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

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 ...

(USAAF) established numerous airfields in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

for training pilots and aircrews of USAAF fighters and bombers. Most of these airfields were under the command of First Air Force or the

Army Air Forces Training Command The United States Army Air Forces during World War II had major subordinate Commands below the Air Staff level. These Commands were organized along functional missions. One such Command was the Flying Training Command (FTC). It began as Air Corp ...

(AAFTC) (A predecessor of the current-day

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

Air Education and Training Command 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 ...

). However the other USAAF support commands (Air Technical Service Command (ATSC); Air Transport Command (ATC) or Troop Carrier Command) commanded a significant number of airfields in a support roles. It is still possible to find remnants of these wartime airfields. Many were converted into municipal airports, some were returned to agriculture and several were retained as

installations and were front-line bases during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

. Hundreds of the temporary buildings that were used survive today, and are being used for other purposes.

Major Airfields

Air Technical Service Command * Connellsville MAP,

Connellsville Connellsville is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, southeast of Pittsburgh and away via the Youghiogheny River, a tributary of the Monongahela River. It is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The population was 7,637 at th ...

: Now:

Joseph A. Hardy Connellsville Airport Joseph A. Hardy Connellsville Airport is a public-use airport located four nautical miles (7 km) southwest of Connellsville in Dunbar Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is owned by the Fayette County Airport Authority an ...

* Olmsted Field AAF, Middletown : 487th/496th Army Air Force Base Unit : Was:

Olmsted Air Force Base Harrisburg Air National Guard Base is a United States Air Force base, located at Harrisburg International Airport, Pennsylvania. It is located west-southwest of Middletown, Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Air National Guard facility is sited ...

(1947-1968) : Now:

Harrisburg International Airport Harrisburg International Airport is a public airport in Middletown, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Middletown, Pennsylvania, nine miles (15 km) southeast of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. It is owned by the Susquehanna Area Regional ...

First Air Force * Philadelphia Northeast Airport,

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

: 431st Army Air Force Base Unit (Reduced) : Now: Northeast Philadelphia Airport * Reading AAF,

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

: 390th Army Air Force Base Unit : Now:

Reading Regional Airport Reading Regional Airport (also known as Carl A. Spaatz Field) is a public airport three miles (5 km) northwest of Reading, Pennsylvania, Reading, in Berks County, Pennsylvania, Berks County, Pennsylvania. It is owned by the Reading Regional ...

Air Transport Command * Pittsburgh Army Air Base,

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

: Now:

Pittsburgh IAP Air Reserve Station Pittsburgh IAP Air Reserve Station is a United States Air Force base, located at Pittsburgh International Airport, Pennsylvania. It is located west-northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Overview Pittsburgh IAP ARS is the home station of the ...

Army Air Forces Training Command * Waynesboro MAP, Waynesboro : Contract Primary Pilot Training : Closed, 1950 Now
non-aviation industrial site
Other * Other known airfields used by the USAAF were at

Ebensburg Ebensburg is a borough and the county seat of Cambria County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is located west of Altoona and surrounded by Cambria Township. It is situated in the Allegheny Mountains at about above sea level. Ebensburg is ...

Milton Milton may refer to: Names * Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname) ** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet * Milton (given name) ** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...

Beaver Falls Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...

and Williamsport. It has yet to be discovered what use the AAF made of those facilities.

References

* Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. . * Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947–1977. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. . * Thole, Lou (1999), Forgotten Fields of America : World War II Bases and Training, Then and Now - Vol. 2. Pictorial Histories Pub .
Military Airfields in World War II - Pennsylvania

External links

{{USAAF 1st Air Force World War II 01

Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in the United States by state United States World War II army airfields