External links

* * * 1943 establishments in Montana Airports established in 1943 Airports in Montana Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Montana Historic American Engineering Record in Montana National Register of Historic Places in Glacier County, Montana Transportation in Glacier County, Montana Airports on the National Register of Historic Places World War II on the National Register of Historic Places Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Montana {{Montana-NRHP-stub