Lamesa Field is an abandoned military airfield located about north-northeast of
Lamesa, Texas
Lamesa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Dawson County, Texas, United States. The population was 8,674 at the 2020 census, down from 9,952 at the 2000 census. Located south of Lubbock on the Llano Estacado, Lamesa was founded in 1903. Mo ...
.
History
The airfield was opened in on 1 June 1942 and was used by the
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 ...
as a contract flying school. It was assigned to the Air Corps Flying Training Command, Gulf Coast Training Center (later Central Flying Training Command). The facility was a primary (stage 1) pilot training airfield operated under contract by the John Wilson Glider School provided elementary and advanced glider training to Army aviation cadets of the 28th Army Air Forces Glider Training Detachment until its deactivation on 18 February 1943.
In April of that year, the 3rd Army Air Forces Liaison Training Detachment was moved from Plainview to Lamesa,
with liaison pilot training provided by Clint Breedlove Aerial Services. Liaison pilot training ended at Lamesa in January 1944. From 1 September 1944 to 18 November 1946, the airfield was operated by the War Assets Commission to sell surplus military supplies to the local civilian community. From 17 February 1947 to 11 September 1947, the airfield served as Lamesa Municipal Airport, until replaced by the current Lamesa Municipal Airport (8 miles south). Originally, two hangars, three barracks capable of housing 160 students, a medical clinic, mess hall, recreation room, and administrative building, which also served as a control tower for flight operations were on the airfield; one hangar survives, but the entire airfield has been removed and returned to agriculture.
See also
*
Texas World War II Army Airfields
During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces established numerous airfields in Texas for training pilots and aircrews. The amount of available land and the temperate climate made Texas a prime location for year-round military training. By ...
*
36th Flying Training Wing (World War II)
The 36th Flying Training Wing was a wing of the United States Army Air Forces. It was last assigned to the Western Flying Training Command, and was disbanded on 1 November 1945 at Santa Ana Army Air Base, California.
The wing directed flying t ...
References
* Garner, Christian (2016), “An Unfulfilled Promise: The U.S. Glider Pilot Training Program and Lamesa Field, Texas, During World War II.” Military History of the West 45 (June 2016): 46–76.
* Shaw, Frederick J. (2004), Locating Air Force Base Sites History's Legacy, Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force, Washington DC, 2004.
* Thole, Lou (1999), Forgotten Fields of America : World War II Bases and Training, Then and Now - Vol. 2. Publisher: Pictorial Histories Pub,
External links
{{USAAF Training Bases World War II
1942 establishments in Texas
Airports established in 1942
Airports in Texas
USAAF Contract Flying School Airfields
Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Texas
USAAF Central Flying Training Command
American Theater of World War II