Ardmore Air Force Base

Ardmore Army Air Field, later Ardmore Air Force base was a United States military installation named after the nearby city of Ardmore, Oklahoma but actually located closer to the town of Gene Autry, Oklahoma.[3] It operated as a military post from 1942 to 1946 and again from 1953 to 1958. Today it is the site of the Ardmore Municipal Airport.

Ardmore Army Air Field (1942-1946)
Ardmore Air Force Base (1953-1958)
Part of United States Army (1942-1946)
US Air Force (1953-1958)
at the Ardmore Industrial park in Carter County, Oklahoma
Coordinates34°18′15″N 097°01′14″W
TypeAir Force Base
Area2,498 acres [1]
Site information
OwnerArdmore Industrial Park [2]
Site history
Built1942
Built byUnited States Army
In use1942-1946 (Army)
1953-1958 (Air Force)

History

World War II

First established as the Ardmore Army Air Field in 1942, the post was established to train airmen for service in World War 2.[4][5]

Initially the post served to train military glider pilots but later trained combat crews to fly the Martin B-26 Marauder and the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress.[6] Later in the war, the post was also used to house German prisoners of war[5] from June 1-November 1, 1945.[6]

The post was first operated as part of the Second Air Force[5] but was later transferred to the Third Air Force on April 12, 1943,[6] This was followed by a designation of the post as a sub-field of Will Rogers Air Force Base in June 1943[6] and then a later transfer of the post back to being part of the Second Air Force in August 1943.[6]

Cold War

The base was decommissioned in 1946 and used by American Airlines as a training facility until 1953[7] when the post was reactivated, this time named the "Ardmore Air Force Base." Units stationed at the post during some or all of this era included the:[6]

The first C-130A Hercules put into active USAF service was at Ardmore Air Force Base when plane number 55-023 (named the "City of Ardmore") first went into service as part of the 463rd Troop Carrier Wing on December 9, 1956, and later saw action in deployments to Europe, Africa, Japan, Okinawa, and Vietnam (where the plane was nearly destroyed) before finally being decommissioned and placed on static display at Linear Park at Dyess AFB in Abilene, Texas in 1989.[1][8]

Ardmore Air Force Base was closed in 1958.[9] after which it became the Ardmore Municipal Airport.[10]

Legacy

Today, the Department of Defense reports that there are five "medium risk" hazard sites at the former military installation.[11]

References
  1. "Chronological Reminders Of The Past Ardmore Air Force Base" OklahomaHistory.net
  2. "Ardmore Industrial Airpark - Ardmore Development Authority". www.ardmoredevelopment.com.
  3. "Gene Autry (town) | The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture". www.okhistory.org.
  4. "Historical Markers in Carter County" OKHistory.org - "Ardmore Army Air Field, Carter County, Location: at Ardmore Industrial Airpark, seven miles east of Exit 40 on I-35
  5. "Bays, Brad A., Thomas A. Wikle, and Charles Leider, "Thematic Survey of Oklahoma's World War II Training Fields, 1941-1945, Project No. 16-401" p. 35" (PDF).
  6. "Ardmore Army Air Field(Base)/Ardmore Air Force Base". web.archive.org. May 5, 2016.
  7. "Carter County | The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture". www.okhistory.org.
  8. "Dyess Linear Air Park - Dyess Air Force Base". yumpu.com.
  9. "Historical Markers in Carter County" OKHistory.org - "Ardmore Army Air Field, Carter County, Location: at Ardmore Industrial Airpark, seven miles east of Exit 40 on I-35, The Ardmore Army Air Field base was built to train airmen from 1942 to 1946. From 1953 to 1958, the facility was known as the Ardmore Air Force Base. A nearby marker honors the trainees who were casualties in World War II and the Korean War."
  10. "Ardmore | The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture". www.okhistory.org.
  11. "Bombs in Your Backyard: Oklahoma". ProPublica.
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