Okeechobee County Airport is a
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 ...
airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...
located 3 mi (4.82 km) northwest of
Okeechobee, in
Okeechobee County
Okeechobee County () is a county located in the Florida Heartland region of the state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 39,644. The county seat is Okeechobee.
Okeechobee County comprises the Okeechobee, FL Micropolitan St ...
,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
.
History
The airport was opened in April 1940 as Conners Field. It was leased by the
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...
in 1941 as an auxiliary training field, and used by the
Hendricks Army Airfield
Hendricks Army Airfield was a World War II United States Army Air Forces base located 6.6 miles east-southeast of Sebring, Florida.
History
Hendricks Army Airfield is a former United States Army Air Forces base. It was used during World War I ...
B-17 Flying Fortress
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...
training school near
Sebring 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 opposin ...
. The runways and other facilities were improved by the Army, and the airport was used for training
touch-and-go landings landings and emergencies. No permanent military units or personnel were assigned. With the end of the war in 1945, the site was returned for civil use.
Since then, Okeechobee has been operated as a general aviation airport.
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
World War II airfields database: Florida
External links
*
Airports in Florida
Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Florida
Transportation buildings and structures in Okeechobee County, Florida
1940 establishments in Florida
Airports established in 1940
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