Grand Island Army Airfield was a

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

airfield which operated from 1942 to 1946. After its closure, the base was reopened as Central Nebraska Regional Airport.

History

Grand Island Army Airfield was opened in 1942, and was one of eleven USAAF training bases in

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

during

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 ...

. A portion of the site was a former national defense airport. The site is bordered on all sides by farm ground. The Army Airfield was constructed, in part, over the pre-existing Grand Island Arrasmith Airport. To convert the existing airport into a military airfield, 173 buildings and structures were constructed at Grand Island Army Airfield. The airfield was activated on 1 April 1943, under the command of

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 ...

Headquarters,

Colorado Springs Army Air Base Peterson Space Force Base, previously Peterson Air Force Base, Peterson Field, and Army Air Base, Colorado Springs, is a U.S. Space Force Base that shares an airfield with the adjacent Colorado Springs Municipal Airport and is home to the Nor ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

. It was used in the early part of the war to train bomber air crews. Later in the war, the field was a staging area for bomber crews preparing for assignments in

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

and

Tinian Tinian ( or ; old Japanese name: 天仁安島, ''Tenian-shima'') is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Together with uninhabited neighboring Aguiguan, it forms Tinian Municipality, one of the ...

in the Pacific Theater of Operations. It was also a Strategic Air Command base in 1946. Major engine and airframe repair facilities were available for B-17 Flying Fortress and

B-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 F ...

bombers. One bombardment training wing (Second Air Force), and three bombardment groups (

Twentieth Air Force The Twentieth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) (20th AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming. 20 AF's primary mission is Interco ...

) were attached to Grand Island during the war. The 242nd (Operational Training Unit, Very Heavy) of the 17th Bombardment Training Wing commanded the support elements at Grand Island AAF as part of Air Technical Service Command. Known

units that trained at Grand Island AAF were: *

6th Bombardment Group Alec Trevelyan (006) is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1995 James Bond film '' GoldenEye'', the first film to feature actor Pierce Brosnan as Bond. Trevelyan is portrayed by actor Sean Bean. The likeness of Bean as Ale ...

(18 May - 19 November 1944) : 24th, 39th and 40th Bombardment Squadrons :Deployed to

502d Bombardment Group The 502d Bombardment Group was a World War II Army Air Forces (AAF) strategic bombardment organization. The unit was one of the last few combat groups formed by the AAF, activating on 1 June 1944. After nearly a year training with Boeing B-29 ...

(26 September 1944 – 7 April 1945) : 402nd, 411th, and 430th Bombardment Squadrons :Deployed to

376th Bombardment Group 376th may refer to: * 376th Air Expeditionary Wing, inactive wing of the United States Air Force, last stationed at the Transit Center at Manas International Airport, Kyrgyz Republic *376th Air Refueling Squadron, inactive United States Air Force u ...

(25 June - 10 November 1945) : 512th, 513th, 514th, and 515th Bombardment Squadrons : Inactivated 10 November 1945 * 449th Bombardment Group (8 September 1945 – 4 August 1946) : 716th, 717th, 718th, and 719th Bombardment Squadrons : Assigned to Strategic Air Command at Grand Island AAF : Inactivated 4 August 1946 * 28th Bombardment Group (4 August 1946 – 6 October 1946) : 77th, 717th, and 718th Bombardment Squadrons : Assigned personnel and equipment from inactivated 449th Bombardment Group, reassigned to Elmendorf AAF

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

. With the departure of the B-29 units the USAAF closed Grand Island Army Airfield on 31 October 1946. The facility was turned over to the City of Grand Island for use as a municipal airport and industrial park. However the military use of the base did not end entirely. During the 1960s, Grand Island Regional Airport was utilized by Convair F-102 Delta Darts of the 328th Fighter Wing,

326th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron The 326th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 328th Fighter Wing at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base, Missouri, where it was inactivated on 2 January 1967. History World W ...

(Air Defense) of Air Defense Command as a dispersal base. These aircraft were deployed from

Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base Richards-Gebaur Memorial Airport is a former airport that operated alongside Richards-Gebaur Air Reserve Station (also Richards-Gebaur Air Force Station) until the base's closure in 1994, and until it was closed in 1999. Formerly, it was oper ...

outside of Kansas City, Missouri. These dispersal flights ended in 1968. Today, about a dozen military buildings still exist at Central Nebraska Regional Airport including several aircraft hangars, some former warehouses being used for commercial storage and several sheds along with the old parachute building.

References

* Maurer, Maurer. ''Air Force Combat Units Of World War II''. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office 1961 (republished 1983, Office of Air Force History, ). * Ravenstein, Charles A. ''Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947–1977''. Maxwell Air Force Base,

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

: Office of Air Force History 1984. .
ArmyAirForces.Com

External links

{{USAAF 2d Air Force World War II 1942 establishments in Nebraska Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Nebraska Installations of Strategic Air Command Grand Island, Nebraska Buildings and structures in Hall County, Nebraska 1946 disestablishments in Nebraska

History

See also

References

External links