Laredo Air Force Base, is a since-deactivated

Undergraduate Pilot Training Air Education and Training Command (AETC) is one of the nine Major Commands (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force (USAF), reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force. It was established 1 July 1993, with the realignment of Air Training ...

(UPT) installation of the

Air Training Command Air Training Command (ATC) is a former United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command designation. It was headquartered at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, but was initially formed at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. It was re-designated as Ai ...

(ATC) in

Laredo, Texas Laredo ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Laredo has the distinction of flying seven flags (the flag of t ...

. The facility was originally established as Laredo Army Air Field, a

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 opposin ...

U.S. Army Air Force 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 ...

facility that began operations in November 1942, primarily as an aerial gunnery school with an associated gunnery range. The field became inactive in late 1945 and the property reverted to the city of Laredo, which used it as a municipal airport until 1950. That year, the base was reactivated and renamed Laredo Air Force Base in April 1952 to provide intermediate and advanced flight training for jet pilots, including pilot trainees from 24 countries. In the early 1960s, the Air Training Command transitioned to the

(UPT) concept, where student pilots would take all flight training from basic through advanced at a single base. The initial host unit stationed at Laredo AFB was the 3640th Pilot Training Wing, later superseded by the 38th Flying Training Wing (38 FTW), initially operating the

T-33 The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star (or T-Bird) is an American subsonic jet trainer. It was produced by Lockheed and made its first flight in 1948. The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 starting as TP-80C/TF-80C in development, then d ...

in the 1950s and transitioning to the T-41, T-37 and T-38 aircraft in the 1960s. As the Vietnam War began to scale down in the early 1970s, the Air Force recognized that defense budgets and pilot training requirements would be reduced. As a result, several UPT bases were identified for closure, including Laredo AFB and

Webb AFB Webb Air Force Base , previously named Big Spring Air Force Base, was a United States Air Force facility of the Air Training Command that operated from 1951 to 1977 in West Texas within the current city limits of Big Spring. Webb AFB was a majo ...

in Texas and

Craig AFB Craig Air Force Base near Selma, Alabama, was a U.S. Air Force undergraduate pilot training (UPT) installation that closed in 1977. Today the facility is a civilian airport known as Craig Field Airport and Industrial Complex (ICAO: KSEM; FAA: S ...

in Alabama. In December 1973, the 38 FTW was transferred without personnel or equipment to

Moody AFB Moody Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation near Valdosta, Georgia. Geography The base is in northeastern Lowndes County, Georgia, with the eastern border of the base following the Lanier County line. Georgia State Ro ...

, Georgia where it absorbed the resources and personnel of the 3350th Flying Training Wing. With the 38 FTW's departure, Laredo AFB was closed and turned over to the City of Laredo. Today the facility is known as

Laredo International Airport Laredo International Airport is three miles northeast of downtown Laredo, Texas, Laredo, in Webb County, Texas, Webb County, Texas. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021 FAA airport categories, categorized it as ...

References

{{Laredo, Texas Installations of the United States Air Force in Texas Military installations closed in 1973